Michelle Yeoh Takes Oscar Trophy To Her Father’s Grave In Malaysia: ‘Wouldn’t Be Here Without My Parents Support’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After reaching a fresh peak of 4.6 million net new customer additions in the final quarter of 2022, boosted by the FIFA World Cup soccer competition, premium subscription video growth in Southeast Asia slowed sharply in the first three months of 2023. Research from consultancy and advisory firm Media Partners Asia and its consumer use unit AMPD, showed only 300,000 net new subscriptions between January and March in the five principal markets of Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. The study focused on premium VOD streaming and SVoD, while excluding YouTube, TikTok and other social video platforms.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Malaysian social drama “Abang Adik” was named best film and winner of the Golden Mulberry prize on Sunday at the Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine. The film is a story of two undocumented and orphaned men, who may or may not be real brothers, but who lift each other up. The film’s director Jin Ong collected the White Mulberry prize for best debut feature and “Abang Adik” added a third prize decided by the festival’s season pass holders. Second place on the podium went to South Korea with Chang Hang-jun’s “Rebound,” while third place went to “Yudo,” by Japan’s Suzuki Masayuki. 

Fugees co-founder Pras Michel has been convicted for his involvement in a billion-dollar Malaysian money laundering scheme.Yesterday (Wednesday, April 26) a jury found Michel guilty of 10 federal counts, including campaign finance violations, money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and lying to banks (via Consequence).The 50-year-old rapper, producer, songwriter and actor faces up to 20 years in prison.As reported previously, the case involved fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (aka Jho Low). Jho had been accused of masterminding the theft of some USD$4.5billion from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1 Malaysia Development Berhad.

Fugees member Pras Michel has been found guilty of conspiring with Malaysian billionaire Jho Low to instigate unlawful foreign lobbying campaigns that sought to influence the governments of two US Presidents, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.The musician was convicted in a Washington court yesterday for campaign finance violations, acting as an unregistered foreign agent, witness tampering and lying to banks. Although he plans to appeal, the conviction could result in years of prison time.The whole thing relates to what is known as the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia.

A Fugees rapper was convicted on Wednesday after a multimillion-dollar political conspiracies trial, which included testimony from Leonardo DiCaprio. Prakazrel "Pras" Michel was accused of funneling money to Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign through a now-fugitive Malaysian financier, Jho Low – one of the primary financiers of his film "Wolf of Wall Street."  Michel was also accused of attempting to stop a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration. Michel is known as a founder of the 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees.

saw witnesses like Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions take the stand and testify under oath. Prosecutors alleged at trial that the Fugees founder immersed himself in American politics at the behest of Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, who paid him millions to help launder money Low had allegedly embezzled from a state-owned investment fund in his home country. The alleged scheme involved payments to Barack Obama's 2012 presidential reelection campaign and efforts to convince the Trump administration to extradite a Chinese national. Low remains at large, but was charged as a codefendant in Michel's case and played a major role in witness testimony and evidence presented to the jury.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Fugees rapper Pras was found guilty Wednesday of 10 counts related to a multimillion-dollar “clandestine foreign influence campaign scheme” funded by a wealthy Malaysian financier to peddle influence in the United States, according to the Associated Press and other news outlets.  The trial included testimony from witnesses ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The rapper, whose real name is Prakazrel Michel, was accused of funneling money from Low Taek Jho, a now-fugitive Malaysian financer, through false donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, and then attempting to quash a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Cannes Market has hitched up with the Ties That Bind and Focus Asia organizations to launch Spotlight Asia, a new industry support structure. Debuting during this year’s Cannes film festival, the program aims to foster greater film collaboration between Asia and Europe. Spotlight Asia will take the form of a series of round table discussions, short presentations and networking events between May 16-24. They will cover genres ranging from fiction to animation. The collaborative events will especially focus on the tools that potential co-producers from Europe and Asia need to equip themselves with in order to navigate the different forms of cooperative working, ranging from introducing existing funding opportunities to helping navigate each country’s specific laws and production functionalities.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Malaysia-based content group Vision New Media has promoted Min Lim to the newly created role of group CEO. She reports to founder and chairman Beng Teck Lim. Poh Lin Ho, who had been with Vision Plus Entertainment for nearly 40 years, latterly as its CEO, is stepping down from the business. Lim, who is currently head of production at group production business Double Vision, will now take responsibility for all content creation and distribution activities, plus the group’s extensive post-production, dubbing and subtitling services. She will also oversee Square Box Pictures, the group’s theatrical distribution arm, as well as long-standing television distributor Vision Plus Entertainment.

The legal team of former Fugees member Pras Michel has launched his defense against federal criminal conspiracy charges. His trial was originally scheduled to begin early last November but was pushed back to March 27, apparently due to an unrelated injury sustained by one of his attorneys. Michel is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States government, one count of a scheme to conceal material facts, and two counts of making a false entry in a record in connection with the conspiracy.

LITIGATION Principals Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow The launch of major studios’ in-house streaming platforms put Hollywood self-dealing into hyperdrive, and the Bird Marella team has made headlines litigating the fallout. Berlinski resolved producer Katie O’Connell Marsh’s multiyear litigation against Gaumont Television related to the Netflix series “Narcos” on the eve of trial in November 2022 and is currently repping Chuck Norris in a lawsuit alleging underpayment of profit participation for his series “Walker, Texas Ranger.” He also currently reps Genting Group, the second-largest casino operator in the world, in ongoing matters related to the development and operation of Genting SkyWorlds, a billion-dollar Fox-themed amusement park outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Michelle Yeoh is making a triumphant return home!

A Fugees rapper on trial in a multimillion-dollar campaign finance and foreign influence case was trying to reinvent himself as he entered the political arena, not break any laws, defense attorneys said Monday. Prakazrel "Pras" Michel became a best-selling, Grammy-winning artist with the 1990s hip-hop group the Fugees, but in the years after its breakup was looking for his next chapter, attorney David Kenner said as he began making the defense case. Michel surrounded himself with people to help with his transition to politics and eventually entered the orbit of a wealthy Malaysian "playboy" but didn’t engage in "James Bond … cloak and dagger stuff," he said.

Michelle Yeoh is taking centre stage in the “Star Trek” franchise.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rolling off a successful edition that premiered Charlotte Wells’ celebrated film “Aftersun” with Paul Mescal, Cannes’ Critics Week is back with an international lineup spanning South Korea and Malaysia to France and Jordan, among others. The Critics Week sidebar runs parallel to the Cannes Film Festival, and focuses on first and second films. Under the leadership of artistic director Ava Cahen since last year, the lineup will boast 11 feature films chosen from 1,000 submitted movies. Out of these 11 movies, seven are feature debuts and six are directed by women. Among them is “Ama Gloria,” directed by French helmer Marie Amachoukeli, who previously won Cannes’ Golden Camera for “Party Girl” which she co-directed with Claire Burger and Samuel Theis.

Mabel Cheung’s controversial documentary To My Nineteen-year-old Self scooped Best Picture at the Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday night (April 16), where the crowds also applauded an appearance by Best Actress Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh. 

winning the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Michell Yeoh has taken the statuette to her father’s grave in Malaysia. The 60-year-old shared a snap to her Instagram page on Wednesday that showed her visiting the burial ground for Qing Ming — a major Chinese festival where relatives go to the tombs of their ancestors to clean and make offerings of food.“Brought Mr.O home,” Yeoh wrote beneath a photo that showed her holding up her Oscar at the graveyard. “Without my parents’ love and trust and support … I wouldn’t be here today … love so much” Yeoh’s father, Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik, died in 2014 at the age of 89.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Michelle Yeoh, who made history by winning the best actress Oscar for her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” last month, made an emotional return trip to her native Malaysia last week. She visited her mother in time for the traditional Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, and stopped by the grave of her father who died in 2014. In an Instagram post on Wednesday she said, “Brought Mr. O home. Without my parents’ love and trust and support, I wouldn’t be here today.”A post shared by Michelle Yeoh 楊紫瓊 (@michelleyeoh_official) Her trip home represented a promise that Yeoh made during her Oscars acceptance speech.

centred around former Fugees member Pras Michel.Michel is accused of participating in a global campaign-finance conspiracy funded by Jho Low, a businessman who allegedly stole billions from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.Michel has pleaded not guilty to the charges (via CNN). According to CNN, “Low remains at large”; he has reportedly previously denied the charges in the past.Last year, speculation circled that Fugees cancelled their 25th anniversary tour celebrating their second album ‘The Score’ not due to COVID concerns, as originally stated, but due to Michel’s ongoing legal issues.DiCaprio, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, took to the witness stand for an hour to testify about his relationship with Michel and Low.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief As recently as last month, government officials in the Malaysian state of Serawak, Borneo, told local media that their state needs to build a new film production facility like the Iskandar Malaysia Studios in the south of peninsular Malaysia. Serawak officials said that their state Premier had visited the studios and plans had been discussed with FINAS, Malaysia’s national film regulatory and financing body.