SINGAPORE – Another year, another Jack Neo Chinese New Year (CNY) movie.
The 64-year-old local director will begin filming AI Strives To Win in early October, with the tentative movie title playing on the name of the Hokkien hit song Ai Pia Jia Eh Yia (Strives To Win).
Lianhe Zaobao reported on Sept 12 that the movie centres on the theme of artificial intelligence (AI) and the daily lives of Singaporeans. It stars local actors Henry Thia, Patricia Mok and Aileen Tan.
Thia, 72, and Mok, 52, were in Neo’s 2024 CNY film, Money No Enough 3. Tan, 57, acted in Neo’s nostalgic 2016 films Long Long Time Ago and Long Long Time Ago 2.
Money No Enough 3 grossed more than $4.88 million in Singapore and over RM20 million (S$6 million) in Malaysia.
Artistes from the e-commerce live-stream platform Star Live, such as Terence Cao and Collin Chee, will also appear in AI Strives To Win. Star Live is a collaboration between Neo and Cao.
Neo will have a cameo in the film, but his main focus is on directing.
Home-grown actor Mark Lee, who is a regular collaborator of Neo’s, will not be involved in the movie.
Lee, 55, recently told the Malaysian media that he will be investing in a debut CNY film by a group of Malaysian YouTubers called Dissy. He will not be acting in any CNY movies for 2025, as he wants to spend more time with his family during the festival instead of promoting a film.
Neo told Zaobao on Sept 10 that closed-door auditions for his new film are under way, adding that the shooting period is very tight, as the first day of CNY falls on Jan 29 in 2025.
According to Zaobao, the budget for AI Strives To Win could be around $2.4 million. The production team is currently looking for investors, while discussions for a movie distributor are ongoing.
