Wooing 'Wolverine' for death march movie

KOTA KINABALU: Australian Hugh Jackman (pic), who stars as Wolver­ine in the X-Men movies, is being wooed for a movie on a tragic chapter in Sabah’s World War II history.

The movie, based on the infamous Sandakan Death March, will be directed by Roger Christian of Star Wars’ fame.

Based on a collaboration between the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) and Christian, the movie will focus on the death march which saw hundreds of Australian and British prisoners of war being forced by the Japanese army to trek 140km from Sandakan to Ranau at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu.

Only six prisoners survived the ordeal and managed to escape their captors.

Finas chairman Datuk Affendi Hamdan said they were awaiting a response from Jackman who, along with other actors and actresses, were going through the movie script.

“The movie is being targeted for completion within a year. It is expected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016,” he said after hosting a Hari Raya open house at Rafflesia Chicken Hut restaurant in Karamunsing Complex here.

Affendi said the movie project was aimed as a springboard for aspiring Malaysian filmmakers.

Thus, he said they were seeking the participation of university students from relevant fields.

“This way, we can speed up the process of making Malaysian movies reach world standard,” he added.

Affendi said the Sandakan Death March movie project was made possible with a US$5mil (RM16mil) grant presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.