Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:08 AM PDT

South Korean heartthrob Lee Min Ho picks up martial arts to tackle an action-packed role in City Hunter.

IN City Hunter, apart from romancing the lady, South Korean hottie Lee Min Ho has to impress with his martial arts prowess.

Lee said he started preparing himself for the action scenes before he even received the script, undergoing several months of training in firearms and exotic martial arts. Admittedly, it is quite a physical role and involves a lot of close combat apart from athletics.

"I got to learn the Filipino martial art called Kali Arnis. It is a very swift martial art and it aims for pressure points in the body. Therefore, even one move needed much practice.

"I was worried about how it would look on TV, but many viewers have expressed that they love it, so I am very thankful," he revealed in a recent e-mail interview.

The Korean drama series is inspired by the popular Japanese manga of the same title by Tsukasa Hojo, which depicts the antics of private detective Ryo Saeba on his crusade against crime in the seedy underbelly of Tokyo.

Lee plays the dashing Dr Lee Yoon Sung, an MIT PhD holder working as an agent for the Blue House's special security team. Since the drama is based on a famous original comic book, he admitted to being a little worried about bringing it to television as well.

"However, I had many discussions with the director and my agent and I have faith in them.

"What attracted me was that although the original City Hunter work is serious, we are making it in a different style that features much action, which is what I am keen to do.

"I need full concentration to shoot the entire series. And because City Hunter runs a total of 20 episodes, I am working to stay healthy to finish shooting the series without any problems."

Lee explained that his character is one "who lives in a secluded environment that his stepfather has set up for him".

"Only after being in contact with the Korean people, he learns how to feel and struggles to realise justice in his own way. Yoon Sung's character is very complex and he encounters many different people and shares many emotions with them," Lee continued.

Are there any similarities between the Dr Lee character and himself? "Yoon Sung is not a straightforward person and is often unable to share what is on his mind, and that is quite similar to my own character.

"He is unable to freely and frankly express himself because he was raised by his stepfather, Jin Pyo, in a world where he is often alone and he has just followed the lifestyle that his stepfather had set up for him.

"Compared to Yoon Sung, I am leading a blessed life of my own."

Filming is still in progress for City Hunter, which started airing in South Korea on May 25, and Lee is glad to report a most enjoyable process.

"Now that I am midway through working on the series, my favourite scene so far is when my character has a nightmare in episode eight. The scene is very significant because of the reality of the situation that Yoon Sung is facing at that point in time. The scene expresses much of the mixed emotions he goes through.

"In Thailand, the scenes shot in the market and in the forest are the most memorable ones for me. In the market, I could feel the real life of the people in Thailand. Riding the elephant was a great experience and the sunset was just fantastic."

Kissing on the shoot

In City Hunter, Lee's character is paired with Kim Nana, a judo athlete-turned-bodyguard played by Park Min Young. Lee recounted the pros and cons of working with a friend.

"I first met Park Min Young five years ago at an advertisement shoot. After that, we acted together in drama series I Am Sam, in 2007.

"She is my friend, so initially I was worried about acting in intimate scenes with her. However, we worked it out by discussing the scenes, so being a friend worked in our favour.

"It was a kissing scene without any emotions or feelings, and it was part of an episode where we were trying to solve a case.

"We talked more about our expressions and action scenes that were to follow, rather than the kissing scene."

Lee, who has six movies and nine TV series under his belt, made his name with his breakthrough role as the rich and handsome Gu Jun Pyo in the immensely popular idol drama Boys Over Flowers, which was a hit in Asia.

Apart from the best newcomer actor award at South Korea's prestigious 45th Baeksang Awards, the role also won him the male rookie award at 2009 KBS Drama Awards as well as the best couple award with its leading lady Koo Hye Sun. Following that he won the excellence award at the 2010 MBC Drama Awards for his portrayal of an architect in romantic comedy Personal Taste, now airing on 8TV.

The dashing actor turned 24 on June 22 and admitted to feeling a bit out of sorts having to spend it on the film set instead of celebrating with his fans. "The most memorable birthdays have been the ones last year and the year before. I was very touched and surprised so many people gathered just for my celebration."

He even shared a photo of himself on his recent birthday through his personal me2day (Korean equivalent of the Twitter microblogging and social networking service) and left a note for his followers, part of which reads, "Every year, I usually spent my birthday with my fans, but I'm spending it today on set. Ah ... I feel empty. The surprise birthday party I found out about was fun, and I'm thankful for all your messages (though I haven't read them all yet). I'll try my hardest to talk to you all through City Hunter.

The actor recalled his brief visit to Malaysia two years ago, and lamented that it was a pity the time he had here went by so quickly.

Lee has a message for his Malaysian fans: "I really appreciate all the support and the love all of you have shown me. Thank you for all your interest in City Hunter! I'll do my best to make it a drama series that touches your hearts."

City Hunter airs on One HD (Astro B.yond Channel 393) at 9.05pm on Mondays and Tuesdays starting today.

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

The laughing daylights

Posted: 04 Jul 2011 02:06 AM PDT

Spy comedy Chuck goes a little 007 while staying goofy.

It's quite surreal to be seated in Chuck's home – located at the Warner Bros Studio lot in Los Angeles – with his small kitchen at the back and a huge TV mounted at the opposite end.

At the centre is a cream-coloured sofa – the centrepiece of any living room, really – but it is currently occupied by the main cast and creator of the show Chuck talking to a group of international journalists about the series' third season.

Chuck is, of course, the super nerd Charles Bartowski, played by Zachary Levi, who goes through a complete transformation in the third season.

Not too long ago, Chuck was just another computer-support tech with a name tag, working at a big store called Buy More in Burbank and hanging out with his equally nerdy friends. But thanks to a computer download of highly classified material (a massive proportion, too) into his brain, he has become a bank of information for government agencies.

When an object triggers the data in his brain, he ends up as the spectator (and sometimes unwilling participant) of dangerous missions led by a grumpy NSA agent, John Casey (Adam Baldwin), and a stunning CIA agent, Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski).

To top it off, he has to keep his day job as a member of the Nerd Herd as well as keep his "super" identity a secret from his family and friends.

At the end of Season Two, another batch of data is downloaded into his brain. This time, it allows him to instantly master any number of skills – be it executing kung fu moves, playing the guitar, sword fighting, ballroom dancing or even speaking in a foreign language. You know, kind of like what Neo got to do in The Matrix – just that Chuck is not in The Matrix but in the real world.

So in a matter two seasons, Chuck's status has been elevated from a goofy sidekick stuck in the background, to that of a leading man who can take care of himself. Errm, actually, make that a goofy leading man.

If previously he did a lot of falling down and running away, Chuck 2.0 gets in the thick of things in the spy world, but very much in the spirit of the old nerdy Chuck – yes, some bumbling is involved.

"I get to be the spy world in a new way and I get to fight. Now I have, not just the ability to flash on things, but the ability to also kick some butt. But I am still the same guy," confirms Levi.

When asked about his physical preparation for the third season, his co-star, Joshua Gomez – who plays Chuck's best friend, Morgan Grimes – pipes in with, "Look at the man!"

At this interview – which took place early last year at the LA studio lot – Levi looks much taller (he's 1.93m), more dashing and leaner than he appears on the small screen. Nonetheless, he has the same amicable personality as his character, especially when he is teasing Gomez about his beard.

"If you see him without a beard, you'd be worried," Levi says.

Levi admits he has always been game to do more physical stunts, so he is up to the challenge of learning to fight even though he has a tight schedule to keep.

"Sometimes we are learning the fights the day before we shoot. But (the fight coordinators) are great, they are really able to break it down in ways that are easy for us to understand. So that's been the extent of the training. And I'm trying to eat right and work out a little bit and, you know, be somewhat capable of doing what they are asking me to do."

Season Three also features two prominent guest stars – Brandon Routh (of Superman Returns) and Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) – in recurring roles.

Routh plays Daniel Shaw, a special agent with the CIA who is sent to train Chuck to be a better spy. Shaw rubs Chuck the wrong way, not only due to his serious personality, but also because he poses the threat of coming between him and Sarah. Meanwhile Kreuk portrays Hannah, a girl Chuck meets on a plane and then later comes to work at Buy More alongside Chuck.

Co-creator Chris Fedak shares: "We went after Brandon when we wanted to introduce another spy into the mix. He was interested in doing a show that was a little bit funnier rather than a straightforward leading man-type of performance. Chuck gave him an opportunity to do something in the comedic realm, so he was a perfect fit for this season."

The reason Chuck has gone through such a 180° turnaround with its protagonist is that the series has been in perpetual danger of being cancelled. It has averted this deadly fate twice. The fourth season has just ended in the United States and received the good news of being renewed for another season, which will be its last (just 13 episodes though).

The ratings-challenged series' skill in surviving the axe is largely thanks to passionate fans who have gone out of their way to actively campaign for the show. At one point, even the Subway restaurants in the US got involved.

Levi notes: "I've always approached the entertainment business as one where you should consider the fans, their opinions and their thoughts. But, at the end of the day, you still have to have a clear vision of what you want to do and you have to stick to that, you are not going to please everyone.

"I think Bill Cosby has a great quote: 'I don't know the secret to success, but the secret to failure is trying to please everyone.' So you can't do that, or you end up just coming out with a very muddled product.

"I think that it is always important to hear the fans and to know what they respond to. And we were very much saved, at least, in part, by the fans, you know, stepping up to the plate and saying, 'We love this show, we don't want the show to disappear. Let's go buy some sandwiches.'

"And so they did and that resonated with Subway and that resonated with NBC, and we got to stick around. Here we are because of sandwiches, which is really odd."

Gomez adds: "Yummy, yummy, sandwiches."

According to Fedak, Chuck is designed to be a pure escapist kind of show, which would reason why so many people like it.

Fedak explains: "Chuck really takes you to another world and it is a lot of fun. It is also really super emotional. For me, I watch the show and always have a good time; it always puts a smile on my face. It speaks to people and I think it provides a bit of a vacation every Monday night in the spy world."

Chuck Season Three starts tonight at 9:05pm. Catch it Monday to Thursday on AXN (Astro 701) and AXN HD (Astro 721).

Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 3 Julai 2011