Khamis, 17 Oktober 2013

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

Search on for Wipha survivors
Weak rupee keeps Indian tourists away
Model turns up dead after land deal sours

Search on for Wipha survivors

Posted:

OSHIMA: Rescuers in Japan picked through mud and splintered houses after a typhoon that killed at least 19 people, as hopes faded for dozens not seen since a landslide engulfed their homes.

Hundreds of police, firefighters and troops searched through the night in an area where buildings were swallowed when a mountainside collapsed.

Typhoon Wipha, dubbed the strongest in a decade, never actually made landfall as it surged past Japan, but violent winds and torrential rain set off mudslides that buried neighbourhoods on Oshima.

At least 18 people died and 35 were still missing on the island, which lies 120km south of the Japanese capital, a local official and media said.

One woman died in western Tokyo, police have said.

On Oshima, about 15 police officers spent the morning using chainsaws and shovels to free the body of an elderly woman buried in mud and the smashed remains of a wooden building, a reporter said.

The woman was formally pronounced dead later in the day, taking the toll to 19.

Elsewhere troops, who arrived on the island on Wednesday morning just hours after it was raked by the storm, fanned out on paths up a mountainside shouting: "Is there anybody there?"

Spokesman Yoshinori Sano said the men were "hopeful" of finding survivors among the devastation.

"A total of 278 of us came yesterday, and we have been looking for survivors since then, without sleep or rest," he said.

Resident Tadashi Sogi said his house had been swept 30m, with much of it engulfed by the thick mud.

As he loaded his car with a few salvaged belongings – including a photograph album – he said he was going back to join the rescue effort.

Some of the roughly 8,000 people who live on the island had sought shelter in evacuation centres as the huge storm approached, reporting water gushing into their homes as it dumped more than 12cm of rain on Oshima in an hour. — AFP

Weak rupee keeps Indian tourists away

Posted:

A WEAK Indian rupee and a new tax imposed on television sets that are brought home from overseas have dampened the enthusiasm of Indian tourists to travel to Singapore.

Tourist guides and travel agents said that their revenue derived from these tourists has declined across all tiers of the market, by as much as 80% compared to six months ago.

Luxury Tours and Travel, which focuses on the mid- to high-end tourist market, used to pull in an average of 3,000 Indian tourists to Singapore each month. This has fallen to 2,000, said its director Michael Lee.

The Indian market now makes up 28% of the travel agency's sales, down from 38%.

"Singapore's currency is very strong and the rupee is very weak. We are becoming less competitive for the Indian market," Lee said. The Indian rupee has fallen considerably against the Singapore dollar in the past six months.

Further hurting the pockets of Indian tourists who regularly fly to Singapore to buy electronic goods was the imposition in August, by the Indian authorities, of a 36% duty on flat-screen televisions that travellers bring back from other countries.

According to media reports, Singapore is not the only country being shunned by travellers.

Indian tourists are choosing to travel domestically, take shorter trips or opt for cheaper Asian destinations like Thailand.

On the other hand, outbound travel agencies here are seeing a surge in the number of Singaporeans heading to India.

At ASA Holidays, bookings from Singaporeans for travel to India next month and in December have jumped 20 % from a year earlier. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Model turns up dead after land deal sours

Posted:

Singapore-based model Fehmina Chaudhry had overcome a divorce and was working hard to make it in Bollywood before she was murdered.

"She had a love for life and was following her dreams," said film production company managing director Sreyashi Sen, who met her through the film and events circuit here early last year.

The body of the 27-year-old pageant winner was found in a ditch in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Monday.

It is believed that she moved to Singapore with her husband a few years ago.

"She was going through some personal problems but she didn't let it daunt her," Sen added.

The catwalk fashion model came from a "very good" family in Karachi and married at the age of 18.

Speaking to the reporters from her apartment in Simei, Chaudhry's mother-in-law confirmed that Chaudhry and her son had been divorced for about a year and were no longer in contact with each other.

Chaudhry's former husband has custody of their two children, who have not been informed of their mother's death.

Chaudhry went missing last Thursday after flying to Pakistan to negotiate deals to buy land.

The land was reportedly being sold by real estate broker Muaz Waqar, who later confessed to her murder during investigations.

She had reportedly given Waqar gold jewellery worth three million Pakistani rupees (RM89,000) to purchase the land but asked for it to be returned when the deal failed. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

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The Star Online: World Updates

Panama to send detained North Korean crew, ship home - minister
Japanese cabinet minister, lawmakers visit shrine to war dead
Bushfires ravage communities in SE Australia

Panama to send detained North Korean crew, ship home - minister

Posted:

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The North Korean crew and ship detained in Panama for smuggling Cuban weapons three months ago will soon be returned to the reclusive Asian nation, Panama's foreign minister said Thursday.

The crew's return would mark the end of a bizarre chapter between the three countries that provoked international controversy after the ship was seized in July for smuggling military-style arms under 10,000 tons of sugar.

Repairs to the ship are nearly completed so the crew can sail back in the same vessel, Foreign Minister Fernando Nunez Fabrega told Reuters.

While the U.N. Security Council has yet to decide on penalties against Cuba, given a 7-year-old ban against arms transfers to North Korea due to the country's nuclear weapons program, the arms will likely be sold or given away, Nunez Fabrega added.

In July, the North Korean crew sabotaged its electrical system and bilge pumps after Panamanian investigators stopped the ship near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal on suspicion it was carrying drugs after leaving Cuba.

The North Korean flagged ship, known as the Chong Chon Gang, will be returned after the vessel's owner formally signs off on the plan, Nunez Fabrega said.

Panama has issued visas for two North Korean diplomats to arrive shortly and complete the procedure.

Meanwhile, 33 of the 35 crew members, held at a former U.S. army base on charges of threatening Panama's security, "appear to be ignorant of what was in the cargo", Nunez Fabrega said.

"As a result, if the Attorney General determines they are not criminally responsible for their actions, they cannot be prosecuted," he said.

Both the captain, who tried to slit his throat after Panamanian investigators seized the ship, and his deputy consistently refused to give statements during their detention, officials said. As a result, they might still face trial.

The whole crew refused efforts to put them in contact with their families, said Nunez Fabrega.

"Their families in North Korea must think they sunk with the boat," he said.

After the ship was seized, Havana requested that Panama release it, claiming the vessel carried only the sugar cargo as a donation to the people of North Korea.

But once the arms were discovered beneath the sugar, the Cuban government acknowledged it was sending "obsolete" Soviet-era weapons, including two MiG jets, 15 MiG engines and nine anti-aircraft missiles, to be repaired in North Korea and returned.

An analysis by 38 North, a website run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Maryland, found the weapons shipment was larger than Cuba acknowledged and that many of the weapons were in "mint condition".

The analysis concluded the arms were intended for North Korea's own use.

Inspections of the equipment show they were "obviously not obsolete" as Cuba maintained, said Nunez Fabrega.

"One of the jets had kerosene in them, showing it was recently used," he said. "Of the 15 jet engines, 10 were in immaculate condition."

Since then, Panama has had "zero" communication with Havana, although it made at least four attempts. Havana also cancelled a scheduled meeting between government officials from both countries at the United Nations last month.

"It was like talking to a brick wall," Nunez Fabrega said.

A six-member U.N. team inspected the weapons in August but still seeks answers from Cuba about the shipment to provide a U.N. sanctions committee a full report.

(Reporting by Lomi Kriel; Editing by David Alire Garcia, Simon Gardner and Ken Wills)

Japanese cabinet minister, lawmakers visit shrine to war dead

Posted:

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese internal affairs minister Yoshitaka Shindo and more than 100 other lawmakers visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine for war dead on Friday, a move likely to anger Asian victims of Japan's past aggression.

The visits came a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his third ritual offering to the shrine since returning to office in December. Abe has not visited the shrine in person to avoid further straining ties with China and South Korea.

China's Foreign Ministry admonished Abe on Thursday, telling him not to go there in person out of respect for China and "other victimized countries". South Korea also expressed its disappointment.

Similar rebukes can be expected after Friday's visits, which included 157 lawmakers and took place during the shrine's autumn festival that lasts until Sunday.

"I visited the shrine in a private capacity," Shindo said, noting that his grandfather is among the thousands of war dead honoured there.

"I do not think this will become a diplomatic issue."

As well as Japan's war dead, Yasukuni also honours Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal, making it a painful reminder to nations that suffered from Japanese aggression in the 20th century.

Deputy chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference that he was among those who went to the shrine.

"I think that it's only natural to pray for the repose of the souls of people who have given their precious lives for the nation," Kato said.

Sino-Japanese ties have been overshadowed for years by what China says has been Japan's refusal to admit to atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in China between 1931 and 1945.

Memories of a brutal Japanese occupation also remain strong in South Korea, where the Foreign Ministry expressed "deep concern and regret" that Abe had made his ritual offering.

Ties with China have been fraught for months because of a territorial dispute over islets in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Japan's relations with South Korea have also cooled over a separate territorial dispute.

Shindo, who visited Yasukuni on August 15, the anniversary of the end of World War Two, is one of two cabinet ministers who were considering visiting the shrine during the autumn festival.

Abe is seen as a hawkish nationalist with a conservative agenda that includes revising the post-war pacifist constitution, strengthening Japan's defence posture and recasting wartime history with a less apologetic tone.

He has said he regretted not visiting the shrine when he was prime minister in 2006-2007.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies and Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Paul Tait)

Bushfires ravage communities in SE Australia

Posted:

WINMALEE, Australia, Oct 17, 2013 (AFP) - Residents faced scenes of devastation Friday after bushfires ravaged communities and destroyed "hundreds" of homes in southeastern Australia with dozens of blazes still burning out of control.

Cooler temperatures and a drop in wind offered firefighters some relief overnight but about 100 fires were still raging across the state of New South Wales with a smoke haze hanging over Sydney.

NSW Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said that despite the cooler conditions the situation was still "very active, very dynamic, very dangerous".

"The situation is very subject to change," he told the Nine Network, adding that 50,000 hectares (120,000 acres) had been burnt out so far.

Five major blazes fanned by high, erratic winds in unseasonably warm 34 degree Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) weather ripped through communities in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on Thursday with whole streets razed.

One fatality has been reported so far.

Hundreds of residents spent the night in evacuation centres and awoke Friday to confront the extent of the disaster.

Winmalee resident Jordie Cox said it had been a frightening experience.

"I've lived in Winmalee since I was four and my parents always said to us during fire season that our house would be safe because we were surrounded by other houses so others would have to burn down before it got to us," she told ABC television.

"But we were pretty much the last house standing - all the houses around us burnt down."

Ron Fuller was one of those who lost his home in Winmalee, a town with a population of about 6,000 and located 80 kilometres (50 miles) inland from Sydney.

"We've had a number of fires through here before but this was an extraordinary fire. The speed was extraordinary, it just raced through this whole area, took out some houses, left other ones standing," he told the broadcaster.

In a tweet, the Rural Fire Service said crews would be assessing the damage across the state street by street during Friday.

"It appears there may be hundreds of homes destroyed," the service said.

"More properties have come under threat overnight, with further warnings issued. 100 fires across NSW, 36 uncontained."

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell praised the response from fire crews, many of whom are volunteers who battled through the night.

"I think the planning, preparation and response has been some of the best we've seen," he said, calling the fires "some of the worst we have experienced around Sydney in living memory".

"We're in for a long, tough summer," he added.

Wildfires are common in Australia's summer months between December and February, and authorities are expecting a bad season this year due to low rainfall in the winter and forecasts of hot, dry weather ahead.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

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The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

Donnie Yen keeps it real
First look: Woody Allen’s ‘Magic In The Moonlight’
Flipping over flops

Donnie Yen keeps it real

Posted:

Ip Man who? With a new film out, Donnie Yen is hoping fans will see him in a different light.

DONNIE Yen is not Ip Man.

Almost as soon as we sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with the martial arts superstar last week to chat about his new movie Special ID, Yen was distancing himself from the role that made him a global superstar.

"Ip Man has been really popular and now everyone thinks Donnie Yen is like Ip Man. Hence, I've put a lot of effort trying to break away from that. This (Special ID) role is so radical ... it's the complete extreme opposite of Ip Man," he stressed.

Never mind the role, Yen himself could not be more different from the legendary Wing Chun master he played in the two Ip Man movies. Looking sharp in his dapper dark grey suit, the 50-year-old seems humble and self-effacing at first, but exudes an aura of immense self-confidence and calm power.

When you look him in the eye, you can see a hint of danger behind that steely stare, which immediately reminds you that this is a man who can go toe-to-toe with some of the greatest martial arts actors in the world. Even when he flashes that gentle, humble smile that his Ip Man is so well-known for, you still get a sense that this is a man whom you really don't want to mess with, ever.

Yen was in town last Thursday to promote Special ID, a visit that included a meet-the-fans session at Paradigm Mall as well as closed door meet-and-greet event for UOB Bank Privilege Banking customers.

Directed by Clarence Fok, the movie has Yen on triple duty — besides starring in the film, he is also the action choreographer as well as the producer of a film for the very first time.

Donnie Yen delivers another power-packed performance in Special ID

In the film, Yen plays Chen Zilong, an undercover police officer within one of China's most ruthless underworld gangs, whose leader, Xiong (Collin Chau), has made it his priority to weed out every single mole within his organisation.

With his fellow undercover agents disappearing one by one, Chen must now risk everything to take down the gang once and for all, and reclaim his life and his identity before it is too late. The movie also stars Andy On, Zhang Hanyu, Ronald Cheng and China actress Jing Tian.

Calling Special ID an "upgraded version of SPL and Flash Point" in terms of production values and martial arts techniques, Yen said he made a conscious decision to make sure his role was as different as possible from that of Ip Man.

"I don't think the audience has ever seen me play a role like this. It's very different from what I've done before," he explained. "Here, I'm undercover as a gangster, the fighting style is very MMA (mixed martial arts), and the character is very violent and very aggressive."

Special ID marks a return to the contemporary MMA action he utilised in SPL and Flash Point, and the brutal action of the film is a distinct contrast to the almost Zen-like qualities of the Ip Man movies.

"I've studied many martial arts before, but my favourites are still contemporary ones especially the MMA styles," he said. "Ten years ago in SPL, I was the first one to recognise the potential of MMA and put it in a movie. People were asking what is this style about. Is it judo? What is it?"

Thanks to the popularity of competitions such as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), MMA is now well-known throughout the world, but SPL and Flash Point remain the benchmark for incorporating MMA into movies.

"I know many UFC fighters and action filmmakers all over the world who used my movies as textbooks for how to make MMA look good on a film," he said, beaming proudly. "Movie-making is very different from the actual fighting. It's not as simple as getting a couple of UFC champions and putting them in a film — it just wouldn't look right."

Say hello to my little friend: Jing Tian has Donnie Yen in her crosshairs.

According to him, the action in Special ID really sets the bar higher on how to deliver MMA fighting on film. The fighting in it certainly seems more aggressive and brutal in this movie than in SPL or Flash Point, a perception Yen puts down to the nature of his character.

"I don't think it's the MMA techniques that are brutal, but the character itself. The character, Chen, contains a lot of rage, so it appears to be more brutal. Chen is a badass, aggressive fighter, so he wouldn't react the same way Ip Man does," he said.

"Ip Man would go home and have dinner, before accepting the challenge and then pick the opponent up after it is done. That's Ip Man. Chen? He would stomp your face and make sure you're crushed!"

Eye for a fight

So much has been said about his roles and fighting styles that sometimes people forget that Yen is also an acclaimed action choreographer who, over the years, has developed a unique style and an eye for action scenes.

His first credit as an "action director" was in 1988's Tiger Cage, and since then, he has gone on to direct the fight sequence in movies such as Blade II, The Twins Effect (for which he won his very first Golden Horse and Hong Kong film awards as an action choreographer), The Lost Bladesman and many others.

For him, the hardest part of action choreography is directing other actors, whether it is a seasoned veteran or a newbie.

"There's a different tactic to directing someone like Sammo (Hong) or Jackie (Chan). When I directed Jackie in The Twins Effect, I knew he was only coming in for only four days and was busy with other things, so I wasn't going to ask him to jump off buildings or something like that!" he said with a laugh.

"I knew he was coming in to do a cameo and have fun, so I created a Jackie Chan scene for the movie with a lot of comedy, acrobatics and so on. I asked him what he would like to do, and interacted with him (while planning the scene)."

It was slightly harder with a newbie like his Special ID co-star Jing Tian though, especially since this was her first action film and he had to train her to do things that were out of her usual range.

"With Andy (On), it was easier because I've worked with him before. He is quite experienced with action movies and is quite a martial artist himself. But Jing has never done an action movie before, let alone a Donnie Yen high-level kind of action movie!" he explained.

"When I work with actors, I study their physical potential and determine what they can do on screen. I require full contact and perfect precision, and that alone is very intimidating for Jing because she's a very fragile girl.

Hey, what are YOU staring at? Yen gets himself in a bit of a mess in Special ID.

"But I really wanted to make her look like the best female fighter out there, which is Michelle Yeoh. That's the standard I wanted her to reach," he said.

All the same, Yen was fully aware that Jing was no Yeoh, so he and the actress had to work on building the character through training, practising and choreographing.

To help her along, he also gave Jing one outstanding action sequence that you need to see to believe, in which she gets into a brilliantly choreographed fight with On inside a car.

"We made them fight with jujitsu inside the car, which had never been done before! I think that her performance in the car scene really set high standards not just for herself, but also any other female actresses who want to do fighting scenes," he said.

"Try something that has never been done before" — that is the philosophy behind Yen's action direction.

"I will always try to feel and think about a scene from the point of view of the audience. What would I like Donnie Yen to do? I like the audience to think, 'What did he do?' and try to copy it, but end up not being able to! That's how I try to do it," he said, adding that although he has turned 50, he is not looking to retire and go behind the camera full-time just yet.

"I still have a lot of fire, even though I've been getting a lot more injuries. It takes me longer to recover now, but I can still generate the same kind of speed and precision (I used to). Would I make my own scenes easier to film? There are no easy scenes in my films. I'm always trying to think of something difficult to do!" he concluded with a laugh.

> Special ID opens in cinemas nationwide tomorrow.

First look: Woody Allen’s ‘Magic In The Moonlight’

Posted:

Director's film brings together the talent of Marcia Gay Harden and Emma Stone.

Two promotional images have been released for the film shot in the South of France by the 77-year-old director earlier this year. The feature now also has an official title: Magic In The Moonlight.

The film marks Woody Allen's return to France after Midnight In Paris (2011). Emma Stone and Colin Firth will headline the prolific filmmaker's eighth film set in Europe. While plot details have been kept under wraps until now, the period costumes and vintage cars in the stills suggest that the action will be set in the years following World War I.

The cast of Magic In The Moonlight also features Marcia Gay Hadren, Jacki Weaver and Eileen Atkins. The film is slated for worldwide release before summer 2014 after premiering at a prestigious international film festival, such as Berlin in February or Cannes in May.

For the time being, Woody Allen is basking in the success of Blue Jasmine. The comedy drama, starring Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins, has been warmly received by critics and moviegoers alike. – RelaxNews

Flipping over flops

Posted:

Why surprises at the box office are becoming more common.

THE numbers said Kick-Ass 2 was going to do just that.

Before its theatrical release, audience tracking surveys estimated the superhero action-comedy could gross as much as US$25mil (RM79.5mil) in its opening weekend.

Instead, the sequel took in only US$13mil (RM41.3mil), finishing far behind the civil rights drama Lee Daniels' The Butler and earning Kick-Ass 2 an instant reputation as a flop.

For decades, tracking was used by studios to determine filmgoer interest ahead of a new movie's release and tell marketing executives where to spend their advertising dollars.

Now trade publications, national dailies, blogs, TV newscasts and even drive-time radio shows share the once closely-held numbers with everyday moviegoers.

Tracking establishes financial expectations for a new film as well as an A-list star's ability to "open" a movie. The estimates effectively declare a winner before the weekly box office battle begins.

But at a time when tracking's influence on a film's fate at the box office has never been greater, chronic inaccuracies have led industry observers and some studio chiefs to conclude that tracking may no longer be a dependable barometer. With a cluster of Oscar-worthy films now heading into theatres, the pre-release surveys are increasingly coming under attack.

"Tracking is broken. There's no doubt about it," said Vincent Bruzzese, chief executive of the tracking firm Worldwide Motion Picture Group. "It's been asking the same questions since 1980. It isn't predictive anymore. And it doesn't cover the way consumers make choices anymore."

This summer, several movies were damaged by inaccurate tracking. The Lone Ranger, The Wolverine and The Hangover Part III were said to have "underperformed" when they had openings at least US$10mil (RM32mil) below estimates. All went on to sputter domestically after bad word of mouth and earlier-than-expected exits from theatres.

Even a hit film can fall victim to bad tracking. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 opened at No 1 but is seen as having underperformed by grossing US$10mil less than estimates predicted.

When movies exceed expectations, they generate positive buzz that can increase returns. Recently, Gravity took in US$55mil (RM174.9mil) — US$10mil more than the most optimistic pre-release surveys indicated it would earn. Man Of Steel, The Conjuring and Now You See Me earned much more than tracking predicted.

"You can say, 'The testing was great'," said one respected studio marketer who, like other top executives interviewed for this story, declined to be identified for fear of jeopardising his industry standing.

"But you know in your heart you don't believe in the testing anymore. And if you do, you're fooling yourself."

Because of the sheer volume of movies being released — 660 last year — as well as seismic social media changes, tracking service executives say, pre-release audience awareness and anticipation have never been more difficult to gauge. This is especially true, experts say, for non-sequel films and films popular with minority moviegoers, who can be harder to survey because they are a statistically small and not reliably representative cross-sampling of respondents.

Even with tracking's accuracy increasingly doubted, it's such a dominant part of the Hollywood conversation that none of its studio detractors interviewed for this article voiced willingness to give up the service.

Studios receive tracking information over a three-week to two-month pre-release window. The estimates sample audience awareness, "definite interest" in seeing a movie and the proportion of respondents ranking the movie as their first choice, as well as projected breakdowns by gender and age.

Firms crunch their polling results, comparing the movies with previous titles by genre and release window to yield an estimated opening-weekend gross.

But because respondents must self-identify as moviegoers who see at least six films per year, a sizable population remains under-accounted. Especially difficult to predict is audience turnout for faith-based films and movies based on TV shows such as Sex And The City.

Citing issues similar to those faced by election-year pollsters, some studio marketing executives privately fear that tracking's respondents are not only less diverse but have been over-polled, succumbing to a kind of survey fatigue.

"The phone rings, you don't answer if you don't recognise the call. And nobody answers the land line anyway," a studio marketer said. "It's one of the real challenges." — Los Angeles Times / McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

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The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

Donnie Yen keeps it real
First look: Woody Allen’s ‘Magic In The Moonlight’
Flipping over flops

Donnie Yen keeps it real

Posted:

Ip Man who? With a new film out, Donnie Yen is hoping fans will see him in a different light.

DONNIE Yen is not Ip Man.

Directed by Clarence Fok, the movie has Yen on triple duty — besides starring in the film, he is also the action choreographer as well as the producer of a film for the very first time.

Donnie Yen delivers another power-packed performance in Special ID

Say hello to my little friend: Jing Tian has Donnie Yen in her crosshairs.

"Ip Man would go home and have dinner, before accepting the challenge and then pick the opponent up after it is done. That's Ip Man. Chen? He would stomp your face and make sure you're crushed!"

Eye for a fight

For him, the hardest part of action choreography is directing other actors, whether it is a seasoned veteran or a newbie.

Hey, what are YOU staring at? Yen gets himself in a bit of a mess in Special ID.

"But I really wanted to make her look like the best female fighter out there, which is Michelle Yeoh. That's the standard I wanted her to reach," he said.

All the same, Yen was fully aware that Jing was no Yeoh, so he and the actress had to work on building the character through training, practising and choreographing.

To help her along, he also gave Jing one outstanding action sequence that you need to see to believe, in which she gets into a brilliantly choreographed fight with On inside a car.

"Try something that has never been done before" — that is the philosophy behind Yen's action direction.

> Special ID opens in cinemas nationwide tomorrow.

First look: Woody Allen’s ‘Magic In The Moonlight’

Posted:

Director's film brings together the talent of Marcia Gay Harden and Emma Stone.

Two promotional images have been released for the film shot in the South of France by the 77-year-old director earlier this year. The feature now also has an official title: Magic In The Moonlight.

Flipping over flops

Posted:

Why surprises at the box office are becoming more common.

THE numbers said Kick-Ass 2 was going to do just that.

Before its theatrical release, audience tracking surveys estimated the superhero action-comedy could gross as much as US$25mil (RM79.5mil) in its opening weekend.

Instead, the sequel took in only US$13mil (RM41.3mil), finishing far behind the civil rights drama Lee Daniels' The Butler and earning Kick-Ass 2 an instant reputation as a flop.

For decades, tracking was used by studios to determine filmgoer interest ahead of a new movie's release and tell marketing executives where to spend their advertising dollars.

Now trade publications, national dailies, blogs, TV newscasts and even drive-time radio shows share the once closely-held numbers with everyday moviegoers.

Even a hit film can fall victim to bad tracking. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 opened at No 1 but is seen as having underperformed by grossing US$10mil less than estimates predicted.

"But you know in your heart you don't believe in the testing anymore. And if you do, you're fooling yourself."

Firms crunch their polling results, comparing the movies with previous titles by genre and release window to yield an estimated opening-weekend gross.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

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The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

‘Pretty Little Liars’ stars to be interviewed on Facebook
Ariana Grande's great affair
Chin Han sees a different world

‘Pretty Little Liars’ stars to be interviewed on Facebook

Posted:

Fans will get a chance to pose questions to the four lead actresses.

The girls of ABC Family's hit series Pretty Little Liars have never sat down together for a live interview - until now. You know, unless they're lying about that too. Facebook will bring Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale and Shay Mitchell together for the first time ever live via a Facebook Live event on Monday, a spokesperson for the social site confirmed with TheWrap.

"After the summer finale, we know fans have a lot of questions and this is a great way to spark conversation," Danielle Mullin, vice president, Marketing, ABC Family told TheWrap. "We already have nearly 12 million Pretty Little Liars' fans on Facebook and hope this event will encourage even more viewers to join."

There are more than 15 million PLL fan connections on Facebook. Rachel Smith of Good Morning America will moderate the hour-long conversation, which will be streamed live over Ustream Oct 21 at 5pm ET/2pm PT (Oct 22 at 5am Malaysia time).

The young stars will answer fan-submitted questions, discuss the show's upcoming Halloween special and chat about being part of one of the most social shows on TV. Also during the interview, Ravenswood star Tyler Blackburn will debut an exclusive clip from the Pretty Little Liars spin-off's upcoming premiere.

Monday's event will be the first Facebook Live in the US since May, when Star Trek director JJ Abrams and actor George Takei interacted with fans. – Reuters

Ariana Grande's great affair

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Sweet disposition? Check. Girl-next-door image? Check. Triple threat? Check, check and check! Say hello to new It girl Ariana Grande.

WHEN you look at photos of Ariana Grande, you'd think the 20-year-old singer-actress was a good girl in school – the sort who scored good grades and never got into trouble. But that couldn't be further from the truth.

"I was the sort of student who got into trouble for the wrong reasons," Grande reveals during a video conference from London recently.

To further prove her point, she relates a story: "I had low sugar level. Actually, I still have low sugar level. I have to eat every few hours to keep myself alive and functioning. But back in school one time, I told a teacher I had to eat an apple in class cos my sugar level was low.

"I told her, 'I'd die if you don't let me eat this apple.' And she was like, 'There's no eating in class'. And I was like, 'I'm literally going to pass out in T-minus 30 seconds. Can I have this apple?' And she was like, 'That's against the honour code.'

"Ok, I don't get the honour code. I mean, how is wearing my shirt tucked in going to help me understand Maths or Physics? Can you just let me wear my Juicy sweater, please? Anyway, I was trying to eat the apple and she took it away from me and I fainted in class and she was like, 'You are doing that for attention'."

Drama, much?

Grande doesn't have to worry about all these problems any more. If she wants attention, she can just reach out to more than 10 million fans who follow her on Twitter.

Grande's first studio album, Yours Truly, debuted on top of Billboard's album chart.

And to keep her sugar level at optimum level, she has a troupe of publicists attending to her every need.

Grande is Nickelodeon's It girl and the music industry's next big thing.

She currently stars in Sam & Cat, a spinoff from two series, iCarly and Victorious. Initially, Sam & Cat was supposed to feature 20 episodes for its first season, but overwhelming response has made Nickelodeon order another 20 episodes.

Grande's first studio album, Yours Truly, which was released last month, debuted at No 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

An amazing achievement, true, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. The young lady is talented; Her voice has been likened to Mariah Carey's, a comparison that thrills Grande.

"It's a massive compliment," she says of the comparison to Carey. "She's the greatest singer in the world, like literally, the Guinness Book Of Records."

Born Ariana Grande-Butera in Florida, United States, the singer-actress got her break when she starred in the musical 13 on Broadway. She moved from stage to television when she was cast as Cat Valentine in Nickelodoen's Victorious.

Like a true over-achiever, Grande says both her singing and acting career are of equal importance to her, though she does admit one comes to her more naturally than the other.

"Well, singing comes more naturally to me. Music is like a form of self expression, whereas acting is more of a challenge," she says, but quickly adds, "But I do like to challenge myself. I feel like I get to put on another hat when I'm acting, I get to become someone else for awhile. It's fun!"

Fun for Grande is working more than 15 hours a day. She gets to the set of Sam & Cat at 6am and works right up to 8pm. And then, she has dinner in the car while being ferried to the studio for her recording sessions (a Christmas EP is on the way and she's targeting to release her second album early next year).

She knows she has to strike while the iron is hot. At the moment, showbiz is in need of a young role model since Miley is busy twerking and Bieber is getting into all sorts of trouble.

Grande, with her sweet disposition and girl-next-door image, is the perfect candidate and she is using that to her advantage.

"If I wanna do what I am doing right now, then I have to set a good example for my fans, but at the same time, I would never pretend to be something I am not. If I didn't feel like I was role model material, I don't think I'd be doing a kids' show," Grande says matter-of-factly.

While Sam & Cat appeals to her younger fans, Grande has tailored her album to capture older listeners. With Babyface as producer, Yours Truly sounds more 1990s R&B than bubblegum pop.

The album also features duets with Mika, Big Sean, Mac Miller and The Wanted's Nathan Sykes (whom Grande is dating at the moment).

"I'd love to work with some dope female artistes on my next album, since I've done a lot of collaborations with amazing boy singers," she says.

And she has one name on her wish list. "I'd love to work with Imogen Heap. I'd probably pass out and die if she'd agree to sing with me."

If that ever happens, Heap should just hand the drama queen an apple; that should help with her sugar levels.

> Sam & Cat airs at 4.30pm from Mondays to Thursdays on Nickelodeon (Astro Ch 612).

Chin Han sees a different world

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Singaporean actor Chin Han navigates the nerve-racking audition process and the typecasting as an Asian actor in Hollywood.

Whenever he gets a script that calls for an "accent", Los Angeles-based Singaporean actor Chin Han's antenna goes up. "The first question from me is always 'Are you talking about a British accent or an American accent?'

"And obviously, that's not what they want. They want some kind of pidgin or broken English and I'm not attracted to that stuff," he says.

It is a pitfall of being an Asian actor in the West that he has learnt to navigate by steering clear of stereotypes. He would also not hesitate to speak up if he thought that there were elements which exoticised Asia in a production.

He was back in Singapore recently to promote the HBO Asia original series Serangoon Road.

The 10-episode series is about the mystery cases handled by a small detective agency and is set against the backdrop of Singapore in the turbulent 1960s.

He plays Kay Song, the ambitious grandson of the head of a secret society. The cast also include China-born actress Joan Chen, Australian actor Don Hany and Singaporean stars Alaric Tay and Pamelyn Chee.

It is a set-up that sounds ripe for some rampant exoticising, but the actor, whose full name is Ng Chin Han, demurs.

Dressed casually in a brown jacket over a white shirt and jeans, the 43-year-old says: "If I felt there was an element of exoticism, I would bring it up, whether in terms of design or music, even the font for the titles of the show. And HBO Asia was very open to these ideas and collaborative in this respect."

He was drawn to the project in the first place because it sounded different. "It's not often that you get Asian noir and after reading the script, I thought it had echoes of Chinatown (1974) and L.A. Confidential (1997) and I thought it would be fun to try something new and different," he adds, naming two well-known noir classics.

The other attraction was the fact that he would be so close to home. Shooting was largely done at Infinite Studios' facility in Batam, Indonesia, as well as in iconic locations around Singapore such as Raffles Hotel.

He nonchalantly paraphrases from poet T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land: "At the end of all our exploration, we come back to where we started and see the place for the first time."

It has been six years since he landed his breakthrough supporting role in filmmaker Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008) and since then, "it's been... robust", he says with a laugh.

Scary process: Even though he has starred in movies and TV shows like The Dark Knight, 2012, Arrow and the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Chin Han still worries big time before an audition. 'It is nerve-racking and I still get butterflies in my stomach every time before I go,' the actor says.

When opportunity came knocking, he packed his life into two suitcases and left for Los Angeles. Parts for the big and small screens followed, including turns in disaster epic 2012 (2009), arthouse flick Restless (2011), TV series superhero hit Arrow (2012-present) and military thriller Last Resort (2012-2013).

Not too shabby for someone who once acted in the widely derided Masters Of The Sea (1994), Singapore's first English-language drama series.

He says matter-of-factly: "I'm now in a nice position where there are director offers for things that come up."

It sounds cushy, but he throws in a caveat: "When you get director offers, it's based on something someone has seen you in, so they want that performance. As gratifying as it is, it's more than likely you're going to have a role that perhaps you've done before."

That is why he relishes the bane of almost every actor – the audition process. "It is nerve-racking and I still get butterflies in my stomach every time before I go. But when you get it, there is a satisfaction from it because you know you're right for it."

While the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier marks his second appearance in a superhero movie after The Dark Knight, he says they are different movies.

"The Dark Knight was more a crime movie than a superhero movie. Captain America is more true to its comic origins and doing it was a lot of fun. I got to do some action and it was a fun way to spend one spring."

Work-wise, things seem to have fallen into place, and he has also settled comfortably into a life he has made for himself in Hollywood.

Home is a condominium in Beverly Hills with a view of Hollywood Hills and is filled with movie memorabilia.

There are posters of films that he has done and souvenirs that an actor gets at the end of each production: After filming The Dark Knight, he received a wind-up toy box which a joker leaps out of and a joker card with his face on it.

Glamorous parties and red-carpet events are attended "for the fun of it", rather than to source for work.

He says: "I have never known a person who has gotten a job from a party, myself included. I enjoy the alcohol, door gifts and company, of course."

While he would hang out with other actors, writers and producers, Los Angeles holds out attractions for him beyond show business. "To me, LA is about the hikes I can go on, the canyons, the beach I can go to and that's how I spend my days when I'm not working on a project."

Or he might zip around in his "modest" BMW 3-series and listen to audio books he has stocked up as well as NPR (formerly National Public Radio).

In the last two years, though, he reckons he has been in Los Angeles for only about six months. Work has taken him all over the world and he would try to rest wherever he is at.

In New York, he would go for shows and check out the museums. In Vancouver, he headed to Whistler to learn to ski. He marvels: "I never thought I would be doing it at the age of 43, but it was just very fun to do on my weekends off."

When he has more time, he likes to go on what he calls "sojourns". He has gone camping in the middle of the desert for a storytellers' festival in Joshua Tree and also cave-diving in Angels Camp in California.

What he does not appear to do is fixate on where his next job is coming from.

He is matter of fact about the competition. "The challenge of being in Hollywood is that the pool of talent is so deep and, on top of everything else, you have a constant influx of actors from overseas."

He points to Hong Kong's Daniel Wu, Taiwan-based Wang Leehom and South Korea's Lee Byung-hun, and adds: "You're all working for the same goal, looking for that role, that star turn like Ken Watanabe's in The Last Samurai (2003), so it is very competitive." – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network

> Serangoon Road airs every Sunday at 9pm on HBO (Astro Ch 411 / 431).

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Nation

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Cheap foreign beer pouring into country, even to established supermarts
Matriculation student killed in highway crash
151 police trainees down with food poisoning

Cheap foreign beer pouring into country, even to established supermarts

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PETALING JAYA: There is an influx of cheap foreign beer in the market and it may be costing the country up to RM250mil in lost taxes annually.

Industry sources claim that beer with high alcohol content from Thailand, the Philippines, China and Europe have flooded the market and are being sold at almost half the price of locally-produced beer at coffeeshops, convenience stores, medical halls and even some established supermarkets here.

The low prices and easy availability have made the brew attractive to all beer consumers, particularly the lower income group, such as labourers and migrant workers. It is learnt that consumers are switching from locally-produced beer to compounded hard liquor because of the high price of local beer due to high excise duties.

"The supply of cheap foreign beer, with a higher-than-average alcohol volume, has increased five-fold in the past five to seven years. In the past, such beer could be found in smaller sundry shops in suburban areas, and stocked at the rear of the stores.

"But recently, the beer has made its way into 60% of retail outlets, mostly small retailers such as sundry shops and liquor shops," said one source. "They have also gained ground and are now even found in some major supermarkets and with liquor distributors."

The sources cited reports and analysis, which estimated that the uncollected duty from cheap imported beer to be around RM250mil while the total tax evasion from all alcoholic beverages could be as high as RM1bil.

The report noted that while tax losses from beer smuggling in Malaysia are lower compared to smuggling of other liquors in terms of the amount of duty paid, the sheer volume of illicit beer makes up for its lower profit margins.

Another source pointed out that imported beer should logically cost more than locally produced beer if legally brought into the country as the import tax alone would be about RM5 per litre.

Moreover, importers should pay a higher excise duty on beer with higher alcohol content.

The sources also questioned how foreign beer, despite having almost twice the alcohol content of locally-brewed beer, could be sold for as low as RM4.29 per 330ml can or RM7 per 550ml can (in some places, it's only RM5) compared to premium imported beer brands that were priced from RM9 per bottle.

A Customs Department official, who declined to be named, said beer pricing was not regulated by the department.

"Sometimes, beer is sold cheap when near its expiry date."

Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hasan Malek said the ministry worked together with other agencies during raids where there are cases of counterfeit beer.

"We have just called for a joint meeting with other agencies to discuss how we can work together to solve this problem," he said.

20 foreign brands the toast of drinkers

Matriculation student killed in highway crash

Posted:

BATU PAHAT: A trip back to her campus in Seremban ended in tragedy for an 18-year-old matriculation student after the car she was travelling in with five other family members crashed along KM104 of the North-South Expressway here.

Nur Zahirah Hussin suffered major head injuries while her father, mother, two sisters and a friend were injured.

Nur Zahirah succumbed to her injuries while receiving treatment at the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital in Muar.

It is believed that the Toyota Fortuner driven by her father skidded and turned turtle at the side of the road in the accident that occurred at 10.30am.

A friend, Nur Balqish Zamri, 18, when met at the hospital, said Nur Zahirah was supposed to sit for her examinations tomorrow.

She said the last time they met was last Friday before they left for home to celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha.

"We usually communicate through Twitter and I remember her telling me that she may not be able to meet up because she was busy preparing for her final semester examinations," Nur Balqish said.

Batu Pahat OCPD Asst Comm Din Ahmad confirmed the case, adding that the cause of the incident was still under investigation.

151 police trainees down with food poisoning

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SEREMBAN: Up to 151 auxiliary police trainees at the Police Training Centre at Ayer Hitam, Jempol, came down with suspected food poisoning.

Eighteen of them were admitted to Jempol Hospital and the others received outpatient treatment, said Negri Sembilan Health Department director Datuk Dr Zailan Adnan.

They suffered from vomitting and diarrhoea after having chicken rendang for dinner on Tuesday, she said at her office here.

Dr Zailan said 12 of the 18 warded trainees had been discharged.

The department was trying to determine the cause of the food poisoning, she said, adding that the food the trainees had consumed was prepared at the training centre's kitchen, and not by any caterer. — Bernama

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great

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Gwyneth Paltrow reveals what she eats in her cookbook.

I'M not a foodie. When I picked up Gywneth Paltrow's new cookbook, I was attracted by its presentation which made it look refreshing – mainly white with a minimal use of pastel colours. Of course, Paltrow's cover photo made her look really healthy and simply great.

Then, I read something on the dust jacket and that got me really curious.

Apparently, this cookbook is inspired by Paltrow's need to go on a strict elimination diet as advised by her doctors. That meant excluding diary, eggs, wheat, meat, shellfish, tomatoes, eggplant, corn, potatoes, soy, sugar, coffee, alcohol and processed food.

I thought that was quite insane. Is there much else left to eat?

So I scanned through some pages and found that this book is not totally devoid of these ingredients. Ah, that was tricky. She was on an elimination diet for three weeks. After which, she was told this diet, if possible, would be good to follow for a lifetime. That's certainly not the kind of advice one would likely to follow, right?

This book is obviously geared towards healthy eating, so it is not surprising that the forward is written by one of her doctors – an osteopathic physician, Dr Habib Sadeghi.

In his forward, the good doctor states that we should be passionate about food and it is the quality of food that matters.

Instead, we overthink food issues and worry about what to eat and what not to. And I couldn't help wondering – is this book over thinking it?

Her co-author Julia Turshen has also penned a couple of pages. It is interesting to note that Turshen had been struggling with weight issues but has now succeeded in losing weight after she started developing a positive relationship towards food (with the support of Paltrow).

There are more than 150 recipes and these are organised into 11 chapters – breakfast, salads and dressings, soups, poultry and meat, fish, vegetables, grains, drinks, kids' menu, desserts and basic recipes.

Basic Recipes are those that give flavours to her other recipes in this book. Among which are stocks, sauces and condiments.

The poultry and meat chapter focuses more on chicken, which is more friendly to various diets. There are only two recipes here with red meat – one beef and the other lamb.

The recipes are further categorised using three icons – Elimination Diet, Vegan and Protein-Packed. So you'll see her recipes tagged with these icons.

Not all recipes come with a picture of the end product, although the book has a healthy number of photos. Instead, there are some shots of Turshen, Paltrow and her kids with food and in their surroundings. I thought they could have included more pictures of the recipes.

There is also a section called Pantry which is organised into items found in the fridge, freezer, spice cabinet, on the counter and in the cupboard. Here, she talks about some of the ingredients used.

Vegenaise for example, is used quite a bit in her recipes as a substitute for mayonnaise. There is hardly any diary used. The few that has diary, uses yoghurt made from sheep or goat's milk which is easier on our digestive system. She has also included her doctor's comments on certain ingredients or food type.

Some of her ingredients are unfamiliar to me. I found myself referring to the Pantry section or Googling when going through some of her recipes.

There are quite a number of Asian recipes – more than I expected, actually. I settled on a recipe that had familiar ingredients that I would likely to use again – Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Mustard and Parsley. I'm not sure if this is Asian-inspired. This recipe claims to be "so good", "ultra healthy and filling" and "actually leaves you feeling satisfied".

I was quite curious because cauliflower is not my favourite vegetable and I was wondering if the mustard and vinegar dressing would make it too sour. I used a quarter of a cauliflower instead of one head as stated in the recipe.

The verdict – it was good. The roasted cauliflower is sweet and soft. The Dijon mustard dressing was just right. I had substituted the white wine vinegar with apple cider vinegar. However, I would caution on the raw mustard seeds which are added to the dressing. They are pungent like wasabi. I recommend heating the seeds first in either a dry pan or in a bit of oil till the pop. Is the dish filling? Yes, and that's mainly due to the chickpeas. Satisfying? Oh yes. I found myself wanting more.

The second recipe I tried was Carrots with Black Sesame and Ginger. The recipe uses four large carrots. I tried with less than one carrot. I have stir-fried carrots with ginger many times before. I would dice the ginger and garlic finely. It does smell good and taste nice enough. I usually use mustard seeds but I have never tried it with sesame. I wanted to know how different it would be.

What turned out was nothing special. Maybe I did not get the proportions right. I must say I had accidentally used too much oil, though.

At the end of the book, Paltrow has provided five weekly menus. They are the Body Builder Week, Detox Week, Family-friendly Week, Vegan Week and lastly, for Healthy Everyday Eating.

The ingredients used in the recipes here are quite selective and healthy, I might add. Though I do not use many of these ingredients on a regular basis, I would not mind using some of them if there are easy recipes that taste good.

If you're cautious about your food and the ingredients you consume, you might find some good ideas in this book.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Khamis, 17 Oktober 2013