The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio
The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio |
| 'Lou Grant' star Ed Asner released from hospital Posted: 14 Mar 2013 08:33 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Ed Asner was released from a Chicago-area hospital on Thursday, two days after leaving the stage during a performance and receiving treatment for exhaustion, the publicist for the former Lou Grant television star said. Asner, 83, was on his way to Los Angeles and was told by doctors to get some rest, Charles Sherman said. The Emmy-winning actor was hospitalized on Tuesday after appearing disoriented at the start of his one-man show FDR, in which he plays President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in Gary, Indiana. "That's what the doctors surmised, it's exhaustion," Sherman said, adding that Asner has canceled upcoming performances of FDR in Milwaukee and Tennessee. "Ed will resume performing FDR in mid-April, but, of course, we'll have to see how his health is," Sherman said. Asner, best known for playing the gruff newsman Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and spinoff drama series Lou Grant, poked fun at his health on Twitter. "Reports of my imminent demise are greatly exaggerated," Asner wrote on the social network on Wednesday. "They tell me I am suffering from exhaustion. Thanks for the good wishes!" |
| Posted: 15 Mar 2013 01:42 AM PDT Malaysian-made documentaries are reaching a new level, and their makers have joined forces to improve the industry. NOWADAYS, anytime an important event takes place, within minutes, you would find videos of it uploaded on YouTube and shared on social media. Case in point, the recent Russian meteor crash. It's probably safe to say that in this digital age, everyone is a documentary filmmaker. But, of course, the citizen journalists and the ordinary man on the street make simple, crude and raw videos. The professionals would have better equipment, as well as training and practice, to ensure that their work is of high quality. In comes the newly minted Malaysian Documentary Association, or MyDocs. Conceived a few years ago, and registered late last year, MyDocs aims to make quality documentary-makers out of those interested to pursue such a craft. "We've been talking about it for a long time, and we kept saying to ourselves we've got to get ourselves organised, get together and bring the industry forward," said MyDocs president Harun Rahman. "Before this we couldn't even get our documentaries shown on National Geographic and Discovery Channel. These are the big guys. After 2007, it all turned around." Harun said with the documentary-makers and their experience, as well as the assistance of the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) and international broadcasters such as National Geographic, the playing field opened up. Malaysian documentary-makers now have opportunities to make high quality documentaries and have them shown internationally. The board members of MyDocs comprise established names in documentary and filmmaking, such as Ahmad Yazid and Lydia Lubon who made the documentaries on Al-Maunah and Mas Selamat for the Crime & Investigation Channel; former beauty queen Lina Teoh who has produced and directed documentaries for National Geographic and Discovery; award-winning director Dain Said (Bunohan), who is also a passionate documentary-maker; and Justin Ong who has had his film shown at a documentary showcase in Cannes, France. Harun himself, the founder of documentary production company Novista, has 20 years' experience in the field, and is most well-known for his National Geographic film, Among The Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh, which won Best Natural History or Wildlife Programme at the Asian Television Awards 2010. While our feature films have been winning international accolades since the beginning of this millennium, few are aware that we have an active and viable documentary-making industry here that is also internationally recognised. And most importantly, it is still growing. "Those of us who got our documentaries shown on National Geographic learned a lot," said Harun. "We learned how to make documentaries at the international level. And we felt that it would be good for us to share our experience with others, because some of them would eventually work with us or work for us." "Through all of my experiences I have learnt so much and would now like to help other Malaysians have the same opportunities that I have had," said Teoh, who was one of the chosen participants in Crossing Borders 2011, an international training programme for up and coming filmmakers. "And this is where MyDocs can help." Harun said MyDocs would, first and foremost, provide a valuable network for aspiring documentary-makers. "MyDocs is a platform for us to have workshops, training and internships," he explained. "We're also planning to have apprenticeships. You don't have to have paper qualifications. If you have an interest in documentaries, join one of the companies, work with us. If you're good with cameras, we can put you in a company to learn about documentaries." With the experiences of the board members, Harun believes aspiring documentary-makers can learn how to make documentaries of international quality and get their films shown worldwide and not just in Malaysia. He said from his own experience, he has learned that there are matters such as getting a release for interviews and photographs used in a film in order for a documentary to be shown internationally. Then there is also the matter of transparency, where an international broadcaster or producer would scrutinise every aspect of a production or project, to ensure that resources are not wasted. Harun said one does not need to have a journalistic background to become a documentary-maker, but only needs to have the inquisitive mind of a journalist and the stamina of a filmmaker, since some documentaries may take years to complete. "At the end of the day it is passion, passion for your story, your subject matter," he added. He said today with the advent of digital technology, it is easier and cheaper to make a documentary, and no longer are documentaries only made by the government and government agencies. "Films have always been very expensive to produce, because of the equipment, lab work and all that," said Harun. "If you are not making a feature film, then you can't afford to do it, because you won't get your money back ... But now HD and SLR have come about and everything is digital, it has become so much cheaper to make a film. Now it all depends on your story. If your story is good, people will watch it." One of the things MyDocs would like to see or make happen in the future is local documentaries having theatrical releases. But for now, the next immediate focus for MyDocs is in assisting Finas with Asian Side Of The Doc, an annual international co-production meeting, which is scheduled for next month. "This is an international forum where many people are coming to talk about documentaries and have masterclasses," said Harun. "We will also have a pitching forum where you can present your ideas to TV stations and producers from all over the world. If they are interested, they will put money into your project and help you make your documentary." Filmmaker and writer Zan Azlee, well-known for his documentaries and reports from conflict zones, thinks it is a good idea having such an association. He said Harun had talked to him about it while they were doing documentary workshops in Sabah last year. "It's definitely good for young documentary filmmakers who are starting in the industry," said Zan when contacted online. "As someone who has been doing it for a while, I hope to see MyDocs representing the industry more, maybe act as a union or guild of sorts and looking into policies and regulations, like a bridge between the industry and maybe the government. I think there is a lot to do when it comes to creating awareness about documentaries." Said Teoh: "MyDocs believes passion is the key to producing great documentaries and if this passion can be shared with more documentary filmmakers, Malaysia will continue to produce not only better documentary filmmakers but also amazing stories that can be seen by larger audiences." Membership is open to anyone who has an interest in documentaries. For more details and to sign up, go to www.mydocs.my. |
| Posted: 15 Mar 2013 01:43 AM PDT Red FM isn't afraid to put aside its tried and tested formula for something new. THE only thing constant in life is change," says deejay JJ Fernandez, or better known by his on-air name JJ, during an interview at the Red FM office in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, recently. The popular radio announcer was fielding questions about Red FM's latest rebranding initiative which sees the introduction of a new logo and a simple, catchy tagline, "Living it!" "Everybody is falling into one stereotype or another, saying you've got to be this or that. So Living it! is about empowering listeners to be brave enough to be themselves, to celebrate their individuality in a small way ... like Lady Gaga. She is who she is and she's not ashamed of it. We want people to be happy with who they are and what they've got," says JJ, explaining the meaning behind the theme. But many may wonder why a radio station which has done considerably well (Red FM is consistently ranked as one of Malaysia's top five English radio stations year after year) would want to change its tried and tested formula and risk failure. The station believes change is important in order to avoid falling into the rut of predictability. "Commercial radio has been around for a long time, hence there's a set way of doing things so much so it's become a format already. If you listen to most announcers, you know what's going to happen, you can almost see it coming like a train. But we want to try something different," JJ shares, adding that the move is also an effort to create Red FM's own identity. More than just a name change, the station intends to translate the newly-minted tagline into its day-to-day radio segments. For instance, the idea of embracing one's self would not be complete without embracing one's own culture. As such, Red FM plans to dedicate an entire show to highlight the talents of our local musicians plus introduce a Malaysian music chart. Besides that, a segment airing live performances by international and local acts is also in the pipeline, giving listeners a raw, authentic music experience. Also, the station has started to broadcast the Red Bull Music Academy Radio on Sundays (2pm), where listeners can hear interviews and live performances by some of the world's hottest DJs such as Jazzy Jeff and Mark Ronson. JJ believes the segment will expose audiences to a wider music range. Listeners can also look forward to a batch of fresh voices on the radio such as stand-up comedians Papi Zak and Kavin and Adam C. Of course, JJ himself is "new" to the group, having just joined Lil Kev on The Red Breakfast WTF! show last month. But with so many changes in the works, will the station lose its sense of self or worse, its listeners? Fans of Red FM need not worry as part of the change is about going back to the basics of radio. Lil Kev believes many radio stations have "lost touch with their listeners" and the move, if anything, is an effort to reconnect with listeners. For example, the deejay shares that the advent of social media has whittled down the practice of listeners calling up radio stations. "A lot of listeners now tend to post on Facebook pages or tweet their responses. While we appreciate and welcome that, we also want to hear from them by giving us a call," says Lil Kev. "I remember receiving a call from a guy who played a recording of his wife giving birth. That was 16 years ago and recently, I got in touch with the caller and met his now 16-year-old son," he continues, adding that nothing satisfies him more than the ability to touch lives like this. As such, the radio station is keeping its phone lines open all day, inviting listeners to call in at anytime of the day and talk about anything they want. Meanwhile, Adam C, who helms The Red Rush, opines that the change is essentially a move to recover another fundamental aspect of radio. He says, "When I turn on the radio, I want to listen to music. But many times, listeners find the deejays speaking more than there is music. That's why as a deejay, I only talk for 20 to 30 seconds at a time. I'm not the star, it's (all about) the music." Keep an eye (or ear) out for more changes by tuning in to Red FM or visiting red.fm (live streaming is available). If you have something to say, pick up the phone and call 03-7728 1049 or join the Red FM Malaysia Facebook fan page on facebook.com/redfm.my and follow the station on Twitter (@iloveredfm). Red FM is owned and operated by The Star. Red FM's station frequencies: Taiping, Kedah, Perlis and Pulau Langkawi: 98.1FM; George Town and Seberang Prai: 107.6FM; Ipoh, Perak: 106.4FM; Klang Valley, Negri Sembilan and Tapah: 104.9FM; Kuantan, Pahang: 91.6FM, Batu Pahat and Malacca: 98.9FM; Johor Baru and Singapore: 92.8FM. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan