The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews
The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews |
| The Internship: Forging ahead in the tech world Posted: Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson take a leap of faith in The Internship. ACTOR Vince Vaughn was watching a 60 Minutes piece on the working environment created at the Google's Northern California headquarters when he came up with the concept for the film The Internship. Vaughn, who co-wrote the film with Jared Stern, wanted to combine the fun work place of Google with two characters who are outdated not only as far as their occupation is concerned, but also in the way they go about their daily lives. Billy McMahon (Vaughn) and Nick Campbell (Owen Wilson) are two very good salesmen who hawk watches. Unfortunately, they discover too late that the world doesn't really need people like them anymore, since people prefer shopping online. After they are fired, Billy and Nick decide to take a leap of faith and put their career trajectory on a totally different (and relevant) path. And that is how these two unemployed guys end up as interns at Google, a company which is the last place you'd think they would apply to. In an interview transcript, provided by Twentieth Century Fox, Vaughn confessed he knows people like Billy and Nick, who feel the need to reinvent themselves so they can stay pertinent in the workforce. He said: "It felt like their skill sets didn't travel quite like they used to, and (it became) the starting point for a movie that's ultimately about friendships, navigating your life, and asking whether you landed where you wanted to or not, looking at it from a younger generation's point of view." And who better to accompany Vaughn on this misadventure than his Wedding Crashers' co-star Wilson. Wilson, who is a close friend of Vaughn, shared how the latter pitched the idea to him. "It was really just him saying, 'I've got an idea that I think could be fun for us to work on', and then we went to Google together and once there, it felt like this could be a good idea ... Then as Vince worked on the script and figured out a story and how he was going to tell it, it all just came together." When Google was approached about The Internship – which showcases their "Googliness" (an actual term used by the company to describe qualities like innovative thinking, dilligence, to be opened to inspiration and most importantly, the desire to keep searching) to the world – the organisation wanted the filmmaker to keep the Google spirit alive in the film. Hence, director Shawn Levy and designer Tom Meyer visited the company to get the feel of the organisation and came away with the conclusion that it is quirky, idyllic, strange and very specific. To replicate all that on a film set, Meyer went to Atlanta and found a tech company located in the city that had a whimsical style which gave the production team a shell to work with. Meyer said in the production notes: "When you go to Google, the most important thing that you take away from it is its non-traditional aspect and out of the box thinking. I tried to capture that feeling that you take away when you're an employee or visitor there. There's a huge sense of playfulness. And the idea of a healthy body and mind is central to Google." Vaughn's own first impression of Google was similar. "Google is a kind of chocolate factory where there's lots of opportunity and creativity; there's cool stuff going on. Financially, there's a big upside to it as well." Although the film does take some creative licenses in how it represents the internship programme at Google, Vaughn explained a lot of it is based on the truth. "Google is trying to get (top students) to want to work there, so they have an intern programme that's different to, say, how it would be in the entertainment industry. "You're not bringing them coffee, which I originally thought it was, they have them jump in and work on projects right off the bat ... And the hats that we wear when we first get there, that's something the interns wear for the first couple of weeks." Speaking of similarities, what do Vaughn and Wilson share with their characters when it comes to their relationship with technology? Vaughn said: "Technology can be a harsh mistress but she's my lady. We've had our ups and downs but I've found, ultimately, when we get through the rough patches, my life gets a little better." Wilson added: "I would say I struggle a little bit with technology. I'm not on Twitter and Facebook and those things ... I just haven't done it. I wouldn't know what to say – I don't quite understand what I would be doing on it." The Internship opens in cinemas nationwide on Sept 12. |
| Chapman To comes into his own as leading man Posted: Hong Kong star stays humble despite succcess. This year has been Hong Kong comedic actor Chapman To's busiest year for film promotions. The 41-year-old has already taken on six films this year, including the raunchy action-comedy flick Sex Duties Unit, released in July, and The Midas Touch (playing in cinemas now). If his time has indeed come, To, who had been best known for his supporting roles in the Infernal Affairs film trilogy (2002-2003), is being humble about it, constantly taking the mickey out of himself in a recent telephone interview. "I'm such a fat pig, which is what my wife has been calling me lately, so I feel like it's kind of unfair for audiences to have to see me like this, especially when I keep taking off my clothes in films," he says almost matter-of-factly. In The Midas Touch, he plays a debt collector-turned-novice artiste manager, who is determined to turn a motley group of seven girls into big-name pop stars in the vein of South Korean girl group Girls' Generation. While his character is ultimately a nice guy who holds the girls' best interests at heart, situations abound in the film when he becomes tempted to take advantage of the casting couch situation and accept sexual propositions from the girls. Asked about whether he has experienced the same kind of indecent proposals in real life since he is now a leading man in the movies, he laughs and wryly says that he is "nowhere as lucky as that", jokingly blaming the dearth of offers on his lack of charisma. He also reveals he has been hitting the gym recently, though it is not a move spurred on by vanity or the pressure to match the efforts of Nick Cheung, a fellow supporting player-turned-leading man. The rock-hard, sculpted body Cheung, 45, achieved for the boxing-themed drama Unbeatable was the talk of the town recently. To is working out to play the lead role of an adult video star in Naked Ambition 2, a sequel to the 2003 comedy which takes an inside look at Hong Kong's sex industry. He is currently filming the comedy in addition to two other movies, Love Gamble and Mr And Mrs Player. According to him, his wife, Hong Kong actress Kristal Tin, 35, has no qualms about him acting alongside Japanese adult-video actresses such as Sola Aoi and Maiko Yuki. "She just told me to go ahead and enjoy my work," he quips. Tin probably could be sure her husband would behave himself. In The Midas Touch, the only on-screen kiss that he has in the film is not shared with one of the actresses, but with Hong Kong actor Wong Cho Lam, 33, whom his character smooches by mistake. "His height was just right for me for the kissing scene. And the kiss felt good, actually." – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network |
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