Vancouver film producer promotes Asian talent1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAfter more than a decade in show business, Vancouverite Andrew Ooi has become one of the most influential personalities in Asia’s expanding entertainment world.
Working out of his unassuming offices on Oxford Street, the thirtysomething manager and film producer has been promoting Asian acting talent in Hollywood and putting together film deals in North America and some of Asia’s most vibrant movie markets.
Mr. Ooi attributes his endurance and his ability to thrive in show business to keeping his business focused and to minding the details, skills valued by entrepreneurs across all sectors, whether gritty or glamorous. As owner of a boutique entertainment practice, Mr. Ooi is known for working closely with the talent, and making sure his people are treated well.
“There’s a lot more that goes on behind the camera and the glitz is only a part of what we do,” Mr. Ooi says of his Vancouver-based company, Echelon Talent Management. “As an audience member, you only get to watch what we in the industry want you to see.”
Mr. Ooi’s activities across time zones, cultures and oceans have made him a go-to guy for a number of film executives in Asia and Hollywood. Echelon Talent Management handles Maggie Q (Nikita, Mission Impossible 3), Chin Han (Contagion, The Dark Night) and Josie Ho (The Courier), with whom he has partnered to make movies in Hong Kong under the 852 Films banner. Last year, Mr. Ooi and Ms. Ho produced Dream Home, an edgy slasher movie that made the rounds at international film festivals.
