Former ad man finds home on Netflix

Jim Aitchison, former executive creative director at Batey Ads and Ball Partnership Singapore, and author of the best-selling Cutting Edge Advertising, has now seen his kids’ books filmed for Netflix.

Aitchison started writing his Mr Midnight books 24 years ago, and on 24 October the series premieres on Netflix.

Says Aitchison: “Siimon Reynolds would approve the numerological coincidence of that.”

The books became bestsellers in Asia and were translated into Chinese, Malay, Vietnamese and Indonesian.

Says Aitchison: “I take familiar, everyday Asian settings — apartment blocks, schools, shopping malls — and let the horror start there. Rather than Harry Potter-style magic, kids must use their own strength, logic and creativity to overcome their adversaries.  I believe horror should be a metaphor for real life problems.”

Mr Midnight was produced by Beach House Pictures, filmed in Singapore and Indonesia, with an Asian cast.