Producer of M’sia Film Threatens to Sue YouTuber Who Posted a Bad Review of the Film

By
Jadee Ng
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When we work really hard on something, it’s natural to desire praise and recognition from others for it when we release it into the world.

If you’re in the creative industry, however, it’s virtually impossible to guarantee how everyone feels about your work.

I mean, take it from the producers of Batgirl, who decided to cancel the release of the film following poor audience reviews during test screenings.

If some people aren’t receptive to your work, you’d either ignore it or cry a little, wipe off the tears, and move on to the next project.

Most filmmakers seem to understand this notion, except one, who decided to take legal action against a YouTuber for his brutally honest review of her film.

YouTuber Tweets his Negative Review of the Film

Saraleana Nattaya Azmi, the film producer of the Malaysian comedy movie was fit to be tied when she found out what YouTuber ZhafVlog had wrote about her film on Twitter.

To translate the gist of Tweet, he said he found the movie to not only lack a coherent plot, but also humour, and that it was a disgrace to the people of Negeri Sembilan.

He added that the poster initially looked really good but the movie was terrible in his opinion. Perhaps a reason adding to his detest for the film, Zhafvlog stated that the movie had pornographic elements and that he was very disappointed that nobody in the filmmaking process bothered to call out the improprieties. Though, it’s to be noted that he did not specify how explicit the elements he was referring to were.

All in all, he gave the movie a rating of “5/5 Infinity Shit”, the lowest score on a rating system he devised for all his film reviews.

If you couldn’t tell by now, this man does not do any form of paid reviews. He regularly posts his honest film reviews on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, whether they’re good or bad.

“Gadis Jolobu” Producer Challenges His Ability to Be a Film Reviewer

The thing about reviews is that they’re supposed to reflect what the viewer thinks about the film, not how its maker clearly feels about it.

But this logic went way over the producer’s head as she expressed her infuriation at the review, and her intention to sue the man.

“I don’t know who this YouTuber is. Is there any merit in criticising the film using uncivilised language like this? The method is wrong because what is written is slander. If you want to criticise, let it not be based on personal attacks.” she said.

“If this YouTuber is a worthy film critic and has film knowledge, I might consider the criticism given. However, his language use is not as clever as film critics. So, Me and CL Hor also have the rights to protect ourselves and the art we make! Just wait for the summon letter!” she added.

According to a report from BH Online, Saraleana who is also the founder of Zebra Studio, has stated that her people have spoken with lawmakers to take legal action against the YouTuber.

These days, even being too honest can be a crime, eh?

The Movie’s Poster Also Came Under Scrutiny for Alleged Plagiarism

Earlier, some netizens pointed out that the movie poster bears a striking resemblance to the official poster of Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, a 2016 Hollywood film starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Zac Efron, Beanie Feldstein, and more.

A few pointed out on social media that they both had three leads facing each other in the poster, against a sky backdrop, as well as some sort of wood element.

When asked about it, producer Saraleana Nattaya Azmi denied the allegations and stated, “If there is a similarity, it is unintentional. At the moment, we have not been contacted by anybody about plagiarism.”

She also added that the public should not keep comparing and accusing filmmakers of plagiarism, stressing that there were many other instances where other local films produced similar posters but they had never been sued for copyright infringement either.

Here is a side by side comparison of the two posters, and well, you can be the judge.

Image: IMDB

Gadis Jolobu Producers: “Hey, can I copy your homework?“

Neighbours 2 Producers: “Sure just change it up a bit so it doesn’t look obvious you copied.”

Gadis Jolobu Producers: “Ok.“

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Featured Image: IMDB, Twitter (@zhafvlog)

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Jadee Ng
Email: [email protected]