The Sleeping Dictionary — 25 years later

AROUND the end of January 2000, I received a call from Los Angeles very late at night.

On the other end of the phone was my good friend Chandran Rutnam, who had enquired about the possibility of shooting a historical drama motion picture for a Hollywood studio feature set in the 1930s.

The studio was Fine Line Features, owned by New Line, who were shooting a movie called ‘Lord of the Rings’ down in New Zealand at the time.

They were looking for certain unique locations, and also needed to know about weather forecasts, as well as the availability of skilled film crew and local casts.

Were there sufficient hotel accommodations, film equipment as well as transport and catering facilities?

Most vital of all, how complicated would it be to apply for government filming permits, and to obtain professional visas, as well as scouting for and securing the locations that we wanted and their accessibility.

Having worked previously in 1987 with Rutnam on ‘Farewell to the King’, I knew that it would not be easy to secure such a major Hollywood shoot as I was certain they were also looking at other possible countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia (Ipoh/ Penang), the Philippines and Indonesia.

It took me and a small team, which had included my long-time associate Adrian Cornelius, a few weeks to gather all the data and information, as well as buying up ‘classified’ topographical survey maps, guide-books, and a myriad visits to many government agencies and departments – before we were able to present our case to the producers and director.

By then, we had gone out by four-wheel drive vehicles off-grid and off-roads (do remember that in those days we did not have GPS) to scout for suitable locations as described down to the last detail on the script and screenplay, with side-notes as to their accessibility.

Once it was announced that we had successfully secured the greenlight from the film studio, it was full steam ahead and like mad dogs in the midday sun, we were up and going.

Our families did not see much of our faces in the following eight or nine months.

The movie ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’ was shot entirely in Sarawak, in and around Kuching, with some time spent in Batang Ai.

Between June and November 2000, more than 17 various film sets were specially constructed for the film.

At one point, we had over 600 extras for a few scenes.

We even constructed a longhouse!

The movie was released direct-to-video, where it was awarded the first-time ever DVD Award (for direct-to-DVD films only) for ‘Best Actor’ in 2003, through Bob Hoskins.

A few countries, including parts of Europe and the Americas, received theatrical releases, except Malaysia and Singapore where it was never screened for many reasons.

In later years, it was screened on television here, and continues to be available on streaming.

This year marks its 25th anniversary since its international release.

The main cast had included top British actors: Bob Hoskins, famous for ‘The Long Good Friday’ in 1980 and had won Golden Globe and BAFTA for ‘Mona Lisa’ in 1986; Brenda Blethyn, a BAFTA Award winner in 1996’s Secrets & Lies’; Hugh Dancy, who later won acclaim for ‘Blackhawk Down’, and the TV series ‘Hannibal’; and Emily Mortimer, famed for over 85 roles in film and TV, including the acclaimed ‘The Newsroom’ (2012-2014).

Playing the role of Selima, the main character was a young 19-year old emerging actress by the name of Jessica Alba, who had just finished shooting James Cameron’s first series for Fox TV called ‘Dark Angel’.

I can still remember her sitting on the floor in my production office at the Kuching Hilton, as she spoke over a long-distance call to Los Angeles checking with her agent on the reviews of the pilot episode when it had screened on Oct 3, 2000.

She exclaimed with a child-like glee over the rave reviews that she had received for her starring role as Max Guevera.

Supporting actors of ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’ were Noah Taylor, Eugene Salleh and Junix Inocian.

A number of locals also made their names in this international production: K.K. Moggie, Michael Jessing Langgi, Mano Maniam and Cicilia Richard.

Where are they now? What has happened to their careers 25 years down the road?

Hoskins passed away in London on April 29, 2014, due to pneumonia. He was 71.

Inocian, a versatile Filipino actor and comedian who gained recognition for his work in over 60 productions including ‘Sweeny Todd’, ‘Man of La Mancha’ and ‘Miss Saigon’, passed away at age 64, in London.

Mano Maniam was a celebrated actor, director and educator who gained fame as Uncle Chan in the popular 1990s Malaysian sitcom ‘Kopitiam’, and had roles in ‘Anna and the King’ (1999) and ‘Marco Polo’. He passed away on May 31, 2025, at age 79.

Having a career spanning five decades, Blethyn has earned two Academy Award nominations, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA.

In 2011, she started her 14-year successful role as the iconic DCI Vera Stanhope in the TV series ‘Vera’.

This March 11, her latest TV series, an eight-part ‘A Woman of Substance’ will premiere on Channel 4 in the UK.

Emmy-nominated Dancy is most famous for his role as criminal profiler, Will Graham, in the NBC series Hannibal (2013-2015). He rose to prominence after ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’, having taken roles in ‘Black Hawk Down’ (2001), ‘Ella Enchanted’ (2004) and more recently ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ (2022). He is married to actress Claire Danes.

Eugene (aka Rahman Salleh) played ‘Belansai’, the Iban warrior in ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’.

He is known for his work in film and also in fitness – in the latter role, as head coach at ‘Natural Bodies’, a coaching service focused on holistic health and functional fitness.

Last November, Eugene premiered his short film, ‘As Real as Him – A New Liverpool Story’, which he had directed.

KK Moggie was born on May 26, 1977.

She is the daughter of Tan Sri Leo Moggie: a prominent leader of the biggest Dayak political party PBDS at one time, and former chairman of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

Michael Jessing Langgi played the role of the Iban ‘Tuai Rumah’ (Longhouse Chieftain) Melaka.

He did a splendid job, considering that it was only his second screen appearance – he was an extra in 1987’s ‘Farewell to the King’.

Michael passed away a few years ago after a short illness.

The most successful, perhaps, among all the actors on screen in ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’, would have been Alba, 45, known for her role in action films and her success as an entrepreneur.

Her father is of Mexican descent, and her mother has Danish, Welsh, English and French ancestry.

Through ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’, she added another role to her acting CV – the Eurasian ‘Selima’, born of an English father and Iban mother.

In 2011, Alba co-founded The Honest Company, a consumer goods company that sells baby, personal and household products.

Based in Los Angeles, the company was valued at US$408 million as of November last year.

Several magazines, including Men’s Health, Vanity Fair and FHM, had included Alba on their lists of the world’s most beautiful women.

Today, ‘The Sleeping Dictionary’ is just a faded memory of a time 25 years ago when Hollywood came to Kuching and had set the city slightly aflutter over a brief period of a few months.

Since then, only one major independent Hollywood movie, ‘Rajah’ (later renamed ‘Edge of the World’) has been and gone, also relegated now to the annals of local film history.

One may wonder – when will the next big Hollywood moment be here again?