JOSE MANUEL

How Stylists Turned Adam Sandler Into ‘Jill’

2012-02-12T18:50:00.002-08:00

How Stylists Turned Adam Sandler Into ‘Jill’

For the behind-the-camera crew of Columbia Pictures’ new comedy “Jack and Jill,” the primary challenge was in making lead star Adam Sandler into two titular characters.

The primary task went to makeup department head Ann Pala, hair department head Thomas Real, and costume designer Ellen Lutter.

In the film, Jack (Sandler) was living an almost perfect life, with the exception of one, annoying constant – his twin sister Jill (also played by Sandler). Every year he has to tolerate a Thanksgiving visit from his smothering sister, who doesn’t take long to turn his life upside down.

Pala and Real went through dozens of hair styles, textures, colors, and lengths (short, curly, and long), various nail colors and lengths, lip colors, skin tones, lashes, and teeth, all in different combinations. Working with three Sandler look-alikes, they created a number of different options for the filmmakers to choose from.

“Adam had played a girl in various sketches on ‘Saturday Night Live,’” says Pala, indicating that they had some idea of what might work with the actor. “The key factors in giving him feminine features were his eyes, cheeks, teeth, and bangs. We used nine different makeup skin tones to highlight and conceal.”

It was key to the filmmakers to try to create a real character in Jill. “Adam’s not playing a man playing a woman; he’s playing a woman,” notes Lutter. “It wasn’t a question of drag – we wanted to create a real woman, with specific features, character traits – it had to be genuine and natural. On the other hand, we were able to have a little fun because part of the character is that she looks exactly like her brother. We had the room to play and have some fun with Adam’s muscles and masculine demeanor – Jill is not a hyper-feminine character.”

Lutter says that when it came to Jill’s clothes, “Adam likes to be very comfortable, but being comfortable has nothing to do with being a woman. We tapped into the lightness of the character – and that’s where we had all our fun. Adam would always say, ‘I know you guys like Jill better,’ and it was true!”

Still, dressing Sandler as Jill wasn’t as simple as putting him in a dress. “Everything had to be manipulated – whether it was adding a detail around the neckline, or something with the arms, or working with the waist to build some hips. Everything had to be altered and adjusted to play with the proportions. It’s not like the clothes were just hanging around.”

Opening across the Philippines on February 22, “Jack and Jill” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

‘Inception’ Breakthrough Actor Tom Hardy Now in Romantic Comedy ‘This Means War’

2012-02-12T18:50:00.001-08:00

‘Inception’ Breakthrough Actor Tom Hardy Now in Romantic Comedy ‘This Means War’

Chris Pine and Tom Hardy portray the world’s deadliest CIA operatives who are also inseparable partners and best friends… until they fall for the same woman (Reese Witherspoon) in “This Means War.”

Having once helped bring down entire enemy nations, they are now employing their incomparable skills and an endless array of high-tech gadgetry against their greatest nemesis ever – each other.

James, better known as Tuck (Hardy), is ruggedly good-looking and dangerous, but not nearly as skilled at romantic matters compared to his best friend and partner Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foster, better known as FDR (Pine). Together, their unrivaled flair, formidable covert abilities, and good looks, make them the best of the best among CIA agents. But FDR and Tuck’s longstanding personal and professional bond is put to the test when they unwittingly begin dating the same woman.

That woman is Lauren Scott (Witherspoon), a senior product evaluator for a leading consumer advocate publication. She has a far-reaching knowledge of products ranging from ovens to smartphones, and is a skilled leader at her workplace. What Lauren is not good at is meeting men, until her best pal Trish (Chelsea Handler) takes matters into her own hands and signs Lauren to an on-line dating service – which Tuck had recently, and reluctantly, joined.

“Tuck, however, comes from a more serious school of espionage,” Pine continues. “Tuck is complicated, interesting, and internal. He’s the spy existentialist while FDR enjoys the bacchanalian universe of being a spy. The infuriatingly talented Tom Hardy plays Tuck. Tom is super charismatic and handsome as all hell and he brings a complicated nature and an English sensibility to his role.”

The filmmakers’ long search to cast the role of Tuck ended when they saw Hardy’s performance in the box office hit Inception. “Tom had everything we wanted,” recalls the movie’s producer-writer Kinberg. “His sense of humor had a much different tone than Chris’. Tom has an aura of danger, which we really wanted for Tuck. He was very physical, conveyed the character’s complexities, and was perfect for the role.”

Though Hardy seemed to become an overnight sensation with his breakthrough work in Inception, he has also turned in much lauded performances in the recent dramas “Warrior,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “Bronson” and “RocknRolla.” For his role in “This Means War,” a big comedy-action film, was a substantial departure from his earlier work. “Tom is an actor who loves challenges,” observes Kinberg. “He had done heavy drama and action, so I think the challenge of playing this movie’s humor and fun is what drew him in.”

Hardy concurs the film presented a very different kind of opportunity than his previous work. “Comedy, in itself, is not an easy thing to do,” he explains. “I thought it was going to be a walk in the park, but it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’m very grateful for the experience.” Hardy was also drawn by the opportunity to play opposite Witherspoon. “Working with Reese was like a master class in the comedy genre for me.”

The “spy against spy” storyline – what happens when two best friends who have incredible skill sets turn on each other – is integral to the film’s humor and action. At the same time, director McG wanted these bigger than life situations to be relatable. “We wanted to present that in a way that felt very credible,” says the Charlie’s Angels and Terminator: Salvation helmer. “We weren’t interested in making a spoof. And I liked taking advantage of Tuck’s and FDR’s ‘Alpha’ characteristics. Each man recognizes the skill of the other but at the end of the day, each is betting on himself. And that is a great engine for a movie.”

“It’s every woman’s fantasy to have two unbelievably hot, sexy guys battling over you,” says Witherspoon. “Lauren doesn’t know that Tuck and FDR are secret agents for the CIA. “This Means War” is almost like two different movies. My character’s in a comedy and Chris’ and Tom’s are in a big action film.”

Making FDR and Tuck believable as CIA agents was tasked to Paul Maurice, a military advisor with extensive wartime experience, who serves as the film’s CIA technical advisor. Maurice worked closely with Pine and Hardy to give them a high proficiency in weapons-handling and hand-to-hand combat.

Production designer Martin Laing and his team upped the spy-against-spy action by devising gadgets utilized by FDR and Tuck as they wage war against one another. Laing’s team researched CIA weapons and surveillance techniques and made them even more high tech and fantastic.

Valentine’s not yet over when non-stop romantic action and comedy starts February 22 when “This Means War” opens in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

3D for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Breaks New Ground

2012-02-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

3D for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Breaks New Ground

Through the magic of Disney and the leaps in modern computer animation technology developed at the Walt Disney Animation Studios, a team of artists, under the guidance of stereographer Robert Neuman, found a way to breathe more dimensional life into “Beauty and the Beast” by turning it into an eye-popping 3D experience.

Numerous and dramatic challenges awaited Neuman and his team. In discussing the complications of making “Beauty and the Beast” into a 3D film, Neuman emphasizes that because there was no dimensional reality in which to put a second camera, he and his team had to invent a brand new set of computer tools that would allow the filmmakers to sculpt depth into the existing images and thereby create a second eye in order for the 3D to be achieved.

“In making a live-action film a director could simply add a second camera to get the second eye view,” Neuman says of the task that he and his team faced. He explains that the 3D conversion technique they came up with – pixel displacement – enables the artists to take each image and create a “depth map” that corresponds to that image. “The depth map is simply a grayscale image that allows our artists to sculpt out a relief map – the depth map – of the image. We’re then able to take that, apply it to the original image and displace the pixels to create a second eye view,” he says.

Producer Don Hahn adds, “I think we were the beneficiaries of having the original movie made on the CAPS system, which was the Computer Animation Production System that Disney created to produce animated movies back in the late ‘80s. We were able to store the movie on individual levels. In other words, if we had a scene of Belle and the Beast together at a table in the castle, we would have the characters on one level, and the table on another level, and the background on still another level. So we had a nice separation when we brought the scenes back online.”

The computer gives the filmmakers total control over that illusion. Objects that are close up, such as Belle and the Beast dancing, can create a very intimate environment, as though the audience is sitting right there in the scene. Or if a spectacular shot is required, perhaps of the countryside with Maurice going off to sell his inventions, that epic shot is given a more gentle treatment of 3D. Many factors are at play and the story is enhanced by that 3D decision-making. Stereographers like Robert are crucial to the process.

Take for example the famous ballroom sequence. Although spectacular in its original form, Neuman and his team of artists were able to enhance what was already one of animation’s most memorable scenes. “We use 3D to support the storytelling narrative,” Neuman says. “Like any other aspect of film, such as the music score, 3D is used to enhance big emotional moments and to help build up to the emotional climax. For those big moments we expand the 3D. We put more of the three-dimensional effects into it. For the ballroom scene it was vital to have the right sense of scale. We had to show the grandeur, the majesty of this ballroom. The key to it was to enforce the sense of perception of scale.”

Neuman further explains that the “Be Our Guest” number was especially suited to 3D. “Although it was a bigger challenge than the ballroom sequence because there were shots that had hundreds of levels and every level of artwork requires dimensionalizing, if you look at the original staging, the way the things are blocked and choreographed, you see that it already has a sense of dimensionality.”

The filmmakers agree that the techniques that enabled them to create “Beauty and the Beast” in 3D is so new that this could not have been done just five years ago. “The first time we ever did a dimensionalization was on ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’” Don Hahn says. “It was hard, very labor-intensive work. The results however were great, but it took a long time and was very expensive. It still takes a long time and it’s very expensive!” Hahn says.

“Beauty and the Beast” was the first hand-drawn film to be dimensionalized into 3D. Disney is the leader in the new technology and regardless of how sophisticated it is, as Hahn says, “It’s important for people to know that it’s not as simple as pushing a button or putting a quarter in a machine and a 3D movies out. It’s all about great artists like Robert Neuman and his crew who must make important creative decisions.”

Opening across the Philippines in Digital 3D cinemas on February 22, “Beauty and the Beast” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Award-Winning Film ‘The Descendants’ Intros George Clooney on Parenting

2012-02-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

Award-Winning Film ‘The Descendants’ Intros George Clooney on Parenting

Much recognized for his global humanitarian efforts as he is for his accomplishments in the entertainment industry, George Clooney delves into untapped psyche as he takes on parenting in “The Descendants” with naturally gifted young actresses Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller.

Directed by Alexander Payne best known for his work in “Sideways,” “The Descendants” is a man’s tumultuous awakening that might be awkward, comical and sometimes absurd, but nevertheless changes his concept of love, fatherhood and what it truly takes to be a man.

George Clooney stars as Matt King, a privileged Honolulu attorney from a landowning family who is compelled to reevaluate his marriage and life, while his wife lies comatose in a hospital bed following a boating accident. His mischievous daughters don’t trust him, his imperiled wife has been cheating on him and his broke cousins see him and the land trust he controls as a piggy bank. To add insult to injury, he’s surrounded by a lush, fertile, awe-inspiring landscape that defies his inner turmoil.

Hemmings created Matt to reflect a distinct subset of the Hawaiian populace, a generation who trace their births back to the intermarriages of white missionaries and landowners with native Hawaiian royalty and their wealth back to the spoils of the colonial Hawaiian plantation system. As Matt explains, his great-great-grandmother was Princess Margaret Ke’alohilani, one of the last direct descendants of King Kamehameha, who fell in love with her haole (Hawaiian for white or foreign) banker, Edward King, leading to Matt’s current life as a Honolulu lawyer with deep, tangled roots in the islands. Like many Hawaiians, he is a hapa-haole, or half-white, who has never quite come to terms with his cultural identity.

Clooney has established himself as one of today’s leading men, but the chance to play a husband and father in “The Descendants” is a notable departure from his usual roles. This is a man at his lowest point, who has failed to pay attention to the people who matter most: his wife and daughters. Now he is reaping the consequences. But it is also a portrait of a man who is learning and growing. “George is right for the part and he’s a terrific actor,” says Payne about his leading man. “He is a real pro and knows filmmaking inside and out. I couldn’t be more positive about him. He has spent most of his adult life on a film or TV set and he just loves it; that’s where he feels very comfortable and it shows. He is so at home.”

“I think it’s a coming of age film but the guy who’s coming of age is a 50 year old guy. He’s woken up to the fact that all of these betrayals that he feels – from his wife, to his children not really being great kids, to the fact that he has to handle all of these land issues, to the fact that he’s the only adult in terms of his family and his cousin – he’s as responsible as anyone else for being there. Then it comes down to forgiving yourself. That was a big part of the film, watching this quiet man,” Clooney says of his character.

“George has never played a father before,” adds co-producer George Parra. “He’s always the powerful, positive, leading guy. This time he has to take care of the kids. He has to feed them and deal with their moods and their crying and their absurdities and he doesn’t know how to do that.”

Clooney on the other hand lavishly comments on the screenplay (written by Jim Rash, Nat Faxon and Alexander Payne) and how it helped him prepare to be Matt King. “I wish I could say I got there 10 days beforehand. I wish I could say I hung out with all these descendants. But the truth is the screenplay did everything I needed. I did some research, I met with the people. I did some of that stuff. People work many different ways. I’m that actor that says ‘Today we go to work and this is what we’re gonna do’ and I leave that at the soundstage or the location when I’m done. And I go about the rest of my life. I have an on and off switch. Where the director helps is with the question, ‘At what level do you want this played?’ Because this is a tricky film to pitch. Pieces of it are almost slapstick funny: running down the street trying to have a dorky run, hiding behind a hedge and popping your head up, that kind of stuff. Then there’s stuff that’s very delicate and very careful and finding how to get there quietly, finding how to get there without much, without seeing the machinery working. A good screenplay does that and a good director does that,” Clooney shares.

“The Descendants” opens February 15 in theaters from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

‘Wrath of the Titans’ Layouts Released

2012-02-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

‘Wrath of the Titans’ Layouts Released

Warner Bros. Has just released new marketing art for its upcoming 3D fantasy-adventure “Wrath of the Titans.”

The materials consist of bus-shelter art individually featuring Perseus and Kronos, and a totem layout featuring the main characters Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor, Hades and Zeus.

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, “Wrath of the Titans” stars Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson as gods at war.

A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus (Worthington) — the demigod son of Zeus (Neeson) - is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius.

Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity’s lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades (Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston). The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld.

Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus’ godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalties and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans’ strength grows stronger as Zeus’ remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth.

Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.

Opening across the Philippines in March, “Wrath of the Titans” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

10 Ways to Ruin a Job Interview

2012-02-09T04:11:00.000-08:00

You can have the perfect resume and a compelling cover letter and show up for the job interview ready to impress, but get ready to forgo the job offer if you make one of these stumbles.

1. Being late. Arriving late to a job interview is often an instant deal-breaker. Hiring managers assume that you're on your best behavior while interviewing, so if you're late, they'll assume you'll be unreliable once on the job. Always allow more time than you'll need to get to your interview, so that you have a buffer in case something goes wrong.

2. Being unprepared. Asking questions about the company that could have been answered with some basic research or not seeming familiar with the job description tells the employer that you didn't bother to do your homework.

3. Not showing enthusiasm. A job candidate who seems lackluster or unenthusiastic about the job prospect will almost certainly become an employee who isn't engaged with the work. Employers want candidates who seem committed and excited, so don't hesitate to articulate your interest in the job.

4. Being rude to the receptionist. Don't just be on your best behavior with your interviewer; make sure that you're polite to everyone you encounter. Many interviewers will ask the receptionist what they think of you. If you were rude or arrogant, that's usually a deal-breaker.

5. Sounding bitter. Job searching is tough, especially in this market, but if you let an extended period of unemployment make you bitter, then you'll turn off potential employers. It's nearly impossible to hide bitterness if you feel it, so it's crucial to find ways to have a more positive outlook.

6. Not being able to give specific examples in response to questions. If you claim that you excel at problem-solving or that you're an innovative genius and then you aren't able to give specific examples, interviewers aren't going to believe you. Make sure to come to the interview prepared with specific examples from your past that show how you've used your skills at work.

7. Claiming you have no weaknesses. You might as well wear a sign saying, "I'm not being straightforward with you." If an employer asks you about your weaker areas and you can't or won't respond with a realistic assessment of areas where you could improve, you'll appear to be lacking in insight and self-awareness. You'll also make it impossible to have a real discussion about your potential fitness for the job. A good hiring manager genuinely cares about ensuring you'll excel at the job, and having an honest discussion of your fit is a crucial part of that.

8. Answering your cell phone in the middle of the interview. If you forget to turn your phone off and it rings, that's forgivable, but answering it isn't. If your phone rings mid-interview, look mortified and apologize profusely--and then turn it off.

9. Sharing inappropriately. Resist the impulse to talk about how much you hated your old company, or the fact that you dated your boss, or your family's medical problems. Employers want to know that you understand professional boundaries and have a sense of discretion.

10. Lying about anything. However much you might wish that you could change the facts about why you left your last job or say that you finished your degree when you really didn't, lying in a hiring process is an instant deal-breaker. Employers want to hire candidates with integrity, not people who show they're willing to lie. And while you might think you won't get caught, you never know whom your employer might know who knows the truth.

- By Alison Green | U.S.News & World Report LP

Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee “Moneyball” Soon in Philippine Cinemas

2012-02-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee “Moneyball” Soon in Philippine Cinemas

Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor, Columbia Pictures’ critically acclaimed sports-oriented film “Moneyball” is based on the true story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) – once a would-be baseball superstar who, stung by the failure to live up to expectations on the field, turned his fiercely competitive nature to management.

Directed by Bennett Miller (“Capote”), “Moneyball” also bagged nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Sound Mixing.

In 2003, former Salomon Brothers bond trader turned author Michael Lewis, at the time best known for such business and politics bestsellers as Liar’s Poker and The New New Thing, published a book about baseball. Only it wasn’t just about baseball. On the surface, it was about how the under-funded, underrated Oakland A’s took on an unfair system of big-money and powerhouse teams. But it was really about the fascinating mix of men behind a major cultural shift and how a risky vision, born from necessity, becomes reality, when a ragtag team of cast-offs rejected due to unfounded biases, get the chance to finally prove their potential.

Now, Lewis’s book has been adapted into a feature film, “Moneyball,” starring Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, the A’s General Manager – the man who would have to think differently and reinvent the rules if his team was going to compete. “Moneyball is a classic underdog story,” says Pitt, who also serves as a producer of the project. “They go up against the system. How are they going to survive, how are they going to compete? Even if they do groom good talent, that talent gets poached by the big-market, big-money teams. And what these guys decided was, they couldn’t fight the other guy’s fight, or they were going to lose. They had to re-examine everything, to look for new knowledge, to find some kind of justice.”

At first glimpse, Lewis’ best-selling and groundbreaking book does not lend itself to a film adaptation. The book is a study of inefficiencies and oversights within the markets of the game of baseball and features case studies of undervalued items, (players, strategies, tactics), using analyses of statistics and theories. But at the center of it all is Billy Beane on a quixotic quest and as his story unfolds, something unexpected happens. His pursuit of a championship leads to something larger and more meaningful. The hallways and front offices of the Oakland Coliseum become an unlikely setting for inspiration and redemption.

Lewis’ book sheds light on the hindrances of groupthink and how irrational intuition and conventional ‘wisdom’ have dominated institutions throughout history. Challenging a system invariably provokes a fight. The film Moneyball builds its foundation from the experience of one man who chooses to take on that fight. Piercing through the layers of statistics, the film finds the quieter, deeper, and more personal story of Billy Beane, which bristles with moments of self-doubt and real life courage.

“Whenever a book is adapted into a movie, there are two possibilities: either the filmmakers stick to the book, or they make up their own story,” says Michael Lewis. “With `Moneyball,’ frankly, I wondered how they were going to do it, because the book doesn’t necessarily have a single narrative or the kind of dramatic arc you usually see in a movie. So it was truly tough to crack the code and get it right and it was an extremely pleasant surprise to see that Bennett and the screenwriters did the impossible – not only did I love the movie, but I was stunned by how well it represents my book. It is honest and true to what happened with Billy and the A’s and what they achieved.”

Bennett Miller adds, “I wasn’t interested in the tropes of sports movies. I’d rather not end a film with a hero carried off on the shoulders of teammates in a stadium where fans are screaming their heads off, champagne corks flying, trophies, fireworks, and all of that. I prefer the quiet triumphs, that might not burn as bright but deeper and more lasting, where you see someone struggle internally and then come out the other side to realize something has changed within them.”

“Michael Lewis likes stories about unconventional thinkers,” says Miller. “That’s what Moneyball is – a story about a character whose past and whose circumstances lead him to and require him to think differently. I like that you have a character who takes a risk not just to make something of himself, but more so to understand something about himself. Billy is trying to do something more meaningful than simply win baseball games – only even he doesn’t really understand that until he starts to turn things around. All of a sudden this baseball season, which is a David versus Goliath story, becomes not just one competitive man’s desperate attempt to win games. It’s really a trial, an attempt to prove something that would, if proven true, explain in part why his life turned out the way it did, which is a thrilling idea.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Moneyball” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller: Raw Young Talents to Watch for in ‘The Descendants’

2012-02-08T04:33:00.001-08:00

Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller: Raw Young Talents to Watch for in ‘The Descendants’

“The Descendants” showcases breakthrough performances from Shailene Woodley and newcomer Amara Miller as the daughters of this year’s Oscar contender for Best Actor, George Clooney.

In the depths of a crisis following a boating accident of Matt King’s (Clooney) wife, King has to come to terms with the fact that he has been largely inadequate as a father as he attempts to repair his relationship with his two daughters. Lack of parental support and stability have left both girls without direction. Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) is rebellious and has been sent off to boarding school. 10 year-old Scottie, played by first time actress Amara Miller, is precocious and in need of parental supervision.

Woodley plays 17-year old Alexandra, troubled daughter of Matt King (Clooney) who has to help her father come to terms with his wife’s coma – and her secrets.

Woodley is best known to US audiences for her performance as Amy Juergens in long-running TV series The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, for which she has received particular praise – including being named ‘Breakthrough of 2008’ by the magazine Entertainment Weekly.

Q: How would you describe your character, Alexandra?
A: I’d say she’s kind of a normal teen going through her angsty period in life and as a child she realized her Mom was going to be more of a best friend than an actual mother. And that her Dad was far removed and would show up for but not really have any communication within the family. So she built walls up and kind of became her own protector. She became very independent at a very young age.

Q: Could you relate to the character?
A: Yeah, of course, I went through my angsty period. I was probably about 14/15 when I hated the world, but that went away quickly and I didn’t really pull from my childhood for this character. For me acting is just about being yourself in the colors and restrictions of a particular character. I try not to pull from my own life or think about it too much. I’d rather just stay present to the situation in which the characters are being forced through.

Q: Is the first challenge of working with George Clooney getting over the fact that he’s George Clooney?
A: I wasn’t really nervous until he walked into the room for the table read in Los Angeles. I started sweating and shaking. Then he came up to me and gave me a big hug and he said “Welcome, Sweetie” and immediately the intimidation factor just disappeared. He’s so great. He’s just George Clooney, a guy from Kentucky with a heart of gold. He’s a spectacular human being on every level.

Q: The scene when you are filmed underwater, after you hear some bad news about your mother, must have been challenging.
A: I loved the underwater scene. I was literally born under water. I learnt to swim at one year old. Water is my personal comfort zone. In Hawaii, girls and guys alike learn to swim before they learn to walk. So I thought it was beautifully written that after hearing such tragic news she recedes into the water and has her moment to be vulnerable for the first time. I thought that was beautiful and then for me, selfishly, it was my own therapy session. I got to go under water and scream.

Q: Shailene is quite an unusual name.
A: Yeah. My Mom found it on a license plate actually. The name Shay was on a license plate in front of her. She was 18 and thought “Shay is cute but that’s a nickname.” So she added Shay-Lene, Shay-Line, Shay-Lin. And she liked Shailene. She didn’t have me until she was 26 but she remembered it for all those years. When I was born my Dad liked it too.

Q: As you’ve been acting for a long time and she is new to it, did you find yourself showing Amara the ropes a little bit?
A: Yes I did, and it was so much fun. She was 10 when we filmed so I definitely became the big sister and she was the little sister. It got to the point sometimes when I would say, “Scram! I need my space” and she was always coming from the position of, “Play with me! Play with me!” But, yeah, it was really cool. It was great when you could say, “So, this is how a camera works,” which seems obvious to those that have been on a film set many times but to a 10 year old, she literally thought there were only four people behind the camera. When she got to set and there were 200 people on the stage she thought, “What is going on? This is so bizarre!” But she is a really mature young lady. She’s definitely an old soul in the sense that she didn’t get overwhelmed. We got lucky. She actually can act.

“The Descendants” opens February 15 in theatres from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Cirque Mother Africa to Perform in Manila

2012-02-08T04:28:00.000-08:00

Cirque Mother Africa to Perform in Manila

For the first time in Manila, the world-renowned Cirque Mother Africa (created by professional acrobat Winston Ruddle) will dazzle and mesmerize local audiences with wild African music, dance and performance in a two-hour showcase.

The series of performances will start from April 19 to 22 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila.

Having performed in sold out shows staged in Germany, Italy, Romania, Russia, Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Spain – Cirque Mother Africa will tantalize audiences in Manila with a unique African-themed spectacle.

Dancers, percussionists, singers, acrobats and contortionists energetically take to the stage in a celebration of the culture of the traditional and modern African arts & culture.

The heartbeat of Africa pulsates throughout the jaw-dropping show as the musicians and artistes articulate their passion and love for their homeland including Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Benin, Zimbabwe, and Guinea.

The innovative show combines the talents from nine African countries to provide the wonder, suspense and joy of Cirque Mother Africa.

The show is a delight for the senses with items spun through the air, bodies contorted into mind-boggling shapes, and performers balance on other performers, percussionists beat up a storm of sound and traditional dancers tell their own stories. The audience will be overwhelmed by the complexity and versatility of these world-class acts.

Masks, drums, beads, and amazing costumes all bring forth the feel of authentic African traditions.

Cirque Mother Africa is not just a traditional African show. It also has a take on the modern, fresh and dynamic culture of the new Africa. Young acrobats perform feats that belong in any world-class circus, and energetic young performers compete in tap-dancing that is a toe-tapping delight. This is a fresh and fantastic show that evokes passion and demands a response. Audiences are encouraged, prodded and charmed to actively respond rather than to simply watch a breath-taking spectacle.

Cirque Mother Africa 2012 can be seen from April 19 to 22 at Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila. Tickets are available at selected National Book Stores, Robinsons Department Stores, Cinema Lobby – Greenbelt 1 and Trinoma. You may also inquire at TicketWorld Office www.ticketworld.com.ph call 891-9999 for bookings & reservations.

Exclusive! Enjoy a 15% discount from February 7-20 by calling the following hotlines 0916-3403919 or 0921-5642108.

Women Take Off With 'Pan Am' on AXN Beyond

2012-02-08T04:24:00.001-08:00

Women Take Off With 'Pan Am' on AXN Beyond

The high flying women of Pan Am are set to take off with you this February 11 on the captivating new TV drama series on AXN Beyond.

There was a time when air travel itself was as exciting as the destinations, and passengers actually dressed up to fly. But that was also the same era that a woman’s ‘place’ or ‘role in society’ was deemed to be at home amongst marriage, children and chores.

Then, the Jet Age dawned upon the 1960s to usher in a new ‘breed’ of women in America. With the world at their feet – actually 30,000 feet under – the stewardesses of the iconic American airline Pan Am were among the first women to see the world like never before, when many others, including men, were not privileged enough to. Personifying glamour, style, freedom and empowerment, these women took control of their own destinies and their lives truly took off into the friendly skies, inspiring a whole generation of men and women.

Welcome to 1963, the start of a unique period in history brought back to life in the glossy and stylishly retro TV drama series Pan Am to chronicle the lives and loves of its aircrew. Premiering 11 February 2012 and airing on Saturdays at 9.50pm first and exclusively on AXN Beyond, Pan Am will follow these lucky first few who could fly regularly on board the world’s largest and most prestigious airline to a truly global adventure.

The drama series is led by Emmy winner Christina Ricci (Grey’s Anatomy) as Maggie Ryan, the purser on board Pan Am’s new Clipper Majestic jet. Having climbed step-by-step up the social ladder to a better life and great opportunity, the resourceful, ambitious but stubborn Maggie is finally riding high and is determined not to fall. She works with the resilient and selfless French native Colette Valois (Karine Vanasse, Midnight in Paris) who has an innate understanding of international affairs, but is a searching wanderer when it comes to affairs of the heart.

Also part of the clique is the competitive rebel Kate Cameron (Kelli Garner, The Aviator) who left her sheltered life in East Granby, Connecticut to brave the world. Now, she must also navigate espionage and intrigue by becoming an international agent for the CIA. Running off on her wedding day, Kate’s enthusiastic, adventurous yet naïve younger sister, Laura Cameron (Margot Robbie, Neighbours) left her past behind to join Kate in a bold move that could bring serious personal consequences.

Piloting the Clipper Majestic on its maiden flight is the charming, industrious but proud Dean Lowrey (Mike Vogel, Cloverfield) who is newly promoted to captain and would not trade this moment for the world. The self-assured and flirty First Officer and Co-Pilot Ted Vanderway (Michael Mosley, Scrubs) is a former Navy test pilot who finds the commercial skies as turbulent as he struggles to overcome past mistakes and prove his worth as an aviator. And as the latter finds out, the ladies flying on Pan Am are different from the rest, “I’ve hit on enough of these girls to know that they’re not like normal women… They are a new breed of women.”

Despite mandatory weigh-ins before flights, grooming inspections and wearing of girdles, Maggie, Kate, Laura and Colette enjoy independence and liberation that was unheard of at that time complete with romantic liaisons, social engagements and a career of their choosing. Most of all, the international travels open their eyes to the world. Viewers will go with Maggie and her crew to new destinations each week including dream cities as London, Paris, Berlin, Monte Carlo, Rome and even Asia’s own Jakarta of half a century ago, re-created in the series.

Along the way, enjoy front-row seats to history in the making, as they witness former US President John Ford Kennedy’s visit to Berlin in 1963 and the arrival of British band The Beatles in New York in 1964…

Indeed, Pan Am will serve up authentic re-creations of the workings of Pan Am in the 60s: from serving seven course meals complete with turtle soup and caviar; to stewardesses playing board and card games with passengers; and a stewardess who was actually recruited to be a CIA operative. The series is executive produced by Nancy Hult Ganis (Akeelah and the Bee), a former Pan Am stewardess who added to her own experiences through extensive research and interviews with other ex-staff. Capturing the essence of the Jet Age, Pan Am has won over many critics including American daily Los Angeles Times’ high praise, “this is as good as it looks, and it looks very good.”

Among the first to be “beautiful, educated and trilingual”, the high flying women of Pan Am are set to take off with you on the captivating new TV drama series into the dreamy and swinging sixties this February. So, buckle up; adventure calls! And thank you for choosing Pan Am on AXN Beyond.

Pan Am premieres February 11, 2012 at 9.50 p.m. First and exclusively on AXN Beyond.

“My Week with Marilyn” Exclusive at Ayala Malls Cinemas

2012-02-07T18:02:00.001-08:00

“My Week with Marilyn” Exclusive at Ayala Malls Cinemas

The Weinstein Company's critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated film “My Week With Marilyn” starring Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh will be shown soon exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma).

Early in the summer of 1956, American film star Marilyn Monroe (Williams) set foot on British soil for the first time. On honeymoon with her husband, the celebrated playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), Monroe came to England to shoot “The Prince and the Showgirl” - the film that famously united her with Sir Laurence Olivier (Branagh), the British theatre and film legend who directed and co-starred in the film.

That same summer, 23-year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) set foot on a film set for the first time in his life. Newly graduated from Oxford, Clark aspired to be a filmmaker and found a job as a lowly production hand on the set of “The Prince and the Showgirl.” Forty years later, he recounted his experiences of the six-month shoot in a diary-style memoir entitled The Prince, the Showgirl and Me. But one week in Clark's account was missing...

It wasn't until years later that Clark revealed why. In a follow-up memoir entitled My Week with Marilyn, he recounted the true story of one magical week he spent alone with the world's biggest star - the week he spent with Marilyn.

"For a lot of people Marilyn is more of an iconic image than an actress,” admits director Simon Curtis. "People haven't seen her films as much as they have her portrait. My way into this project was falling in love with the first of Colin Clark's two memoirs. As somebody who was assistant director at The Royal Court Theatre, I found it fascinating to uncover this moment in time.”

The first memoir, The Prince, The Showgirl and Me, recounts Clark's experiences working as third assistant director on the set of Monroe's first film as both producer and star in which she played opposite Olivier, who also directed. The book recounts the production's myriad problems, fuelled almost exclusively by the lack of communication and understanding between the two stars: Monroe's erratic behavior and tardiness were exacerbated by her addiction to alcohol and prescription medication; while Olivier, a staunch traditionalist, refused to accommodate Monroe's idiosyncrasies or her devotion to Method acting, which she practiced under the guidance of Paula Strasberg.

While Clark's memoir is a dishy, fly-on-the-wall account of Olivier's and Monroe's fraught partnership, his follow-up memoir, My Week With Marilyn, feels like an intimate confession. In it, Clark affectionately remembers one enchanted week he spent leading the troubled Monroe on a tour of the English countryside. It offers an all-too-rare glimpse of the real woman beneath the carefully cultivated image, unencumbered by the busy machinery of stardom.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when My Week with Marilyn was published,” avows Curtis. "Colin really did have this tense, erotically charged week with the most famous woman in the world, at the peak of her fame. I couldn't believe my luck when I was able to get hold of the rights. People had tried over the years. And in the last year I've met at least three very established directors who have said, "I've always wanted to make that story.' So I feel very lucky.”

Sandra Bullock, Incredibly Affecting in “Extremely Loud”

2012-02-07T17:54:00.001-08:00

Sandra Bullock, Incredibly Affecting in “Extremely Loud”

Two years after winning an Academy Award for “The Blind Side,” Sandra Bullock takes the role of grief-stricken mother whose apparent absence in her son's life is not quite what it seems, in Warner Bros.' heartwrenching drama, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”

Nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards, the film is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father’s belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father (Tom Hanks) die on 9/11 in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls “The Worst Day,” he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears.

“What I find so moving about Oskar is that he feels there has to be an answer, but there is not always a clear ‘why’ or a ‘because’ to a situation,” Bullock says. “And sometimes the answer you get is not the one you expect, which is something Oskar has to discover for himself.”

Unlike Oskar’s father, his mother, Linda (Bullock), has always found it tough to reach her son, and that only seems to increase by a factor of 10 when her husband is no longer there to bridge the gap. Yet, much as she seems lost in her own private realm of grief, Linda is connecting to Oskar in ways of which he is not even aware.

Director Stephen Daldry felt there was an organic empathy in Bullock that would allow the role to work. “Sandra is a first-rate actress who really took her role to heart,” he says. “She looked after Thomas very well and formed a strong relationship with him that translated to the screen. She was able to bring a gravitas that was entirely appropriate but also a real charm.”

For Bullock, the intriguing part was playing a mother who has to work at bonding with her son and forging her own route back into his world after his father’s death. “I think when her husband was alive, Linda was always okay with just stepping back and letting Oskar and his father be a great team together,” she observes. “But now that Oskar has lost his playmate and the one person who grounded him and who he felt was his intellectual equal, she isn’t sure she can be any of those things to her son. And she’s in the process of grieving too, so she doesn’t have much energy to fight for that connection she so desperately wants with him. She has to struggle to find the solution.”

Given the subjective, first-person viewpoint of the film, Bullock also had to play her character the way Oskar perceives her – which was especially difficult because Oskar does not see the full picture of his mother. “I had to come to grips with the idea that the audience is seeing Linda on the screen entirely through Oskar’s point of view – and his view of her is not always very favorable,” she explains. “In some scenes, she can seem to be the opposite of nurturing, yet later, it becomes clear what is really going on with her. Still, I had to be okay with her looking at times like she wasn’t being a good mother to a child who is really in need. Part of it is that what Oskar sees is her grief, which is ugly and imperfect, but also very real. But what Oskar doesn’t know is that she is also very worried about him and that causes her to really try to think like he does.”

To explore Linda Schell’s experience more deeply, Bullock listened to recordings of phone calls and voice-mail messages left by those trapped in the World Trade Center for their families. “That was very hard for me,” she says. “But what floored me was to hear people giving comfort to those they were leaving behind. You really understand that the pain of hearing that is something that could never go away.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Animated Short “Tangled Ever After” With “Beauty and the Beast” 3D

2012-02-07T01:49:00.000-08:00

Animated Short “Tangled Ever After” With “Beauty and the Beast” 3D

Walt Disney Pictures has announced that "Tangled Ever After," the short film follow-up to their 2010 hit animated feature “Tangled” will be an added attraction to “Beauty and the Beast” 3D when it opens in the Philippines on February 22.

By popular demand, directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard are bringing back some of Disney’s most beloved characters when "Tangled Ever After" picks up where "Tangled" left off. The Kingdom is in a festive mood as everyone gathers for the royal wedding of Rapunzel and Flynn. However, when Pascal and Maximus, as flower chameleon and ring bearer, respectively, lose the gold bands, a frenzied search and recovery mission gets underway. As the desperate duo tries to find the rings before anyone discovers that they’re missing, they leave behind a trail of comical chaos that includes flying lanterns, a flock of doves, a wine barrel barricade and a very sticky finale. Will Maximus and Pascal save the day and make it to the church in time? And will they ever get Flynn’s nose right?

"Tangled Ever After" is the perfect accompaniment to "Beauty and the Beast", which is returning to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D and introducing a whole new generation to the Disney classic with stunning new 3D imagery. “Beauty and the Beast” was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning Oscars for Best Song, by the renowned Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, and Best Original Score (Menken).

“Beauty and the Beast” 3D is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Converting an Epic Franchise into 3D: “Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace”

2012-02-07T01:21:00.001-08:00

Converting an Epic Franchise into 3D: “Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace”

The epic adventure “Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace,” from visionary filmmaker George Lucas, captivated global audiences when it first came out in 1999. The Force is back. But this time in 3D giving the film an immersive dimension and turning it into an altogether richer cinematic experience.

It’s an experience that will inevitably be thrilling: watching “Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” 3D on the big screen. The first Star Wars movie to be presented in spectacular 3D, all the exciting elements of the original remain, with added dimension and nuance.

George Lucas, the pioneering and brilliant filmmaker behind Star Wars, has overseen the process with his renowned attention to detail. John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was responsible for the actual conversion. He served as visual effects supervisor on all three of the Star Wars prequels. The remaining five Star Wars films will be converted to 3D over the coming years.

“I think 3D makes the film more immersive,” says John Knoll. “The extra dimension makes the audience feel like they are more present in the Star Wars universe. I wanted to make sure that we were not turning this into a gimmick. It's something that should feel natural and not cause eye-strain or cheapen the product so I was not looking for places to poke stuff out of the camera. I went for naturalistic stereo as though the movie had actually been shot in stereo. I think the film looks better than it ever looked before.”

“Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” was released in 1999. The movie starred Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewan McGregor as his apprentice Obi-Wan-Kenobi, a determined young Jedi Knight. Natalie Portman played Queen Amidala. Jake Lloyd starred as Anakin Skywalker. It is a fantastically exciting adventure set 32 years before the events of the original. The film follows Anakin’s journey as he pursues his dreams and confronts his fears in the midst of a galaxy in turmoil.

In between the production of Episode II (2002) and Episode III (2005), director George Lucas first began exploring the idea of presenting the entire Star Wars saga as 3D theatrical releases. Active 3D conversion work on “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” began in 2010. “I'm really excited about the new big screen release of the film. We’ve worked very hard to get the best quality 3D we could. The big screen experience is so much better than watching it on television. It was designed to put you in the environment and surround you with the sound and the picture. There is nothing like it. I'm so glad that we were able to bring this whole experience to the next generation. This will be the third generation that will be able to see it on the big screen and when you're young, it’s an overwhelming and powerful event,” relates Lucas on the 3D conversion of the movie.

Lucas recalls that “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” underwent a painstaking frame-by-frame conversion from a 2D film to a 3D experience thanks to the efforts of Prime Focus, a global visual entertainment services company, and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the preeminent visual effects company that has produced the visuals for all the Star Wars movies.

“Originally I was not a big fan of 3D. I really thought 3D was a gimmick. Then later on I was trying to get digital projectors into the theaters. I was doing a presentation in Las Vegas. Bob Zemeckis and Jim Cameron came up to me and said: ‘We want to get 3D into the theaters. Would you join us in showing the theater owners that you can do 3D?’ And I said: ‘That’d be good because in order to do 3D you have to have digital theaters. So it would promote my idea of digital theaters.’ Then when I saw the test that we did of Star Wars in 3D, I realized how great it was and how great it looked. I became fascinated with the idea of converting STAR WARS into 3D, which was easier said than done. It took us a long time to develop a structure in which we could actually do a really good conversion of a 2D film into a 3D film,” further shares Lucas.

“Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” (3D) opens February 9 in cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

15 Interesting Facts about Valentine's Day

2012-02-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

15 Interesting Facts about Valentine's Day

In celebration of the day of hearts next week, here are some interesting facts about Valentine's Day:

Sales of condoms and contraceptive pills are higher during Valentine's week, several companies that sell these products have claimed. Among them are Durex and Yes2condom, a 24/7 online retail service.
Last year, a party-list group in the Philippines gave out free condoms on Valentine's Day as part of an effort to inform people on reproductive rights and secure support for the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill.
On February 14, 2001, 34 couples from 22 countries exchanged wedding vows ten meters underwater near Kradan Island in Southern Thailand. This currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most number of couples married simultaneously underwater.
Last year, Iran banned Valentine tokens such as teddy bears as part of an Islamic republic backlash against Western culture. In 2003, religious activists in India raided shops and burned Valentine's Day cards, while some in Pakistan condemned the occasion as "a day of shame and lust."
In Japan, women give chocolates to their boyfriends, male friends and co-workers on Valentine's Day. Men return the favor on March 14, known as White Day, by handing out white chocolates, lingerie and jewelry to their female friends and loved ones.
A group of feminists began to celebrate an occasion called "Quirkyalone Day" as an alternative to Valentine's Day. It is geared toward people who "resist the tyranny of coupledom." The SAD or Single Awareness Day, on the other hand, aims to remind people that they do not need to be in a relationship to celebrate the 14th of February.
The largest chocolate bar mosaic on the Guinness World Records was made in Switzerland during February 14, 2011. It is 18.35 meters long and made with 1,500 bars of white chocolate and red-colored white chocolate.
Flowers given during Valentine's Day have different meanings. Red roses mean love, yellow roses mean friendship, and pink roses mean friendship or sweetheart. Red carnations mean admiration, white carnations mean pure love, red chrysanthemums mean love, and primrose means young love.
In Germany, young girls would plant onions in a pot on Valentine's Day, and place the name of a boy next to each onion. They believed that they would marry the boy whose name was nearest to the first onion to grow.
Young girls in the United States and the United Kingdom believed that they could tell the type of man they would marry based on the type of bird they first saw on Valentine's Day. A blackbird means a clergyman, a robin redbeast means a sailor, while a goldfinch indicates that they would marry a rich man. A sparrow means a farmer, a blue bird a happy man, a crossbill an argumentative man, and a dove a good man. Seeing a woodpecker is said to mean that they would not marry at all.
A kiss on Valentine's Day is said to bring good luck all year.
In the medieval times, doves are widely believed to choose their mates on February 14. It has become a favorite symbol for Valentine cards.
In 2010, the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi had what may be the priciest Valentine offer: a seven-day stay for $1 million. The offer included a romantic dinner in-suite or on a yacht at sea, helicopter flights, use of the Abu Dhabi golf course, horse riding, watching camel racing, and perfume making. A private jet was also on call for a quick shopping spree to other countries in the region.
Last year, the New York Bronx Zoo gave people a chance to name a Madagascar-hissing cockroach after their special someone as a Valentine's Day offering. The Madagascar is the largest and noisiest variety of cockroach.
It is said that teachers receive the most Valentine cards, followed by children, mothers and wives. Children ages 6 to 10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine cards every year.

Sources:

Random History
Guinness World Records

Madonna Super Bowl 2012 Halftime Performance

2012-02-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it. Catch here Madonna‘s 12-minute performance during the halftime of the 2012 Superbowl.

The songs included in her Superbowl medley were her 90s hit “Vogue,” her 2000s dance jam “Music,” LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” where she was joined by Stefan ‘Redfoo’ Gordy and Skyler ‘SkyBlu’ Gordy, her new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin,” with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., and lastly her 1989 hit, “Like a Prayer,” which she opened with bits from her other hits “Open Your Heart” and “Express Yourself.” She was joined by Cee Lo Green and a gospel choir during that finale number and ended with the message “World Peace” illuminating on the stage.

Watch the video here:

Adele Confirms Grammy Performance After Her Vocal Cords Surgery

2012-02-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

Adele Confirms Grammy Performance After Her Vocal Cords Surgery

She just had a vocal cords surgery but that doesn't stop Adele to perform at next week's Grammys. Why? Because she has 6 nominations and she doesn't want to miss collecting whatever winnings she would have.

The 23-year-old British songstress is nominated in Album Of The Year and Pop Vocal Album for her sophomore album "21", Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for "Rolling in the Deep", Best Pop Solo Performance for "Someone Like You" and Best Short Form Music Video for "Rolling in the Deep".

The Grammys will happen on February 12 in Los Angeles.

Fun Facts About the Making of “John Carter”

2012-02-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

Fun Facts About the Making of “John Carter”

As the grand opening of the 3D epic, action-adventure “John Carter” gets nearer, Walt Disney Pictures released some interesting trivia about the making of this much anticipated film.

Set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars), “John Carter” tells the story of war‐weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

“John Carter” is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ first novel, “A Princess of Mars.” An American writer, Burroughs was born in Chicago and is best known for writing and creating “Tarzan”—still one of the most successful and iconic fictional creations of all time.

2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the character John Carter.

Since 1935, various filmmakers have attempted to make a movie based on “A Princess of Mars”—the first was intended to be an animated feature film by Bob Clampett of “Beany and Cecil” fame. If it had been made, it would have been America’s first full-length animated film, prior to Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” which premiered in 1937.

Academy Award®–winning director/writer Andrew Stanton directed and co-wrote the screenplay for “WALL•E,” which earned the Academy Award® and Golden Globe Award® for Best Animated Feature of 2008. He was Oscar®-nominated for the screenplay. Stanton made his directorial debut with “Finding Nemo,” garnering an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of 2003.

“John Carter” screenwriters Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon discovered they had something in common when they met: they all still possessed the John Carter drawings and artwork that they had done when they were boys.

Crewmembers, working on location in Utah, found a large bone protruding from the ground. The Bureau of Land Management confirmed it was in fact a Sauropod bone—either a femur or scapula—from a dinosaur that could have been 60ft long. An excavation is currently taking place to retrieve the rest of the prehistoric skeleton.

The Ancient Barsoomian typography carved into the walls of the sacred temples in “John Carter” took their original design from actual markings found on the surface of the planet Mars.

Working from the original source material, a linguist was hired to create the entire Thark Martian language, using just a few words mentioned in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels.

The actors playing the nine-foot tall, green Thark characters had to learn to walk on stilts to film the scenes with John Carter, giving the correct eye-line contact for the dialogue.

Stunt Coordinator Tom Struthers was delighted and amazed that Taylor Kitsch did 98% of his own stunt work, including an 85-foot jump in the learning-to-walk sequence, a 65-foot jump in the arena, battling the ferocious white apes, and a 250- foot long series of jumps in the Martian wilderness.

Cinema audiences will be astonished to see actress Lynn Collins, when not donning her Dejah Thoris look, has strawberry blonde hair and fair skin.

While filming in Utah, the film crew came across a small space center called the Mars Society Desert Research Station. No one was home but the Website reads: “Teams of hard-working volunteers, working in full simulation mode in the barren canyon lands of Utah, continue to explore the surrounding terrain, cataloging more waypoints, and analyzing the geology and biology of this fascinating and remarkably Mars-like region.”

Opening across the Philippines in March, “John Carter” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” Rolls to the Screen in 3D!

2012-02-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” Rolls to the Screen in 3D!

Warner Bros.' highly-awaited sequel “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” brings to the screen the hell-raising hero Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider in eye-popping 3D!

“The movie for us was always going to be in 3D, from the very beginning – we love making the movie a more immersive experience. It seemed like a really cool idea, especially with our style of shooting,” says co-director Brian Taylor. “We tried to push the envelope with the technology. The first thing they told us was all the things we couldn’t do – no handheld camera, no quick cuts, no lens flares, no soft foreground, no super-long lenses, no super-wide lenses… and we asked, well, why?”

“There are rules, and directors Mark [Neveldine] and Brian wanted to break those rules, so it was my job to break them,” says stereographer Craig Mumma. “We wanted to take their style and adapt it to the screen and make 3D an enjoyable experience. The way Mark and Brian shoot, the camera work is an integral part of the movie, almost like another character. There’s no changing the way they shoot, so we had to come up with tools to adapt.”

In the film, Johnny (Nicolas Cage) - still struggling with his curse as the devil's bounty hunter - is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy from the devil. At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy - and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

Neveldine/Taylor’s extreme filmmaking required a story that broke new ground as well. It wouldn’t do to simply pick up where the last film left off. “This story takes place years later, when Blaze – and the Ghost Rider – are in an entirely different place,” says producer Ari Arad. “Johnny Blaze is now miles away from his place of birth, trying to run away from the demon inside him. In comes a priest, Moreau, played by Idris Elba, who promises to help Johnny – if Johnny can help find a certain boy. If Johnny can find the boy and save the child’s soul, he might be able to save his own soul as well.”

Opening across the Philippines on Friday, February 17 in digital 3D and regular theaters, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams Talk About Nudity in “The Vow”

2012-02-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams Talk About Nudity in “The Vow”

Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum are set to warm audience's hearts in Columbia Pictures' upcoming romantic movie, "The Vow," but when it came time to shoot the movie's racy scenes, Channing had a few tricks up his sleeve - and down his pants!

"He bared his ass quite a bit," Access Hollywood correspondent Tim Vincent said of Channing's performance to Rachel at the film's junket.

"He did bare some other things. Yeah, he goes for it," Rachel said with laugh.

In the upcoming movie, the actors share a scene where Rachel's character walks in on Channing's character completely naked, a scene that the actor employed the help of the prop department on to enhance his nether regions.

"He's very generous, giving, thoughtful actor. He went to the prop department like a month in advance and said hey, 'I want to help Rachel out in this scene. I don't want her to have to pretend too much,'" Rachel explained. "He had a prosthetic made!"

Channing told Access that he worried about Rachel's reaction skills for the pivotal scene.

"I really didn't have faith in her acting, to be totally honest. I wanted to get a real reaction from her, because it needed to be good," he joked. "I made sure that I had [a prosthetic] that was down to my shin and that take is in the movie."

“The Vow” is the real-life story of a young couple who were struck by tragedy shortly after their wedding. A car crash puts the wife (McAdams) in a coma, where she is cared for by her devoted husband (Tatum). When she comes to, without any memory of her husband or their marriage, the husband must woo her and ultimately win her heart once again.

Opening across the Philippines on Friday, Feb. 10, “The Vow” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

Super Bowl 2012 Commercials

2012-02-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

PRE-KICK OFF

The Dictator

Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, John C. Reilly, and Megan Fox together star in the upcoming movie "The Dictator," the heroic story of a dictator who ensures that democracy will never come to his regime. The Dictator will hit theaters May 11, 2012.

Hyundai - Fast Acting

This fast-paced spot is for those who think they may want a German import.

Hyundai - All for One

It features the iconic theme song from the film Rocky. It has a corporate branding feel as a "thank you" to all the employees and was filmed at the Montgomery, Alabama, facility.

FIRST QUARTER

Audi - Vampire Party

The luxury automaker hawks their exotic S7 and centers on a bloodsucker who unwittingly kills his friends at a bonfire party with the car's powerful headlamps.

Bud Light Platinum - Factory

Triple filtered. Smooth finish. Top shelf taste. Introducing Bud Light Platinum.

Pepsi - King's Court

Elton John and The X Factor winner, Melanie Amaro, face off in an epic, medieval music showdown. Proving once again, Where There's Pepsi, There's Music.

Hyundai - Cheetah

The Korean automaker says it's fast. And with a 7-inch multimedia touchscreen, a 450-watt dimension® premium audio system, and Pandora® Internet radio, there's a lot more the 201 horsepower Veloster Turbo can do - besides outrunning a cheetah.

Bud Light Platinum - Work

Another spot for Bud Light Platinum - Triple filtered. Smooth finish. Top shelf taste.

Chevy Silverado 2012

A man drives his Chevy Silverado through an apocalyptic world predicted by the Mayan calendar. Unfortunately, not everyone makes it to the meeting point.

Best Buy

Watch as phone innovation meets phone-buying innovation, at Best Buy. Choose Phone Freedom and get any phone, any carrier, and all of their plans, with lots of unbiased advice.

M&Ms - Ms. Brown

This ad introduces candy addicts to Ms. Brown, the newest member of the M&M clan. Can she survive the all-male group? Something tells us she'll be able to hold her own.

Celebrity Apprentice - Attack

This season, 18 business-savvy celebrity contestants will compete, not for a job with the Trump Organization, but for the greater goal of raising money and awareness for their charity of choice. The last person standing will be "hired" as the Celebrity Apprentice and have the honor of delivering a $250,000 bonus check to their designated charity.

Go Daddy - Body Paint

Dot CO domains from Go Daddy have never looked this sexy!

Lexus - The Beast

This run-of-the-mill car spot introduces us to the beastly 2013 Lexus GS.

Bridgestone - Performance Football

The engineers at Bridgestone have infused their new Performance Football with the same curve-hugging, cutting-edge technology from their Potenza tires. And as sports legends Troy Aikman and Deion Sanders are about to learn, the game may never be the same.

SECOND QUARTER

Budweiser - Return of the King

A town celebrates as the World Famous Budweiser Clydesdales usher in a historic moment in American History. Delivering Great Times Since 1876...Grab Some Buds!

Chevy - Happy Grad

One lucky man receives the best graduation gift ever -- or does he? A Chevrolet Route 66 film submission from Zack Borst, USA.

General Electric - Power and Beer

Watch how GE employees in Schenectady help power cities, schools, businesses...and even beer.

John Carter

Walt Disney Pictures and the NFL are giving viewers an opportunity to enter The John Carter Journey to the Super Bowl Sweepstakes during the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 5, 2012. The Grand Prize winner will receive a trip for two to the 2013 Super Bowl game.

Viewers who are interested in entering the sweepstakes should tune into the game and watch for the John Carter commercial. During the airing of the 30-second spot, a code will be revealed. Viewers can then go to http://NFL.com/JohnCarter and input the code to be entered in the sweepstakes.

Volkswagen - The Dog Strikes Back

In this extended ad version, the sporty, all-new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle inspires Bolt the dog to get in shape, and an intergalactic superstar makes a surprise appearance.

Doritos - Man's Best Friend

This Doritos ad was chosen from five contenders via a public vote online. The winner will receive one million dollars.

America's Got Talent

Howard Stern will join America's Got Talent as a new judge this summer on NBC.

H&M

Clothing retailers Hennes and Mauritz decided to give something to the ladies forced to watch the big game in the form of soccer star David Beckham. The gorgeously shot ad for his new bodywear line features the 1965 blues hit "Don't Le Me Be Misunderstood" by the Animals. Effective? Let's just say we can only imagine how many beer bellies were being sucked in.

Coke - Catch

This game day spot will change depending on the circumstances. If the 2nd quarter is particularly stressful, then NE_Bear will relieve some tension when his friends toss him a Coke...if he can catch it.

Chevy - Stunt Anthem

The all-new Chevy Sonic is up for adventure. Watch Sonic's first time skydiving, bungee jumping, kick flipping, and performing with OK GO. 100% real stunts.

Teleflora

Teleflora's 2012 Super Bowl commercial starring Adriana Lima is both romantic and alluring; with the gorgeous Lima taking center stage as she prepares for a special Valentine's Day date.

Skechers - Mr. Quiggly

Check out Mr. Quiggly, the tiny French Bulldog with the heart of a champion, in his SKECHERS GOrun 2012 Big Game commercial. How will Quiggly find an edge to help him race? Watch to see his secret weapon in action!

The Avengers

Amazing!

Cars.com - Confident You

Cars.com takes you inside the showroom of a dealership where a knowledgeable car shopper is talking to a friendly dealer. Thanks to Cars.com and a thorough side-by-side comparison, this is no ordinary visit. As they're chatting, the car shopper's inner confidence is unleashed from his neck and shoulder in the form of smooth Disco-singing head. "Baby, I want that car!"

Doritos - Sling Baby

This Doritos ad was chosen from five contenders via a public vote online. The winner will receive one million dollars.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

"G.I. Joe" sequel stars Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis. In theaters June 2012.

E*Trade - Fatherhood

The E*TRADE Baby reassures a new dad about planning for his daughter's future with E*TRADE Financial Consultants -- and his friend Bobby stops by for an unexpected surprise visit.

HALF TIME

Toyota Camry - Connections

There are nearly 7 million Camry drivers out there. Every one of them has a story. What's yours?

Hulu Plus

"Up All Night" star Will Arnett does his best to convince us to spend our extra dough on Hulu Plus.

The Voice Season 2 - Vocal Kombat

This must-watch "The Voice" ad also features Betty White.

Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep - It's Halftime in America

Clint Eastwood gives the country a pep talk and tells the world that while it's halftime in America, American cars and engineering's second half is about to begin. All that matters now is looking ahead and finding a way forward.

The Voice Season 2 – First in Asia on AXN

2012-02-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

The Voice Season 2 – First in Asia on AXN

Premiering on February 6, 2012 within 24 hours of the US broadcast is Season 2 of The Voice, offering aspiring singers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be mentored by celebrity coaches. Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton return with their sizzling chemistry and their trademark red swiveling chairs to judge contestants solely on their vocal talent and not their looks. If more than one coach turns to pick a particular singer, the tide turns and the choice of coach goes to the singer. This season, show producer Mark Burnett has added more rounds of blind auditions and each of the coaches’ teams will be expanded to 12 singers each.

The ante is certainly upped in terms of the diversity and quality of the contestants this season, with Aguilera bagging ‘everything from an opera singer, powerhouse MC to soul singers’ on her team. What is interesting is that savvy contestants who are in demand now know how to play the game, and have taken the opportunity to push the coaches a little further and wrangle for commitment to be kept for a few rounds.

Season 1’s contestants have done well for themselves so far; winner Javier Colon has released a new album in collaboration with Natasha Bedingfield and his coach, Adam Levine, while first runner-up Dia Frampton has also launched her album with the help of coach Blake Shelton. Other contestants – Beverly McClellan from Team Aguilera and Vicci Martinez from Team Cee Lo have also begun recording after the show ended.

Talent-spotting aside, be sure to keep an eye out for new songs from the coaches themselves! After all, Season 1 was the launchpad for Shelton’s ‘Honey Bee’, a country chart-topper, as well as the Maroon 5-Aguilera single ‘Moves Like Jagger’ which hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 list. And as Aguilera teased, look out for the ‘kickass’ opening performance by the coaches this season!

The Voice Season 2 premieres on 6 Feb 2012, Mon at 10.55 p.m. Viewers are also invited to visit www.axn-asia.com for the latest update on their broadcast schedules or follow them on Twitter @axnasia for more information about the show.

NBA 2012 All-Stars Starters Line-Up

2012-02-02T22:32:00.000-08:00

NBA 2012 All-Stars Starters Line-Up

The 2012 NBA All-Star players line-up were released on Friday, February 3, by the National Basketball Association through its website NBA.com.

Eastern Conference Starters

LeBron James, Miami – Forward
Carmelo Anthony, New York – Forward
Derrick Rose, Chicago – Guard
Dwyane Wade, Miami – Guard
Dwight Howard, Orlando – Center
Western Conference Starters

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City – Forward
Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers – Forward
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers – Guard
Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers – Guard
Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers – Center

The All-Star game will be played on February 26, 2012. It is the second time Orlando, Florida will be hosting the event, but it is the first time for newest Magic home court, the Amway Center. The east will host the All-Star game for the first time in nine years, the last being in Atlanta, Georgia in 2003.

James Bond "Skyfall" Photo Revealed

2012-02-02T19:55:00.001-08:00

James Bond "Skyfall" Photo Revealed

Columbia Pictures has just released the first official photo from the highly anticipated James Bond film, “Skyfall” – the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time.

The photo features Daniel Craig, back as James Bond 007 for the third time, in Shanghai, carrying a tiny pistol in what looks to be a tense situation...

In the film, James Bond’s loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Craig says on the progress of the movie's shoot: “We’re well into filming now and I couldn’t be happier with it all. We have a great script, incredible actors and a really strong creative team.”

“Skyfall,” from Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Academy Award® winner Sam Mendes (“American Beauty,” “Road to Perdition”).

The screenplay is written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan. “Skyfall” will begin its worldwide roll-out in the UK and Ireland on October 26th 2012 and in North America and Asia (including the Philippines) on November 9th 2012.

Joining Craig in the cast are Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw and Bérénice Marlohe.

“Skyfall” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

The Secrets to a Millionaire's Success

2012-02-02T01:39:00.000-08:00

There's no real practical reason to ask "who wants to be a millionaire?" because the only people who won't put their hand up are religious types who've taken vows of poverty and those who are already multi-millionaires. Unfortunately, there's a big gulf between those who want it and those who do the things to make it happen.

Based on recent statistics on UK household income, millionaire-dom is not something that's going to happen for most people, even with the dubious benefits of inflation. An adult earning the median level of income (£26,200 a year in 2011) and saving an impressive 20% of that would need almost 200 years to save £1 million (excluding taxes and investment gains). It's pretty clear, then, that a would-be millionaire has to think outside the boundaries of "median" experience.

Start a business

There are certainly people who can become millionaires by working for other people, but this is not an especially good route to choose. The trouble with trying to become a millionaire by working for other people is that there are always other people siphoning off the value of whatever you produce. Say you're a hotshot salesman – although you're going to get your cut, a lot of the value you create is going to get split among a broader pool of workers, managers and the owner(s) of the business.

Start your own business, though, and you get to decide how to divide that pie. Better still, your ownership stake can become more and more valuable over time as that business becomes larger and larger. While a good employee may get raises and promotions as his or her employer grows, they'll never see the same benefits (including the appreciation in the value of the ownership interest) as the owners.

Use other people's money

One of the remarkably consistent features of stories about people who go from relatively no wealth to major wealth is the role of other people's money in making it happen. Sometimes it's start-up capital from a generous relative, or maybe it's a small business loan or venture capital.

Borrowed money can be a major force multiplier. Behind virtually every property empire is borrowed money and the use of leverage in investing (whether through buying stocks on margin, buying options or buying futures) can rapidly magnify a skilful investor's success. Of course, this cuts both ways – just as borrowed money can create a large business (or portfolio) quickly, just one mistake in an over-leveraged enterprise can bring the whole thing crashing down.

It comes down, then, to risk tolerance. Those who really want to build large wealth (and do so quickly) through business or investment will have to do so in part with other people's money.

Cultivate a valued skill

Wages respond to supply and demand just like everything else, so it is very important to cultivate a skill that is not only in demand, but scarce enough to be valuable. Architecture and law, for instance, are both specialised skills, but not necessarily rare enough to make their practitioners wealthy unless they are at the high end of their profession.

Sports is an obvious example, but most people know in their teens whether they have the rare physical gifts (and perhaps the even rarer mental discipline and dedication) to open the doors to a professional sports career, and it's not really a door that can be opened in college or later. Medicine and engineering, though, are both open to college-aged people who have the requisite abilities and the willingness to put in the effort. The services of these professionals are not only almost always in demand, but the supply is small enough that professionals here can fairly expect to become millionaires on the basis of their labours.

This is also true for unconventional skills as well. Pursuing a career as a writer, actor or professional gambler is a virtual guarantee of poverty for most people. For those who actually have the skills necessary to succeed, though, it can be their best chance of building real wealth.

Out-think or out-hustle

Lazy and self-made millionaire just don't go together. Going back to that supply-demand equation, anything that's relatively easy, convenient and accessible is going to have ample supply and relatively low payouts. Since most people don't actually want to work that hard, though, there are real wealth-creation opportunities out there for those willing to think and/or work just a little harder than average.

One option for building exceptional wealth is to out-think the majority of people out there. While pursuits like writing, investing and inventing all involve a tremendous amount of effort and dedication, there is at least some aspect of out-thinking to them all. Steve Jobs of Apple, Richard Branson of Virgin and Lord Alan Sugar all clearly worked hard to achieve success, but a lot of that success was predicated on seeing things that others didn't see and figuring out how to do them even better.

Out-hustling is an undervalued aspect of wealth creation. Success in business is often about the hustle – the willingness to make one more call or work an extra hour later. The field of "hustle" is wide, rich and fertile. You can make good money visiting auctions and reselling undervalued items, just as you can make good money from a variety of multi-level marketing programs. The question is whether you want to spend the hours it takes to drive the process forward.

Rental property is a good example. It is actually not all that difficult to find rental properties, buy them and rent them out. Do this well and it's fairly easy to earn an annual return of 8-15%. The problem is that there are a myriad of small annoyances that go with it – hassles in haggling over the purchase price, hassles in getting mortgages, hassles in getting tenants, hassles in dealing with tenants and so on. Some people just don't want to be bothered with this, but those who don't mind the annoyances can reap the rewards.

The bottom line

Having £1 million or more in net worth is still uncommon enough to be special and significant, and it doesn't often come as a by-product of luck or chance. Hard work is a virtual requisite, but so too is a willingness to take on some risk (such as starting a business or using leverage) or cultivate a rare gift (like writing or inventing). Although simple living and sound investing will help anyone build more wealth, a special level of success requires a special person who is willing to do more and risk more than most people.

By Stephen D Simpson, Investopedia.com

How to Eliminate Signs Of Aging

2012-02-01T20:10:00.000-08:00

Short of finding the mythical fountain of youth, we know there's nothing we can do to stop aging. As you get older, more signs of wear and tear will appear on your skin. And it will likely start by the time you hit the big 3-0.

But just because we know we'll eventually grow old doesn't mean we shouldn't take care of ourselves. Who says we can't meet the inevitable—in this case, aging—without beauty and grace?

Here are five of the first signs of aging and how to minimize their blow:

Crow's feet.

These lines, believe it or not, come from the muscles we use to close our eyes. "Imagine when you shut your eyes close while avoiding watching a scary scene versus just softly blinking or opening your eyes. The former causes lateral folds in the corner of the eyes to appear," says dermatologist Dr. Nicole Yu. "When we age, these folds become more permanent because our skin loses its elasticity."

Sun worshippers will experience the onset of crow's feet earlier than those who stay in the shade, as the sun's harmful UV rays breaks down the elasticity of our skin. Plus, you tend to squint more when you're exposed to bright sunlight. Prevent having too-pronounced lines by applying sunscreen with an SPF of no lower than 15. Invest in a good pair of sunglasses that keep off UV rays.

Sagging skin.

- on your chin, jawline, neck, etc. You will reach a point in your life when you'll notice that everything in your body seems to be giving into the laws of gravity. Thanks to the skin losing its support system (that being collagen and elastin), what used to be tight and supple becomes soft and plump. "Chins become jowls, the square jawlines become flabby, and the corners of our mouth become droopy," says Dr. Yu. Radical weight loss over a short period of time can also cause sagging skin, because you're not giving your skin enough time to catch up.

Try to defy gravity a little bit longer by eating a balanced diet. One of the things that break down elastin and collagen in the skin are free radicals. So reach for food high in antioxidants, like mangoes and green, leafy vegetables, to fight off free radicals in the body. Steer clear of drastic diets if you're trying to lose weight. You won't be getting the proper nutrients, and your dramatic weight loss can result in saggy skin.

Fine lines and wrinkles.

Remember when your mother told you when you were younger to stop making funny faces lest your face stays that way? She may have had a point. While fine lines and wrinkles may be caused by internal factors (such as your body naturally aging, the inevitable breaking down of collagen and elastin in the body, and your genetic make-up), it can also be caused by external factors. That being sun exposure, pollution, and—who knew?—the many facial expressions you make. "With repetitive actions of our facial muscles and these factors, fine lines and wrinkles appear," says Dr. Yu.

Since you can't change your genetic make-up, your best bet to delay the onset of wrinkles is by doing something about the external factors. Apply a good sunblock every day or a moisturizer with SPF, even if it's rainy or cloudy outside—the sun's rays can still stream through the clouds. Avoid going out in the sun between 11 in the morning to one in the afternoon, when the sun's UV rays are at its harshest. Plus, smile! "It's better to have smile lines than frown lines!" says Dr. Yu.

Dry, dull skin.

Apparently, it's not only your skin's collagen and elastin production that slows down. We also lose sweat and oil glands, which produce natural moisturizers for the skin. "People usually notice that their lower legs, elbows, and forearms dry out first," says Dr. Yu. Another culprit for dry skin would be the hormone estrogen. Estrogen levels drop as you age, which causes skin to become more fragile. And that rosy glow you're missing? You can thank the decrease in number of blood vessels in the skin.

Keep your skin dryness to a minimum by taking your soap usage down a notch. (Reach out for a moisturizing beauty bar instead). Keep a bottle of hand lotion on your desk, so you can moisturize right after washing your hands. Avoid hot baths and take tepid showers instead—hot water can seriously dry out the skin. And don't forget to moisturize! The best time to hydrate your skin is after bathing. Pat yourself dry with a towel, then slather on lotion or oil. This helps keep in the moisture from your shower.

Spider Veins.

They're those icky, enlarged veins that seem to be "creeping" along the skin's surface. And weak veins that can't seem to carry blood back to the heart cause them. "These veins have valves that act as a one-way flap to prevent the backward motion of the blood as the blood goes toward the heart," Dr. Yu explains. "When the valves become weak, it causes the backflow and pooling of blood in the veins, which makes the veins bigger." The bad news is, these valves weaken as we grow older. Other factors that can cause spider veins are obesity and pregnancy, since both add extra pressure on our veins.

There's a way to prevent getting a lot of these creepers, though. Avoid standing or sitting for long periods of time, since this causes your veins to work harder in pumping blood towards your heart. You can also do calf exercises. "Our calves help in circulating blood in our legs, so contracting these muscles will help in circulation," says Dr. Yu. Another way to keep spider veins at bay is to elevate your legs a few minutes everyday to help the blood flow back to your heart.

- By Maui V. Reyes, Yahoo! Southeast Asia

‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ Features Latest CG Visual FX Stun

2012-02-01T20:09:00.001-08:00

‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ Features Latest CG Visual FX Stun

Though the directors’ focus for Warner Bros.’ “Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance” was to capture as much of the action in camera as possible, it was clear from the beginning that the film would have to employ CG effects as well. After all, the title character has a flaming skull.

In the film, Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) — still struggling with his curse as the devil’s bounty hunter – is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy from the devil. At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy – and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

Overseeing the VFX is Visual Effects Supervisor Eric Durst, who says, like all of the departments, the new Ghost Rider film would have a very different look from its predecessor. “[Directors] Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor really wanted a new look for `Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.’ It’s a darker film, so we created a look that integrated with that. The look of the character isn’t stylized at all – it is as if Ghost Rider really existed, really had a flaming head. The skull is dark and charred – just as it would be if you really had a skull that was on fire. Another touch like that is the shoulders of the jacket – they would be bubbling up from the heat inside the body.”

The primary challenge in creating the VFX, says Durst, is that the character is “interactive. The light that comes off the flames on his head – it interacts with his shoulders and anything else nearby. But interactive light is very difficult to recreate in the computer. It’s so subtle, and it interacts in different ways with different fabrics and objects. So to achieve that, we took a hood with LED lights on it that flickered on and off. That had two great benefits for us: first, the LED lights served as tracking markers in the computer, so when Nick moved his head from left to right, we could make the skull match those movements. But the LEDs also cast a light on anything that was in proximity, so it would give us the light that would occur if the flame really was on his head.”

Durst also notes that since the release of the first “Ghost Rider” film, there have been tremendous advances in CG animation. “The foundation of getting flames in CG is fluid dynamics, and so much has happened technologically in just the last five or six years,” he says. “For the original film, Sony Pictures Imageworks created their own code and worked within the software systems that existed at the time. It was very labor intensive. For the new film, with six years’ worth of development of the technology in the field, we had a big head start. You can make things look stunningly real now.”

The effects were completed by Iloura, an Australian company. “We canvassed the world to see who had the best fire,” says Durst. “Their first test had everything – the right, dark look for the skull, the flames, the right vibe. Everyone fell in love with it right there, and Iloura did a great job on the movie.”

Opening across the Philippines on Friday, February 17, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

‘John Carter’ – An Epic, Action-Adventure Set on Mars

2012-02-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

‘John Carter’ – An Epic, Action-Adventure Set on Mars

Walt Disney Pictures presents the 3D epic, action‐adventure “John Carter,” based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs classic, “A Princess of Mars,” the first novel in Burroughs’ Barsoom series.

Directed by Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton, “John Carter” is set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). The film tells the story of war‐weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

2012 marks the 100th anniversary of Burroughs’ character John Carter, the original space hero featured in the series, who has thrilled generations with his adventures on Mars.

Over generations, John Carter has become a heroic paradigm across all forms of pop culture. From novels to comic books, artwork to animation, TV and now cinema, the character has inspired some of the most creative minds of the last century.

A fan of the Barsoom series of books since childhood, director/writer Andrew Stanton explains what inspired him to bring “John Carter” to the big screen in his first foray into live action: “I stumbled across these books at the perfect age, I was about ten, and I just fell in love with the concept of a human finding himself on Mars, among amazing creatures in a strange new world. A stranger in a strange land. It was a very romantic aspect of adventure and science fiction. I always thought it would be cool to see this realized on the big screen.

“‘John Carter’ is a big epic adventure with romance and action and political intrigue,” continues Stanton. “Because the subject matter was written so long ago, it was also a bit of an origin of those kinds of stories—a comic book before there were comic books, an adventure story before that became a genre of its own.”

Andrew Stanton directed and co‐wrote the screenplay for Disney/Pixar’s “WALL‐E,” which earned the Academy Award® and Golden Globe® for Best Animated Feature (2008). Stanton was nominated for an Oscar® for the screenplay. He made his directorial debut with Disney/Pixar’s “Finding Nemo,” garnering an Academy Award–nomination for Best Original Screenplay and winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (2003). Stanton has worked as a screenwriter and/or executive producer on Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life” (which he also co‐directed), “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Ratatouille” and “Up.”

Willem Dafoe, who plays Tars Tarkas in the film, comments on working with Stanton, “I worked with Andrew on ‘Finding Nemo.’ And even though you’re doing a voice, he’s incredibly well researched and knows every shot, every process—he’s an incredible multitasker. So when he told me about this project and how it was going to be approached, I was very excited. Because he’s the kind of guy that can handle that. Without any cynicism about the process. He loves this stuff. He loves the story.”

The stellar ensemble cast is led by Taylor Kitsch (NBC’S “Friday Night Lights”, “X‐Men Origins: Wolverine”) in the title role, Lynn Collins (“X‐Men Origins: Wolverine”) as the warrior princess Dejah Thoris and Oscar® nominee Willem Dafoe (“Spider‐Man”) as Martian inhabitant Tars Tarkas.

The cast also includes Thomas Haden Church (“Spider‐Man 3”), Polly Walker (“Clash of the Titans”), Samantha Morton (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), Mark Strong (“Sherlock Holmes”), Ciaran Hinds (“There Will Be Blood”), Dominic West (“300”), James Purefoy (“Resident Evil”) and Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”). Daryl Sabara (Disney’s “A Christmas Carol,” “Spy Kids”) takes the role of John Carter’s teenaged nephew, Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Opening across the Philippines in March 2012, “John Carter” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

John Carter - Trailer:

Al Pacino Pokes Fun at Himself in “Jack and Jill”

2012-02-01T18:40:00.001-08:00

Al Pacino Pokes Fun at Himself in “Jack and Jill”

Legendary actor Al Pacino parodies his screen persona as he plays a bigger-than-life version of himself in Columbia Pictures' new, rambunctious comedy “Jack and Jill.”

In the film, advertising executive Jack (Adam Sandler) was living an almost perfect life, with the exception of one, annoying constant – his twin sister Jill (also played by Sandler). Every year he has to tolerate a Thanksgiving visit from his smothering sister, who doesn’t take long to turn his life upside down. When she won’t leave, Jack tries to help her find a guy – a guy who he hopes will get her out of his house.

Of course, nothing goes as planned. Instead of a date, Jill gets an impossibly unlikely suitor. In the story, Jack needs Al Pacino to agree to do a commercial – and if he can’t get Pacino, Dunkin Donuts will take their business elsewhere. Just as he’s wondering what he’s going to do, who should fall for Jill but the Oscar®-winning actor himself? Just one catch – in the movie, the character of Pacino is suffering from a nervous breakdown.

For the role of Al Pacino, the filmmakers decided to get Al Pacino. “Al Pacino isn’t really playing himself – he’s playing an obsessive actor who has gone a bit off the deep end and is losing his marbles,” says screenwriter Steve Koren. “So, when he falls for Jill, he goes overboard. He’s willing to go to any length to get the girl. The trouble is, Jill’s just not all that into him. She knows more about ‘American Idol’ than she does about Al Pacino.”

Pacino plays the character in a way that is very different from the man he is in real life. “He’s an actor who’s losing control,” says Pacino. “He has had an overload of work and it’s starting to take hold of him and affect his mental capacity. He’s clearly in the middle of a breakdown. That’s the track I’ve taken in order to play myself as somebody else – it’s all heightened and exaggerated as to make it believable in a comedy. However, I tried to keep it real so that the madness is real.”

In the movie, the character of Pacino is starting to lose his grip on reality. He has been mulling an offer to play Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha” on Broadway – and when he meets Jill, he endows himself and Jill with characteristics of the characters. “In ‘Man of La Mancha,’ Don Quixote is a madman who believes himself to be a knight, and he believes Dulcinea to be a princess, even though she’s an ugly peasant. He falls madly in love with her by endowing her with virtues she doesn’t really possess,” Pacino explains. “When my character meets Jill, he does the same thing. She becomes his Dulcinea. In a sense, my character unconsciously uses her as a tool to find out if he indeed wants to play the part of Don Quixote. He gives Jill all the traits of the character Dulcinea so he can rehearse it, try it out, and see if it fits. He doesn’t even know he’s doing it, but there’s method in his madness.”

In addition, Jill represents something that the character of Pacino feels he has lost. “Our character of Pacino is at a crossroads,” says director Dennis Dugan. “He’s kind of lost in Los Angeles. The thing that’s missing in life is who he used to be – a sense of home and roots. Suddenly, here’s a woman who comes to him at the height of his fame and reminds him of who he used to be. He needs to go back to his home, and he thinks Jill is his ticket.”

“I love the idea of playing an older movie star, clinging, trying to get back to what it was that made him do this thing in the first place,” Pacino continues. “My character is a guy who just wants to go back home, wants to be simple again, but will never be able to be that way again. And no matter how crazy he is, his instincts are still working as an actor – if he engages her in the same way Don Quixote engages Dulcinea, he can find out if he can really play the part in ‘Man of La Mancha.’ It’s subtle and unusual, but this is the actor’s journey out of madness.”

Dugan says that working with Pacino was, of course, a completely unique experience. “I didn’t know what to expect – he’s obviously a serious actor – but he embraced the insanity,” says Dugan. “He played his version of Pacino in a truly brilliant way. He’s a genuinely nice guy and he had a terrific attitude about the whole thing.”

Naturally, the real Pacino provided exactly what you’d expect: a tremendous actor, having the time of his life. “Al was at the top of his game – Adam would throw something at him, and Al would catch it and fire it right back,” says Dugan. “He embraced the way we work, which I think is different from the way most sets work. But Al was never thrown off by any of it – he stood in there and hit it as hard as he could.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Jack and Jill” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

'The Descendants' Sneak Previews on February 6 and 7 in Metro Manila

2012-02-01T08:50:00.002-08:00

'The Descendants' Sneak Previews on February 6 and 7 in Metro Manila

This year’s Oscar frontrunner for Best Picture (Drama), Best Director (Alexander Payne), Best Actor (George Clooney) , Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay - “The Descendants,” is set to have its sneak previews on February 6, Monday, and February 7, Tuesday, in Metro Manila cinemas.

“The Descendants” is based on Kaui Hart Hemmings’ acclaimed debut novel of the same title depicting a portrait of a man grappling with some of the worst news, most difficult people, and most impossible decisions of his life.

Matt King (portrayed by George Clooney) is not the man he would like to be. His mischievous daughters don’t trust him, his imperiled wife has been cheating on him and his broke cousins see him and the land trust he controls as a piggy bank. To add insult to injury, he’s surrounded by a lush, fertile, awe-inspiring landscape that defies his inner turmoil. Yet all of this leads Matt to a tumultuous awakening that might be awkward, comical and sometimes absurd, but nevertheless changes his concept of love, fatherhood and what it truly takes to be a man.

“The Descendants” has recently scored major awards including Best Actor (George Clooney) in Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, Golden Globes, National Board of Reviews; Best Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley) in Denver Film Critics Society, National Board of Reviews and Florida Film Critics; Best Film in Florida Film Critics, Los Angeles Critics Association and Satellite Awards; and Best Adapted Screenplay in Denver Film Critics Society, Florida Film Critics, National Board of Reviews, New York Film Critics Online and Satellite Awards.

“The Descendants” will have its regular run in Philippine cinemas on February 15 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Meet Scott Speedman, the Other Man in ‘The Vow’

2012-02-01T08:50:00.001-08:00

Scott Speedman, the Other Man in ‘The Vow’

Finding huge box-office success with such blockbusters as “Underworld” and “Underworld: Evolution” where he originated the central character of the hybrid Vampire/Lycan Michael Corvinus, Scott Speedman now explores his romantic side in Columbia Pictures’ endearing love story, “The Vow.”

He joins an impressive ensemble led by Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Jessica Lange and Sam Neill.

“The Vow” is the real-life story of a young couple who were struck by tragedy shortly after their wedding. A car crash puts the wife (McAdams) in a coma, where she is cared for by her devoted husband (Tatum). When she comes to, without any memory of her husband or their marriage, the husband must woo her and ultimately win her heart once again.

Paige has reverted mentally to the young law student she was five years earlier, before she met Leo and became an artist. In seemingly an instant, she is no longer the wife Leo knew, and on top of that, she no longer recognizes her current life. Making matters worse, Paige thinks she’s still engaged to charming businessman Jeremy (Speedman), who still wants her, and remains reluctant to embrace Leo, with his less conventional lifestyle making music, as anyone she might have ever loved.

As for the role of Jeremy, it was important to cast an actor who had the charisma to be a formidable foe for Leo and someone that the audience would believe Paige had loved, and may still love. Jeremy shows the other path that Paige could have taken and could choose again. Scott Speedman was cast in this role and did not disappoint.

“The great thing about Scott is that he plays a leading man,” explains director Michael Sucsy. “A lot of times with Hollywood casting, you’ve got the big movie star in one role, and then some supporting guy in the other role. Well, guess who she’s going to end up with? It telegraphs it. So the great thing about casting Scott is that it really puts into question who she’s going to end up with. He has to be a contender, and I love that about Scott and his performance.”

An added bonus was that Scott and Rachel had worked together previously and therefore evoked a natural chemistry on set. “Scott really nailed the role. We’re lucky to have had him,” adds McAdams.

Scott Speedman most recently starred in “Barney’s Version” opposite Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman for director Richard Lewis, “Good Neighbours” opposite Jay Baruchel for director Jacob Tierney and “Adoration” for director Atom Egoyan. Prior to that he starred opposite Liv Tyler in the box-office smash “The Strangers.”

His other film credits include Ron Shelton’s “Dark Blue,” opposite Kurt Russell; Isabel Coixet’s “My Life Without Me,” opposite Sarah Polley, for which he won Best Actor at the Bordeaux International Film Festival; Bruce Paltrow’s “Duets,” co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Maria Bello; and Lee Tamahori’s “xXx: State of the Union.”

In television, Speedman landed the role of Ben Covington in the popular WB Network drama “Felicity,” which had a successful four-season run.

Opening across the Philippines this February, “The Vow” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Panagbenga 2012 - Baguio Flower Festival Schedule of Activities and Events

2012-01-31T21:26:00.000-08:00

Panagbenga 2012 - Baguio Flower Festival Schedule of Activities and Events

Here is the schedule of activities and events of the 17th Baguio Flower Festival or the Panagbenga Festival 2012 in Baguio City:

Panagbenga Opening Parade – February 1, 2012

Market Encounter – February 1 – March 4, 2012

Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom – February 11, 2012

Handog ng Panagbenga sa Baguio – February 12, 2012

Fluvial Float Parade – February 12, 2012

Ipitik Festival – February 19 – 26, 2012

Grand Street Dancing Parade – February 25, 2012

Grand Float Parade – February 26, 2012

Session Road in Bloom – February 27 To March 4, 2012

Pony Boy’s Day – March 2, 2012

Panagbenga Closing Ceremonies and Grand Fireworks Display – March 4, 2012

Showbiz Inside Report Premieres This Saturday on ABS-CBN

2012-01-31T18:38:00.001-08:00

Showbiz Inside Report Premieres This Saturday on ABS-CBN

A new Kapamilya showbiz-oriented talkshow premieres this Saturday giving viewers an in-depth look at personality behind every showbiz story…

ABS-CBN levels up the TV viewers’ weekend showbiz experience with the launch of its newest showbiz-oriented talkshow titled, “Showbiz Inside Report (S.I.R.)” this Saturday, February 4, featuring a fresh combination of empowered hosts including original Kapamilya star Carmina Villaroel, muti-awarded TV host-actress Janice de Belen, actor-politician Joey Marquez, and ‘blind item’ king Ogie Diaz.

“S.I.R.” takes an in-depth look on the news and the people behind some of the most talked issues in show business. Carmina shared, “I’m excited with our show because it gives me the opportunity to get to know the Kapamilya stars much better.” Janice added, “We will discover the real happening behind every story.”

Meanwhile, Joey stressed that viewers must watch out on the hosts’ varying perspectives. He said, “I want to learn from my co-hosts’ thoughts. And since we have different personalities, I’m curious to hear their own opinions about the issues we are presenting.”

Ogie is also looking forward to their show’s no-holds-barred discussions. “We are open to each other’s playful banters, but at the end of the day it’s like a conversation among friends.”

With the exciting set of some of the country’s seasoned hosts, expect for a funfilled highly opinionated “S.I.R.”–with the ever curious and bubbly Janice; Janice, who just like a real sister, will be the guests’ trusted confidante; Joey, meanwhile, will balance out the discussions as he bring up the male perspective amid the issues; and Ogie will surely tickle the viewers’ imagination with his freshest ‘insider’ scoops.

Don’t miss the newest showbiz-oriented talkshow of ABS-CBN, “Showbiz Inside Report,” coming this February 4, Saturday, after “Happy Yippee Yehey.” For more updates log on to www.abs-cbn.com, follow @ShowbizInsideTV on Twitter, and ‘like’ http://www.facebook.com/ShowbizInsideReport.AbsCbn on Facebook.

‘Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace’ in 3D Screens on February 9

2012-01-31T18:18:00.001-08:00

‘Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace’ in 3D Screens on February 9

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…Twenty-two years ago, these words first flashed across movie theater screens around the world, and a modern legend was born.

Hundreds of millions of people would be introduced to a saga that would touch their lives in ways then unimaginable. Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and the Special Editions of all three films, became defining events for two generations. The fast-paced action adventures, set in a new and exciting universe, featured grand design and boundless fun. The films inspired countless of viewers with themes that are universal and timeless: the conflict between good and evil and between technology and humanity, the celebration of heroism, and the limitless potential of the individual.

The Star Wars saga is a modern-day fairy tale reflecting the vision of George Lucas. Lucas imbued this new myth with pieces of American pop culture, including movie westerns, swashbucklers and – for seasoning – Japanese samurai epics. Star Wars was also a reaction against Watergate, Vietnam and other periods of domestic turmoil that seemed to undermine the concept of the hero for disillusioned Americans.

With the Star Wars saga, Lucas decided to bring together these recognizable, modern-day threads under the umbrella of the basic mythic structure – the journey of the hero – that has been in place for thousands of years, in hundreds of civilizations. With its mix of the traditional and the modern, Star Wars’ new mythology thrilled young and old alike.

Now, with “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” converted into 3D, Lucas takes us back to the beginning, in which Darth Vader is a hopeful nine-year-old boy named Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi is a determined young Jedi knight. This first chapter, which is rich in art, design, costumes, architecture and technology, follows Anakin’s journey as he pursues his dreams and confronts his fears in the midst of a galaxy in turmoil.

George Lucas, the pioneering and brilliant filmmaker behind STAR WARS, has overseen the process with his renowned attention to detail. John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was responsible for the actual conversion. He served as Visual Effects Supervisor on all three of the Star Wars prequels. The remaining five STAR WARS films will be converted to 3D over the coming years.

“I’m really excited about the new big screen release of the film. We’ve worked very hard to get the best quality 3D we could. The big screen experience is so much better than watching it on television. It was designed to put you in the environment and surround you with the sound and the picture. There is nothing like it. I’m so glad that we were able to bring this whole experience to the next generation. This will be the third generation that will be able to see it on the big screen and when you’re young, it’s an overwhelming and powerful event,” Lucas shares on converting Episode 1 into 3D.

Lucas further shares on challenges faced on converting the movie to 3D – “Originally, I was not a big fan of 3D. I really thought 3D was a gimmick. Then later on I was trying to get digital projectors into the theaters. I was doing a presentation in Las Vegas. Bob Zemeckis and Jim Cameron came up to me and said: ‘We want to get 3D into the theaters. Would you join us in showing the theater owners that you can do 3D?’ And I said: ‘That’d be good because in order to do 3D you have to have digital theaters. So it would promote my idea of digital theaters.’ Then when I saw the test that we did of STAR WARS in 3D, I realized how great it was and how great it looked. I became fascinated with the idea of converting STAR WARS into 3D, which was easier said than done. It took us a long time to develop a structure in which we could actually do a really good conversion of a 2D film into a 3D film.”

“I don’t like things coming out into the audience. I like everything to be behind the proscenium. I think 3D is an art. You need artists who have a sensibility about where things fit in the frame. It’s very subtle but it’s very, very important. We had an advantage because we had experts in visual effects like John Knoll. We had the skill set of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) and people who had worked in 3D on films, including “Avatar.” So we could get a group of people together that could actually do this,” concludes Lucas.

“Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” in 3D comes to theaters on February 9 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

7 Tips for Becoming a Better Boss

2012-01-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

The number one reason people quit their job? "It all boils down to disrespect, towards them or their work," says HR manager/consultant Jennifer Joson-Virginio, who has stood guard at the employees' revolving door of publishing and IT companies for nearly a decade now.

It's unfortunate to have talent go to waste, only to see them excel elsewhere under better management. Want to know how to inspire loyalty, bring out the best, and maintain a good working relationship with your staff? Ms. Virginio gives us the top tips on being a great boss.

Walk the talk

Be the kind of boss that people aim to please and emulate, by leading by example, and exhibiting exactly the kind of behavior you expect from your own staff. "The best real-life boss I've ever come across with was the country head of one of the IT companies I joined. He walked his talk. His secret, I believe, is simply put in his own words … 'I don't shortchange my people.' To me those words are brilliant, genuine, and true," says Virginio.

"You can't—and should not aim to—please everyone, but you make them know that you think things through. By this principle, your demeanor and decisions are guided by truth, fairness, and respect. With these, people tend to just gravitate towards you … and as a bonus, do your 'bidding,' whether it be a request or a mandate."

Be fair but firm

Cultivate an open, honest, and fair environment where people can operate in mutual respect instead of fear. An employee's resentment can stem from not being heard out, being wrongly accused, or being punished much too harshly. It's important to lay down the law clearly, and when rules are broken, to judge the situation before meting out the appropriate, logical penalty.

Don't be a monster boss and fly into a rage at the slightest provocation; likewise, don't be a pushover and shirk from keeping your staff in line for fear that they'll no longer find you cool. Establish respect by being firm, fair, and yes, true to your word.

Keep the peace

Being a boss also means managing different personalities, and there are times you need to step in as a referee to keep the working environment harmonious and productive. When it comes to handling conflict between subordinates, Virginio suggests, "Always seek to resolve, and you can only do this when you are calm. Be fair and be patient.

Some tips: Before sitting them down, make sure you know the issue. Identify a root cause, and tell them about it (know that you may not always be right though, and if so, consult others). Make a plan of action (involve them when possible) and be extra firm, then check if it is being followed through."

Leadership is not a dictatorship

If you're wondering why the new recruits never survive your iron-fisted ways, perhaps it's time to update your management tactics. Says Virginio, "Autocracy is outdated. It is not only obsolete, I consider it obscene! The younger generation wants to be led towards a vision, and they are best steered by someone who can make them focus on what they can bring to the table, and make them feel that they actually did." Which leads us to…

Motivate, not humiliate

As important as it is for your staff to believe in you, you must also believe in them. Virginio attests, "By sincerely believing in your people, and being involved in their development, you bring out the best in them. Cheesy, but true." Being able to pinpoint your team's individual talents and orchestrating them efficiently under keen yet non-overbearing supervision can bring amazing, satisfying results. Publicly censuring them when they don't attain their goals is a sure-fire way to send any self-respecting employee packing.

Command respect

It's no longer a surprise to see women at the top of the corporate ladder, though even in this modern day and age, sexist stereotypes still prevail. Blow them out of the water by commanding respect right from the get-go! Since appearances are the first things people notice, dress the part—be smartly-groomed and sophisticated, but not too fussy. Invest in good skincare and fashion for an extra boost of confidence; after all, there's nothing quite as formidable as a stunning, successful woman.

Like A Boss

Brilliance alone doesn't make you boss material. For Virginio, it all boils down to integrity and good judgment. "A good boss should have the following qualities: 1. The ability to balance respect and goodwill with business. 2. A high sense of duty and regard for continuous improvement. 3. He/she should be a visionary or someone whom people can believe in. 4. Patience and persistence. As captain, you steer, and during a crisis, you are last to abandon ship."

Yes, that means getting down in the trenches with your staff during crunchtime—not texting your overtime commands from your seaside cabana. Virginio's professional advice to being a better boss? "First, lead because you believe you can all help to reach a common vision; then be kind, because you are sincere."

By Pierra Calasanz-Labrador for Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Tom Hanks, The Perfect Dad in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

2012-01-30T20:01:00.001-08:00

Tom Hanks, The Perfect Dad in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks stars as Thomas Schell, a devoted husband and father who was at the wrong place, at the wrong time during the fateful day of 9/11, in Warner Bros.' life-affirming drama, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”

The film is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father’s belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls “The Worst Day,” he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears.

As a screen character, Thomas Schell was a challenge because he is seen entirely through Oskar’s eyes, to the extent that much about his history and inner life remain mysterious - except for the parts that have made an impression on Oskar and especially Oskar’s memories of their very best times together, which remain indelibly immediate to him.

To embody the essence of a father as captured in time by his young son, director Stephen Daldry thought early on of Tom Hanks. “We thought that in terms of Oskar’s memories of Thomas as the perfect dad...well, who else could that be but Tom Hanks?” recalls Daldry. “Tom took that responsibility to heart and created a real bond with child actor Thomas Horn that was evident to everybody on the set. They were absolutely charming together, which was great for me as a filmmaker, because they created this dynamic relationship and all I had to do was shoot it. It was an act of real dedication by an extraordinary actor and collaborator.”

Hanks was drawn to the way the script gets inside Oskar’s mind at a time when the power of logical facts to keep him grounded seems to have evaporated. “In the blink of an eye, the course of Oskar’s whole world changes, and he loses his only anchor,” Hanks says. “His father used to tell him that there are always clues and treasures to be found in the world. So when he finds his father’s key, it’s very interesting that Oskar devises his own elaborate hunt for what the key might mean, convinced it will somehow explain the unexplained to him. It becomes a very personal, intimate story of a kid trying to make sense in his own way of a nonsensical world.”

He adds: “It was easiest thing in the world for me to want to do this – as soon as I read it, there was not even any question.”

The actor says he gave a lot of consideration to the kind of father Thomas was to Oskar prior to his death. He also kept in mind that Thomas was himself a child of immigrants who took up the trade of jewelry as his only clear opportunity to support his family, even though he dreamed of being a scientist. “I think Thomas was someone who felt the real task in his life was to make sure that his very bright son became a well-rounded, content human being who might make the world a better place,” Hanks says. “Since Thomas himself grew up without a father, fathering Oskar was the most important thing to him. I think he loved inventing wild stories for Oskar, like the one he makes up about New York’s lost Sixth Borough, but he also very clearly designed these stories to get Oskar out in the world and help him feel safe there.”

In part, Hanks drew on his own experiences as a father. “The emotional part of it for me was going back and remembering what it’s like to have an 11-year-old kid who is bubbling over with life,” he says.

While Hanks believes Thomas was well aware that Oskar often showed signs of behavior akin to Asperger’s Syndrome, he also says Thomas readily accepted and even related to many of his son’s oddities and phobias, which made the two of them even closer. “I think Thomas wasn’t bothered at all by his son’s behaviors,” he says. “Instead, he looked for ways to build bridges over Oskar’s turbulence, over his constant questions, his flights of fancy and his fears. Yet because of that, when he’s gone, it magnifies the incredible loss for Oskar even more.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Pan Am, Top Chef 8, Necessary Roughness, Millionaire Matchmaker 4 on AXN Beyond this February

2012-01-30T19:44:00.000-08:00

Pan Am, Top Chef 8, Necessary Roughness, Millionaire Matchmaker 4 on AXN Beyond this February

Careers take-off and fly high in AXN Beyond’s jam-packed line-up of new shows this February!

Feel the passion, adventure and espionage at 30,000 feet in PAN AM, a new drama series set in the 1960s, when Pan American World Airways led the energy and excitement of the Jet Age. In their individual quests for adventure, the “Pan Am” crew of pilots and stewardesses face both opportunity and peril, as they juggle their lives, loves, hopes and dreams while flying around the world to glamorous international cities like Paris, Berlin, Jakarta and Monte Carlo. Fasten your seat belts as the season premieres on February 11, 2012, airing every Saturday at 9:50 p.m., first and exclusively on AXN Beyond.

Join psychotherapist Dr. Dani Santino as she balances her workload and the new demands of single motherhood in the drama series NECESSARY ROUGHNESS. When Dani’s perfect world begins to unravel after her husband’s infidelity, she becomes the most sought-after therapist, with high-profile clients from athletes to entertainers and politicians clamoring for her unique brand of therapy. Watch Dani tackle all her and her patient’s issues beginning February 1, 2012, airing every Wednesday at 10:55 PM.

Patti Stranger is back as she moves her matchmaking service to New York City in MILLIONAIRE MATCHMAKER SEASON 4. This season, Patti uses a few new tricks including a spy camera, lie detector test and hiring a make-up specialist from Saturday Night Live. From Wall Street to beach bum, this season also introduces the most over-the-top and challenging millionaires yet including Judith Regan, editor, producer, publisher and TV and radio show host, Freddie Mitchell, ex-wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Albie and Chris Manzo, the sons of Caroline from The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Watch Patti and her staff help their millionaire clients find love in the city that never sleeps beginning February 13, 2011, airing weeknights at 10:05 PM.

Meanwhile, a dream team of 18 past cheftestants are back and ready for redemption in TOP CHEF SEASON 8. This season, the Primetime Emmy Award-winning reality contest returns to New York City with host Padma Lakshmi and head judge chef Tom Colicchio, alongside judges Gail Simmons and new this season, best-selling author and chef, Anthony Bourdain. Don’t miss out on all the culinary action beginning February 29, 2012, airing weeknights at 10:05 PM.

Catch these all new programs and more on AXN Beyond this January: SkyCable (Channel 35), Dream Satellite (Channel 36) and Cignal Digital TV (Channel 37).

Denzel Washington Researching His Character in “Safehouse”

2012-01-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Denzel Washington Researching His Character in “Safehouse”

When casting Safe House, producer Scott Stuber and director Daniel Espinosa placed importance on avoiding tired tropes. Stuber explains the rationale: “Action without character is boring. The script read well because everything moves at a quick pace. Then, when you sit and get to know these people, there’s a real depth to them. We went after actors who could be in those moments and have the audience feel what these characters are feeling.”

As the producer and the director discussed their dream cast, Denzel Washington was brought up as their ideal Tobin Frost, the CIA’s most notorious traitor. The two invited Washington (then starring on Broadway in the play Fences) to discuss the proposition. Stuber recalls the meal: “At the end of lunch, Denzel stood up and said, ‘All right, we’re going to do this,’ and walked out. I thought, ‘What? Is he going to call his agent? Is it a done deal?’ I wanted to make sure, so I called Denzel’s agent and he said, ‘I just got off the phone with him. He’s doing the movie with you and Daniel.’ It was one of those rare, great moments in this business.”

Washington, who had a window in his schedule coinciding with preproduction, labored with the filmmakers to hone the project and the character of an operative who has spent the past nine years selling out the United States. The actor offers what attracted him to the role of a man wanted for espionage on four continents: “I got the chance to see Daniel’s film Snabba Cash, and it had a unique style and was a very different film. That made me very interested in him as a filmmaker. Scott, Daniel, David and I worked on developing the character. Safe House was an opportunity to revisit ways of working what I used to do. I invested heavily in the character and the story.”

As he prepared for the role, the performer went into full immersion mode. Washington says: “I didn’t want to do a lot of CIA research because Tobin Frost wasn’t CIA anymore. He hated everything about the CIA, and I wanted to discover his dark side. Scott gave me some great books to read, one of which was ‘The Sociopath Next Door,’ which became my bible that I would refer to in developing the character. I felt Tobin was a sociopath. When you think ‘sociopath,’ you think violence, and the majority of sociopaths aren’t violent but they want to win and manipulate. I thought he was a great liar, a great manipulator and perfect for the CIA.”

The filmmakers valued the actor’s work ethic on the project. Offers Espinosa: “Denzel is a master. He works harder than any actor I’ve ever met. When he decided to do the movie, he thoroughly researched and spent about a half a year studying his character before we even shot. When he got on set, no matter what the situation in front of him was, he reacted as the character that he was playing.”

With Washington attached, the team began the search to find Matt Weston played by Ryan Reynolds, the man responsible for his house guest. For Espinosa, it is the contrast between and the evolution of Frost and Weston that distinguish the story. Notes the director: “Matt is a guy who has a lot of dreams. He believes that he can maintain a relationship with his girlfriend and have a somewhat normal life, while at the same time, coming closer to his goal of becoming a full-blown CIA case officer. He clings to the notion that you can be a strong, ethical, moral person while working in his chosen field. There is no gray area. Frost, however, is well beyond any such notion.”

What attracted you to this film?
My late agent, Ed Limato, passed away last July and this was the last project that he wanted me to take a look at it. I just felt I should do it because I knew it was the last thing he wanted me to do.

Did you have a hand in developing the story?
Daniel Espinosa (director), Scott Stuber (producer), three different writers and I worked on the story for months. We wanted to keep going deeper, making more sense out it. I’m a logic monster. I always want to know why things happen the way they do.

How is it working with director Daniel Espinosa?
Daniel is a fine filmmaker. He did SNABBA CASH and it’s a really interesting film. I’m sure Hollywood is looking at Daniel as the new hot guy. He’s very passionate and very talented.

What’s been the most difficult aspect of filming on SAFE HOUSE?
I’ve got a bad knee and there’s been a lot of running, jumping and fighting. And I was water-boarded. Having somebody poor water up your nose when you’re upside down is kind of tough.

Do you see your character as a villain?
I see him as a sociopath. I’ve been researching and learned that 80% of sociopaths aren’t violent, they just want to dominate. Tobin doesn’t think he’s a villain. He thinks he’s right and everybody else is wrong.

“Safehouse” is showing on February 10, nationwide. Released and distributed by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp.

Ryan Reynolds in Brightest Day and Blackest Night Shines in ”Safehouse”

2012-01-30T19:35:00.000-08:00

Ryan Reynolds in Brightest Day and Blackest Night Shines in ”Safehouse”

Ryan Reynolds is the perfect guy as Matt Weston in Safehouse, producer Scott Stuber recalls: “We had to be certain that the actor opposite Denzel would be ready. I’ve known Ryan for a long time and was sure that he would step up to that challenge. More importantly, he wanted such a challenge.”

Reynolds explains his interest in joining the team: “First and foremost, I was riveted by the story. It was also an opportunity to work with Daniel, who is an unusual and unpredictable filmmaker. He is unlike anyone I’ve ever worked with, or even met before. He’s this incredibly wise, intuitive, intellectual thug. It’s a weird combination that gives him this incredible street sense. He’s a guy who could easily be in a bar fight, and at the same time, if you name any book, there’s a good chance he’s read it - among the plusses, not the least of which was working with Denzel. You know you will learn a lot working with Denzel: Spending time with him makes you a better actor.”

The actor found the duality of Weston’s life - the housekeeper’s cover is that he is a health worker - compelling. He says, “I was fascinated by the fact that my character lives a complete lie. He’s lying to himself and wraps himself up in the flag. There’s a lot of hubris involved. He feels what he’s doing is righteous, and yet, there’s a dark, seedy underbelly to what he does - not the least of which is the fact that he lies to everyone he loves, and that takes its toll. He’s beaten up from this.”

Reynolds explains his character’s transformation: “Matt’s growth is debatable. In some ways, it’s almost a regression. Throughout the course of the film, he’s resorting to some of the same ways he’s previously despised. The audience’s concern as we’re watching is that Matt might be affected by Frost in the same way that Frost was swayed by whoever it was who caused him to go off book. One of the things that Frost does is reveal to Matt what this agency really is, how some of the black ops that it engages in are in the guise of a higher good. It affects Matt deeply, and he’s seeing how this could easily become him one day. Whether that’s growth or not, he’s definitely changed.”

Washington saw that growth in the man playing Weston and found Reynolds a worthy on-screen adversary. The performer compliments: “Ryan is a very good actor who works very hard, and we had good chemistry. He has an inherent innocence that I think was right for the part.”

How did you come to this film?
I read the script and loved it. Then I met with Daniel Espinosa. I had seen SNABBA CASH, which he directed, and I thought it was incredibly inventive. It was a really interesting take on the action/crime thriller and I thought Daniel would be a great match for this project. I usually gravitate first towards a character and then towards the overall story. I liked that there is this hubris associated with these guys who enter agencies like the CIA thinking that it’s some romantic journey into a love of God and country. Then once they are involved, it is actually incredibly disillusioning.

What’s your character’s relationship to Denzel’s character?
Frost (Denzel’s character) represents everything my character, Matt Weston, despises. He’s betrayed his country and his own personal code of ethics in innumerable ways. Although my character opposes everything Frost stands for, by the end of the film we’re left wondering if Matt is going that same route.
Have you had a lot of action scenes?
The fights in this movie are really long and extensive. They’re not kung fu or the typical fight scenes that you see in this sort of film. These fights are just ugly. There’s biting and head-butting. The driving is pretty intense, as well.

How have you found working with director Daniel Espinosa?
Daniel is amazing. He embodies the aspects of a great psycho-analyst that all good directors have and he is very good with actors. He sees everything. Nothing gets by him.

“Safehouse” is showing on February 10, nationwide. Released and distributed by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp.

Charice 'One for the Heart' Airs on GMA-7

2012-01-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

Charice 'One for the Heart' Airs on GMA-7

International singing sensation Charice, comes home once again to celebrate Valentine's Day with her Kapuso fans thru a television special aptly entitled "Charice, One for the Heart."

The Pinoy Pride is back, and she is all grown up–her voice more breathtaking, and her stance more powerful before her audience. This time with her very own band that she takes to her international tours, Charice performs songs closest to her heart–songs that talk about her journey as an artist, and her plight as a daughter ever loving to her parents and family.

Charice also pays tribute to well-loved OPM love songs as she shares the stage with Pop Balladeer Mark Bautista, and RNB Prince Jay-R. Another must-see on the show is a tender moment where Charice sings to her father Ricky Pempengco who passed away last year.

Get to know the latest from Charice as she sings a few hits off her second international studio album Infinity, and talks about an Asian tour happening very soon.

Watch also the country’s most sought-after love teams, newly-weds, and most celebrated couples, as they share their love stories and give a prelude to each special performance by Charice.

Directed by Louie Ignacio with his team behind the acclaimed "Charice – Home for Valentine’s" (2011), the International singing sensation promises to captivate and capture hearts once again on "Charice, One for the Heart" airing this February on GMA.

A Tale as Old as Time in “Beauty and The Beast” 3D

2012-01-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

A Tale as Old as Time in “Beauty and The Beast” 3D

One of the most popular and enduring romantic adventures the world has ever known became one of the most ambitious and entertaining animated motion pictures ever brought to the screen with Walt Disney Pictures' 30th full-length animated feature, ''Beauty and the Beast” which is coming to Philippine theaters for the first time in 3D.

This classic fairy tale about a beautiful young girl and her encounter with an enchanted beast has long fascinated and intrigued storytellers, filmmakers and their audiences. Through the artistry and imagination of the Disney creative team, an inspired song score by two Academy Award®–winning songwriters and the contributions of an enormously talented vocal ensemble, this age-old fantasy took on exciting new dimensions that are only possible through the magic of animation.

The "Beauty and the Beast" story is indeed “a tale as old as time" with variations on the central theme going as far back as Greek mythology. In 1550, Italian author Giovan Straparalo wrote the first account of the story as it is generally known. The tale grew in popularity during the 18th century with books by French authors Madam Le Prince De Beaumont and Madame Gabrielle di Villeneuve. In 1946, acclaimed French director Jean Cocteau used cinematic imagery and lyrical expression to bring this story imaginatively to the big screen ("La Belle et la Bete").

"Doing your own version of 'Beauty and the Beast' is as much a tradition as is the story itself," says producer Don Hahn. "Part of the fun is that each generation and culture adapts this story to be its own. The themes - you can't judge a book by its cover, and beauty is only skin deep – are as relevant today as ever."

Screenwriter Linda Woolverton agrees, "The lessons of this story are truly timeless, especially for kids growing up today. It tells them to look beyond the surface and beyond materialism and that what is in their hearts and souls are the things that really matter."

The release of "Beauty and the Beast" in 3D comes at a time when both the art of animation and the 3D process are enjoying their greatest popularity.

All of the filmmakers and artists who have been involved with the 3D transformation of “Beauty and the Beast” are in unanimous agreement that they take pride in being part of the great legacy of this iconic film. As stereographer Robert Neuman says, “It’s amazing to be able to take these great movies like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Lion King’ and give audiences a new way to see them again. Even if they're seeing it for the first time, or the one-hundredth time, this is a whole new experience for audiences.”

“It’s a privilege, really, and an honor to be able to bring this movie out,” says Don Hahn. “‘Beauty and the Beast’ has always been special in the hearts of the audience. From the first sneak previews that we did at the New York Film Festival, when it was still unfinished, to the original release, it’s always received a really warm reception. It’s great to go back and relive it now.

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Beauty and the Beast” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” Embarks in IMAX 3D

2012-01-29T18:59:00.001-08:00

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” Embarks in IMAX 3D

Believe the impossible, discover the incredible as New Line Cinema's “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” embarks on an adventure of a lifetime in IMAX 3D! The film will be shown in local IMAX 3D cinemas, as well as digital 3D and regular theatres starting Thursday, February 2.

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Vanessa Hudgens, Josh Hutcherson and Michael Caine, “Journey 2” takes moviegoers on a fun and fantastic new adventure to parts unknown, a place so remote it has lain hidden for centuries … and, when found, is almost impossible to escape.

Upon seeing the script for “Journey 2,” director Brad Peyton says, “I never imagined doing it small. Right away, I knew it had to involve land, sea and air, with creatures, caves, storms, underwater battles and aerial chases, and all of it set against the most incredible, breathtaking terrain. That meant utilizing the latest and best technology, to deliver something special in the 3D realm that the prequel ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ helped to establish.”

In 2008 that film broke ground as the first narrative feature to employ the Fusion System, a sophisticated digital 3D camera rig developed by James Cameron and cinematographer Vince Pace, and subsequently used on “Avatar.” Not surprisingly, the “Journey 2” filmmakers returned to the Cameron Pace Group for state-of-the-art strategies and equipment to capture the depth and scope Peyton wanted to achieve in a range of real-world environments.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is a New Line Cinema presentation, will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Puerto Princesa Underground River Officially Named as One of the New7Wonders of Nature

2012-01-29T00:11:00.000-08:00

Puerto Princesa Underground River Officially Named as One of the New7Wonders of Nature

The Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) in Palawan is now officially declared as one of the New7Wonders of Nature winners.

No less than New7Wonders (N7WN) President Bernard Weber came here to the Philippines to formally announce the inclusion of Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) in the New7Wonders of Nature, as reported by GMA News on Saturday, January 28, 2012.

After the announcement, Mr. Weber congratulated the Filipino people during the press conference held at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City.

“When your very own President Aquino came out in support of the PPUR campaign, I knew that this country was taking the New7Wonders of Nature seriously,” he said.

“Fans of PPUR all over the world responded to his call for action by voting in record numbers and today’s confirmation is the well-earned reward for this extraordinary display of enthusiasm,” he added.

Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn, who also graced the event, notably used the new DOT slogan in his speech.

“This confirmation is wonderful news for Puerto Princesa, and a great example of how now its more fun to be in the Philippines. Worldwide exposure of our natural beauty on this level is critical both for tourism and for our image nationally and internationally,” he said.

Here are the New7Wonders of Nature in alphabetical order:

1. Amazon Rainforest – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
2. Halong Bay – Vietnam
3. Iguazu Falls – Argentina, Brazil
4. Jeju Island – South Korea
5. Komodo National Park – Indonesia
6. Puerto Princesa Underground River – Palawan, Philippines
7. Table Mountain – South Africa

Cinema One Originals Festival to Invade Cebu

2012-01-28T21:51:00.001-08:00

Cinema One Originals Festival to Invade Cebu

After filmmaker Remton Siega Zuasola bagged international recognitions for his film “Ang Damgo Ni Eleuteria,” it’s now the time for his fellow Cebuanos to celebrate filmmaking excellence via the Cinema One Originals Festival in Cebu City this February 11 to 16, at the SM City Cebu Cinema 8.

Among the films to be shown in the South installment of the festival are Cebuano-made “Di Ingon ‘Nato [Not Like Us],” “My Paranormal Romance,” “Ang Damgo Ni Eleuteria” and “Confessional.” Mindanaoan film “Imburnal,” which is also in Visayan dialect, is in this powerful lineup.

Also featured in the filmfest are titles that recently bagged awards in the 2011 Cinema One Originals Festival such as “Ka Oryang,” “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay,” “Mga Anino Sa Tanghaling Tapat,” “Cartas de la Soledad,” “Sa Kanto Ng Ulap at Lupa,” “Sa Ilalim ng Tulay,” and “Big Boy.”

Stars of the 7th Cinema One Originals films like the festival’s Best Actress Lilia Cuntapay, Mercedes Cabral, Franco Reyes, Phoebe Kaye Fernandez, Paul Jake Castillo, Publio Briones III, Van Roxas and others will grace this big event. Of course, award-winning filmmakers such as Sari Dalena of “Ka Oryang” and Antoinette Jadaone, together with some Cebuano filmmakers and actors will also be there.

It can be recalled that “Ang Damgo Ni Eleuteria” recently took home two awards at the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival in Indonesia such as Golden Hanoman (for best Asian feature film) and Geber (given by the Indonesian film communities). ” It also won the Special Jury prize in the 12th Jeonju International Film Festival in South Korea. In the local scene, the Cebuano-made film was also a big winner in the 34th Gawad Urian—bagging the most coveted Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography (by Christian Linaban) and Best Music (by Jerrold Tarog)—and was hailed Best Picture in the Cinemanila 2010 (Southeast Asian Category).

“Brave, bold and original,” goes the description on the featured films. The talents are also a mix of flag bearers and an emerging new breed.

Catch all of the films in the Cebu leg of the Cinema One Originals festival. These movies are produced and owned by Cinema One cable channel and the Creative Programs, Inc. For more info, log on to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cinema-One-Originals/

CINEMA ONE ORIGINALS CEBU FILMFEST
MOVIE SCHEDULE
February 11 to 16, 2011
SM City Cebu Cinema 8

February 11, Saturday
6:30 PM OPENING COCKTAILS/CEREMONIES
8:15 PM ANG DAMGO NI ELEUTERIA

February 12, Sunday
11:00 AM IMBURNAL
3:00 PM SA ILALIM NG TULAY
5:00 PM CONFESSIONAL
7:00 PM ANG DAMGO NI ELEUTERIA
9:00 PM DI INGON ‘NATO

February 13, Monday
12:00 PM LAYANG BILANGGO
2:25 PM ISHMAEL
4:50 PM ANG DAMGO NI ELEUTERIA
7:10 PM ANATOMIYA NG KORUPSIYON
9:30 PM SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION FROM LILIA CUNTAPAY

February 14, Tuesday
12:00 PM SA KANTO NG ULAP AT LUPA
2:15 PM CARTAS DE LA SOLEDAD
4:50 PM ANATOMIYA NG KORUPSIYON
7:10 PM DI INGON ‘NATO
9:30 PM MY PARANORMAL ROMANCE

February 15, Wednesday
12:00 PM DI INGON ‘NATO
2:25 PM MGA ANINO SA TANGHALING TAPAT
4:50 PM SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION FROM LILIA CUNTAPAY
7:10 PM MY PARANORMAL ROMANCE
9:30 PM KA ORYANG

February 16, Thursday
12:00 PM BIG BOY
2:25 PM ANG DAMGO NI ELEUTERIA
4:50 PM MY PARANORMAL ROMANCE
7:10 PM KA ORYANG
9:30 PM DI INGON ‘NATO

Showtime Airs Final Episode on January 28

2012-01-27T23:31:00.000-08:00

‘Mundo Man ay Magunaw’ Premieres Monday on Kapamilya Gold

2012-01-27T21:18:00.001-08:00

‘Mundo Man ay Magunaw’ Premieres Monday on Kapamilya Gold

Eula Valdez, Empress Schuck, Nikki Gil, and Ejay Falcon topbill newest afternoon drama series of ABS-CBN.

ABS-CBN’s newest Kapamilya Gold drama series, “Mundo Man ay Magunaw” sets the bar higher for afternoon soaps this Monday, January 30, as it presents a compelling family drama featuring a formidable ensemble cast of young and seasoned actors that include Empress, Nikki Gil, Ejay Falcon, Sylvia Sanchez, Allan Paule, Pinky Amador, Jason Gainza, Dianne Medina, Alex Castro Tessie Tomas, and Eula Valdes.

According to Valdes, mothers can surely relate to the story of their new series. “I play the character of a loving mother who would sacrifice everything just to be reunited with her daughters,” she said.

Meanwhile, Empress shares her happiness over her new afternoon soap. “I’ll be playing a more mature role here. I’m a good daughter who is driven to fight for her family and who is willing to do anything to keep her mother happy. Viewers should also watch out for Ms. Eula in the soap because this time, she is not the villainess,” said Empress.

Gil, on the other hand, will give life to a power hungry character whose underlying goal is to gain the acceptance and appreciation of the people she loves. She shared, “As Jennifer La Peña, I will fight to prove that I am the rightful heir of my grandmother.”

“Mundo Man ay Magunaw” shares the entwined lives of Olivia (Valdes) and her daughters Sheryl (Empress) and Jennifer (Gil). After 20 years of imprisonment, Olivia is off to restart her life and rebuild the family she never had. Brought together by circumstances, the three women will realize that no matter how big their differences and conflicts are, they still have to reunite to save each other.

Will Olivia be willing to sacrifice everything just to win the love and bring her daughters back to her arms? Will Sheryl and Jenny surpass the tests of love and ambition when they finally discover the truth?

Under the direction of Jeffrey Jeturian and Rechie Del Carmen, don’t miss the drama series dedicated for all loving mothers, “Mundo Man ay Magunaw” premieres on January 30, Monday, on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold. For more updates, log on to www.abs-cbn.com, follow @abscbndotcom on Twitter, or ‘like their Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/mundomanaymagunaw.

“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” Rated R-18 Without Cuts by MTRCB

2012-01-27T02:26:00.001-08:00

“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” Rated R-18 Without Cuts by MTRCB

Pictures' critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated thriller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” has been approved without cuts by the Movies & Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) with an R-18 rating. This means, only audiences 18-years-old and above may be admitted when it opens in selected theaters on February 1.

“Dragon Tattoo” caused a stir when it was released in the US last December, owing to its dark themes and graphic scenes of sexual assault, violence and nudity.

Last Tuesday, the film earned five Academy Award nominations, notably for Best Actress (Rooney Mara), Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.

Director David Fincher (“The Social Network”) uncoils the world of author Stieg Larsson’s global blockbuster thriller on the screen in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

Within the story’s labyrinth lie murder, corruption, family secrets and the inner demons of the two unexpected partners chasing the truth of a 40-year-old mystery. Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a financial reporter determined to restore his honor after being convicted of libel. Engaged by one of Sweden’s wealthiest industrialists, Henrik Vanger (Academy Award® nominee Christopher Plummer), to get to the bottom of the long-ago disappearance of his beloved niece, Harriet – murdered, Vanger believes, by a member of his large family – the journalist heads to a remote island on the frozen Swedish coast, unaware of what awaits him.

At the same time, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), an unusual but ingenious investigator with Milton Security, is hired to do a background check on Blomkvist, a job that ultimately leads to her joining Mikael in his investigation of who killed Harriet Vanger. Though Lisbeth shields herself from a world that has repeatedly betrayed her, her hacking skills and single-minded focus become invaluable. While Mikael goes face-to-face with the tight-lipped Vangers, Lisbeth plies the wired shadows. They begin to trace a chain of homicides from the past into the present, forging a fragile strand of trust even as they are pulled into the most savage currents of modern crime.

Opening across the Philippines on Feb. 1, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

The Twitter Trending ‘City Hunter’ on Special Marathon Airing

2012-01-27T02:10:00.001-08:00

The Twitter Trending ‘City Hunter’ on Special Marathon Airing

Find out why ABS-CBN’s latest offering “City Hunter” became a top trending topic in the microblogging site Twitter when it debuted last Monday.

Relive the action, drama, and adventures of Johnny Lee (Lee Min Ho) and reminisce what triggered him to turn into a vengeful assassin as the biggest and most expensive Koreanovela airs its special pilot week marathon “City Hunter: The Beginning, A Marathon Special” this Sunday, January 29, 10:30 p.m. at Sunday’s Best. Even before the show premiered on ABS-CBN, the series topbilled by Asian superstar Lee Min Ho already has a strong following among Filipino.

Get hooked with the latest Koreanovela craze on primetime, “City Hunter,” airing weekday nights after “Pinoy Big Brother Unlinight” on ABS-CBN.

TV5 Introduces the New Generation of 'Valiente'

2012-01-27T02:06:00.000-08:00

TV5 Introduces the New Generation of Valiente

TV5 opens the year with the return of the biggest and the most successful teleserye ever seen on Philippine TV – Valiente. After two decades of unparalleled viewer patronage, Valiente comes back with a grander cast, a more compelling story and impressive production that will hit the primetime scene this February.

Valiente revolves around the remarkable story of two families, Braganza and Valiente, who whose lives are intertwined in their search for truth and genuine love. Portraying the iconic roles of this historic dramaserye are the new generation of Valiente leads: Kapatid stars JC De Vera, Nadine Samonte, Nina Jose and Oyo Sotto.

JC De Vera will play the role of Gardo Valiente, a young but destitute lad who works for Hacienda Braganza and is a loyal friend to Theo Braganza (Oyo Sotto), a rich and stubborn Braganza heir who has special interests in guns. Maila Braganza (Nadine Samonte), the youngest among the Braganza brood, falls in love with Gardo but her scheming sister Leona Braganza (Nina Jose) will do anything to get in the way of Malia and Gardo’s relationship.

Joining the new generation of Valiente cast are the most-respected and highly acclaimed actors in the industry: Gina Alajar, Jaclyn Jose, Mark Gil, and the original Valiente himself, Michael De Mesa (who is already US-based but has returned to the country specifically to be part of the much-anticipated Valiente comeback).

Watch the biggest and the grandest remake of Valiente, airing soon on TV5 primetime this February.

Valiente - Teaser Trailer:

‘E-Boy’ Premieres this Monday, January 30

2012-01-27T01:50:00.001-08:00

‘E-Boy’ Premieres this Monday, January 30

See the world through the eyes of a child and embark on a new adventure this Monday, January 30, as ABS-CBN presents its newest Primetime Bida series, “E-Boy”, starring MMFF 2011 Best Child Performer Bugoy Cariño in the title role.

Follow the heartwarming story of “E-Boy”, a child robot who was given human characteristics that led him to a journey where he will learn what being human is all about. Through his real-life experiences, he will realize that being human isn’t just about having flesh and blood, but more importantly, it is about being part of a family, building friendships, and loving unconditionally.

Joining Cariño in “E-boy” are seasoned actors Ariel Rivera, Jomari Yllana, Agot Isidro, Valerie Concepcion, Jaime Fabregas, Chinggoy Alonzo, and Pen Medina. It will also star Blythe Gorostiza, Arjo Atazde, Carme Sanchez, Akiko Solon, Bryan Santos, and child stars Maliksi Morales and Deydey Amansec.

“E-Boy” will be directed by FM Reyes and Nick Olanka, the makers of the phenomenal hit series “Lobo” and “Imortal”.

Don’t miss “E-Boy’s” premiere episode this Monday, January 30, after “TV Patrol” on ABS-CBN. For more updates, log-on to www.abs-cbn.com or follow abscbndotcom on Twitter.

Prima Ballerina Lisa Macuja Guests in Batibot this January 28

2012-01-27T01:48:00.001-08:00

Prima Ballerina Lisa Macuja Guests in Batibot this January 28

Internationally-renowned Filipina prima ballerina and the first non-Soviet soloist to dance with the historic Kirov Ballet, Lisa Macuja, is featured as the guest story teller in TV5’s most-favorite kids’ show Batibot at 8:30 a.m. this Saturday, January 23.

The prima ballerina also reminisced with the Batibot team about that first time 20 years ago, shortly after her homecoming from Russia, when she was featured in Batibot dancing to an original Batibot song “Umihip Tulad ng Hangin.”

This time, Lisa will narrate an original Batibot story about “Hannah Hippo” an eager ballet student and also tells her own story about growing up and learning to be a professional ballet dancer. The Batibot team is confident Lisa Macuja’s story will be an inspiration to children especially those interested in dance.

Watch out for Batibot’s “Matuto tayo Sumayaw!” episode this Saturday which is about learning to dance and working hard to achieve one’s fullest potentials – in dance and in life! This Saturday’s Batibot dance-themed episode will also feature young kids from Pasay City who are learning ballroom dancing after school and hope to achieve competitive levels.

Join Lisa Macuja and the rest of Batibot cast and characters this Saturday for another exciting episode of Batibot. The show airs weekdays at 9:30am and every Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

Boy Abunda Meets First Filipino to Qualify for 2012 London Olympics

2012-01-27T01:42:00.000-08:00

Boy Abunda Meets First Filipino to Qualify for 2012 London Olympics

The first Filipino athlete to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics, Mark Anthony Barriga, is the featured personality this Saturday, January 28, in “The Bottomline with Boy Abunda”

Unravel Barriga’s story of courage, determination, and success as he paved his way to becoming an Olympian at the age of 18. “Boxing is my childhood dream. It has been a part of my life ever since, that is why I am happy that I now got the chance to fulfill it,” he said.

Despite the growing pressure to bring home the gold, Barriga remained optimistic. He quipped, “The pressure to do well only drives me to work harder. Our country deserves a gold medal and I’m hoping I’d be the one to give Philippines that honor.”

Get to know Barriga better as he shares his opinion about the sport he loves, his co-boxers, and his intense preparation for the 2012 London Olympics. Catch Asian TV Awards’ Best Talk Show for 2011, “The Bottomline with Boy Abunda,” this Saturday night, 11:30pm, after “Banana Split” on ABS-CBN. For more updates, log on to www.abs-cbn.com or follow abscbndotcom on Twitter.

The Day After 9/11 in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

2012-01-27T01:41:00.000-08:00

The Day After 9/11 in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

One of the most definitive novels about 9/11 becomes one of the year’s most cathartic cinematic experiences as Warner Bros. brings to the screen “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Directed by Stephen Daldry (“The Reader,” “The Hours”), the film has been nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards.

In 2005 the novelist Jonathan Safran Foer, already renowned for his blend of incisive comedy and tragedy in his debut novel “Everything Is Illuminated,” published his follow-up “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.” His second novel was, on the one hand, the playful story of an unusually precocious and sensitive boy who invents fantastical devices, dreams about astrophysics, collects a vast assortment of random facts – and is compelled into a quixotic odyssey through the fabric of New York. At the same time, the novel was the first major literary exploration into the grief of 9/11 families, and a study of how a child’s imagination helps him navigate overwhelming fear and unfathomable loss in the wake of events that no logic could possibly reconcile.

When Stephen Daldry read the book, he was struck most of all by Oskar’s subjective point of view. An unusual child with arrestingly high intelligence yet eccentric and obsessive behaviors that might put him on the autistic spectrum, Oskar describes the world around him with his own particular mix of naiveté and insight, nervousness and boldness, incomprehension and a need to understand. Most of all, Daldry was intrigued by how this POV, just like a child’s imagination, combined random thoughts, flashes of memory, lists of ideas and impromptu fantasies with pure emotion – all at a moment when life has irrevocably changed for Oskar’s family and the world around him.

“I found it truly compelling that Jonathan Safran Foer told this story not only from the perspective of a boy enduring unimaginable heartbreak, but a boy who has his own singular view of everything,” says Daldry. “It’s a perspective that is engaging, inventive and emotionally rich.”

Oskar’s very personal experience of September 11th, and what came after, was brought to the fore in a screenplay adaptation by Eric Roth, who wanted to be true to the distinctive immediacy of Foer’s novel. “It’s a very emotional book and I hope it is a very emotional movie,” says Roth. “There’s also a real kinetic energy to the book – and the challenge was to translate that into visual imagery.”

The book wove many themes – of individual and national trauma, of childhood’s strangeness, of the nature of tragedy and the endurance of love through family hardship – into its tapestry. Each of those themes was key to the storytelling, but Roth found his way in through one particular element: the relationship between Oskar and his father, Thomas (Hanks), who is seen in the film entirely through Oskar’s subjective memories, which are in turn fueled by a confusing mixture of love, loss and lingering questions.

Oskar deeply misses his father’s so-called “reconnaissance expeditions,” clever puzzles that Thomas created for Oskar to solve, not only as inspired father-son games but also to help him engage with the world despite his social awkwardness. So when he finds the mysterious key in the bottom of a vase hidden in the dark recesses of his father’s closet, Oskar propels himself into a new mission to ferret out the key’s meaning.

His only clue to the key’s potential origins is the name “Black,” written on the envelope in which he found it, so Oskar dutifully makes an ambitious plan to visit all 472 people named Black in the New York City phone books, even though, according to the math, it will take him three years to do so.

Like many kids with gifted intelligence, high sensory sensitivity and impaired social skills, Oskar thrives on schedules, rules and facts yet his search takes him far from the predictable and the comfortable. But no matter what obstacles stand in his way, Oskar is determined to complete his task.

“Oskar is a kid who is different, but in a wonderful way,” notes Roth. “He might have a form of Asperger’s but he also has a great imagination and a real sense of curiosity along with his many fears. For a long time, he was kept afloat very much by his father who enjoyed so many similar things. So now, when Oskar finds his father’s key a year after his death, he believes it has to unlock something – a piece of advice, an object, some wisdom that his father left for him. And it leads him on an adventure that is his way of coming to terms with grief and all sorts of other things.”

As Roth began compacting Foer’s wide-ranging plot and finding the cinematic structure, he found Foer to be a supportive resource. “Jonathan is a wonderful novelist but my ability is to be a good dramatist and bring the work alive on the screen. He really trusted me in that process and we developed a very close and collaborative relationship.”

Adds Stephen Daldry: “Jonathan really understands the difference between a book and a script, and was very helpful. He never once uttered the phrase, ‘Well, in the book…’ He was always open to interpretation and reinvention.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

World’s Darkest Hero Rides Again in ‘Ghost Rider’ Sequel

2012-01-27T01:23:00.000-08:00

World’s Darkest Hero Rides Again in ‘Ghost Rider’ Sequel

He fought the curse. Now, a new evil will make Johnny Blaze embrace his power.

This February, the world’s darkest hero rides again in Warner Bros.’ supernatural action-thriller “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.”

Starring Nicolas Cage, the film is directed by Neveldine/Taylor – also known as Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor – who have earned a cult following with their stylish and edgy films, including “Crank” and “Gamer.”

Neveldine explains that the directors were excited to approach their new film for two major reasons. “We were thrilled to have the opportunity to direct a franchise film with Nicolas Cage, and, second, to work with this really cool, edgy, comic book series – I mean, this dude has a flaming skull and kicks major ass,” says Neveldine. “I think the studio wanted to do something edgier with this franchise, so our attitude and style of filmmaking fit perfectly with the tone they were hoping to see. We were all on the same page.”

With a free hand to give the film that edgy tone, the directors could let their imaginations run wild. “The only thing we knew we wanted to keep from the first film was Nick Cage. We wanted to change everything else – the way he looks, the way he dresses, the bike. We wanted souls to be burned and dragged to hell. And lucky for us, the studio said, ‘That’s great; that’s what we were hoping you’d say.’ And that became the start of our process. What we were really going for is a mood, a feeling, an aesthetic – to make him badass.”

That process continued all the way through production, as Neveldine and Taylor employ a kinetic style both in front of and behind the camera, as Cage explains. “The energy of making this film was a different experience,” says the actor. “It’s a much more wild, almost daredevil experience – even the way Mark Neveldine shoots. He’s like a stuntman, risking his life hundreds of times, hanging off of wires or shooting while skating on Rollerblades – he’s a very active, macho filmmaker. Fans are going to be blown away by the photography and Mark, Brian and (Director of Photography) Brandon Trost’s daredevil camerawork.”

Describing their intense set experience, Neveldine says, “At the end of the day, we have to get the performance and the shots, and we’ll get them any way we can. You’ll see us hanging off of cars and shooting on Rollerblades to push the cinematic envelope.”

Where other directors might choose to create the Ghost Rider’s world inside a computer, Neveldine/Taylor capture as much as they can practically. “We use real stunt guys and real motorcycle action – though we did set the guy’s head on fire in the computer afterwards,” says Taylor. “We think it makes for a better, more visceral experience for the viewer if they’re seeing something real.”

Editor Brian Berdan, who worked with the directors on Crank, says, “They are so creative; it’s all hand-held and intuitive and not totally planned out. That liveliness of a hand-held camera and someone with the sense of what to do with it makes it all really come to life. It can be a challenge to edit, because you get a ton of footage – some of which makes you initially think, ‘I can’t do anything with this,’ and then the camera will come in at just the right point and you grab exactly what you need!”

It’s a style that Cage relishes. “They have this gonzo energy, this wild intensity – they’re both really up for anything. I think I fit into that, too.”

“We were excited for our tone and dark humor to leak into the project,” says Neveldine. “At the same time, it was important to keep it grounded and hard-hitting.”

Opening across the Philippines on February 16, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Iggy Arroyo Died of Cardiac Arrest in London

2012-01-26T20:29:00.000-08:00

Iggy Arroyo Died of Cardiac Arrest in London

Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo Jr. died Thursday after life-support systems were removed from his body, said his brother, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo.

"Support systems were pulled out already thirty minutes ago. My brother passed away already. I'm so sad," he said.

The Negros lawmaker was earlier declared "clinically dead" and was only relying on life support systems after he suffered a cardiac arrest Wednesday night.

"At that point, an ambulance was called for him in London. He was revived at the hospital but he went into a coma. This morning, his heart stopped beating," Mike Arroyo said in an earlier statement.

- Source

KC Concepcion Rogue Magazine January - February 2012 Cover

2012-01-25T23:45:00.000-08:00

KC Concepcion Rogue Magazine January - February 2012 Cover

KC Concepcion proves she has what it takes to be a woman - elegant, classy, sophisticated and SEXY! And so she flaunt it!

Yes! The mega-daughter is the sexy cover star of Rogue Magazine January - February 2012 issue.

Rogue Magazine out now at your favorite magazine stands and selected bookstores and supermarkets nationwide.

Spy Against Spy in “This Means War”

2012-01-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

Spy Against Spy in “This Means War”

A certified ensemble of hit filmmakers takes the romantic-action genre a notch higher in “This Means War” starring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy where best friends CIA agents and best friends discover that they are dating the same woman which ultimately affects both their professional and personal lives.

Filmmakers director McG whose worldwide hits include “Charlie’s Angels,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and “Terminator Salvation,” screen scribe Simon Kinberg who penned the incredibly thrilling films “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “”X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Jumper” and “Sherlock Holmes,” and Will Smith as the film’s producer lock forces to create another unprecedented romantic-action-comedy movie in “This Means War.”

In “This Means War,” Reese Witherspoon plays Lauren, a very decisive woman, but in her romantic life she's just a disaster. The man she moved from Atlanta with ended up leaving her, shattering her heart and crushing her spirits. Having been unable to date, her best friend Trish (Chelsea Handler) finally decides to help her to enter the dating world again.

Lauren meets Tuck (Tom Hardy), on a dating website and they have an awkward first date that ends up going really well; then she ends up meeting Chris Pine's character, FDR, in a video store. They're both excited about their new relationships, and there's this great reveal where they show each other a picture of their girl, and it's the same girl bringing up all that territorial male dominance stuff.

Director McG shares on working with his three stars – Reese: “It's never an easy sell to get anybody involved in a movie. Reese is very accomplished, both as an actress - she won an Academy Award - but also as a comedienne. She won the Academy Award for her turn in “Walk The Line” and she's very funny in the Legally Blonde movies. She can do a great many things. The one thing she hadn’t done was be a screen siren and I wanted her to bring that energy to the role. I thought Reese had a certain confidence in me, largely because of what I was able to do with the girls in Charlie's Angels. There was never anything misogynistic or mean spirited in that movie but it was decidedly sexy, with all of the women being very intelligent and powerful. I think everybody knows that Reese is an intelligent, powerful, capable woman. Now let's show the world exactly how sultry she can be when she chooses to be.”

“Chris Pine was very entertaining and engaging in Star Trek; he was great in Smokin’ Aces; but it was primarily his turn in the Lieutenant of Inishmore, which is a Martin McDonagh play that played here in Los Angeles that I saw two or three times. He was astounding; his accent was spot on, his physicality, his commitment to the role - he’s infinitely more talented than people could ever imagine, and more clever and considerate. Plus he's different to Tom Hardy, which is what I was looking for: two alpha males who are always interested in finishing first, but who do so in an entirely different way,” director McG says of Pine.

On Tom Hardy: “Tom, and of course he's known for Bronson and his character in Warrior and now he's doing Mad Max. He is so physical and powerful and intense... but he's also got a brilliant mind. Just from speaking to him that he's very kinetic, very clever, that his mind is moving at a thousand miles an hour. There's the broad level the film plays on, but also the more subversive level for those who care to look more closely. I think people need to understand his dimensionalized ability and performance range. He was very game and he's great - I can't imagine anyone other than Tom and Chris for these roles,” concludes the director on working with Reese, Chris and Tom.

Reese, on the other hand sums the director’s works as joyful – “He's wonderful: he's enthusiastic, he's decisive, he knows his shots, he knows what he wants, he knows how to create great action sequences, and he's also hysterically funny– he comes up with witty lines off the top of his head. It was great to work with somebody who's so excited to make a movie instead of hand-wringing and miserable. And it comes out in his movies - they're joyful.”

“This Means War” opens February 22 in theaters from 20th Century Fox.

Dane Dehaan: Teen Superpower Gone Amok in ‘Chronicle’

2012-01-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

Dane Dehaan: Teen Superpower Gone Amok in ‘Chronicle’

Three ordinary teenagers suddenly become powerful after a night in the woods upon close encounter with an unidentified underground phenomenon in “Chronicle.”

“Chronicle” is as real as it gets introducing the audience to Andrew (Dane Dehaan), Matt (Alex Russell) and Steve (Michael B. Jordan) – recognizable teens, each with a distinctive personality and each facing relatable challenges that come with being in high school, forming new friendships, and exploring new facets of their ever-changing lives. They’re imperfect, awkward, and a little reckless.

Their discovery leads them to acquire powerful telekinetic abilities; in graphic novel parlance, they have superpowers. They’re now capable of, well, almost anything. They can move objects just by thinking about them, crush cars through force of will. They learn to fly…the ultimate wish fulfillment. Then things get dark.

One of these teens could be you or could be amongst those close to us or our acquaintances. Dane Dehaan unleashes a powerful creeping performance as one of the lead stars in “Chronicle” and explains further his character, Andrew.

Q: Can you tell us about your character?
Dane Dehaan: Andrew is a poor kid who comes from a rough family background. His mom is really sick and his dad is on disability from being a firefighter so for him, things are really tough. But his circumstances extend to other areas of his life as well. He is, by all means, a loser in school and not just a kid who goes under the radar, but the kind of kid that people really go out of their way to make fun of and bully. In that way he’s a victim.

Q: Do you think he struggles with the responsibility of the power?
James: Yes, but it’s not a case of “How responsible am I going to be with this power?” I think he just really enjoys having power, messing around and finally having friends. It does, in the end, overtake him.

Q: Is it more fun to play a character that is conflicted?
James: It’s always fun to play a complicated character, definitely. It’s not always fun to go to dark places, but it’s always fun to play a character who has such an extreme arc, who goes through so much. I don’t think I’ve ever played a character like him.

Q: How was the dynamic with the other actors?
James: It’s good. I always try to form some sort of relationship with the people I work with that mimics the relationship I have with them in the movie. I think we did a pretty good job of that. Michael, Alex and I have all become pretty close and friendly; we all have our inside jokes and we can poke fun at each other. We can hang out and have a good time. Doing that in our personal lives away from work has definitely had a positive influence on the movie.

Q: It’s a strange mix of a big action movie with the sensibilities of a character piece. James: Yes, I think the movie does an incredibly good job of taking the concept, somebody getting superpowers, and dealing with that in a very realistic way. If a group of teens in real life actually got superpowers they would mess around with it, see how much fun they could have with it and eventually it would probably all spin out of control because they’ve been given way too much power. I think the reality of it is what truly drew me in.

Q: What’s it been like working with your director, Josh Trank, in his first film?
James: It was my first time working with a first time director. There is definitely an excitement and energy that goes along with that. I think that one of the cool things about the project is that we’re all around the same age in real life. All of us are still beginning our careers in many ways. Even though all of the actors have done other movies and TV shows we still have a youthful, “go get ‘em,” attitude. Josh matches that. In many ways he’s much more of a peer than any other director. He’s going through it for the first time, like us. There’s definitely an excitement to that.

Q: There’s a really interesting shooting style to the film, with the characters filming all of the scenes – how has that been to work with?
James: It’s great. It’s another reason why the film is so inventive. It’s found a way to do this kind of handheld stuff but used the reality of the circumstances to make it less dizzying and less gritty. It’s really interesting how every camera movement in the movie is really motivated and grounded in reality, as much as the plot and the characters and all the other elements.

Intense till the end, “Chronicle” opens February 2 in theaters (108) nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Channing Tatum Must Win His Wife Rachel McAdams Back in ‘The Vow’

2012-01-25T01:37:00.000-08:00

Channing Tatum Must Win His Wife Rachel McAdams Back in ‘The Vow’

One of Hollywood’s most sought after young actors who have established themselves among the next generation of leading men, Channing Tatum (“G.I. Joe,” “Dear John”) now stars opposite Rachel McAdams in Columbia Pictures’ inspiring romantic drama “The Vow.”

In the film, newlyweds Paige (McAdams) and Leo (Tatum) were struck by tragedy shortly after their marriage. A car crash puts Paige in a coma, where she is cared for by her devoted husband. When she comes to, without any memory of her husband or their marriage, the husband must woo her and ultimately win her heart once again.

Tatum is a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, and felt the script told an authentic story about a once in a lifetime love and what people will do to hold on to that. “Falling in love is the easy part!” notes Tatum. “Getting on with your life together and making sure you stay in touch and connected because life can get in the way sometimes, that’s the tough part. I think that a huge part of Leo and Paige’s journey is based on the fact that not only do they make each other intensely happy and support each other, but that they pushed each other to grow and when you do that it really does take you to the next level in a relationship and in life.”

The actor admits that he found the role emotionally difficult at times because, as a young husband himself, he couldn’t help but imagine himself in this situation: “I hope I would be as brave as Leo is; it’s heartbreaking for him, but he has the faith to let Paige find her own way. And this role is great because Leo is so truthful about his love, he doesn’t hold it back, and I can relate to that. I love love! It’s harder to play than running around with guns and being physical, but it’s very satisfying.”

Tatum says it made total sense to him to work so hard to win Paige back: “If my wife (actress Jenna Dewan) lost her memory of me, I wouldn’t just be like ‘Okay, alright, well, see you later, good luck’. No. I’d be fighting tooth and nail and plug away at this until it comes back. No matter what.”

He continues: “It’s so frustrating for Leo because there’s nothing visibly wrong with his wife; she talks like Paige, she walks like Paige, everything is exactly the same, but it’s just her memory of her husband is completely gone. And it’s that much more painful that she remembered other people, her family, but just not her husband and everything they had been together.”

For director Michael Sucsy, casting Tatum was a case of finding the soldier of love in an established movie warrior. “The Leo role is a knight in shining armor, and prior to this I’d only seen Channing’s work where he’d been in tough, military roles. So I went to meet him, and we sat down, and I called the producers afterward and I said, ‘He is the guy. He’s Leo. It’s perfect for him.’ I got the sense that his heart was bigger than his chest cavity. He’s got a huge heart, Channing does, and so does Leo, and that really comes out when he has to keep sticking with his wife through the ups and downs.”

From Rachel McAdams’ point of view, “Channing Tatum is the perfect guy for this role because he’s a real renaissance man; chivalrous and gentlemanly. He’s playing someone who would do anything to win back his wife’s heart and that’s very much, I think, who Channing is. He’s a very heroic kind of guy, so yeah, and I know he loves love and really believes in it and I think he made Leo a really stoic character that you just fall in love with and believe that he’s definitely the rock in the relationship throughout. He added such lovely little touches to Leo.”

All in all, Channing Tatum sums up the core of the movie’s message this way: “It’s a big deal to vow yourself for life to somebody and mean it. It really is something.”

Tatum will next star in a contemporary motion picture adaptation of “21 Jump Street” opposite Jonah Hill. Tatum and Hill are also executive producers on the project, which is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

Opening across the Philippines on February 10, “The Vow” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Zaijan Jaranilla, Xyriel Manabat, Mutya Orquia, and Louise Abuel Leave a Lesson on ‘Ikaw ay Pag-Ibig’ Finale Week

2012-01-25T01:33:00.002-08:00

Zaijan Jaranilla, Xyriel Manabat, Mutya Orquia, and Louise Abuel Leave a Lesson on ‘Ikaw ay Pag-Ibig’ Finale Week

Join Kapamilya child wonders Zaijan Jaranilla, Xyriel Manabat, Mutya Orquia, and Louise Abuel on their final journey in the last days of the top-rating Primetime Bida drama series “Ikaw ay Pag-ibig.”

Witness in the story, how the mysterious ‘Baby Rafa’ will touch the lives of the kids and their loved ones. What will prevail in the end–justice or forgiveness? Discover the true meaning of giving, loving and family on the ending of a story filled with love, “Ikaw ay Pag-ibig,” weeknights on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

For more updates, log-on to www.abs-cbn.com, follow @IkawayPagibig on Twitter, or ‘like’ http://www.facebook.com/IkawayPagibig.

Katie Holmes Plays Adam Sandler's Wife in “Jack and Jill”

2012-01-25T01:33:00.001-08:00

Katie Holmes Plays Adam Sandler's Wife in “Jack and Jill”

Katie Holmes stars opposite Adam Sandler in Columbia Pictures’ uproarious comedy “Jack and Jill.”

In the film, Jack (Sandler) was living an almost perfect life, with the exception of one, annoying constant – his twin sister Jill (also Sandler). Every year he has to tolerate a Thanksgiving visit from his smothering sister, who doesn’t take long to turn his life upside down. As the weekend intrusion starts stretching into a month, the siblings fight, tease, and bicker in the way only twins can. When it becomes clear Jill is never leaving, Jack sets into motion several schemes that he hopes will return Jill to where he loves her most – the other side of the country.

Holmes joins the cast as Erin, Jack’s wife and mother to their two children. “She’s a very busy wife and mother,” Holmes explains. “When Jill comes to town and creates a lot of mayhem within the family, she’s the one who’s trying to keep it all together.

“It was wonderful to see Adam transform into Jill,” she continues. “As a woman, it was nice to have conversations with a man about shaving legs, how pantyhose and heels feel, and all of the tougher parts about being a woman. Adam was a great sport – it was really, really fun.”

Holmes has showcased her ability as an actress to play a wide spectrum of diversified roles. She has appeared in several notable films ranging from the action blockbuster “Batman Begins,” directed by Christopher Nolan, to critically acclaimed art house pictures such as Ang Lee's “The Ice Storm” and Peter Hedges' “Pieces of April.”

Holmes was most recently seen on the big screen in “Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark” and “The Son of No One.” On television, she portrayed First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in “The Kennedys,” opposite Greg Kinnear as President John F. Kennedy.

Holmes has worked with some of Hollywood's most prominent and talented directors. Her credits include “Wonder Boys,” directed by Curtis Hanson; “Thank You for Smoking,” directed by Jason Reitman; “The Gift,” directed by Sam Raimi; “Abandon,” directed by Stephen Gaghan; “Go,” directed by Doug Liman; “Phone Booth,” directed by Joel Schumacher; “First Daughter,” directed by Forest Whitaker; “Teaching Mrs. Tingle,” directed by Kevin Williamson; and “Disturbing Behavior,” directed by David Nutter. 2008 marked her Broadway debut in Arthur Millers “All My Sons” opposite John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest and Patrick Wilson. Her portrayal of Ann garnered glowing reviews and established her as an accomplished actress on both screen and stage.

In 1996, Holmes landed the role of Libbets Casey opposite Tobey Maguire and Sigourney Weaver in Lee's award-winning drama “The Ice Storm” while in Los Angeles for pilot season. A year later she was cast as Joey Potter on the TV series "Dawson's Creek," opposite James Van Der Beek and Michelle Williams. The show quickly became the highest-rated series on the WB network throughout its six-season run.

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Jack and Jill” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ Seizes Overseas Gold

2012-01-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ Seizes Overseas Gold

The 3D sequel to the 2008 hit “Journey to the Center of The Earth ” opens to impressive numbers in overseas territories.

New Line Cinema’s 3D family adventure, “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” is off to a strong start at the global box office. Launching ahead of the US in seven territories— Australia , Korea , Hong Kong , Taiwan , Singapore , Malaysia and New Zealand —the film grossed an excellent $7.9 million, which is 44% ahead of its predecessor in the same countries. The announcement was made today by Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is the sequel to the 2008 global box office hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” both inspired by the novels of legendary fantasist Jules Verne. “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” directed by Brad Peyton, stars Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Luis Guzmán, Vanessa Hudgens and Kristin Davis.

“The first ‘Journey’ went on to gross $141 million internationally, and to exceed it by such a great margin in these early markets is truly gratifying,” Kwan-Rubinek said. “This success is a testament to the vision of the filmmakers and the dedication of the cast, led by Dwayne Johnson, for delivering the perfect film for this corridor - an action-packed and fun-filled 3D adventure for families and audiences of all ages.”

The release was targeted to coincide with the Chinese New Year holiday in Asia and summer school holidays in Australia and New Zealand , predating the US release, which required a different marketing approach. “We’ve embarked on a multi-tiered marketing program to support our early release dates, encompassing talent tours across Taiwan , Australia and Mexico, with further tour stops forthcoming,” commented Sue Kroll, the Studio’s President, Worldwide Marketing. “A strong media presence, combined with our broad advertising and event outdoor campaign, set the stage for these early launches around the world. The tremendous success overseas also helps to build momentum leading up to our U.S. and broader international launches in the weeks to come.”

Shot in 3D, the new family adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is directed by Brad Peyton from a screenplay by Brian Gunn & Mark Gunn, story by Richard Outten and Brian Gunn & Mark Gunn.

“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is a New Line Cinema presentation and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The film will open across the Philippines on Thursday, February 2.

Oscars 2012 Nominees Announced

2012-01-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

Oscars 2011 Nominees Announced

The nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning, January 24, by Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bourne) and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) President Tom Sherak at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills Tuesday morning. They are:

Best Picture
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Moneyball"
"War Horse"
"The Tree of Life"

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Best Actress
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Max Von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Best Director
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
Steven Spielberg, "War Horse"

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
JC Chandor, "Margin Call"
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, "Bridesmaids"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
John Logan, "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, "The Ides of March"
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, "Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Animated Feature
"A Cat In Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Original Score
"The Adventures of Tintin," John Williams
"The Artist," Ludovic Bource
"Hugo," Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse," John Williams

Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio," Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Cinematography
"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Costume Design
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

Best Documentary Feature
"Hell and Back Again"
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
"Pina"
"Undefeated"

Best Documentary Short Subject
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?"
"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
"Incident in New Baghdad"
"Saving Face"
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"

Best Achievement in Film Editing
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"

Best Achievement in Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"The Iron Lady"

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
"Drive"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

The Force is Back in 3D

2012-01-23T20:57:00.001-08:00

The Force is Back in 3D

From visionary filmmaker George Lucas, “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace” is back with an immersive 3D dimension for a richer cinematic experience.

Following the first acclaimed and hugely successful Star Wars films, ”Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace was released in 1999. The movie starred Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewan McGregor as his apprentice Obi-Wan-Kenobi, a determined young Jedi Knight. Natalie Portman played Queen Amidala. Jake Lloyd starred as Anakin Skywalker. It is a fantastically exciting adventure set 32 years before the events of the original.

Writer, director and producer George Lucas is the creator of the phenomenally successful Star Wars saga and the Indiana Jones series. Lucas directed his first feature film, THX 1138, in 1970. In 1971, Lucas formed his own film company, Lucasfilm Ltd. In 1973, he co-wrote and directed AMERICAN GRAFFITI. Four years later, Lucas wrote and directed STAR WARS, which broke all box office records and earned seven Oscars.

The Star Wars saga is a modern-day fairy tale reflecting the vision of George Lucas. Lucas imbued this new myth with pieces of American pop culture, including movie westerns, swashbucklers and – for seasoning – Japanese samurai epics. Star Wars was also a reaction against Watergate, Vietnam and other periods of domestic turmoil that seemed to undermine the concept of the hero for disillusioned Americans.

With the Star Wars saga, Lucas decided to bring together these recognizable, modern-day threads under the umbrella of the basic mythic structure – the journey of the hero – that has been in place for thousands of years, in hundreds of civilizations. With its mix of the traditional and the modern, Star Wars’ new mythology thrilled young and old alike.

Now, with, Lucas takes us back to the beginning, in which Darth Vader is a hopeful nine-year-old boy named Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi is a determined young Jedi knight. This first chapter, which is rich in art, design, costumes, architecture and technology, follows Anakin’s journey as he pursues his dreams and confronts his fears in the midst of a galaxy in turmoil.

“Star Wars Episode 1 Phantom Menace” (3D) opens February 9 in all 3D cinemas in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Laguna, Ilocos, Dagupan, Baguio, Tarlac, Pampanga, Clark, Bicol, Bohol, Tacloban, Gensan, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Iloilo and Cagayan De Oro.

2012-01-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

“Chronicle” Conceived in the Era of YouTube

There’s a new kind of high in the movie “Chronicle” among three best friends Andrew, Matt and Steve set in a very familiar American landscape – high school students in a campus where each fraction of a teen either make themselves seen or invisible.

Directed by first time feature film director Josh Trank, James Dehaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan play the lead roles in this edgy teen movie where they pit on each other’s newly acquired superpowers.

Andrew (Dehaan) coming from a poor family with a rough background has always been the subject of bullying, Matt (Russell) is Andrew’s cousin in his senior year and has applied a nihilistic approach through his high school years and Steve (Jordan) is the most popular guy in their school whose congenial personality made him friends with even the most introvert kid in the campus. Together, they bonded in one wild night of partying when they discovered something unnatural in the woods. Naturally brash, they head deep down into the strange phenomenon to get up close – Andrew, who recently decided to document each day of his life brings his camera underground to record.

Upon close encounter, the three became frantic and suddenly the only light coming from Andrew’s camera went kaput. After surviving a deafening silence in darkness, days after the unexplained, the three became almost inseparable testing their newfound powers. It presented Andrew a plethora of opportunities to get even to those who’ve hurt and insulted him. Unbeknownst to Matt and Steve, Andrew is becoming stronger than them focusing on harnessing his power each day.

As Andrew’s motives becomes apparent, Matt and Steve try to help him cope with power and anger. Reinventing a whole new approach between (teen) hero and antagonist, Josh Trank presents “Chronicle” throwing out any preconceptions on superhero movie by starting afresh with a core group of well-realized characters. “I didn’t want to be too obsessed with making an homage or in making the movie a certain way,” Trank explains. “The whole mantra of “Chronicle” is just to go the opposite and make it as relatable as possible. Max and I, in characterizing these kids, wanted to make sure they were as normal and close to us as possible, but set them in middle class suburbia.”

The style of shooting helps make the tale all the more relatable. “The bar is that it has to feel real,” argues executive producer Dodson. “It has to feel like we were on YouTube, we were surfing around and we found a video – that this real thing happened and some cameraman caught it.” But Trank was keen not to deliver another nausea-inducing shaky-cam experience to his audience.

In the era of YouTube, the idea of teens documenting every aspect of their lives on videotape is no longer unprecedented. As good quality cameras get ever cheaper and the ability to upload and share footage with friends gets ever easier, young people are increasingly sharing their experiences with one another through a visual medium.

Says DeHaan: “I think a lot of scenes in this movie could become viral hits if they were just two minutes on YouTube. But they’ve taken all these moments and made a very thorough narrative out of them. It really does blend the modern question of what’s become of video with the old-school superhero film.”

“This generation in high school is the most self-photographed generation ever because every single person has a camera on them now,” says Trank. “It’s exciting because we can create this new style of shooting things – fictional stories about people – without having to do it in the way everybody’s been doing it for the last hundred years.”

Uncontrolled teen powers unleash when “Chronicle” opens in cinemas on February 2 nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Chronicle - Trailer:

Chinese New Year Predictions - Year of the Water Dragon

2012-01-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year Predictions - Year of the Water Dragon

People were judging 2012 long before the year even started. With the alleged Mayan Calendar and the-end-of-the-world conspiracy theories pre-empting what could possibly be a good year for humanity, who can blame them. But in response to such a restless world people still hope by trying to understand the stars. For guidance we prepare for the upcoming Chinese New Year of the Water Dragon taking place on January 23 with some astrological forecasts and cosmic advice by international geomancer Joseph Chau Kam Shing:

Feng Shui particulars:

* 2012 may not be the most auspicious year for the Dragon, Dog, Ox, Goat and Rabbit. However to bring more luck they can resort to wearing the year’s lucky colors: gold, silver, white, sky blue, green, red, pink, violet, peach, orange, beige, yellow and brown.

* All signs should avoid wearing pure black or pure white as those colors refer to the dead. Zodiac signs that should avoid burials are the Yin Fire Ox, Yin Earth Goat, Metal Ox, Earth Dragon, Golden Dog and Fire Dog.

* To attract more wealth, homes should have the following charms (available at Feng Shui stores): Treasure Bowl, Vivacious Prince of Wealth and a Flying Golden Pei Yau.

* To have luck in your career, display a Jade Dragonhead Fish charm in your place of work.

* To be safe at all times, carry a Safety Medallion or a Jade Master Protection Pendant.

* For health protection, wear a Health Medallion at all times.

* To be lucky in romance and relationships, display the Romance Bucket, Brass Happy Couple and Mandarin Duck charms.

* In order to improve overall luck, carry the Benefactor Jade.

To read the forecast highlights, click HERE.

Rachel McAdams Struggles with Memory-Loss in ‘The Vow’

2012-01-20T08:45:00.000-08:00

Rachel McAdams Struggles with Memory-Loss in ‘The Vow’

She broke countless hearts in such memorable romantic dramas as “The Notebook” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” Now, Rachel McAdams stars in another touching love story – Columbia Pictures’ “The Vow” opposite Channing Tatum.

“The Vow” is the real-life story of Paige and Leo, a newlywed New Mexico couple, who were struck by tragedy shortly after their marriage. A car crash puts Paige in a coma, where she is cared for by her devoted husband. When she comes to, without any memory of her husband or their marriage, the husband must woo her and ultimately win her heart once again.

For director Michael Sucsy, casting Paige was tricky, because it was important for the character not to come off as too distant when adjusting to her post-coma world. “The difficult thing for an actress in approaching the role of Paige is that she comes out and she doesn’t have any connection to her husband. He’s a stranger to her. If she’s too off-putting, it’s hard to root for her. And in the case of Rachel McAdams, she’s the perfect actress to play the role, because she can tread that line of being likeable, but being convincing that she’s going through this process of having lost her memory.”

McAdams connected with the script and her character from the beginning: “I loved the way the script unfolded. When we first meet Paige, she is a much more actualized version of herself than we see later on in the film, which is kind of a backwards way to go but exactly what I found so interesting.” She explains, “Paige has embraced the life she’s made with Leo. They’re clearly free and comfortable and supportive of each other; she appreciates his music and he encourages her sculpting. But then we find out that she’s cut off from her family and denying a big part of her life.”

It’s been said that a common reaction for people with brain trauma and memory loss is for them feel inadequate and frustrated. The people and things they can’t remember become associated with anxiety, frustration and confusion. This aspect also intrigued McAdams. “It stands to reason that a person would feel overwhelmed by it all and want to avoid what is making them feel bad about themselves even though others are trying to help,” she says. “It must be so frustrating for everyone in this situation! So often people have to take a stand about who they are, but then they lose important people in their life. Paige feels inadequate and frustrated by her memory loss and at one point just finds it easier to be away from Leo. This is about bridging the gap between those two things and so many of us can relate to that.”

“It’s a great romantic love story but also about familial love too,” says McAdams. “When Paige wakes up and doesn’t recognize her husband and learns that she’s estranged from her family, she sees big holes in her life that need to be filled in. I find that idea of not knowing if you will find your way back to your destiny so interesting.” She continues, “Do you naturally gravitate towards all the things you were already going towards in your life, or does it just start from scratch and you have to build yourself up as a person all over again? And I think that’s such an interesting idea that they say you will naturally go where you were. You’ll find your way back there even though you have to relearn everything from scratch. A driving force through the whole movie is you’re waiting for this epiphany, you’re waiting for that light bulb moment and it doesn’t necessarily come.”

Co-star Channing Tatum is so impressed by Rachel: “Look, she is one of the most brilliant and beautiful people that I’ve ever met. Not just as an actor, but as a person. She cares. She has the true talent to be able to make any line work – and we’ve got some serious big lines in this movie – which can be hard to pull off, but she just does. She has an uncanny ability to make anything sound real and amazing because she commits and believes in it. I’m in awe of her and I’ve learned so much from her.”

Opening across the Philippines in February, “The Vow” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

METRO Society’s Tribute to Pitoy Moreno Airs on Lifestyle Network

2012-01-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

METRO Society’s Tribute to Pitoy Moreno Airs on Lifestyle Network

In the recent Metrowear tribute show, the Fashion Czar of Asia, Pitoy Moreno, has once again proven his tenure in the fashion industry with over 100 pieces that encapsulated his exquisite collection.

Lifestyle Network (SkyCable Channel 52), the country’s premier lifestyle channel, takes pride in airing this historic show dubbed as “Jose Pitoy Moreno: A Tribute Gala” on January 23, 12 p.m., January 25, 11p.m. and January 28, 10a.m. The special tribute presentation was accompanied by performances from Rico Blanco, Rem Zamora, and Gary Valenciano, accompanied by the Manila Symphony Orchestra that played Filipino tunes with an ethnic touch to complement the presentation.

Hosted by KC Concepcion, the show also featured a stunning collection that sums up Moreno’s illustrious career donned by celebrity models including Marina Benipayo, Phoemela Baranda, 2010 Ms. Universe 4th runner-up Venus Raj, 2011 Ms. Universe 3rd runner-up Shamcey Supsup, Sam Milby, Piolo Pascual, Megan Young, Lauren Young, Denise Laurel and Karylle.

For more updates, logon to http://www.facebook.com/LifestyleNetwork.

Renato Corona's SALN Submitted to Strengthen Case Against Him

2012-01-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

Renato Corona's SALN Submitted to Strengthen Case Against Him

Supreme Court Clerk of Court Atty. Enriqueta Esguerra-Vidal, one of the witnesses in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona has released the statements, assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of the Chief Justice as evidence in the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Any discrepancy in Corona’s SALN from 2002 to 2010 will be used as a strong evidence by the prosecutors to convince the Senate to convict the Chief Justice.

Meanwhile, prosecution spokesperson Miro Quimbo explains to the media that Article 2 of the articles of impeachment does not only include the disclosure of Chief Justice Corona’s SALN but also to prove the allegedly ill-gotten wealth of Corona.

SOPA. PIPA. What are These and How They Could Affect Pinoy Web Users?

2012-01-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

SOPA. PIPA. What are These and How They Could Affect Pinoy Web Users?

The proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) bills in the United States may have detrimental effects to legitimate online businesses in the country.

Mounting protests against the proposed bills has reached fever-pitch with several international websites going offline in protest of these bills.

Wikipedia, Google, YouTube, Yahoo!, Facebook and Twitter are among those opposing the bills, saying these represent Internet censorship and will impede freedom of speech.

In addition, the bills are feared to threaten legitimate online businesses outside the US, especially if these are merely suspected of copyright infringement.

While the intention of SOPA and PIPA is to protect intellectual property and copyrights of those in the music and movie industries, it could also put a strain on the use of copyright-free content.

If these bills are enacted into law, alleged violators even outside the US can be prosecuted by US courts or can be blocked via DNS (domain name system) blocking and redirection.

Thus, the SOPA and PIPA could have rippling effects on legitimate websites and other online businesses. In fact, the proposals have broad description of websites that could be suspected of copyright infringement and, without a proper description, could actually sweep through all websites, even legitimate ones.

Even online forums would be affected as the simple act of posting a copyright-protected image or video by a single forum member could have the entire forum taken down.

Members of PinoyExchange.com, one of the oldest forums in the Philippines, have been discussing the SOPA and PIPA.

Forum moderator Monto Gawe noted on the possibility that even their forum could be affected. One commenter, “jvandread” likened the SOPA and PIPA to a green light “to drop a nuclear bomb… whenever they want.”

A few, meanwhile, support the SOPA. A couple of comments in the blog of Coach Sonnie stressed on the importance of censorship.

One comment by “Gerry” said that he respects the right of the US to protect its copyright laws and he would only need to innovate the way he does business and added: “Being apprehensive about things like the US passing certain copyright laws is not the right reaction.”

Another comment by “croCus” said he is thankful that censorship is taking place and that the Philippines should follow and added: “With a lack of laws (and the corresponding punishment), I can just imagine that those cybercrooks would saturate in Asia and mess up our online lives.”

Both proposals are set to be deliberated by the US Senate again in the coming weeks. The outcome of the votes could decide what would happen to the Internet and the noise will only continue to increase.

- Source

Sneak Peek: “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

2012-01-19T08:17:00.001-08:00

Sneak Peek: “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

From three-time Academy Award® nominated director Stephen Daldry (“Billy Elliot,” “The Reader,” “The Hours”) comes the poignant drama “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”

The Warner Bros. film stars Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump,” “Philadelphia”) and Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) along with newcomer Thomas Horn in the role of Oskar, and was produced by Scott Rudin (“No Country for Old Men,” “The Social Network,” “True Grit”).

The screenplay is by Academy Award® winner Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump,” “The Insider”), based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s acclaimed bestseller.

“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell, an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father’s belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls “The Worst Day,” he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears. Now, as Oskar crosses the five New York boroughs in quest of the missing lock – encountering an eclectic assortment of people who are each survivors in their own way – he begins to uncover unseen links to the father he misses, to the mother who seems so far away from him and to the whole noisy, dangerous, discombobulating world around him.

The film also stars Academy Award® nominees Max von Sydow (“Shutter Island,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “Pelle the Conqueror”) and Viola Davis (“Doubt,” “The Help”), John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright and Zoe Caldwell.

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Twice the Fun, Twice the Mayhem in “Jack and Jill”

2012-01-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

Twice the Fun, Twice the Mayhem in “Jack and Jill”

Adam Sandler's twin sister is coming for the holidays...and it aint pretty. Columbia Pictures presents the outrageous comedy “Jack and Jill” from director Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino.

When you get together with your family for the holidays, everybody has that one family member who drives you crazy. They mean well, and you love them, but still…

For Jack (Sandler), that’s his sister – his twin sister – Jill (also played by Sandler). Growing up, their lives were incredibly intertwined. But ever since Jack moved away, they have moved in different directions. Jack has become a highly motivated and successful ad executive in L.A., while Jill was the one who stayed back east and took care of their parents. Now, they see each other only once a year, at Thanksgiving, when Jill comes to L.A. for a visit. Time and distance have taken a toll on their relationship – and now Jack finds himself enduring Jill’s annual visit, rather than enjoying it.

Still, it’s just a couple of days, right? Wrong. Jack and Jill get off on the wrong foot – just like always – and the only way Jack can make things right is to ask Jill to stay on through Hanukkah, giving her some time to enjoy everything L.A. has to offer, from game shows to horseback riding. Still, Jack isn’t exactly pleased that his sister is extending her trip…

And adding to Jack’s stress is the fact that things aren’t going all that well at his ad agency. His biggest client, Dunkin Donuts, is demanding that Jack deliver Al Pacino to perform in a new Dunkaccino commercial. Jack wonders how in the world he is going to get Pacino – does he even do commercials? – and his quest is intensified when he finds out that the famous actor is having a nervous breakdown and losing his mind. Having played one too many roles, the actor is starting to confuse reality with the parts he is playing and is acting out in some increasingly erratic ways.

When Jack takes Jill to see the Lakers, he approaches Pacino about the commercial, but is stunned when Pacino is much more interested in talking to Jill. It turns out that Jill reminds Pacino of everything he left behind – his boyhood home in the Bronx, his childhood – and for Pacino, who is preparing to play Don Quixote on stage, something clicks. Because he’s having trouble with reality, suddenly, Jill isn’t Jack’s wacky sister… she’s Dulcinea, Don Quixote’s idealized romantic love – and Pacino must conquer her affections to realize his quest.

Trouble is, Jill isn’t interested. But Pacino will not be brushed aside so easily. Inviting himself to Jack and Jill’s surprise birthday party, he sweeps Jill off her feet and takes her for a private party at his home – but Jill still isn’t biting, which only inflames Pacino’s passion (and insanity). It’s not clear who’s more upset – Jill, from the experience, or Jack, who thinks his chance to get Pacino could be over, or Pacino, who is completely losing it for Jill.

For Jack, now the shoe is on the other foot: he has to try to convince Jill to extend her trip even further and give Pacino one more shot. It’s a move that sets in motion a wild, outrageous series of events that reveals to Jack who the most important people in his life are – and have always been.

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Jack and Jill” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

Emile Hirsch Stars in “The Darkest Hour 3D”

2012-01-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

Emile Hirsch Stars in “The Darkest Hour 3D”

Emile Hirsch plays Sean, an upstart young software developer dispatched to Moscow, where he’s caught in the middle of an alien invasion in Chris Gorak’s “The Darkest Hour.”

Filmed on location in and around Moscow, the movie picks up the action in immersive 3D, after an alien attack. It follows Hirsch’s Sean and a ragtag group of survivors made up of actors Olivia Thirlby, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman and Max Minghella as they move around the city trying to hide from the invaders, who are cloaked in darkness.

A lifelong fan of science fiction, Hirsch cites “The Matrix” as his favorite sci-fi film, and worked with directors Larry and Andy Wachowski on “Speed Racer.” It was this love of the genre that drew him to “The Darkest Hour.”

Q: Who do you play in THE DARKEST HOUR?
A: I play a guy called Sean, who’s with his buddy Ben, played by Max Minghella. They’re software designers and they both come to Moscow to pitch a website that they’ve come up with. The deal goes badly and this shady Swedish businessman, played by Joel Kinnaman, dupes them. They’re at a bar nursing their wounds over a couple of beers and then suddenly, there’s this crazy invasion of aliens.

Q: What grabbed you about the script?
A: It seemed like a mixed genre movie, in the sense that it’s sci-fiction but there are also elements of horror and suspense. There are bits and pieces of “Jaws” and “28 Days Later.” Also, after AVATAR, which was one of the greatest movie going experiences I’ve ever had, I remember walking out of the theater and saying, “The next movie I make, I want to make it in 3D.” I wanted to be a part of the wave of the future, in a sense.

Q: Does it change the language of the performance you give, to deliver it in 3D?
A: Not for me. I know it does for the camera guys but we had a really sophisticated camera crew; They’re the same guys who made “Avatar.” It was fun because they had familiar American voices while we were far away in Moscow and that was comforting sometimes.

Q: How have you been enjoying shooting on location in Moscow?
A: Where I’m from in Los Angeles, people don’t really talk about Moscow and it isn’t a city that is visited by the people I know but I think that was also something that, when I read the script, offered a different angle. It was such an unfamiliar environment, so to set a story like this in a place that was alien to me made it a lot more interesting. It makes for a really exotic backdrop.

Q: You worked with Chris Gorak on “Lords of Dogtown” when he was a production designer. How have his talents transferred into directing?
A: I think that, in the case of Chris, he’s worked with so many amazing filmmakers in the capacity of being an art director and a production designer: Spielberg, Fincher, all these incredible directors, getting to work alongside them. He’s a very thoughtful and articulate guy. He takes his time. He’s not an egotist; he’s a sensitive artist. It’s really nice working on a movie like this with a director like him because if he were different I think it would make for a different kind of challenge.

Hirsch’s career on the big screen began in 2002, when he starred as Francis Doyle in Peter Care’s “The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.” It was a performance that put him immediately on the map and led to a string of challenging roles in independent cinema. In 2004, he was introduced to Hollywood audiences starring as Matthew Kidman, the high school student who discovers he has a porn star neighbour, in “The Girl Next Door.” Alongside Elisha Cuthbert, Hirsch drew impressive reviews for the role and became one of America’s most exciting young performers in the process.

A steadfast refusal to be typecast ensured a remarkable list of credits to follow; the young actor has worked with high-profile directors including Sean Penn, Gus van Sant and Ang Lee.

It is with Penn that he has collaborated most, both as a co-star in “Milk” and as the lead in Penn’s Oscar-nominated directorial effort “Into The Wild” where Hirsh took the lead role and was nominated for a Screen Actors’ Guild award for Best Actor.

“The Darkest Hour” (3D) opens January 25 nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

‘Sailor Moon’ and ‘Naruto’ Team Up for New Team Animazing

2012-01-19T01:37:00.000-08:00

‘Sailor Moon’ and ‘Naruto’ Team Up for New Team Animazing

Back-to-back adventures are coming your way every weekday mornings as Sailor Moon teams up with Naruto in the new Team Animazing beginning this Monday, January 23, on ABS-CBN.

Join the most beautiful sailor-suited soldier for love and justice in her quest to save the world in “Sailor Moon” at 8 a.m.. Sailor Moon is one of the most well-loved cartoon characters by Filipinos especially during its airing in the 90s.

Usagi Tsukino is a regular middle-school girl until she met talking cat Luna which revealed her true identity as Sailor Moon, destine to save the Earth from destruction and peril. With the help of Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, at Sailor Jupiter, she must find the moon princess and protect mankind from the evils brought by the Dark Kingdom.

After Usagi’s journey, the country’s favorite ninja returns in the much-awaited “Naruto Shippuden 4” at 8:30 a.m.

The evil Pein is determined to gain power, which is why he hunts for Naruto to catch the nine-tailed fox trapped inside his body. Little did Naruto know that his life is in danger as he is focused on learning a new technique. Will he be able learn about Pein’s plans just in time?

Don’t miss the premiere of “Sailor Moon,” 8 a.m. and “Naruto Shippuden 4,” 8:30 a.m., only in the new Team Animazing of ABS-CBN.

Tom and Jerry Return to GMA-7

2012-01-19T01:33:00.001-08:00

Tom and Jerry Return to GMA-7

Beginning this Monday, GMA Network livens up viewers’ mornings by bringing back the most popular and perhaps the longest-running rivalry in television history: Tom and Jerry.

The decades-old animated TV series, which was originally created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in the 1940s, is about the never-ending clash between Tom, a house cat that enjoys the privilege of being a pampered pet and his arch nemesis Jerry, a cunning mouse that, despite its size, bears the wit and strength comparable to that of the spinach-feeding Popeye! Their enmity and the crazy antics they resort to, in order to outwit each other guarantee a fun-filled viewing experience for the audience.

Considered by TIME Magazine as “one of the greatest television shows of all time,” Tom and Jerry’s slapstick-style comedy has never gone out-of-date. In fact, it continues to capture the attention of a wide demographic of audience up to this day.

Watch out for the hilarious cat-chases-mouse adventures of Tom and Jerry every weekday morning beginning January 23, 8:15 a.m. (after Unang Hirit), on GMA-7.

‘The Kitchen Musical’ Finale on Studio 23

2012-01-19T01:31:00.001-08:00

‘The Kitchen Musical’ Finale on Studio 23

Will it be a bitter or sweet ending for Maddie and the rest of the staff of The Avilon?

The finale of the pan-Asian musical-cooking TV series topbilled by Karylle and Christian Bautista comes to its exciting second-part finale this Saturday, January 21, in “The Kitchen Musical” on Studio 23.

The whole restaurant is in chaos after Mr. Avilon disappeared, with grave allegations being thrown at him. This tears Maddie (Karylle) apart as questions and doubts filled her mind regarding her father’s disappearance. As she searches for answers, Maddie finds out the truth behind her father’s schemes and a shocking revelation about Harry (Arthur Acuna).

As if the news about Mr Avilon isn’t enough, Selena (Rosemary Vanderbrouck) then reveals to Maddie and the rest of the kitchen staff that The Avilon will have a new owner with her as the new General Manager. Together with Harry, Alex (Stephen Rahman Hughes) will be kicked out of the restaurant and Daniel (Christian Bautista) re-enters the picture as the new Executive Chef.

With The Avilon’s change of ownership, will its staff also undergo a change of heart? Will they take Alex or Daniel’s side?

“The Kitchen Musical” first aired in the Philippines, among other Asian countries, in October and premiered via Studio 23. It was shot entirely in Singapore and was produced by The Group Entertainment.

This formally catapulted the international careers of Filipino artists Karylle, Christian, Thou Reyes, Arthur Acuna, and Ikey Canoy.

To date, “The Kitchen Musical” airs in 16 countries in Asia. TGE recently closed the deals with ABC and Casanova Multimedia, which agreed to do a local version of TKM in US and Italy respectively. The second season of the show is said to be in the works.

Don’t miss the finale of “The Kitchen Musical,” this Saturday, January 21, 9:30 p.m., on Studio 23. The Kabarkada Network will air a re-run of the series in April. For more information, visit its official Facebook page at www.thekitchenmusical.com/facebook/ph.

Philippine Azkals - South Korean Incheon Citizens Match for ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya Airs on Studio 23

2012-01-19T01:26:00.001-08:00

Philippine Azkals - South Korean Incheon Citizens Match for ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya Airs on Studio 23

The Philippine Azkals are taking to the field for the team’s second charity match this year as they face South Korean third-tier club Incheon Citizens on Saturday, January 21, 6 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, to be aired live on Studio 23.

The charity match, dubbed as “Kia Rio Cup,” is aimed at raising funds for the benefit of ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya’s drive for the victims of Typhoon Sendong.

While the Azkals will not be represented by several of their Europe-based players because of commitments to their respective clubs, top players Phil Younghusband, James Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong, Ian Araneta and Anton del Rosario will be leading the team against the South Korean club, which boasts of World Cup veterans and excellent rookies.

The Azkals played their first charity match for Sendong victims against Spains’ CF Internacional Madrid. The game, held on January 7, was reported to have raised at least P1.5 million.

During the event, a telethon was conducted by Kapamilya stars, where they received donations and pledges for the victims.

The tickets to the Azkals-Incheon Citizens game, which is presented by ABS-CBN and US-based Dragon Promotions, are at P100, P300, P500, P1000 and P1500 and are available at Ticket World outlets.

Catch the Azkals-Incheon game live on January 21, 6 p.m. on Studio 23.

‘Us Girls’ Unveils 2012 Fashion Trends

2012-01-18T03:58:00.000-08:00

‘Us Girls’ Unveils 2012 Fashion Trends

The long wait is over for the annual fashion forecast of “Us Girls” as Iya Villania, Angel Aquino, and Denise Laurel reveal tomorrow, January 19, the upcoming trends and styles that will rock in 2012.

The 2011 PMPC Star Awards Best Lifestyle Program will also provide viewers with a beauty and fitness guide to the hottest hairstyles and make-up, as well as the best workout routines to help you regain your shape after overindulging during the holidays.

To help you welcome the 2012 with a fab look and fitter figure, “Us Girls” will feature gyms and beauty salons that offer unlimited training and cosmetic services.

Also join Iya in celebrating the Year of the Water Dragon as she troops to Binondo to search for charms that attract fortune and repel bad luck.

All these and more in the lifestyle magazine show authority, “Us Girls” tomorrow, January 19, 9:30 PM on Studio 23 or watch it online anytime on www.studio23.tv.

Be Inspired by Fatima Soriano’s ‘Visions’

2012-01-18T03:56:00.000-08:00

Be Inspired by Fatima Soriano’s ‘Visions’

Celebrate faith and reunite with God through Marian devotee and blind singer Fatima Soriano’s music in her first ever music compilation under Star Records titled, “Visions.”

The album features six inspirational songs including “Nandito Lang Ako,” and “Mahiwaga,” which were the theme songs of defunct ABS-CBN teleseryes “Momay” and “100 Days to Heaven,” respectively. Completing the tracklist are revivals of worship songs “Lift Up Your Hands,” “Mariang Ina Ko,” “Give Thanks,” and “Sino Ako.” Also included are minus one versions of “Lift Up Your Hands,” “Mariang Ina Ko,” and “Sino Ako.”

“Visions” is produced by the ‘Inspirational Diva’ Jamie Rivera.

Be touched and inspired by Soriano’s “Visions.” Grab your own copy on your favorite record bars nationwide. The songs can also be downloaded online via www.starrecords.ph.

Karen Davila Leads Crusade for Work Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities

2012-01-18T03:55:00.000-08:00

Karen Davila Leads Crusade for Work Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities

Award-winning broadcast journalist Karen Davila will stand up for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in “Krusada” tomorrow, January 19, as she advocates better employment opportunities for them through Ability Olympics competitions in the country.

The Abi-Lympics is an international event where PWDs showcase their skills in variety of categories such as desktop publishing, embroidery, and waste re-use. Karen wants to open this opportunity to PWDs so they can cultivate a positive disposition and be productive citizens.

“There’s more to Abi-Lympics than money. It pushes PWDs to develop their talent and believe in themselves. If we give them the opportunity to flourish, they can prove themselves,” Karen stressed.

Karen will also interview the two Filipino PWDs, Virgie Rabino and Bryan Manalo, who competed in the Abi-Lympics in South Korea last year. They will recount their preparations and experiences in the contest and how it greatly affected their lifestyle.

Listen, take part and be one with Karen’s crusade because it takes more than words to make a stand. Watch “Krusada” tomorrow, January 19, after “Bandila” on ABS-CBN, or earlier on DZMM TeleRadyo (SkyCable Channel 26), 9:15 PM.

American Idol Season 11 Premieres on ETC this January 19

2012-01-17T07:47:00.000-08:00

American Idol Season 11 Premieres on ETC this January 19

Experience American Idol like never before as ETC offers fans a chance to have their voices heard. Catch American Idol Season 11 as it premieres via satellite this Thursday, January 19, and Friday, January 20, at 6 p.m. on ETC, and witness the start of a truly localized viewing experience like never before.

American Idol features host Ryan Seacrest and returning judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

This year, watch as we travel across the United States to witness auditions held in Savannah, Aspen, Galveston, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Diego and St. Louis, all in the search for contestants who possess raw talent and the potential to become the next American Idol.

Those contestants who impress the judges will make it to the "Hollywood rounds" where they will be put to the test to see if they can handle the competition. If they pass they must then take on the "Performance Challenge" where the judges will have to make the hard decision of who will make it to the live shows.

In the milestone 400th episode of the show on February 29, the first group of semifinalists will take to the Idol stage as they perform live for the first time, with the second group of semifinalists taking to the stage the following night, March 1. The competition then takes a dramatic turn as on March 2, America's votes reveal the first set of finalists, and leave the remaining contestants one more chance to perform for the judges who will round out the group of finalists with their wild card picks. Catch all the talent, laughs, tears and drama American Idol has to offer on ETC.

American Idol Season 11 premieres via satellite this January 19, Wednesday and January 20, Thursday at 6 p.m with a primetime replay at 9 p.m on ETC.

The talent search will then air every Thursday and Friday at 6PM with a primetime replay at 9 p.m. on ETC.