Patrick Frater
“We 12,” a movie featuring the entire group of 12 Mirror Canto-pop stars is part of the expanding production slate of Makerville, the talent and production arm of Hong Kong telecoms and TV group PCCW.
The development is paralleled by an expansion of the production operations of Viu, PCCW’s multi-territory video streamer which recently confirmed its profitability.
Makerville is the talent agency behind Mirror, which was created in 2018 through the “Good Night Show – Kingmaker” talent show on ViuTV, a PCCW terrestrial channel. And it was able to put all the band members on stage Wednesday at a promotional event within the FilMart rights market in Hong Kong.
Few details of the “We 12” film have yet been disclosed other than its screenwriter Bobo Cheung, director Berry Ho and producer George King. Sources close to PCCW say that it is being fully-financed by the group and could be completed by the end of the year.
Makerville recently debuted its first feature film Soi Cheang’s “Mad Fate” in a special section of last month’s Berlin Film Festival. With Mirror member Lokman Yeung in a leading role, it is set as one of two opening films at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and for local commercial release next month.
Makerville is also working on New York-set drama “My Heavenly City,” starring star Vivian Sung and Mirror member Keung To in tandem with MM2 Entertainment, and 20-episode series “A Perfect Gentleman.”
Viu, which operates in 16 territories in Asia, the Middle East and South Africa, has steadily been expanding its original production activity. It confirmed a slate of more than 25 Viu-branded series for 2023, but divulged few details of newest shows.
These previously announced include “Taxi Driver 2,” “Delivery Man” and “The Secret Romantic Guesthouse,” which have all already launched on the platform. Viu also debuted four “Married Ex-Boyfriend” from Indonesia, “The House on Autumn Hill” (Malaysia), “Return Man” (Thailand) and the third season of “UBettina Wethu” from South Africa.
“Taxi Driver 2” star Lee Je Hoon was also on hand in Hong Kong at the PCCW event. The show has been the most watched in terms of hours consumed compared to all titles available at that time simultaneously in both Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Africa on Viu, in the first ten days of its availability.
Lee has previously announced a tour of Southeast Asia at fan events called “Lee Je-hoon’s Vacation Fan Meet.” Viu says that it is now expanding such meet and greet events into a new business initiative called Viu Scream Dates.
Lee will travel to the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore. In the next quarter, Viu is slated to bring Lee Seung-gi to Singapore and Indonesia and other markets. Viu Scream Dates will also provide a platform for the stars of its Viu Original local series, enabling them to further engage with fans in the region.
“We see the pent-up demand for more live events and experiences post the pandemic from our Viu-ers. We aim to further enhance the value to our Viu-ers by extending our brand to related live experiences and creating exclusive digital content around these events that will bring even more enjoyment to fans,” said Janice Lee, CEO of Viu and MD of PCCW Media Group.