Thursday 23 March 2006
On Thursday 23 March 2006, glitz and glamour will surround The Cathay. Invited guests to the Opening party have not been told of what to expect except that it will be an evening full of entertainment and surprises. Very Oscar-style, guests will walk down the Red Carpet.
Much thought has been put into designing the various elements for the Opening party. Many of the items on the programme have a special significance to The Cathay and its history.
Artistes & Performances
To set the mood, the entertainment begins before guests step into the new building. As guests register at reception, they’ll be entertained by the pleasing sounds of four musicians specially flown in from Australia for this occasion. In keeping with the movie-cinema history of The Cathay, these musicians will play movie themes from the decades.
What makes these musicians from Down Under special? Guests will have to lift their eyes upward to watch these musicians as they present their repertoire some 8 metres from the ground. Watch out for the violinist as he not only plays superbly, but manages some acrobatics in the air as well.
After registration, guests then enter the building via a tunnel where they will then be transported into the world of Cathay.
Guests will meet the ‘Stars’ and have their pictures taken with them. The satellite stages on level 1 and basement of the building will feature performances by Elvis, Austin Powers, Felicity Shagwell, Foxy Brown and more. Fans of film classics can look forward to seeing characters like Lawrence of Arabia, Audrey Hepburn of Breakfast at Tiffany’s fame and Marilyn Monroe. And around the corners or up on the pillars, catch glimpses of Batman, Catwoman, Joker and Spiderman.
Our MCs
Like the other elements on the programme for that evening, even our Master of Ceremony have a special connection to The Cathay. Remember Johari from Cathay’s production of Army Daze? Sheikh Haikel aka Johari takes centrestage as our main host MC for the evening. He is accompanied by his lovely wife, Annabelle Francis.
In the past, MCs played a big role at Cathay’s shows, contests and promotions. Larry Lai, Tan Swee Leong, Mike Ellery and Steven Lee were some of the regular MCs from the 50s and 60s who worked on shows with Cathay.
We are delighted that Larry Lai and Mike Ellery are joining us on Opening night as guest MCs.
Our Memento Book
A definite keepsake. This book, which we affectionately refer to as the Scrapbook, is a loving narrative of the Cathay history, the Loke family and Cathay building. You’ll find mementoes, such as movie tickets of the past where seat numbers were handwritten (often illegible), the various forms of film gauges, pictures, posters and even the good old kacang puteh paper holder.
And for our guests to the Opening receiving this memento, we have left a couple of blank pages in which they can fill the scrapbook with their fond memories of Cathay.
Our Guests of Honour
On who should be invited to officiate the Opening of The Cathay, we decided to depart from the norm. So instead of a single GOH of some importance, we have 10 Guests of Honour of great importance. All of them have a connection with Cathay one way or another. They represent our past when we had the old building and the future, with the new building.
Mr Naina Mohammed – Mr Naina Mohammed started work in the Cathay Building in September 1953 and after 13 years with us, he left to start his own cleaning business. Cathay Organisation became his first client and his company has been servicing The Cathay Group since.
Master Kelvin Kho - Our AGM for Projects, Mr Kho Beng Ee, has been in charge of the construction of this building from its inception till now. His son, Master Kevin Kho represents to us, the future generations whom we hope will grow to love Cathay as much as our parents and their parents did before.
Mr Tan Choo Beng – In 1951, Mr Tan Choo Beng left school and joined the Publicity department of Cathay Organisation. He retired in 1987. Cathay Organisation was his one and only employer.
Ms Lavinia Rajah – Ms Rajah comes from the law firm of Tan Rajah and Cheah. Three generations of TRC lawyers have served the Cathay Group. Ms Rajah now takes care of some Cathay matters and is the daughter of Senior Counsel, Mr Chelva Rajah who is Managing Partner of TRC and a Director of Cathay Building 2002 Pte Ltd, the developer of this building.
Encik Abdul Wahid bin Ahmad – Better known as Wahid Satay, he was a Cathay Keris star and entertained our local audience in the 50's through to the early 70’s with his comedic performances. His played roles in films like Bawang Puteh, Bawang Merah and Badang from the Cathay Keris Studios.
Mr Jackson Tai – Bankers play an important role in any business. To represent our bankers DBS, we have Mr Jackson Tai, CEO of the bank.
Mr Tan Howe Liang – Many would remember Mr Tan Howe Liang as the only Singaporean todate to have won an Olympic medal in the 1960 Games in Rome. Few know that he worked in the Cathay Building for the Cathay Organisation in the poster department until he left our service in 1978.
Ms Aya Tange – Like Master Kelvin Kho, Ms Aya Tange represents the future generations. Coming all the way from Japan, her grandfather is the late Professor Kenzo Tange and father Paul Tange, is our consultant architect.
Dato L Krishnan – One of the foremost pioneers of the Malay and Singapore film industry, Dato L Krishnan directed 19 films for the Cathay Keris studios out in Katong which included Dondang Sayang, Orang Minyak and Raden Mas.
Dato Maria Abdullah – Better known as Maria Menado, audiences swooned over her transformations from an ugly hunchback to ravishing beauty to a hideous vampire and back when she first appeared as Pontianak, a Cathay Keris film.
Ms Grace Chang – Also known Ge Lan, she has won many awards for films such as Mambo Girl, Wild Wild Rose and Air Hostess. Though Ms Grace Chang is unable to be with us at the Opening, Cathay remains close to her heart and she has sent along a personal message on a video which we will play at the Opening.
Other Prominent Guests
From Hong Kong
Mr Peter Chan, award winning Film Director & Producer, started producing movies in 1983 and turned to directing in 1991. His directorial debut, Alan and Eric: Between Hello and Goodbye, was named best film at the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild in 1991. It also won Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Eric Tsang. Peter has produced and directed over 30 movies including Comrades, Perhaps Love, He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father, Tom, Dick and Hairy, He's a Woman, She's a Man. Perhaps Love has been nominated Best Film in the Hong Kong Film Awards while Peter has been nominated for Best Director.
Critically acclaimed Film Director & Producer Mr Tsui Hark has made more than 50 films, directing 31 of them, producing blockbusters in every genre. Tsui Hark is the director with the second largest number of movies (5, all directed between 1979 to 1991) selected among the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures by the Hong Kong Film Awards in celebration of 100 years of movies, after Kar Wai Wong (6). His recent film Seven Swords has been nominated Best Film in the Hong Kong Film Awards. Tsui Hark is also a nominee for Best Director.
Ms Nansun Shi, Radio Personality & Film Producer is a key player in the Hong Kong film industry for over 30 years. Nansun is Executive Director of Film Workshop which she co-founded with her husband Tsui Hark in 1984.
Mr Christopher Doyle, award winning Cinematographer has been the director of photography for many top Asian filmmakers. He was invited to Hollywood by Gus van Sant to work on the remake of Hitchcock’s Psycho, followed by Barry Levinson’s Liberty Heights. His work for In the Mood For Love won him awards including the Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His mastery in cinematography can also be seen in Rabbit Proof Fence, The Quiet American and Zhang Yimou’s Hero. His latest works include Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Invisible Waves, James Ivory’s The White Countess and he is currently working on M. Night Shyamalan’s latest picture.
From Thailand
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Film Director & Producer. His debut movie, Fun Bar Karaoke was screened at many festivals after its première in Berlin. Last Life in The Universe which Pen-Ek directed, received rave reviews when it premiered in the UK and US.
Mr Suvit Thongrompo, Managing Director of SF City Co. Ltd, one of the largest film exhibitors & distributors in Thailand.
From the USA
Mr Michael J Werner, Film Producer & Distributor.
Laurie Woodrow, Film Distributor.
From the Philippines
Mr Marc Roces, Film Distributor.
From Japan
Mrs Kenzo Tange, wife of the late Professor Kenzo Tange.
Mr Paul Tange, consultant architect for The Cathay & son of the late Professor Kenzo Tange.
From Malaysia
Dato Mustaffa Maa’rof, former Film Director with Cathay Keris.
YBhg Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Group Managing Director of Boustead Holdings Berhad.
From Indonesia
Mr Dhamoo Punjabi, Chairman of MD Entertainment, one of the largest film productions, distributors and exhibitors in Indonesia.
The Cathay Leaders
The prelude to any movie since for as long as one can remember, is the cinema’s leader just before the screening of the movie proper. Rousing music usually accompanies the visuals.
Presented for the first time on Opening night, just before the opening movie, we showcase the Cathay Leaders past, present and unveil our latest leader. We’re quite sure that a couple of them will bring back fond memories.
The Opening Movie
The Opening movie has been kept secret even to the staff of Cathay. Only a handful, literally, know what the movie is being screened.
But here are some hints. The movie premiered in 1939, the year the Cathay Building opened. It was first screened in 35mm format and boasts a number of awards in the Oscars. For the Opening, the film has been revitalised and will be shown in digital format.
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