Here’s how an international bestseller got a grand Malaysian treatment.

IF all goes well, our unique Malaysian (slash Singaporean) accent will be all over a major Hollywood production.

And who should be speaking it on our behalf? None other than Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh in the upcoming Warner Brothers film, Crazy Rich Asians (CRA).

For those who haven’t cottoned on, CRA is the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan set in Singapore about, well, crazy rich Singaporeans. The film version is currently being filmed in … drum roll please …Malaysia.

“Why Malaysia?”

“Because the family home of the lead character, Nick Young, is palatial and we couldn’t find such a place in Singapore,” Adele Lim tells me.

And who is Adele?

She is the scriptwriter for the movie and the only Malaysian-born TV writer in Hollywood. I couldn’t be prouder.

Why am I proud?

Because Adele used to write for me. Or more specifically, she wrote a column called Life! in Section 2 (now Star2) as a teenager and undergraduate, when I was the editor.

The young woman I knew more than 20 years ago has certainly grown up and very nicely too.

She was our youngest columnist and even at that age, she had a gift with words. After she graduated, she headed for Hollywood to get into TV work.

She got her break as a writer’s assistant, which is an entry-level position, on Xena Warrior Princess and went on to work her way up the very competitive pecking order of TV writing and production. (Google her to find out more of her amazing success story.)

At 42, she is now a bona fide Hollywood TV writer of 16 years. CRA is her first feature film and it was Jon Chu, the director, who got her on board.

“I had developed a TV show with Jon. Although that didn’t materialise, we had a good working experience,” says Adele.

“A year ago, he called me asking if I had read the book, Crazy Rich Asians. I had heard about it because my mum and aunties had also urged me to read it.

“After Jon’s call, I finally read it and understood why they liked it so much.”

CRA is about American-born Rachel Chu following her boyfriend Nick, an NYU history professor, to Singapore to attend his best friend’s wedding, only to find that Nick’s family is fabulously rich, something he failed to tell her.

And as the blurb on the book puts it, “Her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives and scheming social climbers”, not to mention Nick’s formidable and domineering mother, Eleanor.

“It’s a joyful, fun story and the culture, specifically of the Chinese in South-East Asia, appealed to me,” says Adele.

Funnily enough, she says Chu, an American-born Chinese with several films under his belt, didn’t even know she was from Malaysia. “I might have mentioned it but he didn’t remember.”

Chu says in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he knew the producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson from Color Force (same company that did the Hunger Games series) and asked for the script.

He read it, loved it and “knew in my heart I had to do it.”

“Obviously, while you’re reading a script you’re going, ‘How are they going to translate this?’… and I knew we could bring it to another level,” he says.

Enter Adele.

Chu says Adele came in and “did an amazing job adding all the extra touches.”

“As a woman, she has a very strong (connection) with the female characters Rachel and Eleanor and all these different philosophies of life and family and their lives colliding into one intersection. She brought on all these other elements which is really great.”

Just as Chu could relate to the book because “all the struggles I’ve experienced are in this book in a fun way”, so too Adele.

“I felt I had something to offer as I could draw loose parallels. My family isn’t crazy rich but I have an extended family of aunties who are deeply concerned about their children and have a lot of opinions.”

As for the strong thread of wealth and materialism in the plot, Adele says while the western concept of materialism can be superficial, for Asians, who are not shy about talking about wealth: “It shows you are trying hard and it’s a way to show love, how you take care of family.”

CRA also appealed to Adele for being different from the kind of writing by and about Asians.

“There is a lot of Asian literature which is super serious – about escaping the Cultural Revolution, the hard life and eating bitterness every day,” she says.

And while she readily acknowledges these are valid, amazing stories that should be told, they aren’t what she can relate to.

Kwan’s book is just the opposite; Adele describes it as “a very vibrant and affectionate, laugh-at-ourselves portrait” of overseas Chinese in this corner of the world.

Her script reflects the society and culture as we know it and is peppered with Malay, Hokkien and Cantonese terms and references.

Rachel is played by American-Chinese TV actress Constance Wu of Fresh off the Boat fame.

Playing Nick is Henry Golding who is of British and Iban descent.

Adele says Chu auditioned many actors before deciding on the Singapore-based TV travel show host.

“Jon saw a video of Henry doing his travel shows and he was just so charming and engaging. We wanted girls to look at him and say ‘I want him for my boyfriend’.”

Yeoh plays Eleanor, a role Adele and I both agree is made for our Tan Sri.

“She embodies the role as Eleanor is regal and someone you don’t mess with. She switches between English and Cantonese so it’s a role that is perfect for Michelle,” says Adele.

And that’s why I say we can finally enjoy the full measure of Yeoh’s Malaysian accent in a Hollywood movie. Best!

Another cool factor which Malaysians and Singaporeans will appreciate is hearing Hokkien in a Hollywood movie, a fact that tickles Adele as she thinks that’s a first.

What tickles me is how KL is standing in for Singapore and even New York City, although some shooting will take place down south – I suppose, they will need a couple of establishing shots of the Lion City’s skyline.

For all these reasons, I am rooting for Crazy Rich Asians, the first major Hollywood movie with an all-Asian cast since Joy Luck Club in 1993 and Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005, written by a Malaysian, starring a Malaysian (and a half) and filmed in Malaysia.

So here’s hoping Crazy Rich Asians’ over-the-top, funny but with heart plot does crazy well with critics and audiences when it’s released next year.

Daichi Miura is a truly gifted star. Since making his debut at 9, the singer and dancer has been known as the Japanese Michael Jackson. With his long career and outstanding performance skills, the 29-year-old artist is reaching the top of the showbiz world.

Also a composer, songwriter and concert director, Miura got off to a flying start this year with his first solo concert at the Yoyogi 1st Gymnasium in Tokyo in January. The event was a great success, drawing an audience of about 12,000, including famous musicians and entertainers, some of them from Johnny & Associates.

The concert proved Miura’s music is appreciated not only by his fans, but also by popular artists today.

A few days later, his single titled “Excite” topped the Oricon weekly chart for the first time. It is the theme song for the tokusatsu superhero drama “Kamen Rider Ex-Aid,” which is currently being broadcast.

“I am thankful for people’s support for me,” Miura said. “I was also happy that my piece became the first theme song in the Kamen Rider series to have topped the chart.”

For the Okinawa Prefecture native, Kamen Rider is special because he enjoyed dancing to a theme song from the series in his kindergarten days, which eventually led to him going to dance school.

It took 20 years for him to reach the top place in the chart. “Continuing to do one thing is perhaps Daichi Miura’s own style,” he said.

Miura made his CD debut in 1997 as the main vocalist and youngest member of the seven-member group Folder. He came into the spotlight for his rich voice and natural dance sense, reminding many of Michael Jackson when he was the youngest member of the Jackson 5.

“I was so young at that time that I didn’t understand my work well,” Miura said. “I simply liked singing and dancing. I’ve just continued doing it until today.”

A young Miura took a break from his showbiz activities right after entering junior high school because of his voice breaking. He joined a volleyball club and enjoyed being an ordinary junior high school student.

When he was in his third year, his voice had almost stabilized, taking him back to a life centred on singing and dancing.

The hiatus hadn’t shaken Miura’s childhood determination for a life as a professional singer and dancer, and he made his solo debut at 17 in 2005.

Miura’s music with authentic R&B sounds shows a clear difference from Japanese pop music, which is easy to understand and aims to sell well. Even so, his quality music has been greatly acknowledged in the music industry, and deserves appreciation from a much wider range of people.

Drawing a line

“I want to enjoy music with more people,” Miura said. “However, more importantly, I’ve been working while always telling myself I should be able to do better.

“Also, what is music ‘that is easy to understand’? Moreover, if I applied some music theory and tried to find out how to sell well, I would mistake the means for the end. I definitely want to put music first. In the end, if it sells well, that’s ideal.”

Miura said his approach to music has become more straightforward. This probably explains why more and more artists appreciate his style.

His new album “Hit,” released in March by Avex, also features Soil & “Pimp” Sessions, a jazz band that has collaborated with such talented musicians as Ringo Sheena and Miho Fukuhara.

Miura had the band in mind for his album because he had been enthralled by its collaboration with Fukuhara. He invited the band to work with him, thinking his request may be declined.

To his surprise, the band quickly accepted his offer, while also pleasing him by saying the group had been listening to his music since he was a Folder member.

“I was so happy to hear that,” Miura said. “There were people out there watching what I’ve been doing, and now we are all getting together. I realise how important it is to keep at it.”

Listening to the 12-song album, you will probably start moving to his groovy singing with a good sense of rhythm. His marvelous improvised dance to the first song “Darkest Before Dawn” can be seen in a promotional video on the internet.

“Hit” may sound paradoxical, as Miura has been single-mindedly pursuing good music without aiming to make a hit, but the title is impressive.

“I think it’s fun to talk big [by calling my new album ‘Hit’],” Miura said. “But I may have to say, ‘Sorry, ‘Hit’ wasn’t a hit’ in the end.”

Miura also chose the name because the album is filled with music that “hit” him, and he hopes that his songs can do the same to someone’s heart.

“Hit” is also the acronym for “Hang In There,” the title of the last song on the album.

Miura said the expression is meant not only for himself, but also for others. “There are many things that don’t go the way we want,” he said. “I hope my music encourages people to hang in there and find something new.”

Amid reports of several breakups of Hollywood couples, Taylor Swift has found new love in a dashing British actor.

According to The Sun, the pop star and 26-year-old Joe Alwyn have been lovey-dovey for the past several months. To bypass unruly paparazzi spies, Swift, who has rented a place near her beau’s home in London, wears hats and wigs while walking with him.

“Taylor and Joe are the real deal, this is a very serious relationship,” one insider told the news site. “But after what happened with Tom Hiddleston (Swift’s ex-boyfriend), they were determined to keep it quiet.”

Aside from maintaining her romance with Alwyn under wraps, Swift flies on private jets whenever she travels, a lesson she learned with Tom Hiddleston last year.

“Taylor has flown in via private jets and her security has made it a military-like mission to prevent her from being seen,” the source divulged.

Although not as famous as his new flame, Alwyn appeared in “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and is in the forthcoming movie “The Favourite” alongside Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.

Despite mounting international stardom for her chart-topping songs, Swift, 27, has dated several men and broke up with them. Aside from Hiddleston, Swift shared a “love story” with Calvin Harris, Harry Styles, Joe Jonas and Conor Kennedy.

For the meantime, Swifties (Swift’s fans) could only hope that her new affair will not lead to another breakup song soon.