Nicky Romero points to the crowd during his performance at 'United Republiq 2013' on November 21. (Photo courtesy of Kappo Rivera)
Originally billed as “an electronic music assembly” when it was first announced last September, the music party festival “United Republiq 2013″ became “an electronic music festival for a cause” following the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda that ravaged many parts of Samar, Leyte and nearby provinces in the country early this month.
“We decided to push through with it instead of cancelling so we can make it more proactive for rebuilding,” said Stephen Ku of Republiq, one of the organizers of the event that took place last November 21 at the Mall of Asia concert grounds.
A production of Republiq together with Worldwide Womb, Driven, and Woosah Studios, “United Republiq” owes its transformation from a mere music fest into a fundraiser to Viber. The popular instant messaging app was credited as a presenter.
Through Viber, the other sponsors and, of course, the headlining talents agreed to donate their fees estimated at a total of P7 million to relief efforts for typhoon-stricken areas.
Two of those headliners were no less than world-class DJs Nicky Romero and Axwell, who both admitted to being particularly affected by the devastation brought by the killer typhoon.
Romero, the 24-year-old Netherlands-based DJ currently ranked No. 7 in the world by DJ Magazine waxed emotional when he was spoke to media during the event.
“You know it’s so sad that these things happen and the thing is, it’s always at the places where people are the poorest. So I just feel horrible for everything that happened in your country and all the families and the people that suffered from the typhoon,” he exclaimed.
“On the other hand, I’m really positive about the fact that the whole world is helping and it’s really heartwarming to see that the world is helping you country out. I think it’s good to see people collaborate in these efforts,” he added.
With regards to donating all his talent fees for the same cause, Romero said it was the least he could do for the typhoon victims.
“If I can only help by donating my fees, then I’m happy to do it. If something like this happens to me and my country, then I would really be happy if people also help us out,” he pointed out.
Axwell during his set. (Photo courtesy of Kappo Rivera)
Axwell agreed. Currently ranked No. 19 among DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs in the world, the 35-year-old Swedish DJ, who was in Manila earlier this year as part of the farewell tour of the now defunct Swedish House Mafia, said he has grown fond of the Philippines since that last visit.
“I love you guys, I love it here so much the last time and I really wanted to come back. The devastation is nothing like I’ve ever seen before. I only saw it on TV but you guys lived it. I’m just happy that we could still do this show here, so happy that we can change the whole vibe into sort of a charity show and give all the money to victims and hope that it helps some people,” he said.
A shot of the 'United Republiq' crowd at the MOA Concert Grounds. (Photo courtesy of Kappo Rivera)
Other DJs that took to the stage during the “United Republiq” concert are Dutch duo NO_ID and local favorites Ace Ramos, Mars Miranda, Martin Pulgar and Marc Naval.
In describing the party atmosphere that transpired during the event, Romero observed that “people still have the energy, have the chills and the good vibes”. He was amazed by the display of resilience in the aftermath of such a calamity.
“I’m just happy to be here and contribute in my own small way to help lift up the spirits of your people,” he concluded.
Jessica Sanchez poses for a photo at the Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday morning before boarding her flight to Manila. (Photo from her Instagram)
Jessica Sanchez is not done helping her fellow Filipinos just yet.
First, she initiated her very first online concert at StageIt.com where all the proceeds went to the American Red Cross to help fund its relief efforts for the victims of typhoon Yolanda. The show was a sellout success.
Then, the 17-year old Fil-Am singer went on to release “Lead Me Home”, her inspiring new single where US$0.90 of each single sold again goes to the Red Cross for the typhoon victims. At iTunes, the single is retailed at US$1.25 so that means a big chunk of the sales are for the worthy cause.
The single, which is actually part of the Original Cast Recording of the music and dance spectacular “Heartbeat of Home”, is also one of the 39 tracks of the all-star compilation album “Songs for the Philippines”, which retails at iTunes at $9.99 and proceeds of every album sold will go directly to the Philippine Red Cross. The album is currently at No. 2 in the iTunes store.
As posted by YouTube account holder errizsumala, here’s the audio and lyrics to the emotional ballad “Lead Me Home”.
Outside of these charitable gestures, Jessica was also a big part of the recent Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios fight that brought cheers to the typhoon victims who witnessed Pacquiao prevail. Her rendition of the Philippine National Anthem is already considered by many as one of the best in any Pacquiao fight to date.
Now as part of her ongoing charitable work, Jessica will also be in the country starting Saturday, November 30, until December 10 on a mission with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to assist Filipinos with hearing loss who have no resources to acquire hearing aids.
Upon her arrival, Jessica will proceed directly to Pacquiao’s hometown in General City where she will stay until December 2. From there, she will proceed to Lipa City on December 3 and stay there until December 5.
After that, her next destination is nearby Batangas City which she will call home until December 7. Her last stop is Manila where she will spend her last two days until December 10.
With Jessica’s help, the Starkey Hearing Foundation hopes to fit four to five thousand people with free hearing aids.
“The world of sound is my inspiration and connection to my music. I am honored to be joining Starkey Hearing Foundation on a hearing mission to the Philippines where everyday I get to help give someone in need the gift of hearing,” Jessica said in one of her recent posts in her Facebook page.
There is no word as to whether Jessica can squeeze some performances in the aforementioned places or a TV appearance before she leaves. But given that she has been surprising us with her initiatives as of late, anything is possible.
This is her third trip to the Philippines after her runner-up finish on “American Idol” last year.
Napauwi sa Pilipinas ang Filipino-British actress ng James Bond para dumamay sa mga nasalanta. Iaalay naman ng mga artists ang kanilang shows sa Kabisayaan.
JENNIFER LAWRENCE and Josh Hutcherson
I was able to watch here in the US the preview of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” the sequel to the original blockbuster. It highlights the evil capital of a fictitious country called Panem that forces its 12 districts to send young boys and girls to compete in a televised death match dubbed “Hunger Games.” The young fighters become instant “celebrities” but their lives are put on the line.
The fantasy thriller centers on the love that evolved between the two District 12 contestants, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Playing up the “love team” (identical to how Philippine media plays cupid out of necessity) has become the source of inspiration to Panem, whose idea of governance is reminiscent of the old Roman gladiator days that used fighting and bloodshed as a form of entertainment. Broadcast using advanced TV coverage, the authorities hope this would curb the people’s violent and resentful tendencies.
Reminiscent of Philippine media (or should I say the entertainment industry in general), television has become the primary tool to pacify its people. Unbeknownst to the Panem government, though, an uprising is already brewing.
Crafted by the same man who meticulously filmed the Will Smith-led futuristic thriller “I Am Legend,” Francis Lawrence took the helm from former director Gary Ross. Lawrence says, “I would say photographically I really liked what Gary did in terms of approaching it from a naturalistic style. My own personal version of naturalism is different than his…”
BOY ABUNDA
Boy Abunda’s winning streak continues with the Best Public Affairs Program Host award he won recently from PMPC Star Awards for Television for hosting “The Bottomline with Boy Abunda,” which also nabbed the Best Public Affairs Program plum.
The King of Talk has been most awarded for his work as television host. He was inducted to the PMPC Hall of Fame as Best Showbiz-Oriented Show Host in 2011 having won in this category for 15 consecutive years.
As a public affairs program host, Boy started with the iconic “Private Conversations.” The show earned for him the Best Public Affairs Program Host for many years from the PMPC.
With “The Bottomline with Boy Abunda,” Boy made successive wins as Best Public Affairs Program Host in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
“The journey continues. I am still learning but I always try to give my best. I have never been more inspired to work. It gives me so much joy to be honored as such but I am also humbled by the recognition,” says Boy.
Also this year, “The Bottomline with Boy Abunda” was adjudged Best Talk Show by the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA).
Aside from the PMPC and CMMA, other awards tucked under his celebrity belt include: 3rd Educators & Critics Circle Awards for Media Communications Influential Endorser of Year (2013), Best Talk Show Host in UPLB Gandingan Awards for “Homeboy” (2006) and “Boy and Kris” (2007–2008), Gantimpalang Lampara ng Kultura at Sining Outstanding Broadcast Journalist/Arts Educator, USTV Awards 2013 Best Entertainment News Program Host for “The Buzz,” and USTV Awards 2013 Best Public Affairs Talk Show Program for “The Bottomline with Boy Abunda.”
• • •
MICHAEL V.
‘Killer Karaoke’ Makes It To Top 10
TV5’s newest musical game show “Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman” made it to Nielsen’s Top 10 evening programs in Mega Manila for Nov. 23, according to Nielsen Media’s Daily Round Up.
The local version of the hit US show “Killer Karaoke” advanced to the Top 9 spot last Saturday, based on Nielsen’s Mega Manila Television Audience Measurement (MegaTAM), while remaining in the top 10 rank in the national level based on Nationwide Urban Television Audience Measurement (NuTAM).
Hosted by funny man Michael V., “Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman” is fast becoming a weekend favorite thanks to its hilarious format. Can you sing while being dunked in a tank full of snakes? Or while holding out your hands to crawling spiders and maggots? These are just some of the crazy challenges contestants have to face to make it to the final showdown, the spinning turntable, where the last one standing (and singing) takes home the jackpot.
This Saturday, six celebrities will try to carry a tune without screaming too much in fear of the challenges: socialite-philanthropist Tessa Prieto, sexy star Ehra Madrigal, TV host IC Mendoza, Kapatid hunk Vin Abrenica, Fil-Australian model Gerard Sison, and “Artista Academy’s” mysterious babe Malak So Shdifat.
“Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman” airs Saturdays, 8:30 p.m. on TV5.
• • •
JASMINE CURTIS-SMITH
Jasmine Curtis-Smith Hosts ‘SPINNation’
Fresh from the success of her first role in the big screens, TV5 princess and “social media celebrity” Jasmine Curtis-Smith, who recently won an acting award in her very first movie role, continues to claim the spotlight as she hosts Kapatid network’s newest Saturday late night music show, “SPINNation.”
Airing live every Saturday, ”SPINNation” is the first ever TV show that combines the power of music and the interactivity of social media on Philippine television.
In this hip and fun show, Jasmine delivers the latest buzz and trends as it happens on the social media music scene. Audiophiles will have a treat as Jasmine spins different soundtracks that match their moods for the night. The young Curtis will also feature the songs in the playlists of the most popular and talked about personalities today.
Those who want to be in with the “it crowd” should not miss her updates on PWF (people worth following) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Viewers will not only know the score about their favorite icons, they will also have the chance to be seen, be followed and be famous on various social media.
“SPINNation” airs Saturdays at 11 p.m., powered by spinnr.ph.
• • •
Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings, Nov. 30, go to Justice Andres Narvasa, Rosalinda L. Orosa, Kristine Yang, Justa Tantoco, Ma. Martha Sibal-Bonoan, Marian Campos, Lyn Villarosa, Bon Mowee C. Lasaga, Lourdes S. Bautista, Dr. Alex Tensuan, Lutgarda P. Landingin and Vicente P. Tuazon of California, Atty. Rudegillo D. Tacorsa and twin brother Ronald of San Francisco, Ellen G. Sevilla, Alfrenz Aquin, Norma Funtanilla, Herbert Fodevilla and Ms. Cristina Decena… Happy wedding anniversary to Jun and Norie Basuel… Also performing tonight at Noel Cabangon’s benefit concert at PNU Auditorium are Henry Samaniego, Bayang Barios, Hebert Bartolome, Alon ”Pusong Bato,” Diwa de Leon, Bobby Balingit WDS Rama, Musikang Bayan and Joel Malaban…
Jake Cuenca
Actor Jake Cuenca dreams of becoming a member of the Philippine National football team Azkals and will give it a go next year.
“’Yung Jake Cuenca kasi para sa mga tao, usually bad boy, maangas. Pero ang hindi nila alam, susubok ako na maging professional football player next year. Susubok ako mag-Azkals,” he was quoted as saying during his guest appearance on “Minute To Win It.”
Jake used to be a football varsity player for PAREF Southridge School.
“Mama’s boy ako. Mahilig din ako magluto pero mas mahilig akong mag-football,” said he.
In a previous interview with ABS-CBNNews, Azkals midfielders Phil and James Younghusband look forward to welcoming Jake as teammate.
“We know Jake Cuenca. It would be great to have him on the team. It’s great to see what he’s like,” James said.
Ellona Santiago’s family (Photo from her Instagram account)
“X Factor USA” judge Simon Cowell is singing a different tune as far as Fil-Am Ellona Santiago goes. From being a “dancing, singing puppet” just a week ago, he now lavishes her with hallelujahs, calling her a “game changer.”
Indeed, Santiago’s performance of Jessie J’s “Mamma Knows Best” in the latest episode of the show was so stunning that it paved her entry into the top 6. She earned a standing ovation from all the other judges namely Kelly Rowland, Paulina Rubio, and Demi Lovato.
Rowland deems Santiago’s number the “best performance” ever, while Rubio believes the young singer is a “superstar.”
Her coach, Lovato, echoed Cowell’s comment that she “could win this competition.”
Santiago dedicated her number to her ailing eldest sister, Julie Rose, whom she treats as a “second mom.”
“She was always here for me. I’ve actually never really thanked her for everything that she’s done for me and recently, she just got diagnosed with stage four cancer and it hurts because sometimes I just want to be there for her and I’m here,” she said in tears.
Santiago intends to work even harder for the next round of competition now that she’s “a step closer (to) my dream,” along with Carlito Olivero, Alex and Sierra, Restless Road, Jeff Gutt and Rion Paige who all round up the frontrunners on the show.
Christmas came early for readers of FHM Philippines.
The magazine unveiled on Friday the cover of its December 2013 issue, and it’s a keeper with Alice Dixson looking quite fetching in next to nothing.
The 44-year-old TV5 actress appears to be sitting on the edge of a bed, wearing flesh-colored panties and a white top that she’s clutching against her chest like a blanket.
This magazine cover comes on the heels of her skin-baring turn last month on the TV5 miniseries “For Love or Money”, where she stars opposite Derek Ramsay and Ritz Azul.
“I think maybe when I was younger I wasn’t ready to do photo shoots like this,” she told FHM. She refused to be photographed in a bikini during the 1980s when she started her showbiz career as a Regal Baby.
“Even when Mother Lily was pushing me towards a sexy image I would always resist. But now, it’s become ordinary to come out in a bikini and it’s more accepted now. I just learned that it’s part of work, and it came out very nice,” she added.
The issue will be
Ang Lee beams during a conference with local media and film enthusiasts at the SM Aura Cinema on Thursday. (AFP)rrvg
Even before he actually stepped on Philippine soil, two-time Academy award-winning filmmaker Ang Lee said he had heard so much about the country.
“As you may have seen in ‘Life of Pi’, Manila was mentioned twice in the film. Yes, I’m glad I made it here at last,” the director said during a forum with media and filmmakers following the special screening of the film in conjunction with a homage event for him dubbed as “A Salute To Ang Lee” held Thursday at the IMAX Cinema of the SM Aura Premier mall in Taguig City.
During the forum, the 59-year-old Taiwanese filmmaker also announced his plans to do a movie here in the country soon. He declined to disclose details about it as well as his future projects in general and merely quipped, “I’m a one-movie-at-a-time kind of guy,” he said.
Lee might as well be a one-genre-at-a-time kind of filmmaker, too. In presenting him with the Gawad Lino Brocka lifetime achievement award from Cinemanila, acclaimed Filipino filmmakers Tikoy Aguiluz and Brillante Mendoza, two leading forces of Philippine independent cinema, pointed out how Lee stays fresh by “resisting categories” and “constantly changing genres that allow him to steer clear of repetition and fakery”.
“His body of work encompasses the martial arts movie, the suburban American drama, the erotic thriller, the Jane Austen marriage plot, the superhero action movie, the gay cowboy love story and the big 3D adventure,” Aguiluz said in presenting Lee with the special citation.
Best known for “Life of Pi” and “Brokeback Mountain” for which he won his two Oscars for best director, he was also earlier nominated in the same category for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.
His other famous films include “The Wedding Banquet,” “Eat Drink Man Woman”, “The Ice Storm”, “Sense and Sensibility,” his adaptation of the classic novel by Jane Austen and “Hulk”, his not-so-well received big screen interpretation of the Marvel superhero that almost made him retire from filmmaking after its completion.
“I cannot imagine my life without moviemaking,” he said in explaining why he decided to reconsider his retirement plans. “I know my wife would kick me out of the house if I stopped doing films.”
Asked why his movies defy categorization, Lee simply attributes it to his simply being “a curious person”.
“Maybe I don’t want to be cached,” he pointed out, adding that his taste in movies also easily “shifts” from one filmmaker or genre to another.
“Right now, it’s Kubrick. There was a time when I was watching a lot of Hitchcock. For a time, I also enjoyed Italian neo-realism. It varies,” he declared.
Asked why he doesn’t write his own films as much as he used to when he was just starting out, Lee joked that it’s because he was forced to write because he wasn’t getting any movie screenplays to direct.
“Writing is a lonely and painful process, though. Once I’m established, I’m just glad that I didn’t have to write anymore,” he noted.
Lee said he has no criteria why he wants to adapt a certain book into the big screen, as in the case of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. He did admit that books like “Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi” touched his heart after reading them.
“I cried after reading ‘Brokeback Mountain’. Like Pi in ‘Life in Pi’, I have been adrift all my life,” he admitted.
Being a creative person who has his own vision of how he would bring a story to life on film, Lee also revealed that getting along with his writers, especially the authors of the novels he decided to adapt is often a challenge.
“I end up telling them, ‘it’s your book but it’s my movie’,” he cracked to everyone’s laughter.
And then there are those also creative challenges, mostly from his Hollywood producers who have their own ideas of how scenes would be shot, like that scene in “Life of Pi” when Pi and the Bengal tiger finally find themselves on island beach after being stranded for so long at sea.
“They wanted the tiger to look back at Pi before disappearing from his life for good. A younger director may have done a creative way of doing it but I think I’m a seasoned enough filmmaker to win that little battle,” he pointed out.
Despite such challenges that come with filmmaking, Ang Lee said he still enjoys making films.
“Making movies is fun, it’s dealing with other people that’s not fun. As long as I have the stamina, I will still make movies.”
As spearheaded by Taiwanese Ambassador to the Philippines L.S. Wang, “A Salute to Ang Lee” is sponsored by the Taipei Economic Cultural Office and the SM Aura Premier, in cooperation with the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the City of Taguig. The event will conclude this Friday, November 29.
MANILA - Melai Cantiveros shared on Friday how fellow Pinoy Big Brother housemate Jason Francisco proposed to her.
Josh Brolin in a scene from Spike Lee's 'Oldboy'.
LOS ANGELES | Holiday movies are often filled with feel-good messages and festive cheer, but as the United States whets its appetite for the Thanksgiving weekend, psychological drama “Oldboy” attempts to serve up a platter of old-fashioned revenge.
“Oldboy,” based on Korean director Park Chan-wook’s 2003 film of the same name, tells the story of Joe Doucett, an alcoholic washout who is kidnapped and held in a small motel room for 20 years, then released back into society. He embarks on a ruthless journey for answers and revenge.
The theme of revenge is what director Spike Lee said enticed him to re-imagine Park’s dark, twisted art house film that featured extreme violence, torture and incest.
“Everyone has felt slighted. Some slights are bigger, some stuff you can let slide and some stuff you can take to the grave,” Lee said. “That’s why the revenge genre (in film) has always been a staple, because you can live off your revenge through somebody else.”
The film, released in U.S. theaters on Wednesday, stars Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Sharlto Copley and serves up a paranoid-filled cinematic alternative over the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend.
Brolin, 45, who plays Joe Doucett, compared the film’s story to a more classic theatrical production, particularly Greek tragedies that contemplate man’s place in the universe.
“This role was the most operatically challenging. Just the tone of it was very strange and we were trying to find the balance between exaggeration and reality and being organic,” the actor said.
“I thought, ‘Anything goes. No matter how embarrassed I feel, it really doesn’t matter. It’s all about exposing, especially in the motel room,” he added.
Before filming, Brolin said he visited Park to seek approval to remake “Oldboy,” but Park also gave him and Lee some crucial advice on tackling the unsettling drama.
“Park gave it (his blessing) but he also said, ‘Please make your own film. Don’t try to do what I did,’” Lee said. “So I think once you have that in mind, you know you want to respect and pay homage to the original but do something different.”
Fans of the original will find some familiar scenes and motifs: the greasy dumplings that Doucett is forced to eat every day in captivity, the trunk he is put in by his captors when he is released, and the hammer he wields while vengefully taking on dozens of his captors’ henchmen.
In Lee’s version, much of the first half focuses on the 20 long, arduous years that Doucett is held in captivity, going through a vast roller-coaster of emotions, from suicidal depression to homicidal anger.
As Doucett grows older in the confines of a small space, the only glimpse of the outside world comes from the grainy television box, which switches between world news, exercise shows and programs on his daughter, seemingly orphaned after his wife is killed.
In the course of filming, Brolin also said he went through an extreme physical change to demonstrate Doucett’s body transformation, gaining 28 pounds (12.7 kilograms) in 10 days, then losing 22 pounds (9.9 kilograms) in two and a half days.
“All of it was real. All of it was awful and all of it I will never ever do again. Conceptually it was great,” he said.
Neither Lee nor Brolin were concerned about translating the film and its taboo themes for a Western audience, with the director saying it never crossed his mind to make the story more accessible for American viewers.
“These are serious subject matters, not something to be made fun of. It’s not something to take lightly,” Lee said. “Sometimes it’s good for audiences to squirm. It’s good that sometimes people will stop eating their popcorn and drinking their soda while watching the film.”
Sa kabila ng kinakaharap na problema ni Manny Pacquiao sa Bureau of Internal Revenue, may pa-disco sa bagong bahay ang ina niyang si Mommy Dionisia.
Umpisa na ng pasiklaban ng walong entries sa Metro Manila Film Festival. Bahagi ng kikitain sa pista ng pelikula ay ibibigay sa mga nasalanta ng bagyo.
OPM president Ogie Alcasid and AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista pose for media during a courtesy call on Thursday. (Jaime Sinapit/InterAksyon)
Organisasyon ng mga Pilipinong Mang-aawit president Ogie Alcasid, his wife Regine Velasquez and other OPM artists will serenade typhoon survivors who are temporarily sheltered at the Villamor Air Base on December 7.
Alcasid visited the office of Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Emmanuel Bautista on Thursday and was granted permission to hold the charity event at the air base located inside the Philippine Air Force grounds.
The TV5 singer-actor also known as The Songwriter was accompanied on his courtesy call to Gen. Bautista by Brig. Gen. Rolando Jungco, commander of the Armed Forces’ Civil Relations Service (CRS), and retired Army Col. Samuel Sagun, former commander of the 7th Civil Relations Group (7CRG).
“Ogie Alcasid and Gen. Emmanuel Bautista talked about the plans of Filipino artists led by Ms. Regine Velasquez who will cook, share goodies and sing for Yolanda survivors and military personnel who lead the relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas hardest hit by the recent typhoon,” Sagun said.
Meanwhile, Alcasid promised that some OPM members will perform during the anniversary celebration of the AFP on December 19 to be held at the canopy of the General Headquarters building.
Unlike in past anniversaries, the AFP will schew the usual grand parade to save money to buy relief goods and medicines for the typhoon victims.
All military units have likewise cancelled their Christmas parties.
‘Suklay’ cast and crew (www.dfa.gov.ph)
A musical featuring Pinoys has premiered in central Seoul last week.
According to a report posted on the site of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the 55-minute multicultural musical dubbed “Suklay” deals with the challenges that multi-ethnic children, particularly Pinoys, face in Korean public schools.
Directed by Filipino Lorna de Mateo, “Suklay” (“Comb”), opened at the Seoul Mullae Youth Center on Nov. 14.
Other Filipinos involved in the production are assistant director Nash Ang, composer Gil Hizon, and actress Glaiza Valdez.
It is the third musical featuring the lives of migrant families in Korea that the country’s first multicultural theater, Salad, has produced since 2011.
“Marina and Vijay,” which opened in Nov. 2011, portrayed the rivalry and eventual friendship between a Filipino girl and Nepali boy studying in a Korean school.
“Secrets Inside the Mask,” which took the stage in November 2012, tells the story of a migrant Chinese child discovering his cultural identity while working in a restaurant.
“We feel it’s important to depict the different stories of migrant families so that we could help the development of a more global consciousness in Korean society as well as satisfying a growing curiosity toward Asian culture, especially among Korean children,” said Park Kyong-ju, president of Salad.
“I believe ‘Suklay’ is an important work for Salad in the group’s evolution as a theater production company,” said Philippine Second Secretary and Consul Aian Caringal.
“Before they had Korean directors in charge,” he said. “It’s the first time for them to ask an immigrant artist to take creative control.”
Salad will tour “Suklay” in various elementary schools in Seoul and Gyeongi Province.
James "Bimby" Yap Jr., son of host-actress Kris Aquino, said he is not jealous of Comedy Prince Vic Sotto, the love interest of her mother in his debut film, "My Little Bossings."
This image released by Sotheby’s shows a page from a handwritten manuscript of Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 hit “Born to Run.” (AP Photo/Sotheby’s)
NEW YORK (AP) — A handwritten working manuscript of Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 hit “Born to Run” will be offered at auction on Dec. 5, with a presale estimate of $70,000 to $100,000, Sotheby’s said Wednesday.
The seller was not revealed. The auction house said the document used to be in the collection of Springsteen’s former manager, Mike Appel.
Sotheby’s said most of the lines in this 1974 version, written in Long Branch, New Jersey, are apparently unpublished and unrecorded, but the manuscript does include “a nearly perfected chorus.”
Springsteen’s thought process, written in blue ink on a sheet of ruled notepaper, looks like this:
“This town’ll rip the (out your) bones from yourback / it’s a suicide trap (rap) (it’s a trap to catchthe young) your dead unless / you get out (we gotto) while your young so (come on! / with) take myhand cause tramps / like us baby we were born to run.”
“The imagery and tone are constant from the present manuscript to the final song,” the auctioneer said.
There are also some words in the margins: “Wild” and “Angels” and a word that looks like “velocity,” with the letter “t” in Springsteen’s curlicue cursive.
“Although Springsteen is known to have an intensive drafting process, few manuscripts of ‘Born to Run’ are available, with the present example being one of only two identified that include the most famous lines in the song,” Sotheby’s said.
The document will be part of a Manhattan sale of fine books and manuscripts.
Pop rock Princess Yeng Constantino made a guest appearance on"Umagang Kay Ganda" on Thursday.
Justin Bieber. (Reuters)
SYDNEY | Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber was Thursday told to clean up his mess after the pop star was accused of spraying graffiti on the wall of an Australian hotel.
Furious Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said the Canadian had been disrespectful and “really, really silly”, and sent a graffiti removal kit to the exclusive QT Hotel on the Sunshine Coast so he could repair the damage.
“If a normal person did that they’d be serving 80 to 100 hours of community service,” Tate told the Nine Network.
“Just come and clean it up and we’ll be happy with you.”
In a separate interview in the Brisbane Courier-Mail, Tate said: “We’ve all been young once. But by the sounds of it, he’s gone and done something really, really silly.
“But he’s got an opportunity to make good … I urge him to treat this city the way Gold Coast fans treat him.”
Bieber’s handiwork includes a Pacman ghost, which was reportedly painted in the early hours of Wednesday morning after the star’s sell-out Brisbane show.
Pictures of the graffiti were posted online, including on Instagram, with reports saying Bieber and his entourage left the cans of spray paint behind for staff to clean up.
Bieber was believed to have left the hotel for Sydney, where he performs later Friday and Saturday, with Tate demanding he return.
“I know he’s got beautiful eyes. I’ve got some goggles for him, and some gloves because I know he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty,” he said.
“Do your business in Sydney and come on back and I’ll give you a chance to clean it up.”
Brisbane was the first of eight shows by Bieber across Australian cities.
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. (Reuters file photo)
LOS ANGELES | Actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have finalized their divorce two years after separating, bringing official closure for one of Hollywood’s most prominent couples.
The end to the eight-year marriage was made final on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, with both actors agreeing not to pay spousal support.
In March, Moore, 51, had asked the court to grant her financial support from Kutcher, an unusual move for one of the top-earning women in Hollywood during the 1990s.
Kutcher, the star of CBS television comedy “Two and a Half Men,” filed for divorce from Moore in December 2012 after more than a year of separation. He cited irreconcilable differences with the “G.I. Jane” star.
The 35-year-old film and TV star has been the highest-paid actor on television for the last two years, earning an estimated $24 million annually, according to Forbes magazine.
Moore began dating Kutcher a few years after her split from actor-husband Bruce Willis, when Kutcher was a young star on the TV sitcom “That ’70s Show.”
The relationship became tabloid fodder because of their 16-year age gap, and the couple married in September 2005 in Los Angeles.
Moore and Kutcher separated in November 2011 after six years of marriage, after a San Diego woman said she had a brief affair with Kutcher.
Kutcher is currently dating his former “That ’70s Show” cast-mate Mila Kunis.
The poster for the documentary 'The Search for Weng Weng'.
No longer a work in progress, Andrew Leavold’s “The Search for Weng Weng” will finally have its world premiere this Friday, November 29, at the UP Film Center in UP Diliman.
This was announced by Leavold himself on his Facebook page and in a subsequent communiqué with InterAksyon. In his own words, the eccentric Australian filmmaker who worked on the project for the last seven years described his completed tribute to the late Filipino actor and martial artist Weng Weng as his “obsessive quest to find the two-foot-nine Filipino James Bond”.
In several notes that he posted on Facebook, Leavold said watching Weng Weng in the latter’s now classic James Bond parody “For Your Height Only” was a “life-changing” moment for him.
“I was immediately hooked, but wanted to know more. Who was Weng Weng? Where did he come from, and what happened to him. Were there other Weng Weng films, and — was he still alive? Not even the internet could shed light on what appeared to be a forgotten life,” he wondered.
Director Andrew Leavold at the recent Cinema One Originals awards night. (Photo courtesy of Don Gordon Bell)
His obsession grew even stronger when he was invited to a film festival in Manila in 2006.
“I went with a video camera in one hand, determined to uncover once and for all the mystery of Weng Weng. Eventually I found the complete story, but not before the adventure of a lifetime — and it’s all caught on film! Refereeing a dwarf boxing match…boots-deep on the set of a Bruno Mattei zombie film… guest of honor at Imelda Marcos’ birthday party …and finding myself face-to-face with the only person in the world who could piece the puzzle together,” he recalled.
That only person turned out to be Weng Weng’s surviving brother who revealed to him more astonishing things about the legendary actor, who passed away in 1992.
“Weng Weng’s story, it turns out, is even more extraordinary than I could have ever imagined: real life secret agent, international superstar beating George Lucas at the box office, and the rest — heartbreaking, bizarre, exhilarating,” Leavold further enthused.
Earlier this year, a rough cut of the documentary entitled “The Search for Weng Weng: A Work in Progress” was screened in exhibition during the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival last August at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
In addition to Weng Weng’s brother, Leavold also interviewed an eclectic mix of personalities that included Tikoy Aguiluz, Rez Cortez, Roland Dantes, Celso de Guzman, Celing and Editha de la Cruz, Nick Deocampo, Dolphy, Jim Gaines Jr, Peque Gallaga, Rene Gracilla, Franco Guerrero, Tony Maharaj, Imee Marcos, Imelda Marcos, Eddie Nicart, Nick Nicholson, Rusty Santos, Richard Suarez and Edgardo “Boy” Vinarao for his documentary.
Leavold promised that most of the interviewees will grace the UP Film Center screening. Whether those interviewees will include former First Lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, who is reportedly ill, remains unknown.
'The Search for Weng Weng' comics. (Photo from author Ronald Tan's Facebook page)
Weng Weng’s family will attend the premiere along with the film’s creative team, including co-writer/producer Daniel Palisa and soundtrack star Roy Arabejo from Australia, editor Jim Scott from the United Kingdom, line producer Kristine Kintana, cinematographer Jordan Arabejo and cartoonist Ronald Tan, who created a very limited edition souvenir world premiere comics that features a tribute cover to the victims of typhoon Yolanda.
Yes, part of the proceeds of the screening and sales of the souvenir comics will be donated to the typhoon victims.
As to what are the new things that people, especially those who have seen the previous cuts of the film, can expect from the final version, Leavold revealed a few spoilers in an earlier interview with InterAksyon also last August.
“For the final cut, we shot some amazing stuff at the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran where Weng Weng’s mother used to pray. Also those stories about Weng Weng believing himself to be the Santo Niño, I’m also saving them for the final cut,” the filmmaker revealed.
Regardless of what eventually made it to the completed version, Leavold promises a night to remember at “The Search for Weng Weng” world premiere. Tickets are priced at P143 each and may be reserved by clicking at the film’s event page.
(From left) Lee Seung Yeon, Park Si Yeon, and Jang Min In Ae (Photo by www.newsen.com)
A Seoul court has convicted three Korean actresses for the illegal use of the substance propofol, an injectable anaesthetic and sedative.
In its decision, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park Si Yeon, Lee Seung Yeon and Jang Min In Ae to eight months in prison suspended for two years for abusing propofol in the last few years.
In addition, the judge handling the case ordered Jang Min In Ae to pay 5.5 million won (about P226,000) while Lee Seung Yeon will have to shell out 4.05 million won (P167,000) and Park Si Yeon about 3.7 million won (P152,000) in fines.
The three and their doctors were present in the courtroom when the sentence was handed out.
The doctors were also found guilty in the case.
They were charged last March of abusing propofol many times. Lee Seung Yeon was accused of using the substance 111 times, Park Si Yeon about 126 times and Jang Min In Ae about 95 times.
The stars denied the allegations, claimed that they were administered with propofol for medical purposes.
According to the judge, the defendants are celebrities loved by the public. As such, what they do will have a profound impact to their fans.
The judge believed that the three had already become dependent on propofol.
In giving them suspended sentences, the court acknowledged that the three did not administer the substance themselves, it is their first offense and that Lee Seung Yeon and Park Si Yeon have children.
Park Si Yeon gave birth to her first baby last September.
TV personality Hyun Young, who used propofol 42 times and one of the celebrities investigated in the case, was summarily indicted and fined last March.
Propofol caused the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson in 2009.
