Sabah-based former MMA fighter Ann Osman will make her feature film debut in supernatural action-noir, Best Served Cold for writer/director Aaron Cowan.
Singapore-based 108 Media reportedly secured the backing required to develop the project, which is inspired by Jill Girardi’s short story, “Don’t Eat The Rice”, as well as characters in her October 2018 Buku Fixi novel publication, “Hantu Macabre.
As Patrick Frater at Variety reports, Osman will take on the role of “Suzanna Sim, an ex-MMA fighter turned private detective who uses her fists and her knowledge of Southeast Asian black magic, while working with a Malaysian mythical creature, to find a rich new client’s missing husband”.
Osman, best known as Athena as she blazed a trail for female posterity in the sport of MMA in , announced her retirement from the ring last month, leaving a 5-4 Flyweight record in her wake since her career took off in October 2013.
Cowan has previously worked among the creative units, serving on Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Andrew Adamson’s The Chronicles Of Narnia installments, Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel, and Disney+ hit series, The Mandalorian.
The report also states that Base FX’s Kuala Lumpur branch will also be involved in production; The company, which extends itself in Los Angeles and several locations in China, and shares credits among the likes of studios such as Marvel, Lucasfilm, Disney and Legendary, will also be involved.
Best Served Cold hails from 108 Media and Malaysia’s Siung Films, and is expected to be the first to benefit from a new bilateral co-production treaty between the two countries ahead of Malaysia-Singapore Treaty discussions next month.
Read more at Variety.