The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio
The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio |
| Hugh Hefner to say 'I Do' again Posted: 04 Dec 2012 08:26 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Playboy founder Hugh Hefner is headed to the altar again - with the blonde Playmate who ditched him five days before their planned wedding in 2011. Hefner, 86, and his former "runaway bride" Crystal Harris, 26, obtained a marriage license in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Recorder spokeswoman Elizabeth Knox said. Celebrity website TMZ.com said the couple, who reunited earlier this year, are planning a New Year's Eve wedding. Harris was Playboy magazine's Miss December 2009 and appeared on the July 2011 cover of the adult magazine with a "runaway bride" sticker covering her bottom half. In what was described at the time only as a "change of heart," Harris dumped the magazine mogul and left his Playboy Mansion five days before a lavish June 2011 wedding before 300 guests. This time around, the couple are playing it low-key, staying mum on their busy Twitter accounts with Hefner's spokeswoman declining to confirm or deny their plans. Hefner, founder of the Playboy adult entertainment empire, has been married twice before. He and his second wife Kimberley Conrad, also a former Playmate, divorced in 2010 after a lengthy separation. His first marriage to Mildred Williams ended in divorce in 1959. He has two children from each marriage. |
| Posted: 05 Dec 2012 01:04 AM PST Music and television fans are singing their praise for The Voice. When The Voice started early last year, it was met with scepticism. Did we really need another reality singing competition show on TV? American Idol ratings were on the decline and Simon Cowell had announced that an American version of the massively popular British hit The X-Factor would begin later that same year. It looked like people just couldn't get enough of these talent shows. Now, The Voice is in its third season and some 12 million viewers tune in to watch it each week in the US alone. Malaysians, too, get to watch it just a few days after it is screened in the US. What makes The Voice, which is based on the Dutch series The Voice Of Holland, different from The X-Factor and American Idol is the four superstar coaches who are responsible for picking and mentoring contestants on their team. All of them – Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera – are vocalists who are actively producing hit music right now and have years of experience under their belts. They are more than able to prepare their team members for the performances week to week and provide invaluable advice the aspiring artistes would never be able to get on their own. The show also enlists the help of guest mentors. This season has seen the likes of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Mary J. Blige, Michael Bublé and Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas giving contestants invaluable advice. One of the most interesting aspects of The Voice, which is hosted by the very capable Carson Daly, is the blind auditions process. At the beginning of each season, the coaches have their backs turned to the hopefuls who try out for the show. If one or more coaches like what they hear, they push their bright, shiny red button to turn their chair. This means that the contestants are judged solely on their voices and nothing else. If more than one chair turns, the power shifts to the contestant and he/she then gets to pick which of the interested coaches they would like to work with. This year, the coaches pulled out every trick they could think of to build their teams of 16 contestants – from Shelton using his recent American Country Music award as a prop, to Levine reminding everyone that his team won the first season of the show. The banter between the coaches always provides a healthy dose of comic relief. The coaches also make it a point to perform on The Voice, sometimes with their team members or, with one or all of the other coaches. Last week, the show arranged a cute duet between Green and Kermit The Frog singing Bein' Green. Like previous seasons, this year's show has seen numerous participants with incredible vocal ability, making it even harder for the coaches to decide who should stay and who should go when it is time to trim down their teams. In the battle rounds, two contestants are given a song to sing together by their coach and basically, whoever sings better stays. Now and then, there isn't a clear-cut winner but at this stage, they can be "stolen" by another coach (a new feature introduced this season). Green was in the unfortunate position of having to pick between Trevin Hunte and Amanda Brown in one of the battles. He picked Hunte while Levine quickly stole Brown. For the knockout rounds, the contestants pick their own songs but go head-to-head with another contestant on their coach's team. The end of the knockout rounds leaves each coach with five participants each. In the subsequent stage – the live playoffs – home audiences get the chance to vote for their favourites. It's also the last time the coaches are able to save a team member from being eliminated. And then it's on to the final live performance phase where two contestants with the lowest number of votes get sent home each week. This week, the remaining six performers take to the stage, inching closer to the grand prize – a recording contract. Getting the recording deal does not assure brisk record sales, though. Just ask Season One winner Javier Colon from Team Adam. His album, Come Through For You, peaked at No. 134 on the US Billboard 200 chart. Perhaps Season Two champion Jermaine Paul (from Team Blake) will have better luck when he releases his album on Dec 18. But let's get back to the show. With hottie Dez Duron being the last contestant eliminated from Team Xtina in the last round, that leaves Levine, Green and Shelton with a shot at having a winning team member. Levine has powerhouse vocalist Brown and the quirky half-blonde, half-brunette with the raspy voice Melanie Martinez. Shelton has Cassadee Pope, who was previously in the poprock band Hey Monday, and rocker Terry McDermott, a Scottish singer who was in a band called Driveblind. Green has high school student Hunte and the bearded soul artiste Nicholas David on his team. Viewers are just days away from finding out who takes the Season Three crown. This week's performance episode will see the six contestants singing two songs each as they vie for a coveted spot in the final four. The two-hour season finale will be shown on Dec 24 over AXN and AXN HD (Astro Ch 701/721) at 8.10pm. |
| K-pop idol Dong-ho turns action star Posted: 05 Dec 2012 03:41 AM PST K-pop idol Dong-ho of U-Kiss turns into an action star for his latest drama Holy Land. BEFORE you scream, "not another idol drama", check out Holy Land. True, they are usually a hit or miss in the story stakes, but idol dramas – drama series starring Korean pop idol stars – coninue to be a rising trend. After all, the idols' bankability is guaranteed, with their existing fanbase, and really, not many regular drama fans can resist the glamorous, nubile stars. Holy Land, the latest to hit our shores, unabashedly cashes in not only on its lead, Dong-ho from K-pop idol group U-Kiss, but also his fellow U-Kisser, Hoon, in a supporting role. But what makes this four-part, action-packed drama series stand out from the usual crop is its stylised action sequences and character development. That is greatly due to its source material – a popular manga series with the same title, by Kouji Mori. Like the Japanese version, Holy Land follows the adventures of a homeless teen – here, Kang-yoo (Dong-ho) – who wanders the lonely city streets in search of a place where he can belong; his "holy land". To survive, he picks up boxing but his extraordinary skills only draw the attention of the thugs and gangs who all want a piece of him. He is rescued by former streetfighter Sang-ho (Seong-woong), who takes him under his wings and hones his fighting skills. Sang-ho's attempts to give Kang-yoo a new life away from the mean streets, however, proves futile as the city's underbelly simply cannot let the teen streetfighter go. This is Dong-ho's first action role, but the 18-year-old singer and dancer took the physical challenge of the mixed martial arts training in his stride. Although it left him bruised, he really enjoyed it, he tells Star2 in an e-mail interview. "It was fun!" he raves, before admitting, "It was physically exhausting ... I thought I was in great shape, thanks to dancing, but I was wrong." Of course, what he enjoyed most was his "showdown" with his fellow U-Kiss member Hoon. "I have a fight scene with him and I win! He does taekwondo, so in real life, I'd never be able to beat him. It was fun," says Dong-ho. No need to fret, Kiss-Mes (aka U-Kiss fans) – neither was hurt in the scene, and they still look as flawless as ever. Dong-ho did get a scratch on his nose but he was grateful for that "scar" as it helped him get into the loner and rebel role. "Kang-yoo is a shy outsider both at home and in society. He teaches himself boxing, using an old boxing textbook. We don't have a lot in common. He's kind of shy and dark but I'm not." He shares he had to dig deep in himself for some scenes. "I feel like I'm beginning to understand what acting really is. I can't give myself a high score since there's still a lot for me to learn but I'll try to be a better actor." In fact, he counts the learning experience as the best experience when doing the series. "I've learned how to control my emotions, which will be helpful in future acting. I still have a lot to learn. Singing's what I've been doing for a long time, but acting is new, so it kind of makes me nervous. I just want to do my best," says the up-and-coming acting star who has appeared in drama series Royal Family and I Am Legend. His filmography includes My Black Mini Dress, Villain And Widow and Mr Idol. After the intense role in Holy Land, however, Dong-ho hopes to play some light-hearted characters in romantic comedies or high school dramas next. Still, for now, Dong-ho wants to focus on his music with his group U-Kiss, especially in the promotions of its seventh mini album Stop Girl. Dong-ho is particularly high from his experience in South America, where U-Kiss became the first K-Pop group to perform in Colombia, where it shared the stage with Shakira. "I was shocked by how enthusiastic the fans were. A lot more people showed up than expected. I can't wait for our concert in Brazil in the future." Unfortunately, there are no plans to come back to Malaysia for a concert yet but he hopes they will be able to perform here again soon, gushing, "Thank you very much for your continued support, fans in Malaysia! I'll always try hard to live up to your expectations. I love you all!" Holy Land premieres tonight at 9pm on KIX HD (Astro Ch 729). |
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