The Planning of Jibam The Movie

Part 2

"Datang jumpa aku dekat Gazebo malam ni. Jumpa producer yang nak buat wayang dengan cerita aku. Ahmad Fauzi pun ada, yang buat wayang Kolej 56 tu" reads the SMS from.

I was at that time.... dead tired after a long day running last minute errands to tighten my upcoming wedding day and was having a high fever. I turned to Poncho and told him I can't push myself anymore, the clock showed it was 10ish at night.

We haven't reached home since 7am! After a short yawning dinner at Bangsar Village and a long pause in the car, I told Poncho, 'if we don't go for this one, it's going to disappoint him.............. and us.'

Ahmad Fauzi?.... Hmmm.... Camana pulak dia minat cerita Jibam? Kolej 56, Oh Zeti, totally different wavelength... hmmmm?.

Reached there.

Saw an elderly man from afar, you can tell from the first glance that he's in the media circle. Has a pair of eyes that looks they can last nights without sleep, tired but continuously batting-in ideas.

Ahmad Fauzi was clad in a thick black velvet blazer accompanied by his new wife who's beaming with pride for the newly found project.

Ujang duduk tersengih macam biasa.

The crowd was obviously puzzled to see us.

"Aku nak diaorang tulis pasal wayang ni dalam blog diaorang."

We introduced ourselves to everyone. The elderly man offered his biz card. 'Ruslie Sophian - Jaja Production Executive Producer'.

We told them the truth, that we are actually no one, just.... a fan and a friend of Ujang.

They said it is ok.

Ujang: Eman Manan, Khatijah Tan fuih ramai lagi nanti berlakon cerita niiii.

I turned to Ruslie and Fauzi and could not hold my curiosity anymore.

Me: Siapa punya idea sebenarnya...

Ruslie: I tried seeing a few people and just pass them the book. You can just finish it in maximum two days... kan? Once you read it, you can't stop. Baca Alfred Hitchcock pun tak saspen macam tu sekali. It was two years ago I started thinking about who should direct it.

Poncho smiled at me. Guess we knew who's the one who ignited everything.

I felt relieved, my flu terus sembuh. Ujang duk sebok lukis katak.

Ruslie: You know Ahmad Fauzi's background. He won't want to get into this if he doesn't believe in it. He can't lose out again. After he read the book, he said to me... Ruslie... this is going to be the Harry Potter of Malaysia.

Kitaorang cuma kena tukar the tempat scene dia je. Kitaorang nak shoot dekat Pasir Panjang, Trengganu. Tempat tu betul-betul best kept secret, untouched, beauuuuutiful yang kita boleh promote macam Lord of Ring buat untuk New Zealand.

We have met the Trengganu people, they are willing to give us support. Next year Visit Trengganu year pulak tu.

Dalam menangis, ada ketawa, dalam marah ada sayang, dalam kegelapan tu tetap nampak harapan. Jibam is that deep. - Ruslie Sophian.

Poncho had an idea on how the teaser poster should be. Fauzi and Ujang seemed to like it very much.

But, in my head, I was thinking:

* Jibam IS a gripping novel, but they don't sell it in MPH, Times Bookstore, Borders, Popular.
* Creative Enterprise's produce never get it to the urban book counters, where are they?
* How many people knows Ujang and still appreciate his work?
* Kalau nak buat wayang pasal Trengganu, kat Trengganu takde panggung wayang.
* Is Creative Enterprise going to relaunch Jibam novel or do a co-promo with the movie?
* This movie will touch the viewers outside the urban areas too, but the cinemas now are concentrated in big cities.
* Can they capture the urban and non Malay viewers and make it another Cicakman breakthrough?
* Who on earth could play the role of Jibam, the Down Syndrome kid flawlessly?
* Could all this make things work the other way round? Jibam The Movie promotes Ujang and his novels?