Darlene Lieblich Tipton braves negative backlash in effort to “do the right thing”
LOS ANGELES, USA, 5 March 2019 – Veteran Hollywood executive Darlene Lieblich
Tipton is driven by the fact that the friends and families of the 239 passengers and crew
on-board MH370 that went missing on March 8, 2014 “need and deserve closure”.
With never-before seen MH370 pics and video taken after the plane disappeared,
Tipton has launched headfirst into MALAYSIA 370 – a feature film project & “dedicated to
the heroic actions of the 239 passengers and crew on board Malaysia Airlines #370″.
Crowd-funding activities were activated on October 1, 2018 with Tipton investing most
of her personal funds into the production.”So far I have raised over RM 5.6 million (USD 1.4 million) – RM 2 million (USD 500,000) from my retirement savings and the rest from friends, family, and supporters of my last movie,” Tipton said, adding that most of the funds raised so far were from people who have worked with her personally in Hollywood.
Tipton said, “The minimum production budget is RM30 million (USD 7.5 million), with a maximum budget of USD 30 million.” Tipton offered several unique perks to crowd-fund the project. Her preference for financial support is to have users download the movie’s
hauntingly beautiful theme song, “Remember Me”. The song is a tender message from
a passenger on MH370 to bring comfort and closure to a loved one left behind. This
song has been recorded in English, Mandarin, Greek, Spanish and Russian.
Tipton would also like to have a version recorded in Bahasa Melayu recorded under a paid
contract in Los Angeles with a full orchestra. Acknowledging the presence of naysayers and trolls, she said the negative media reports used details that sometimes have put a 180 degree spin on what she actually said. “I was not given the opportunity to correct the inaccuracies, and once something is on the Internet it becomes a lasting piece of incorrect data.”
Once the financial target is achieved, Tipton wanted to give the first and full priority to
the talent and crew – above and below the line production positions – who have been
banned from China. The list includes Oscar-winning film director Martin Scorsese, Brad
Pitt, Sharon Stone, Harrison Ford and musical stars like Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and
Bjork.
“Pre-production will begin as soon as possible, depending on when the crowd-fund
goals are met. Updates will be posted and LIVE streaming will come from each set.
Interviews with talent and crew (will) be uploaded as they happen.” Tipton said, citing
Culver Studios as her preferred shooting location. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently
bought the historic studio, which is rich with Hollywood history as the birthplace of
countless movies ranging from ‘Gone with the Wind’, ‘Citizen Kane’ to ‘The Matrix’.
“There is no major Hollywood studio that will let us shoot on their lot.Shooting the
movie at an indie production facility like Amazon’s Culver Studios would be a dream
come true,” Tipton concluded.
Crowdfunding efforts thus far are a multi-pronged approach of donations, sale of
memorial coins and theme song downloads. Tipton said, funds received from the sale,
rental, and distribution of ‘MALAYSIA 370’ will be allocated to the 239 families affected.The goal is to be able to give each family RM400,000 (USD 100,000) for a total output of RM 95.6 million (USD23,900,000).
Darlene Lieblich Tipton’s experience in the film industry spans over four decades, 25
years and her last days were spent as vice president of standards and practices for the
Fox Cable Networks Group. She was also the Chairman of the Emmys Awards, an American
award that recognized excellence in the television industry equivalent to the Academy
(for film), the Tony (for theatre) and the Grammy (for music) from 2000 to 2005.
