IN collaboration with Labuan Overseas Holding Bhd and Robotz, ‘The Catcher’ is dubbed as possibly the highest-invested movie ever in Malaysian history.
Produced by Hundred Years Popcorn Production Sdn Bhd, the movie is set to break several records both domestically and internationally with the intention of boosting the tourism industry in Malaysia, after a heavy hit during this pandemic, and subsequently to support in reviving its economy.
“We shall utilise the distinctive attributes of a certain brand and its historical business value to develop intellectual properties (IPs) with high-value accreditation, based on racing car performance brands that can be spinned-off into brand-licensed hotels, auto city, petrol stations, theme parks, etc,” said Hundred Years Popcorn Production founder Ong Peng Chu
With a budget of more than RM50 mil, The Catcher portrays the lifestyle and culture of car modification aficionados in Malaysia.
The movie follows the story of a talented young village boy who works hard to defeat opponents from all around the world with heavily modified performance supercars. The film could even break the world record for featuring an astounding 500 supercars throughout the movie.
Robotz founder Datuk Seri Jeffrey Teo said: “As supercar junkies, each of us at Robotz has always been inspired by Vin Diesel’s and Paul Walker’s successful “Fast & Furious” movie franchise, we hope to emulate the brilliance these movies hold. Our involvement in making history through this record-breaking film brings great joy and pride to every single one of us.”
All the cars in the movie belong to members of the Robotz Car Club, who shall also contribute monetarily in raising funds for the movie. At the press conference held on Oct 3 2021, Labuan Overseas Holding Berhad signed off a generous RM2 mil to add to the movie’s initial kick-off expenditure.
Labuan Overseas Holding Bhd CEO Burhanudin Mohd Yusoff said: “We support this project, not just because it is going to break records but because of its attractive value-added proposition for our potential investors. We are ecstatic about this launch, and we look forward to developing this business as there is massive potential to open up to investment opportunities in other motor vehicle-related industries, towards the recovery of our Malaysian economy.”
Advisory on engineering and technical aspects is handled by non-other than the “Father of Motorsports”, Joe Lim Hun Beng who is credited with introducing motorsports to China.
He commented saying: “In China, I realised that what we were doing on the track was having a catalytic influence on the market and the perception of cars in the country. Motorsports as a business model quickly became apparent, and I saw great potential.”
With this in mind, the movie being the catalyst to incite interest in the development of motoring and the various motor sport industry, Joe Lim shares the idea of jointly developing three main sectors where he would provide advisory for the new branding called “Enhance”.
They include :
- The Enhance Zone at Revo City. This is where conversions and modification on Motor Vehicles would be done. This would be located at OneCity Mall, near Subang Jaya.
- The Enhance Station, which would be Modern EV charging stations that can also offer gas/petroleum products. The first would be in Cyberjaya, in line with its status as a Technology Hub to show support for the future of the EVs industry in Malaysia.
- The Enhance Automotive City, where there will be a racing & drag race tracks, including another Enhanced Zone for motor vehicle modifications. Hotel/Resort facilities would also be included. This is planned to be built/developed in Gurun, Kedah.
Some of the scenes in the movie may be shot around this soon-to-be developed automotive-themed city that would be sited on a proposed 3,000-acre land, teamed-up with the Kedah state government’s investment arm, Invest Kedah Bhd.
Proposed to be located in Gurun, Kedah, the city will feature globally known sports car brand hotels, a Formula 3/GT/EV (Formula E) race track & drag race strip, vehicle enhancement & modification services, Accredited Speed-safety Driving Academy and an Automotive Engineering College; hence being a tourist hub and a desired filming location for international patrons.
The script for the movie is set to be finalized and casting will soon begin as well. Production for ‘The Catcher’ will commence in 2022 with expected completion in the year 2023 as the highest budgeted movie in Malaysian history.
