Meet the Men in White

Men in Black, meet the Men in White. The former is a Hollywood classic comedy while the latter is a film in production from Singaporean horror director Kelvin Tong. Due for release this summer, it tells the story of a group of Singaporeans who die and return as ghosts. The film is billed as a horror-comedy, with lots of horror-themed slapstick. But industry-watchers say there’s risk in naming a project after a Hollywood hit. First, the title doesn’t quite fit: some of the ghosts are female. And second, does he really want to invite comparison? The 1997 movie Men in Black was written by successful comedian Ed Solomon (John Cleese’s son-in-law), and had a budget of US$90 million.
          Singapore’s Men in White was written by Tong himself and has a budget of just half a million US dollars. The financiers of Tong’s horror movie may well have shivers up their spines.