[Coverage] OlaBola Special Media Premiere Screening And Press Conference
OlaBola – More Than Just a Football Movie
Set for
nationwide theatrical release on 28th January 2016
Kuala Lumpur, 11th
January 2016 – We’ve seen the trailer, we’ve listened to the songs,
we’ve watched the music videos. In just a little more than two weeks, OlaBola,
the movie that everyone’s anticipating, will kick off in cinemas nationwide.
Today our team from wljack.com & loong-updates.blogspot.com was given a chance to take part in the
special media premiere of the show. And wow, it was an amazing movie! (You
should check out my movie review on the movie which will be up very soon)
Featuring not just the beautiful game of football but something even
more!
OlaBola is a movie that features the beautiful game of football. Apart from
that, it is also about the beautiful people of different cultures in Malaysia. It’s
about relationships, family, romance, friendship and what it’s like living in a
country where everyone speaks multi languages.
It just so happens that sports is
what most unites us as a nation. And this is where all those elements in OlaBola converge to give us a
heart-warming story of the loves and lives of a group of individuals whose
passion for football drives them to make sacrifices for their loved ones and
their country.
Based on original story by director Chiu! Inspired by real life events!
OlaBola, an original story by director Chiu Keng Guan, follows a team of
footballers in the 80s as they struggle to reconcile their family and romantic
relationships with their love of football and their odyssey towards
international glory.
The hotheaded team captain Taukeh
(JC Chee) walks a tough path towards
trying to give his girlfriend and his family a better life. The question is,
how long can he go on with a life dedicated to football before it all becomes
too much?
Then there’s Muthu (Saran Kumar) whose relationship with
his father is strained because of his football ambitions. Meanwhile, there’s
the animated Rahman (Bront Palarae),
an aspiring sports commentator whose family is 100% behind him but has to
struggle with his own lack of self-confidence.
Then, there’s the individual team
members themselves who strive to find the soul of the team despite conflicts
and disagreements. Adding to the friction in the team is determined striker Ali
(Luqman Hafidz) fighting for a
chance to wear the coveted No. 10 jersey.
Crafting A Movie Based on Cultural Mosaic of Malaysia!
As with his previous
record-breaking blockbuster hit The
Journey (2014), Chiu has once again crafted a movie that celebrates the
cultural mosaic of Malaysia. Just like in The
Journey, Chiu shows us the amazing things people can achieve once they put
their differences aside and learn to understand each other.
Also true to Chiu’s style, OlaBola
wouldn’t be complete without a few tear-jerking moments and scenes that
make the heart swell with emotions.
OlaBola also has cameos by a couple of legendary personalities in local sports
that will give audiences a pleasant surprise.
Featuring An Amount of Visual Effects (VFX) to make the locations look
authentic!
Set in the early 1980s, OlaBola features quite an amount of Visual
Effects (VFX) work to make the locations and sets look authentic. The football
matches were shot in the historical Stadium Merdeka, and a real 80s-style
carnival was constructed specially for the film.
Veteran sports personalities were
roped in to assist the actors. Bront was helped by famous sports commentator Abdullah Hasim on the finer points of
commentary, while Saran was trained by former national goalkeeper Wong Kam Fook.
Chiu spoke with football heroes
such as Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Datuk
Santokh Singh, Bakri Ibni, James Wong and Hassan Sani, who all generously shared their experiences on and off
the pitch, and gave Chiu a richer picture of what it was like back then.
“These veterans are very patriotic, extremely passionate, and they wore the Malaysian flag on their jerseys with great pride,” said Chiu. “Like the characters in the movie, they also had to juggle their day jobs and football. One thing they all have in common is great discipline. They were taught to be punctual, and till today, they still go to their appointments half an hour early.”
The director also met with Karl-Heinz Weigang, who was the coach of Harimau Malaya in
1980, and on whom the character Harry Mountain is based. Even after more than
30 years, Weigang could still remember all the players and their positions.
Not just acting! But
also play the games!
During
filming, the cast really became a team. At the army training to get them in
shape, JC and Luqman almost wanted to give up. “I was the oldest among the
actors, so I felt the responsibility to set an example to the others. I kept
telling myself that to keep myself going,” said JC.
Apart from acting, the actors
really did go through tough training of at least 3 hours per day on the field
to learn up the skills needed to convincingly play their roles as national team
players in football!
Press Conference:
Why the movie doesn’t
based on real life story?
Director
Chiu replied that having an original story like this could give him more
freedom in delivering the dramas between the characters. If it’s based on
real-life story, they will lose such freedom. The host emcee added that if it’s
based on real-life story, it will become a documentary
movie instead.
How Do You Deliver
such a beautiful scenes of landscape in Malaysia?
Director
Chiu replied that the crews have travelled to places with beautiful sceneries
such as Langkawi, Pulau Redang, Perak and explored there. Then, they filmed the
scenes with droids and camera.
Check out the rest of
the press conference content via the video below:
10 Other Interesting Facts About OlaBola
Why OlaBola?
Ola comes from the Portuguese word “olá” which means “hello” and Bola is “ball” in Portuguese, which is the same in Bahasa Malaysia. And Portuguese is the language spoken in Brazil, one of the world’s biggest footballing nations and the country that gave us Pelé, the greatest footballer ever.
Director Chiu Keng Guan was once a highly notable striker representing his school team.
Pre-production took more than a year before principal photography commenced for 50 days. Post-production was completed in 4 months.
OlaBola was filmed in various locations in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak, Penang, Johor and Sabah that still bear the charm of the 80s. Historical landmarks such as Stadium Merdeka, Victoria Institution, the train ride in Sabah between Beaufort and Tenom, and the breathtaking landscape of Broga Hill in Selangor are featured in the film.
OlaBola makes history as Malaysia’s first feature film to use the immersive Dolby Atmos sound technology, which gives audiences optimal surround-sound quality.
The film is anchored by global best-in-class production features and technical crews, including visual-effects (VFX) experts from Argentina boasting Hollywood experience, and Australian specialists in aerial cinematography.
Visual effects were used quite extensively. CG work was done to add tiers to Stadium Merdeka and make the stadium look full of spectators during the football matches. Certain contemporary landmarks were also digitally erased to ensure the authenticity of an 80s cityscape. Green screen was used for the helicopter scene, where the aircraft was added in later.
A carnival, complete with a Ferris wheel, a carousel and game stalls, was built from scratch and the set was dismantled after 4 days of filming. Everything at the carnival, from bottled drinks to snacks in tins, was sourced or reproduced from genuine articles.
All the actors do know how to play football and were not just acting. Saran Kumar was a defender on his school team but in the film, he plays a goalkeeper.
Katrina Ho, who plays Taukeh’s girlfriend, was first-runner up in the Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant 2009. But that wasn’t what got her the role. She was spotted via Facebook by the assistant director. You never know who might find you on Facebook!
In association with Woo Hoo Pictures, OlaBola is presented and produced by Astro Shaw Sdn Bhd, Multimedia Entertainment Sdn Bhd and Golden Screen Cinemas Sdn Bhd, and is set for release in cinemas nationwide on 28th January 2016.
Panasonic and MILO® are the main sponsors while Munchy’s is the co-sponsor of OlaBola. OlaBola merchandise including t-shirts and hoodies are now available on www.3ciety.com.
“Perseverance is the key differentiator between success and failure in our journey through life. We at MILO® are proud to sponsor the OlaBola film as it reflects our long-standing belief of sports being a great teacher of life values. We remain fully committed to advocating learning through sports because of the powerful real-life testimonials we have seen throughout our decades of effort,” said Philomena Tan, Business Executive Manager of MILO®.
For more news of OlaBola, please visit www.olabola.com.my, www.olabola.tv, www.youtube.com/astroshaw , www.facebook.com/astroshaw and www.instagram.com/astroshaw.
During the press conference, I have taken a selfie with the main actress Marianne Tan and director Chiu!
Apart from that, also took some selfies with my blogger and media friends!
Well, we did enjoy the movie very much! Do support OlaBola!
And also do stay tuned to my website for the full movie review!
Published by WLJack.
