ITB Berlin News #3

CULTURE
© 2019 Rob Allyn / STB
Jonathan Rhys
Meyers in the
upcoming
White Rajah
White Rajah brought
back to life
The legendary “founding father” of Sarawak set
to hit the big screen in new Hollywood extravaganza
For many in the western world, the name
Sir James Brooke has little meaning. That’s
about to change, as a new Hollywood
blockbuster, filmed at the end of 2019, and
in post-production in early 2020, will soon
be hitting the world’s screens.
The movie, with the working
title “White Rajah”, tells the
story of how this former
British soldier, who sailed
to Borneo in 1839 in search
of adventure and fortune,
came to be known as the
White Rajah of Sarawak,
after helping the Sultan
of Brunei crush a pirate
rebellion.
The new film was produced
by Rob Allyn, directed
by Michael Haussman
and stars Jonathan Rhys
Meyers in the role of the
Rajah. Rhys Meyers is best
known for his roles in Match
Point, Mission: Impossible
III, and Tudors and Vikings.
Actor Dominic Monaghan,
who played the hobbit
Merry in the Lord of the
Rings trilogy, takes the
role of Colonel Arthur
Crookshank, Brooke’s
cousin and comrade-inarms.
The production was made
in cooperation with the
Brooke Heritage Trust,
supported with Malaysia’s
federal FIMI film rebate -
the first time the rebate has
been used to make a major
movie outside of Peninsular
Malaysia. Sarawak’s
Minister of Tourism, Arts,
Culture, Youth and Sports,
Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman
Hamzah, has placed his
support behind the project,
saying he felt that the
fact the film showcases
many beautiful locations
in the state will arouse
great interest in travel to
Sarawak.
Shooting took place in the
rustic town of Siniawan,
the Fairy and Wind Caves in
Bau, Sarawak, the Sarawak
Cultural Village and Borneo
744.
Producer Rob Allyn says
he hopes his new film will
be ready in time to screen
at the 2020 Cannes Film
Festival in May
WHITE
RAJAH EPIC
ORIGINALLY
PLANNED
BY ERROL
FLYNN IN
1936
The successful filming of
this Hollywood epic comes
around 84 years after a first –
unsuccessful – bid to make a
film about the White Rajah, by
none other than Errol Flynn,
who was also to star in the film.
The film never came to fruition,
due to legal wrangling between
the would-be producers,
Warner Brothers, and Lady
Sylvia Brooke, the then Ranee
(Queen) of Sarawak over
“historical accuracy”.
8 SMART GUIDE www.sarawaktourism.com