Thank God for giving me the gift of Oxygen!!

Well, the ABP-BH came and went, all results were as expected but what was really interesting was what nearly happened to me up top in Genting Highlands.

When i was travelling up to Genting Highlands, i realised something really weird happening to my body... i felt my breathing was starting to be restricted. My chest felt a bit tight but there was no wheezing, which was an indication for me that i wasn't getting an asthma attack but i couldn't understand why i was feeling that way, I just make bodo and plodded along like nothing was happening until the makeup session when i really started to feel weird. In my mind, visions of the Raihan singer who died due to asthma in Genting a couple of years back started playing in my head.
Not wanting to be branded paranoid or anything, i just quietly mentioned to my manager about my troubles, just to make sure that there are oxygen facilities or even an ambulance handy during the ABP-BH show that night.
Come showtime, everybody was excited and raring to go. The whole 'celebrity' community was abuzz with excitement and anticipation. My manager Shima, frantically tried to organize my request, she had been informed earlier that there will usually be two ambulances on standby at the venue, but after checking the ambulance wasn't there that night. Ahh sudah!! I had hoped that my chest thingy would have gone away by then, but it didn't. People were asking me "can you do the show, can you do the show?"... i had no answer. i didn't want to let Erma and Umie down. When we were preparing for the performance my chest started to let up a bit but so i decided to do the show but as time was nearing the start of the show, my chest started to feel tight again. I felt like someone was playing yo-yo with my chest and it wasn't of the hip-hop kind. That is when i told myself the biggest victory that i would win that nite was not any trophy, but my life. I thought wether that was the last time i would see my kids and Chris (very the drama , i know but it literally is that way.) I was thinking if i collapse who could carry me... i know i am a damn heavy fella....takkan diorang nak bawak masuk crane nak angkat i !!!.... macammana crane tu nak naik genting????... i was thinking " If i died, tanah perkuburan mana my family nak tanam i ah?
PARANOIA MELANDA DIRIKU.
Before i went on to do the show, my manager said to me that THE AMBULANCE is here and is on standby. LEGA hati gue. So i dengan tanpa segan silu atau malu-malu kodok dengan semangat tidak mahu let the show down, pergilah buat performance DIVA POPULAR tu.
AND confirm... true enough after the show, muka i jadi pucat macam baru tengok result SPM bahasa Malaysia i dulu (takut kantoi BM, SPM tak dapat grade 1) nafas i amat tak teratur... tapi masih boleh berjalan. Selepas berdegil sebentar pasal memikirkan yang tak macho-la CIP KODOK naik ambulan... Gua pun naikla ambulan dan mengoxygenkan diri dan tiba-tiba rasa macam ada orang bubuh gas dalam belon yakni dada i dan mulalah bernafas dengan normal.

Saya amat bersyukur kepada Tuhan kerana sentiasa mengingatkan saya betapa kecilnya saya ni walaupun orang kata saya bigfoot punya anak kerana saiz badan saya. Saya ingin mengucapkan terimakasih kepada Pengurus saya, yang betul-betul made sure that my keselamatan came first. Thanks to The Genting Highlands management kerana mengambil berat yang teramat terhadap saya and thanks to Mawi because i sememangnya dah takde space kat rumah nak parking Kia Optima tu. Heehee.

Aku yang kodok.

AFDLIN SHAUKI

PGL the Musical tickets HABIS lagi!! ACTORLYMPICS tickets going fast!!

To all those kodoks who have secured tics to see PGL the musical extra shows, I SEE YOU THERE ok!!!!!! Mebbe after the shows we lepak sikit at Mamak LOTUS and borak.
For those who tak dapat, let's hope they do it again next time.

To the kodok bowling team yang akan pergi berjuang for The Fellowship of the Kodoks dalam pertandingan BOWLING PERSAHABATAN ANTARA FANS CLUB marilah selamat berjuang kerana sememangnya anda semua 'tendang buntut' (kick Ass)!!!

Yesterday was the first night of ACTORLYMPICS and let me tell you I had some crazy fun fun yesterday. Granted, it wasn't PGL but being on stage was like magic. Seronok giler.... hilang stress meress mak nenek gua. You guys have to come watch it! it is a great destresser and CONFIRM balik terputus urat kentut, tulang belikat dan semua yang boleh terbelah kerana ketawa yang tak hingat.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

AFDLIN SHAUKI

The Dawn of PROJEK : HILANG AKAL 2!!! Kodok-kodok semua jangan miss benda ni!!! AND great news for PGL the Musical lovers!!

Okaylah first of all, perkara berbangkit. Ramai kodok yang agak terkilan kerana tak dapat tengok PGL the Musical but due to the overwhelming success of the show, they have decided to extend it by another two days iaitu the 27th and the 28th of february.
The great news is, the PGL people kerana ingin berterimakasih dengan sokongan kodok-kodok semua telah memberikan saya allocation of 40 seats for the 27th and 40 seats for the 28th!!!... all RM30 tickets la beb, tapi daripada takde ... OK tuuu kan.

So dgn itu gua announce the KODOK NAK TENGOK PGL FLASH MOB part 2 and 3 di kira bukak. Malangnya!!!!.... alamak ini yang tak sedap dengar ni kan, kebanyakan ticket telah kami buka dahulu kepada kodok-kodok yang dah hantar emel dulu dan kami ada sikit je lagi ticket untuk diagih-agihkan so if you all are interested, esok office hours call visionworks at 03 41435097 dan booking cepat-cepat dengan MIEN. Sapa konfirm dulu dia dapat.

Okaylah sekarang kita ke PROJEK HILANG AKAL 2!!! oleh kerana overwhelming response to the FUUYO cd sales, sekarang ni gua dah decide to open a full fledge online store yang akan buat offer yang agak tak siuman sikit Contohya beli t-shirt dapat sepeket sabun pencuci dan sepeket asam boi. etc. What it is about is value adding the product with personalised touches either by myself and or the other stars of my movies. There will be a section for kodoks as well to buy FELLOWSHIP OF THE KODOKS merchandise dan macam-macam lagi. Ini adalah diantara langkah gua untuk memastikan my friends and supporters get the best quality stuff at all times and they get stuff i personally personalised. Ini pirates sat dunia belum boleh buat unless depa CLONE gua.
Yang bestnya boleh bayar pakai maybank2u, credit card ataupun paypal. So satu dunia boleh borong ini barang so if you are interested please get yur asses to http://www.projekhilangakal.com/pha2 and check it out!!!!!!

And for those of you who are ready for it JANGAN lupa ACTORLYMPICS minggu ni!!!! detail lanjutan di blog entry sebelum-sebelum ni.

Some of you might be asking yang afdlin tak pernah mention sekalipun dekat blog dia tentang pencalonan Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian beliau dalam kategori most popular actor and most popular comedian, kenapa eh?
If you know me then yu will know that i am not about being the most popular guy around but more so about trying to be the best and sincere karyawan yang i mungkin boleh jadi. I believe fame will come to you as a bonus but substance is something no amount of newspaper votes can buy. FOR those of you who have voted for me, I thank you dari hujung rambut sampai hujung kaki for your belief, no matter who wins on the 26th of february at genting, just remember.... BECAUSE WE ARE UNITED, the community of KODOKs are already winners and i too am a winner!! because i have you guys as my friends. thanks so much. love you lots.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Afdlin Shauki

TICKET PGL THE MUSICAL SOLD OUT!!!!!

Sorry-la gang, kerana support gila babas korang semua, ticket PGL dah habis semuanya dan ticket yang dijanjikan kepada gua pun telah mereka TERJUAL kerana sedikit kesilapan teknikal di box-office mereka, so kepada yang tak dapat lagi panggilan dari saya ataupun MIEN (my girfren kat ofis merangkap office assistant di visionworks ni) maknanya anda terpaksa tunggu next time diorang buat lagi NEXT TIME.

Apakan daya dan apa yang boleh kita buat... harap-harap diorang release dvd atau vcd show ni nanti. Kenapalah pendek sangat run ni pasal gua rasa memang banyak lagi rakyat Malaysia yang perlu menyaksikan persembahan ini.

Congratulations to Datuk Effendi and Tiara for giving us this gift of a truly remarkable malaysian theatrical experience. Harapannya adalah akan ada lebih banyak lagi persembahan-persembahan yang setaraf dengannya ataupun lebih baik di usahakan oleh penggiat-penggiat seni kita agar akan lebih teruja rakyat Malaysia dalam memupuk budaya menyaksikan persembahan teater.

I went again yesterday and i have to say that the second half of the play is truly breathtaking and at the end of the show, all i have to say is WOW!... not just at the execution of the musical but more so to the response of the audience yang bersorak-sorak seakan Malaysia baru menang Thomas cup. Truly Amazing, our audiences yang usuallynya so docile and so introverted telah berjaya mempamerkan yang there is true passion and a keen sense of appreciation dalam cara mereka memberikan STANDING OVATION dan bertepuk seronok dipenghujung persembahan PGL the musical.

To the warga kerja PGL the Musical - You all should be PROUD and stand tall for helping to create an amazing experience that you all will be able to keep with you for the rest of your lives. The hard work, pain and tears have paid off in a big way in my eyes, no matter what the naysayers want to say. My hats off to you all, my respect and my love.

To all the kodok who went, i thank you for lending your support for the Malaysian Arts. THING WILL ONLY GET BETTER. Insyaallah.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Afdlin Shauki

PS. Pada gadis berscarf hitam yang mengambil gambar dengan gua semalam dan suruh mention dia dalam blog gua, "walaupun kau datang bertudung hitam dan mencuri tenangku, senyummu tetap membakar didalam kepala hotak aku sampai sekarang. Semoga hidupmu di penuhi dengan kegembiraan dan senantiasa dilindungiNya".

Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical KODOK flash mob is on!

It must be done. the question now is when? there is a strong suggestion for the 26th. I'm okay to book for you guys the tickets but i won't be able to go because of the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian finals in Genting will be on the same day as the show. I have promised Erma Fatima to perform the theme song of DIVA POPULAR. The other alternative is the 25th and the final alternative since everybody wants to go on a weekend is saturday 18th or sunday the 19th so pilihlah gang and let me know, for those who have already emailed me, my people will be calling you for confimation. thanks.

Afdlin

P.S. Kepada anda semua yang sedang menanti re-print Album Fuuyo, Afdlin Shauki ini ada-lah gambaran awal remake cover album fuuyo itu... ada macam gigollo malang sikit... jadi gua suruh re-do bagi nampak selamba sikit. heehee Macam Ruffedge pun ado... tapi gua ni dah tua jadi macam Ruffage le sikit.Afdlin Shauki Fuuyo 2006. The Kodok Edition.

Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical is BEST GILER BABS!! OUTSTANDING MALAYSIAN ACHIEVEMENT! TAK TENGOK RUGI KODOK!!!

It was one of those things that when you see it,
a)YOU ARE PROUD THAT YOU ARE MALAYSIAN BECAUSE YOU ARE WATCHING A WORLD CLASS THEATRE PRODUCTION
PRODUCED BY MALAYSIANS
b) You are in Awe of the performances of these talented Malaysians and FREAKING wished you were up there with them.
c) PISSED OFF THAT TIARA NEVER CALLED YOU TO BE A PART OF THIS WONDERFUL JOURNEY!
d) You are STILL thinking of the show hours after the last performer took a bow on the stage.

When you are a performer, and you feel all those emotions that i listed up there, then you know that one thing has happened... YOU HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH to have been in the presence of one of the country's greatest theatrical production efforts of recent times.

I didn't go to the press preview that all the other blog viewers went too. I went on their premiere night yesterday with the PM in attendance and i must say i was impressed, my wife who is a theatre major was impressed and i guess most of the audience, if not all present were impressed too. i had heard that during their preview nite, things did not go particularly well with some techical glitches and what have u but such is the nature of theatre. it is not like the movies where if there was something wrong during the press preview, we wouldn't be able to fix anything, i was told that changes were still happening up till yesterday's performance. Every review has its pros and cons but i choose to focus on the strengths of this show because i believe it deserves a positive review and also because the cons were too few and negligable to me.

Gang, i am from the theatre. At the aged of 10 i fell in love with the experience and from then onwards have always had a high regard and the greatest respect for it and all who give their llife and love to the embetterment of it. After years of theatre, i know i can tell the good from the bad , the wannabes from the truly great, the formulaic from the truly inspired. In short, i am hard to please when it comes to theatrical performances.
BUT TONITE I WAS AWED, i left the Istana Budaya feeling like a little child that found a 5 ringgit note on the ground to buy chocolates with. I was excited, delighted, inspired, flabergasted and proud. Why? because i had just watched the PGL Musical Premiere.
Ohhh my god, PGLTM was OUTSTANDING!!!... It was 10 times better than the Movie (which i quite liked) but the stage production of PGL is absolutely frakking Marvellous!! I am not even kidding when i say that somebody if not everybody from this production deserves a datukship. The musical was easily one of the most beautiful, poignant, exciting and satisfying piece of Malaysian theatrical production i have ever seen in my life. I watched the production of the hit musical 'Chicago' when it first opened on the west end in London and i believe i didn't leave as satisfied as this.

MUCH KUDOS TO ALL THAT PUT THIS BABY TOGETHER. Your hardwork and Dedication really paid off guys. You gave the audience such a wonderful memory of Istana Budaya that i believe it should now be called Istana Puteri Gunung Ledang!!!
Believe me gang when i say tak rugi kalau kita tengok show ni 10 kali pun. Dan tak malu gua rasa kalau show ni pergi ke london atau new york sekalipun untuk bersaing dengan Musical-musical si Andrew Lloyd Webber tu.

GUA BETUL-BETUL teruja ni, macam gua rasa gua kena jampi lak.... i can't stop talking and praising this show.
Although everybody performed well for the show, One person really stands out in this production for me - my BRO and i believe now, ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMER MALAYSIA HAS -AC MIZAL!!
To tell you the truth, i was never really impressed with AC during his GERAK KHAS days but when i interviewed him during my (now defunct) talkshow BILA LARUT MALAM, i realised that this guy had something special. Tonite after seeing his interpretaion of GUSTI ADIPATI i trully trully believe that this man is a STAR and one of Malaysia greatest actor - entertainers in this day and age. HARD TO BELIEVE some of you might be saying, since now he is known more as a PAK LAWAK thru my movies but believe me friends, there depth and talent the size of mount Everest within this man and to top it off, he's such a nice guy too. GUA TABIK SPRING RACING COIL to you bro. I am in awe of your talent and feel honored to be a part of ur life. GOOD things come to good people i believe AC and i believe your time to TRULY SHINE has arrived and the light are spelling out the letters A C M I Z A L. You make me proud that i used u before them. heehee!Watch AC (the former theatre virgin) hold his own and then some against all the other more seasoned theatre actors in this country. KORANG MESTI TENGOK DIA DALAM PGL NI barulah korang akan paham apa yang gua membebel ni.Another thing to watch is Tiara's truly inspired performancela. This Lady belongs on stage man. She made me cry tonite huuhhuuhuu. She rocks !!! in this production, i truly felt for her character in this PGL, more so than in the movie.
Did i mention the rest of the cast is also truly outstanding. That Stephen Rahman guy - what a voice! Adlin Aman Ramli - EXCELLENT beyond words!
The music by Singaporean DICK LEE is so heartfelt and so SEEEDAP!!! Tanpa disedari muzik beliau yang di susun semula oleh pengarah muzik dan gua punya former boss ROSLAN AZIZ bermain dgn emosi kita dan ianya seakan dibuai mengikut segala perintah muzik itu.
ZAHIM ALBAKRI the director, is a FREAKING GENIUS!!!... cara dia mengarah persembahan itu adalah bertaraf antarabangsa. HE SHOULD BE WORKING ON BROADWAY OR AT THE WEST END la gang. Whatever it is, he made PGL the musical happen and has given it's audience an unforgettable evening.
Before u ask, NO! they are not paying me to write all this!.... this are my honest views, my perception, my good fortune to have been able to watch this show.
I personally believe this show needs a home of it's own, a theatre which will show PGL the MUSICAL all year long!!... so that everyone can see. Make it one of the country's premiere tourist attraction to Malaysia. I want this show to sell out because it has the potential of changing the people's perception about theatre in this country.

I want to go again and watch it with my staff and friends and i urge you all to do the same. GIVE YOURSELF this opportunity to watch something really great from MALAYSIA.

AS a matter of fact, let's do a KODOKS FLASH MOB event at PGL the musical!!!!!!!!!! I WANT!!! I WANT!!!! kita tengok ticket 30 ringgit je pun takpe.... janji kita support diorang ni hidup-hidup!! okay those interested to be part of this flash mob, sila taip KODOK NAK TENGOK PGL, bagi nama, nombor handphone and email kat gua di selambakodok@gmail.com so we can pick a date and arrange our event. Lepas show tu gua akan introduce you all semua kepada cast PGL tu and seperti biasa kita teh tarik sampai pagi!!!. ADA BERANI??

HIDUP PEKERJA SENI MALAYSIA, POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!

AFDLIN SHAUKI aka CIP KODOK

ACTORLYMPICS LATEST SIGHTINGS! 22nd - 26th February

Postcard design by Isma yang cukup biol.
Backside design (not my backside ok!)
Poster design of Japanese Yakuza-kabuki-samurai family potret by Isma

Isma my poster dude has outdone himself yet again i think. This actorlympics poster and postcard design for the upcoming Japanese themed Theatre sports ataupun sketsa selamba bulan February ni gila babeeess cun. Check it out.

This looks like the craziest Actorlympics that we are going to have yet. JAPANESE STYLE HAYAKU!! Sure kelakar gila tenuk aksiden dengan bangkai tenggililng eksotik dari Papua New Guniea punnya!!

Power to the People and Kodoks too

Cip KODOK

Actorlympics kembali laggiiiiiii hayaku rihatlah posterku!!!!! BULI BALIK Hits RM2.0 million in 10 days!

Power to the People

Afdlin Shauki

BULI BALIK STILL GOING STRONG!! CURRENTLY RM 1.7 Million. Thank you for all your continuous support.

Hey gang. Word has it on the grapevine that there is gonna be a slew of great local movies this 2006, so i am thinking out of my gila hat, that we can make some history this year. How? you might ask. By creating more demand for good local movies. Let's make local movies our number one thing on our list when we go to the cinemas to watch a movie and ONLY IF there is nothing good on, we go see a Hollywood movie? Whaddaya think? u think we can achieve that aa? Is it such a tall order?

I thank you all for your continous support of my works but i am more interested in the bigger picture. The REVITALISATION OF THE MALAYSIAN FILM INDUSTRY. Bringing it back to the glory days when Malaysian cinema was respected and admired. For that to happen, we gotta support the new directors, the indi directors currently working on their respective projects. These are people working on new exciting Malaysian film projects. Together with your help, we can change the face of Malaysian cinema by demanding to see more challenging, different and brave stories from the filmmakers. Already i feel that a lot of you yearn for this kind of stuff already but you must remember currently, u r the minority. For quality to be the norm, we must educate the mass into believing in that movies is not just entertainment. There is something more. It is the identity of the nation - archived, for all to see. For the WORLD to see. So, lets take it to the next level.


POWER TO THE PEOPLE

AFDLIN SHAUKI

"Do or do not, there is no try!" - Yoda

Latest Buli Balik report for all friends. 6 days collection stands at RM1.2 million! That's fast gila! Alhamdulillah.

Meety the fansy ae City Square Johore. Gua terasa macam mawi tu . heehee.
Sain bang jangan tak sain!!
Malaysian Movie fans serang panggung at City Square, JB. Kasi Pecah!!!
Additional Show pukul 2.30 dan 4.55 pagi di JB, COOL!
This is hope for Malaysian Movies!
Malacca Fans of BULI BALIK gather round for their freebies.
Me with some fans at Pelangi Mall JB.
Me and Ako Meet the fans in Seremban.
Me and Ako membuli seorang peminat dan anaknya.

Thank you so much for all those who have gone to see BULI BALIK. It's success so far would not be possible without your support. Thanks la kodok-kodok semua, I have to say that i now officially feel the pressure to not slack off and will do all in my power and ability to keep giving u guys the best i can, bear in mind every new film to me is a new learning experience. . I will still be myself and explore the weird side of life and give you my commentary on our society, but i guess things doesn't get any easier from now on and I WELCOME IT.

LOVE AND PEACE TO ALL.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

AFDLIN SHAUKI

BULI BALIK Collection first four days RM 728 000. GILA SIOT! Gua macam tak percaya. Thanks to you guys.

UMI AIDA sent me this text message today.
Ada orang berpesan, " Mereka yang menang tidak berhenti dan mereka yang berhenti tidak akan menang!" So continue to strive.
What an amazing woman she is and she makes a great Neurosurgeon as well in BULI BALIK.

You know , i thank you all for all your comments and acknowledge all your comments as being valid responses to the film BULI BALIK that you experienced.
Why did i say "the movie that you experienced!" some of you might ask, "Are there many other versions?... How will i know if i am watching a different version from what afdlin made?".
The answer is no, there is only one version of buli balik except for BULI BALIK DVD DIRECTOR'S CUT SPECIAL EDITION which has an additional half an hour of footage. But your experiences may vary because of level of awareness or paradigm. Here i am talking about story and not the technicality of movie making (as i am still a student of that and i guess will forever be). One thing i do know are what the elements needed in the making of a good story, the use of subtext in a film and how to play with the three act structure of storytelling.
I know many people who did not like BAIK PUNYA CILOK and loved BULI BALIK and vice-versa. I am a big fan of the Lord of the rings trilogy but i know many people who thought it was boring and a waste of time. In P. Ramlee days after he did bujang lapuk everybody wanted him to do the same kind of movies but the legend did not just pursue those kind of movies because as a filmmaker you want to feed your soul with stories which touch you and these stories most certainly do not all come in the same genres. BAIK PUNYA CILOK and BULI BALIK are two different Movies with two differing intentions and goals. For Baik Punya Cilok i wanted to have fun and to prove that there is adifferent way to do cinematic comedy in malaysia. In the buli series (BULI & BULI BALIK) i wanted people to feel. FEEL how it feels like when the illness of our society is mirrored back at us. When the daily lives of a certain group of people is exposed to us so that we can emphatise and work towards correcting our wrongs, if any. BULI is an attempt at showing us how life can turn out if we made the same choices as our protagonist (HERO) or antagonist (Villain). BULI BALIK is Life as i see it. Like it or not, it is my paradigm. You are viewing life from my eyes.
Why is a fat person a hero in BULI & BULI BALIK? Because in my life i am the hero.... heehee. It's true, i know my kids and people i love, look up to me and i have to be there for them when they need me, just like a HERO. Besides that, i want to show that anybody can be a hero and you do not have to look like BRAD PITT to save the day ( BRAD PITT FC retaliation expected). WE ARE ALL POTENTIAL HEROES! if we choose to be it.
In BULI BALIK i want to show that even HEROes can make mistakes and go too far sometimes just like in real life. SO for those of you ready to peel away the comedy of BULI BALIK, you will see these layers which i had tried to encorporate but for those of you just looking for a laugh, the jokes are there but not like in BAIK PUNYA CILOK, but definitely a lot more thoughtful.
BUT don't just layan my ramblings, go and see for yourself and let yourself feel. I need you to cancel BAIK PUNYA CILOK from your minds for a little while and come into the movie having BULI in mind. You are going to go on a journey with NORDIN and have a peak into his life.
My personal feeling about BULI BALIK is that it is a very special movie to me. I love a good laugh but i also welcome a good cry once in a while. I guess it makes me feel human. BB is as close a commentary about our lives as a people that i can envisage thus far. A braver attempt would be 'SUMO-lah!' which is about Urban Malays looking for a cultural identity in this day and age.
At the end of the day, eventhough i am a businessman, i remember that i am an artist with a social conscience FIRST. Kalau gua nak kaya, semua filem gua buat macam BAIK PUNYA CILOK la and that style would probably last about two to three more films before i am branded a formulaic director with no passion for anything but making money.BULI BALIK is done because I am interested in telling stories and that is why i am a film director. Peace.

Power to the People

Afdlin Shauki

PS. SELAMAT MENYAMBUT AWAL MUHARRAM MY FRIENDS, may this year allah shines a bright light upon us all and open our hearts to the gift of knowledge and peace. To all my Chinese friends GONG XI FA CHAI and may you achieve what you set your hearts to.

BULI BALIK Collection first three days RM 490 000. Thanks to you guys.

Just got back from the NORTH (Utara) for the BULI BALIK promotional tour and finally back to my awesome home streamyx broadband wi-fi internet connection. Aaaahhhh! heaven is a place called the internet. Not that there is no internet connection up NORTH but kat hotel sana, it's a wee bit expensive-lah for a dial-up connection.
Me and AC MIZAL travelled to Alor Star (or as it is affectionately known as Aloq Staq), Kedah and did a promo thingy at a cinema there and met up with i think about 50 people, mostly kids, at the metrowealth cinema - i swear we were like dua penjual kain batik tersohor but it was fun. Met up with a major kodok up north ZICKEYSSS. Then we went to Sungai Petani and the crowd was a bit bigger, i think it was about 150 people. The very next day we hit Penang. First venue bukit JAMBUL, the complex itself was empty because of chinese new year but the cinema was quite packed. Then we went to Prangin Mall where we pretended to be Cinema cleaners at the end of the movie and started chasing people out of the cinema complaing aloud about how dirty the cinema is. The Audience were shocked to find out that it was us and we all had a good laugh. I would just like to say now that AC MIZAL is Insane cow!!... what a star. He truly is a funny human being and we are all blessed to be able to share his talent. Lastly we went to MEGAMALL PRAI cinemas where we entertained aboout 250 people. Met an old school mate from st. john's ther , Raja Azmir... what a blast from the past that one. Looking at him, i remember the days when we took the 270 Len Seng bus from Bangunan Arab-Libya near the AIA building to go home to taman Permata, Ulu Kelang. We used to laugh and laugh all the time about everything from ponteng sekolah to bukak puasa on the bus sambil korek hidung to kena rotan beramai-ramai etc.. He was always a funny and nice guy at school and pleasingly still is, up till today, but maybe a bit more matured and weathered. I think, i realised then how much i missed the simple uncomplicated life of a student (although we didn't think it was so UNCOMPLICATED at that time) and the innocence of our hopes and aspirations. Nice to catch up with people who was once a great big part of your life once in a while i guess - It sort of gives a reality check doesn't it.
Tomorrow the BULI BALIK circus will be going to SEREMBAN TERMINAL ONE at 12.30 pm and the following day, off to Malacca and Johore. We are giving this movie all that we got because WE BELIEVE in it. WE BELIEVE besides just being a movie, BB has something big to say.
You know guys, i am a very open person and as you can see from the comments, whatever is written (unless it's truly offensive) i will not delete eventhough it is given by a non entity like ANONYMOUS.
i can only hope and pray that we become a society that is not afraid of standing up for what we believe in and are unafraid to be accountable for it. STOP BEING ANONYMOUS. REPRESENT YOUR VIEWS WITH YOUR IDENTITY. THAT IS THE WAY OF AN HONOURABLE PERSON. If you read from the comments from my previous blog there were a few anonymous comments given but this one comment reeally cheesed me off and no, it wasn't the comment which said "watched buli balik last night,my friend beside me (in the cinema after about 30min ) whispered 'somebody please shoot me'.. I dont like it." I thought that was honest and i respected it. BUT what really MADE MY BLOOD GO UPSTAIRS is a comment by really BLUR Anonymous blog reader/commenter who said...

Anonymous said...
" .... besides Siti Nurhaliza and a few other people who are just talent .... "
what does this sentence really mean? siti is just an ordinary talent? true it may be but talent by itself will get her no where with hard work and "tidak cakap besar" like some good director in the making !

now read what i actually wrote in the blog below
"Lemme let all of you in on one open industry secret that might shock you, besides Siti Nurhaliza and a few other people who are just talents (great talents though they may be) in this industry, NO other persons in the creative field of the entertainment industy in MALAYSIA ever makes any good money from it"
WTF???.... Anonymous whoever u are... U have obviously missed the point. Plus, didn't u care to read the following statement "GREAT TALENTS THOUGH THEY MAYBE!!!" did i say, SITI is not a hard worker?... dude, i know she works hard!!... I am in the industry! We all know, that's why she is who she is right now! besides being her friend, I have much respect for her and her achievements. And your cukup lawa comment " TIDAK CAKAP BESAR macam some good director in the making!" was that suppose to hurt my feelings???...heehee. If it was, then all i can say is....People who know me know i am not that kind of person. so the question now is, LUUU SAPAAAAA?... gua takde duit nak makan nasi, lu nak kasi gua ke? Gua mati nanti, lu nak masuk kubur dengan gua ke? so why should i care what u say... why should anyone care? And besides that, the best part is, lu ANONYMOUS jadi lu tak really serious nak tahu "what the sentence really mean!" Did you really want to know or is it just part of your initation for
i would like to apologize to all my blog readers right now for YOUR STUPIDITY. May time bestow upon you great wisdom so that u may not live the rest of your life, LOST.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

AFDLIN SHAUKI

PS. Selamat menyambut awal muharram too all my muslim fans and a happy chinese new year to all celebrating it.
BE SAFE during the holidays.

BULI BALIK 's VOYAGE BEGINS TODAY, ALL OVER MALAYSIA! MAY THE JOURNEY BE A MEMORABLE ONE. INSYAALLAH. LET IT BE KNOWN TO ALL FRIENDS!!

It is the night before my baby comes alive and i want to share with all of you my intimate thoughts on the matter. BULI was a dream i had as a teenager to make my first movie. BULI BALIK was a promise i made to myself, to right the wrongs oy days past, to be able to do the one thing the genius P.Ramlee was never able to do, to own his own creative works. I am writing this down with tear filling my eyes as i remember the day i read how P. Ramlee died a pauper. How a great talent of this magnitude from this country was never allowed to reap the benefits of his own intellectual property really mystifies and disgusts me.

BUt this is the current state of this country even right now. NOBODY respects other people's rights to intellectual property. They feel it is their right to infringe on this rights because illegal music, films and software are being openly sold everywhere so this must mean that it is ok. When i say nobody. i mean from the top level down to normal people like you and me. I include myself because i admit. i also fall into the self-styled culture of checking out the latest foreign films from your friendly neighbourhood dvd PUSHER.

BUT consider this, What if suddenly it was ok to buy your lawyers stamp from a roadside stall or audited accounts from Petaling Streets at a discounted price. Or even giving your pay to someone else, after you have spent all your sweat and time in trying to do the best job u can, why? because everyone's doing it. SO why not you? "That is different!", you say, "Our job is not entertainment!... this won't happen to us". Just think about it, what the hell makes u think that u r so special, that something like this might not happen to you?

TV stations do not respect the rights of small production companies, because they want ALL RIGHTS to your product at an offered price where it should just be for a license fee for a one run or two run to air the said programme. They pay peanuts and so like a bunch of hungry monkeys we swarm over it to eat whatever the scraps is left and not fight for the system to be CHANGED. TV Broadcasters should just be BROADCASTERS and let the creative people do the creative work.

We are a country that is slowly killing it's creative minds because the work we do is not considered tangible like being an accountant or even a clerk at a bank. Banks won't touch creative people and put ridiculous demands on us in trying to secure a loan, only to later say no to the loan because of the age old banking mantra "NO TRACK RECORD". SME banks won't touch creative production companies with a ten foot pole because we are considered HIGH RISK. Like any business worth any grain of salt and not illegal is not high risk. BUSINESS IS ABOUT RISKing!!!

People just take what is currently happening because we all say "well i guess that's how things are in this country!". I say stop the bullshit and let's rewrite the books on how 'things are' in the country

Lemme let all of you in on one open industry secret that might shock you, besides Siti Nurhaliza and a few other people who are just talents (great talents though they may be) in this industry, NO other persons in the creative field of the entertainment industy in MALAYSIA ever makes any good money from it. "You look ok afdlin" some might say, and to the my response is, Yes, I truly am blessed because i am a talent as well as a creative person but i think about all the writers, songwriters, animators, directors etc in this country and i know, most of them live hand to mouth. AND these people are the ones who create all the great songs, poems, writings, scripts that drive this whole industry.

So what can we do about it. Personally at this point in time, i have no frakking clue! but i know that that the parliament has to pass a bill or something to give greater protection to a potential multi-billion dollar industry for it to continue surviving and even flourish.
Why was propaganda films a great important part of the war effort in all the world wars? The reason is because the media affects our mind either subconciously or conciously on any level. It is as important in building the image of a country as the twin towers or the Sepang race course. Our culture, our paradigm and the way we are, are reflected through our films.

FILMS are great tools to window our culture and the hearts of our people. HELP US HELP U MAKE THIS COUNTRY GREAT. Protect us. Give our livelyhood back to us. You take away our soul when you take away our creativity.

So, this is it people. I do not want to die a pauper and this is a promise i made to myself and to the late great P.Ramlee. To own and probably benefit from my own IP. If we don't protect our IP and make it worth something, then we might as well be living in the P RAMLEE days.

Thank you for supporting BULI BALIK and my creative endeavours. For those of you who don't like what i do, support the ones you do, because believe me,you make a difference to them. KEEP ON SUPPORTING MALAYSIAN FILMS.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Afdlin SHauki

BULI BALIK / KODOK BOWLING TOURNAMENT RESULTS!

BULI BALIK T-shirt Design : open for orders.


Needless to say it was an outstanding kodok sporting event where all the kodoks menunjukkan belang ataupun tompok-tompok mengerutu mereka. Since , i'm sure many of you will be asking... my team tha 'HARD CORE-DORKS' got third placing overall out of 15 teams. A kodok called NART is the most dangerous kodok with a bowling ball. i myself, (gear macam main piala dunia) was placed 24th out of 55 kodoks. Macam tak caya lak ramai kodoks pandai boling, the top four bowlers have been honoured by being selected for the inter fan club bowling competition on the 5th of march. All their expenses will be borned by the FELLOWSHIP OF THE KODOKS. SO watch out you all for KODOK POWER coming to you this March.

AND BE-fore-WARNED all you non kodoks, that our kodoks HARD CORE-DORKS mean business and are quite lethal when it comes to ball sports. Because most of us look like ball osso.

KODOKS = UGLY ON THE OUTSIDE BUT BEAUTIFUL ON THE INSIDE.

WEBEK, WEBEK, WEBEK!

AFDLIN SHAUKI

DON't FORGET IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO GO TO THE SNEAK PREVIEW OF BULI BALIK tomorrow at 10.00 am. Just check http://sultanmuzaffar.blogspot.com

BULI BALIK next week cometh!! SUNDAY Buli Balik KODOK bowling Tournament at AMPANG POINT!

So today is the day when we will find out who is da best kodok with a bowling ball in all of KOALA LOEMPOUR. Feel the energy and excitement of VICTORY and the agony of defeat.

Gua malas nak crita kat korang yang sebenarnya gua ni perlengkapan bowling semua cukup, cuma helmet bowing aje gua takde. Tapi main bowling aje yang gua tak pandai-pandai.
TAPI main bowling ni sebenarnya bukan untuk menang. It's for grown up people to look like monkeys in public when they get a strike. Macam-macam pesen ada, termasuklah gua sekali.

SUNDAY will be the day where all the malu-malulah konon and the kontrol-kontrol hensem, anggun dan lain-lain will be thrown out the window. Tomorrow is the time for WARRRRRRRRRR!!!!. (teringat gua lagu dari film RUSH HOURyang berjudul war!... cet cet ..cet cet cet... what is is good for absolutely nothing....good god! WAR!... cet cet....cet cet cet... what is it good for absolutely nothing!!!)

Some of the cast of BULI BALIK will also show you their gaya-gaya bergaya yang mungkin akan mengalahkan gaya model runway fesyen berjenama di London, Paris dan Keluang di runway boling alley. so be prepared KODOKS.

Pemenang akan mewakili team kodok yang akan beraksi di dalam pertandingan-pertandingan bowling termasyhur di rantau kuala lumpur dan Irian Jaya.

SO MORE POWER TO YOU KODOKS and JANGAN kena buli dengan pelakon-pelakon buli balik esok. Kalau depa BULI hangpa semua mesti....

BULI BALIK!

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KODOK KU. AMIN.

EXCLUSIVE bloggers and blog readers SNEAK PREVIEW of BULI BALIK!

Joe KLUBBKIDD , SULTAN MUZAFFAR and their merry men/women/avatars, came up with a great idea last week to acknowledge the legion of internet dwellers who have created this massive and powerful tool for networking and just hanging out, ie. to do a special sneak preview of BULIBALIK. Never before has something like his been done before for the local internet community and kudos to them for coming up with such a great event. For your information they are also responsible for another great idea of utilising the internet family for networking thru PROJECT : Maharani.

There are VERY LIMITED SEATS for the SNEAK PREVIEW (220 to be exact) and you must send an email to sultanmuzaffar@gmail.com to confirm your seats. The ticket price is 10 ringgit and there will be a bunch of BULIBALIK and KODOK goodies to snap up there as well.



The screening will be at 10:00 am (that's the only time that has been made available to us by the cinemas, so DO WHAT U HAVE TO DO) at TGV One Utama (OLD WING)

COME 26th JANUARY it's our time to show the country's film industry that we want to watch better films in this country, let it be known to all. BULIBALIK is my best work to date and i want to share this experience with you. It isn't perfect just lik BULI and BAIK PUNYA CILOK but then again, it is the work of an imperfect man and i believe the journey to perfection is what makes life really interesting, since true perfection is only Allah swt.
I am looking forward to people's reaction to my latest escapade so that besides honing my skills as a director, i will also be in-tuned with what the people wants. Many people have asked me to delve into the realm of drama... and so in the vein of BULI... This is another BLACK COMEDY or DRAMA-DY for your viewing pleasure. If You enjoyed BULI and BAIK PUNYA CILOK (although it is not in the same vein as cilok as it was a straight forward comedy)... i am sure you will enjoy BULIBALIK. RAWK the NATION! Ohh.. and AHMAD NISFU RAWKS as well!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

AFDLIN SHAUKI
WWW.BULIBALIK.COM

WWW.BULIBALIK.COMis fully operational and rock and rolling. BAGITAHUlah orang kampung semua!! SPREAD THE WORD

"Selepas berlatih SUMO saya selalu pergi ke website Buli Balik untuk memulihkan kekuatan lelaki saya!"
"Dengan website Buli Balik, hidup saya kini lebih sempurna.Dah tiga bulan bil handphone saya tak lambat bayar!"

Hai Gang,
Latest update on BULI BALIK WEBSITE!... KITA DAH UP AND RUNNING and you can get a whole bunch of free studd there, videoclips and MP3s. Checkout PATRICK TEOH as TAN SRI MICHAEL punya music VIDEO. KEtawa guling-guling tu. A really mad thing patrick let me do to him. That's why i love him so much.


On the SUMO front , something has happened which has put my panties in a twist. More on that later. BUT check out at the potential Malaysian Sumo Team for the next SEA games. Malaysian Representative and Singapore's. AWIE, GURMIT, TERRY GALLYOT, RADHI KHALID, GAVIN YAP and Myself are training so hard that even the Japanese coaches are surprised because they thought us actors would just fake our way thru the whole process. Little do they know yang director film ni memang kaki dera orang. My on camera Sumo team at the end of this shoot can literally take on any local SUMO exponent in tornament. I am quite convinced. THIS MOVIE, like BULI BALIK is gonna rock like Elvis on Ice (or speed for that matter).

CILOK hit 2.6 MIllion. DAHSYAT KOME!

JANGAN LUPA - SPECIAL BLOG READER's PREVIEW of BULI BALIK instigated by the Malaysia's blog community is also going to place one day before the actual 26th Januari release of the film. It will take place on the 25th of January at TGV One Utama (OLD WING) at 10.00 am.The price of the ticket is rm10 still, but you will get to watch the movie one day earlier than the general release date and you get to watch with the cast of BULI BALIK.
SO try and make this event as it promises to be one of the KODOK-iest event to date.
Seperti titah seorang sultan...
Sultanmuzaffar said...
Info ttg Tayangan Komuniti Blog : Buli Balik ada di blog saya ya. http://sultanmuzaffar.bogspot.com
TQ

Power to the People.
Afdlin Shauki

Press Preview BULI BALIK!!!! A different animal from BPC!

let me tell you a little bit about myself and what i believe cinema can and should be.

I hate mediocrity. If i know i can do something well, i will move on to do other things. I challenge myself constantly.
I Love movies. I love to fantasize about the what ifs. But the type of movie which i really, truly adore are movies which are provokable, that disturbs ur emotional well being, that jogs u from ur calm and expect u to think and feel.

SEPET, GUBRA, La Haine (HATE), CINEMA PARADISO are very good examples of this. It is about important stories that needs to be told to shift people's paradigm.

WHAT is paradigm? Your knowledge + the things u have experienced in YOUR world during ur life, up till today. I don't pretend to know all, and i want every new experience i have to shift my paradigm because it means i am learning something new constantly. What i forsee as reality, you might see as something that cannot happen, because we have had different upbringings by people with differing sets of moral values..I come from a poor family but because i converse well in english people think GUA ANAK LORD (a lord's son), because in their world people who speak english well are all anak orang kaya. Another example would be, a slightly more matured married man with children might appreciate Cinderrela Man more than a single happy-go-lucky-never-had-to work-a-single-day-in-his-life-kind-of-fellow.

When directing a movie. I try to cater to two crowds - the simple minded folk and the slightly more sophisticated folks. This might not be the right thing to do and i'm sure a lot of independent directors (who shudder at the very mention of mainstream malay movies) despise the very idea of compromising their art for commercialism. I once tried to use that line on my car reposessor, needless to say.. I am now carless.

I believe in making movies that invite the urban and rural market to converge under one roof. That is why BULI and BAIK PUNYA CILOK have been doing fairly well in the cinemas i guess. Kalau nak gelak aje, dapat gelak. Tapi kalau pergi dengan minda terbuka dapat pengajaran.

At the press preview of BULI BALIK, i don't think i have ever experienced being this happy after a press preview EVER in my life. "WHY?"."Was it because everybody was happy about the movie and excited about it?" you may ask. The answer is yes and no.

Yes! because, besides seeing many teary-eyed people leaving the cinema, i managed to DEDICATE THIS FILM TO MY DEAR MOM (prior to it's showing), who is currently recovering from her bout with stroke and i believe, she is the greatest fighter in the world. She is my hero.

Yes! Secondly because, i had wanted BULI BALIK to be different, i wanted to go back to doing dramatic comedies in the vein of WOODY ALLEN, BARRY LEVINSON although i know my standard dengan diorang punya standard jauh lagi-la beb. SO straight away, my intention is for this film to be different from BPC, but not just for the sake of being different, but of the weight of the subject matter - BULLYING. I wanted people to have fun, but feel kacau after seeing the end of the film, to end it unconventionally. NOT LIKE A TYPICAL COMEDY ENDING.

My wife, in her blog has a very interesting perspective on this matter, which coincides with what i wanted to do, which is people should ask themseves why they feel the way they feel. Could it not have happened or were you not ready for it to happen. I saw many people who got it, but also a few others who were confused like little lambs coming out their mother's womb. Hee hee. surprised and confused with the movie's ending. I like that.


TO BLUQUBE : Everything i do in a film is based on realities of life that i have seen. Is there a logical explanation for a big gorilla to climb up the empire state building, being pumped full with bullets and then dropping to the ground AND NOBODY DIED EXCEPT FOR THE GORILLA (nobody else got squashed into a lempeng on one of the busiest streets in NEW YORK), then i think it is not too far fetched to believe that after the show has finished, the security guards who were formerly guarding the money and later carried the professor out of the hall - which meant that they had left the hall - and to assume that after sending the professor to the clinic, had probably gone off for a teh tarik or two or even deciding to catch the LIVERPOOL vs Tottenham game.


And Alhamdulillah... BAIK PUNYA CILOK telah setakat ini mengutip 2.46 miiion... congrats Tayangan UNGGUL!!!

AFDLIN

Check it out... BAIK PUNYA TRAINING!!

Seperti di janji, gambar gua training SUMO!!... sampai macam ni nak cari kelainan. Watch out for more updates. Heehee... kalau geli sorry ek.

Today i made my production crew do SUMO training... heehee it was a funny sight. All these wet, sweaty male bodies pushing up against each other... Oh and my cast AWIE, RADHI KHALID and GAVIN YAP was also a sight to be seen in their MAWASHI (cawat SUMO) heehee. Kitorang gelak pecah perut tapi training was harrrrrrd and tiring. Anyway, more SUMO training Pictures to come... TUNGGGUUUU...

More Power to all of you!
Thank you for supporting Malaysian movies.

Afdlin Shauki

Jangan Lupa BULI BALIK 26 JANUARY 2006

ALhamdulillah!!!...Baik Punya Cilok hit 2.0 MILLION RINGGIT!!!! walaupun Castello masuk.

This is it gang. U are the first to see it here....BULI BALIK FINAL POSTER

Gua janji pada diri gua the next time gua blog gua akan bagitahu u all tentang CILOK dah hit 2 million ringgit dan pada hari ni alhamdulillah lah gang... cita-cita kecil gua tercapai. WE MADE IT GANG!!!... And it seems we are still going strong dan pawagam masih lagi penuh!!...BETUL KE??... kalau betul alhamdulillah sekali lagi... ini semua kerana izinNya.

Tapi something even more exciting happened two days ago... which i think is bigger and more important than CILOK making 2 million and BULI BALIK opening on the 26th of January, My two beautiful Daughters went to school three days ago. Mia is in standard one and Anais is in play school. I was so sedih and scared to let them go and constantly felt the urge to check on my two cherubs all the time. Dah besar dah my two anak dara tu and i feel i have lost so much time with them from working like a khinzir, 22 hours a day to try give them a better life (life is unfair).



And before i forget, watch out for the conclusion of BULI... iaitu
BULI BALIK opening 26th January 2006, I personally feel that, this is my best work to date and i would love to share this experience with you.. If you guys wanna see anak melayu gemuk berjaya, u have to watch this film over and over again... cause this film i got share!!!! hee hee

BUT to show my appreciasi terhadap sokongan padu tahap gaban ditelan gojira yang korang berikan kepada BAIK PUNYA CILOK, gua ada some ...
FREE TICKETS to the press preview of BULI BALIK on the 12th of January 2006!!!! You will also be able to buy exclusive kodok merchandise, which is a t-shirt designed by CIP KODOK aka me and collect it on the day of the press preview. If you are interested in the free tickets and also interested to buy a t-shirt @ RM20 tak mengira saiz vertical ataupun horizontal silalah email kepada...
kodokgonewild@gmail.com
War-warkan kepada dunia gang.... the second kodok MOVIE EVENT OF THE YEAR.

Once again u guys rawk my world. KEEP ON SUPPORTING LOCAL MOVIES!!
One day the world will notice us!!

AFDLIN SHAUKI

PS. Two days ago i had my first official SUMO training... Macam nak tercabut peha gua!!! Nanti-nanti gua tunjuk gambar ok, macam sekampit beras perut gua, tapi macho siut!!! heehee.