The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
- Jackie Chan: Upcoming film will be last big action movie
- Hobbit producers deny animal deaths on set
- 'Twilight' tops US box office, as Bollywood sneaks in
| Jackie Chan: Upcoming film will be last big action movie Posted: 19 Nov 2012 09:39 PM PST BEIJING - Kung Fu superstar Jackie Chan said that while the upcoming film "Chinese Zodiac 2012" will be his last major action movie, citing his increasing age, he will still be packing punches in the world of philanthropy. Chan wrote, directed and produced his latest film, set to premiere in cinemas in China next month. He also plays the lead role and said that he regarded it the "best film for myself" in the last ten years. "I'm the director, I'm the writer, I'm the producer, I'm the action director, almost everything," the 58-year-old Hong Kong actor told Reuters while in Beijing to film a documentary. "This really, really is my baby. You know, I've been writing the script for seven years," and the film took a year and half to make, he added. In the film, Chan is a treasure hunter seeking to repatriate sculpture heads of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, which were taken from Beijing's Summer Palace by French and British forces during the Opium Wars. He said it was an important movie for him because it will be his last major action feature, although he insisted it is not the end of his action career. "I'm not young any more, honestly," he said, noting that with special effects technology and doubles a lot can be done without physical risk. "Why (do) I have to use my own life to still do these kind of things?" he said. "I will still do as much as I can. But I just don't want to risk my life to sit in a wheelchair, that's all." Chan was recently awarded the Social Philanthropist of the Year award by Harpers Bazaar magazine. He said he wanted to increase time devoted to charitable work and hoped China's leagues of newly wealthy will follow his example - which he underlined by auctioning a Bentley 666 for around 6 million yuan. China now has more billionaires than any other Asian country, but very few philanthropic organizations, and giving to charity remains a relatively new phenomenon in the world's most populous country. Chan said while Chinese philanthropists have made some encouraging strides, much more still needs to be done - a task made harder by the Internet, with netizens willing to leap on every perceived wrong move. "Right now people (must) very, very be careful, but that doesn't stop them to want to do the charity. I think it's a good sign," Chan said. - Reuters |
| Hobbit producers deny animal deaths on set Posted: 19 Nov 2012 09:13 PM PST WELLINGTON - The producers of "The Hobbit" movies on Tuesday rejected allegations that animals died on set during the making of director Peter Jackson's highly anticipated Tolkien trilogy in New Zealand. Animal rights group PETA said up to 27 animals, including horses, sheep, goats and chickens, died during filming, prompting it to plan protests against the movies, the first of which has its world premiere in Wellington next week. Jackson and the producers said in a statement that the American Humane Association monitored all use of animals during the shoot and "no animals died or were harmed on set during filming". "The producers completely reject the accusations that 27 animals died due to mistreatment during the making of the films," the statement said. "Extraordinary measures were taken to make sure that animals were not used during action sequences or any other sequence that might create undue stress for the animals involved." It added that 55 percent of shots featuring animals in the trilogy, which has a budget estimated at US$500 million, were computer-generated. PETA said former wranglers who worked on the production reported two horses died from broken necks after being run off embankments and another was illegally "hobbled" with its legs tied together. PETA US senior vice president Lisa Lange said sheep and goats died from worms and after falling into sinkholes in rugged terrain, and a dozen chickens were mauled to death by dogs. "This production's decision to use numerous live animals and allow them to suffer needlessly takes the entertainment industry a giant and disgraceful step backwards," she said in a statement. The first of the three movies, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", premieres in Wellington on November 28 and will be released worldwide in December. PETA said it will protest at the event and at premieres in the United States and Britain. - AFP |
| 'Twilight' tops US box office, as Bollywood sneaks in Posted: 19 Nov 2012 06:05 PM PST LOS ANGELES: The final chapter of the blockbuster "Twilight" vampire franchise took the biggest bite out of North America's weekend box office - while a Bollywood film made a rare showing in the top 10. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2," the fifth and final installment of the wildly popular series based on novels by Stephenie Meyer, took $141.1 million, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations. But almost more eye-catching was "Jab Tak Hai Jaan (Till My Last Breath)," a three-hour extravaganza which was the last film made by legendary Indian filmmaker Yash Chopra, the "king of romance," before he died last month. The movie entered the top 10 at number 8, taking $1.3 million at the box office, a rare appearance for a Bollywood film in box office rankings usually dominated by Hollywood productions. The Hindi cinema legend, hailed for directing, producing and screen-writing some of India's most-loved movies over several decades, died last month aged 80 after being admitted to hospital with dengue fever. The box office top spot was, as expected, taken by the last "Twilight" movie. The previous four films, starting with the 2008 series opener "Twilight," earned a colossal $2.4 billion altogether. In second place was the new James Bond movie "Skyfall," last week's top earner, which earned an estimated $41.1 million, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. Third place went to the debut of the Steven Spielberg film "Lincoln," starring Daniel Day Lewis in the role of America's assassinated 16th president, which had $21 million in ticket sales. "Wreck-It Ralph," the animated Disney film about a video game villain with dreams of becoming a hero, earned $18.6 million for fourth place. Fifth went to the movie "Flight," a star vehicle for Denzel Washington, who plays a crash-landing pilot with substance abuse problems. It pulled in $8.8 million. In sixth place was "Argo," based on the true story of six Americans spirited out of Iran during the 1979-80 hostage crisis. The film directed by and starring Ben Affleck earned $4 million. "Taken 2," Liam Neeson's return as ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills, racked up $2.1 million for seventh place. After the Bollywood new entry in eighth spot came "Pitch Perfect," a musical-comedy about a cappella singing group, which earned just under $1.3 million for ninth place. Rounding out the top 10 was "Here Comes the Boom," a comedy starring Kevin James as a high school teacher on a quest to become a mixed martial arts fighter, with $1.2 million in tickets sold. - AFP |
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