Isnin, 20 Januari 2014

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro


No justice for Nepal's slave girls

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 07:25 PM PST

KATHMANDU: Nine-year-old Manjita Chaudhary had never spent a night away from her parents when her father sold her to a Nepalese policeman for $25.

She left her family in western Nepal and travelled some 200 kilometres (124 miles) to her employer's home near the Indian border.

Her harsh new life began at 4am, the start of a daily routine in which she would clean her employer's house, wash dishes, cook and then go to his relatives' homes to do the same, before falling asleep just shy of midnight.

"I couldn't cope with the work, so my employer's wife would beat me with pots and pans, and threaten to sell me to another man," Chaudhary, now 22, told AFP.

"I was so scared, I couldn't even cry in front of them, I would just cry quietly in the bathroom," she said.

When she met her father a year later, she begged to return home, but her father, a bonded labourer, said they couldn't afford to raise her or her younger sister, whom they had also sold into domestic slavery.

Nepal's indentured "kamlari" girls - some as young as six - are among the Himayalan nation's most vulnerable citizens, subject to beatings and sexual violence while being kept as virtual prisoners by their employers.

Every January, when Nepal's Tharu community celebrates the Maghi festival, marking the end of winter, destitute Tharu families also sign contracts worth as little as 2,500 rupees ($25) a year, leasing their daughters to work in strangers' homes.

The annual tradition is unusual even in a region where illegal, bonded slavery and child labour are rife and where it is common to see children working in tea-shops, homes and even on construction sites.

A century ago the Tharu, said to be descendants of the Buddha, owned their farms and lived in relative isolation in the malaria-infested Terai plains, enjoying a natural resistance to the disease that the higher castes lacked.

But when malaria was eradicated from the fertile region in 1960, the Tharu were displaced by higher-caste farmers, becoming indebted serfs in their own land.

Many, like Chaudhary's impoverished parents, resorted to selling their daughters into domestic slavery, establishing the kamlari tradition, which, although outlawed in 2006, persists across the country.

Chaudhary worked for three years as a kamlari, enduring violence and sexual harassment, before activists from the US-based Nepal Youth Foundation approached her father and offered to support and educate his daughters if he ended their contracts.

At the age of 12, Chaudhary learnt to read and write. Today, the business undergraduate cuts a confident figure, fashionably dressed in a trench coat and conversant in three languages.

But the childhood scars remain, compelling her to volunteer as an advocate for kamlari rights.

"I was robbed of my childhood. It was a horrible time and I will do whatever I can to end this practice, to free other girls," she said.

Uphill battle for freedom

Although the kamlari tradition originated in the plains of southwestern Nepal, activists say it now survives on the patronage of wealthy families in the capital.

Kamal Guragain, legal officer at the Nepalese non-profit CWISH (Children-Women In Social Service and Human Rights), estimates that Nepal is home to at least 1,000 kamlaris, with nearly half of them working in Kathmandu.

So far, no employer has been punished for hiring or mistreating kamlaris, despite Guragain filing a stack of cases demanding prosecution and compensation to victims.

"Kamlaris still exist because their employers are not jailed or prosecuted, even though they are breaking the law," Guragain told AFP.

After a 12-year-old kamlari died of burns in the custody of her employer last March, sparking huge protests, the government said it would end the illegal practice. 

But nearly a year later, little has changed.

Ram Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman for the ministry of women, children and social welfare, told AFP that the activists were "too provocative and rights-oriented".

"We are focused on empowering kamlaris by offering them education and training opportunities as beauticians and seamstresses (after they leave work)," he said. But "we have no intention of going to every household in Kathmandu and organising raids," he added.

Lost childhoods

At one of the raids in Kathmandu, activists rescued a nervous teenager, Jayarani Tharu, who had worked as a kamlari for so long that she couldn't remember when she left home.

Her employer, who runs a furniture business and owns a restaurant, paid her father 6000 rupees a year for his daughter.

As former kamlaris, including Chaudhary, helped the young woman pack up her belongings, her employer's wife, Ramba Uprety burst into tears.

"I treated her like she was one of my own children. That's why I don't feel like I have done anything wrong," Uprety told AFP.

Her employers were good people, never violent or cruel to her, Tharu said.

Still, it rankled to see tutors visit the house to teach the employers' two children, while she slaved away in the background.

"I did feel bad about missing school, but then I got used to it... they had paid me to work, not to study," she said.

"Now I am wondering if I will be able to do anything with my life. I have lost so many years." -AFP

Vietnam reports first bird flu death in nine months

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:49 PM PST

HANOI: Vietnam has recorded its first death from bird flu in nine months, according to the country's Health Ministry, amid growing regional concerns over a potential resurgence of the deadly virus.

A 52-year-old man from southern Binh Phuoc province died Saturday after receiving treatment in Ho Chi Minh City, the ministry said in a statement issued late Monday.

"His sample... tested positive to the H5N1 virus," the statement said.

It was Vietnam's first fatality from the virus since a four-year-old child died in April 2013.

Demand for poultry in Vietnam is expected to surge over coming days as families gear up to celebrate the lunar new year festival Tet next week.

Strains of the H5, H7 and H9 avian influenza subtypes have caused human infections, primarily following direct contact with infected poultry.

But experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to trigger a pandemic.

The H5N1 virus has caused 649 confirmed flu cases in humans since it re-emerged in 2003, of whom 385 died, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Vietnam has recorded one of the highest fatality rates from bird flu in Southeast Asia, with the disease claiming 63 lives so far, WHO said.

Neighbouring Cambodia recorded 13 deaths from the virus last year, as it battled its deadliest outbreak since 2003. -AFP

Philippines bans China poultry imports due to bird flu

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:03 PM PST

MANILA: The Philippines said Tuesday it has banned imports of poultry and related products from China after it confirmed an outbreak of the HN52 strain of bird flu in the northern province of Hebei.

The embargo issued by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, covers all domestic and wild birds as well as eggs and even semen from poultry originating in China.

The agriculture ministry decided to enforce a ban after receiving an official report from the China Animal Disease Control Center, Veterinary Bureau in December.

The report confirmed an outbreak of the H5N2 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza(HPAI) virus in poultry in three villages in Hebei, China, the department said.

More than one hundred thousand birds were culled in the area as a precautionary measure, local reports said.

The ban is temporary but no date has been given for it to be lifted.

In 2013 China had 144 cases, including 46 deaths, from the H7N9-strain of avian influenza, according to figures from China's National Health and Family Planning Commission.

So far this year there have been at least six bird flu deaths in mainland China, according to media reports. -AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star eCentral: Movie Buzz


And the nominees of Oscars 2014 are ...

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 09:50 PM PST

American Hustle, Gravity and 12 Years A Slave lead this year's highly competitive race for Hollywood's top trophies.

THREE films – American Hustle, Gravity and 12 Years A Slave – cemented their frontrunner status for the Oscars on Thursday in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive year for Hollywood's top honours.

Director David O. Russell's 1970s conmen caper American Hustle and Alfonso Cuaron's space thriller Gravity each won 10 Academy Award nominations, while Steve McQueen's brutal depiction of slavery in 12 Years A Slave secured nine. All three films garnered nods for best picture and best director.

"This has been an amazing ride, and to receive nine nominations from the Academy is testament to all of the hard work," said McQueen, a British filmmaker who unearthed the real-life American story about a free man sold into slavery.

But in a year hailed as one of high quality for the Hollywood industry, several other films could challenge the favourites in the race for the world's top film prizes.

Somali piracy thriller Captain Phillips, the AIDS activism tale Dallas Buyers Club, and heartland comedy Nebraska, each garnered six nominations.

Martin Scorsese's cautionary tale on financial greed, The Wolf Of Wall Street, quirky computer-age romance Her and adoption drama Philomena round out the nine nominees for best picture.

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences may nominate up to 10 films for best picture, but only chose nine this year. A notable exclusion was the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis, which had won some top critics' awards, and scored only two nods overall.

The race could be complicated by the long lead time to the Oscars ceremony, to be hosted by comedian Ellen DeGeneres in Los Angeles on March 2.

Top actors snubbed

The crowded honours race spilled over into the acting categories, where the Academy snubbed some veteran stars and instead chose to recognise up-and-coming talent.

Eight individuals in the acting categories are first-time nominees, including Chiwetel Ejiofor as the free man sold into slavery in 12 Years A Slave. He will compete in the best actor race with Matthew McConaughey, the Golden Globe winner last Sunday for his role as the unlikely AIDS crusader in Dallas Buyers Club, and Leonardo DiCaprio as the swindling, fast-living stockbroker in The Wolf Of Wall Street. DiCaprio said he "found the role to be one of the most challenging and rewarding of my career".

And while the best actor race included veteran Bruce Dern for his cantankerous old man in Nebraska and Christian Bale as the conman with bad hair in American Hustle, it excluded Robert Redford, who won acclaim for his solo role as a sailor lost at sea in All Is Lost, and Tom Hanks as the captain under siege in Captain Phillips.

Hanks, who has not won an Oscar since his back-to-back wins in 1994 and 1995, was considered a favourite, mostly because of his harrowing final scene in the film.

While his co-star Barkhad Abdi received a nod for Best Supporting Actor, Captain Phillips lead actor and two-time winner Tom Hanks was surprisingly left out.

"I'm disappointed by it," said Captain Phillips producer Michael De Luca. "It was a crowded field this year. It's a great field of movies. I think with Tom, who has been so excellent in everything for so long, he makes it look easy." Hanks' Somali nemesis in the film played by newcomer Barkhad Abdi did win a best supporting actor nod, however.

Good year for veteran actresses and Oscar winners

Meryl Streep extended her lead as the most nominated performer with an 18th nomination, this year for best actress as the matriarch in August: Osage County. Streep goes up against fellow Oscar winners Sandra Bullock as the astronaut lost in space in Gravity, Cate Blanchett as the riches-to-rags socialite in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, and Judi Dench as the Irish mother who loses her son in Philomena. Amy Adams is nominated for her turn as a con-lady in American Hustle.

A giant screen shows the Oscar nominees for Best Actress, at the 86th Academy Awards nominations announcement, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, January 16, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California  The Oscars will take place March 2, 2014 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California.  The best actress nominees were Amy Adams for

The nominees for Best Actress. – AFP

"This is just the loveliest news," said Dench. "I'm so happy for everybody involved, and so proud to have been part of the wonderful experience that Philomena has been."

The list excluded Emma Thompson, praised for her role as the Mary Poppins author in Disney's Saving Mr. Banks.

Rare feat for 'American Hustle'

In the supporting categories, there was a nod for newcomer Lupita Nyong'o as the slave Patsey and another for her cruel master, played by Michael Fassbender, in 12 Years A Slave.

American Hustle also earned supporting nominations for actors from Russell's hit last year Silver Linings Playbook – Jennifer Lawrence, who won the best actress Oscar, and Bradley Cooper.

A giant screen shows the Oscar nominees for Best Supporting Actress, at the 86nd Academy Awards nominations announcement, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, January 16, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California  The Oscars will take place March 2, 2014 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California.  AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress. – AFP

Russell's romp through 1970s New York earned nominations for best picture, directing, writing and all four acting categories, a rare feat he also scored last year.

At the Golden Globes on Sunday, 12 Years A Slave, distributed by Fox Searchlight, a unit of 21st Century Fox , won best drama while American Hustle, distributed by Sony, won best musical or comedy. Gravity was distributed by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.

In the next few weeks, Hollywood will look to see how the actors, producers, directors and writers guild awards shape up.

Their members also constitute the bulk of the 6,000 Academy members.

Oscar voters have a longer time this year between nominations and awards and there is a risk they could get bored by the frontrunners, change their minds or be distracted by the Winter Olympics, said awards handicapper Tom O'Neil of Goldderby.com.

"Right now it's looking like 12 Years A Slave is ahead based on the momentum," said O'Neil. "It feels very important. It has the urgent social message that the Oscar voters like, but it's a hard movie to take."

American Hustle, he added, has an A-list cast, a good box office and lighter fare, while Gravity is "a spectacular achievement cinematically". Cuaron won best director at the Globes and the techical advances he used to depict the wonders of space in Gravity yielded nominations for cinematography, visual effects and sound, among other technical categories. – Reuters

List of key nominations of the 86th Academy Awards (winners will be revealed in Hollywood on March 2):

BEST PICTURE

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Nebraska

Philomena

12 Years A Slave

The Wolf Of Wall Street

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale in American Hustle

Bruce Dern in Nebraska

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf Of Wall Street

Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years A Slave

Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams in American Hustle

Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock in Gravity

Judi Dench in Philomena

Meryl Streep in August: Osage County

BEST DIRECTOR

David O. Russell for American Hustle

Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity

Alexander Payne for Nebraska

Steve McQueen for 12 Years A Slave

Martin Scorsese for The Wolf Of Wall Street

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper in American Hustle

Michael Fassbender in 12 Years A Slave

Jonah Hill in The Wolf Of Wall Street

Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine

Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle

Lupita Nyong'o in 12 Years A Slave

Julia Roberts in August: Osage County

June Squibb in Nebraska

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Before Midnight

Captain Phillips

Philomena

12 Years A Slave

The Wolf Of Wall Street

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

American Hustle

Blue Jasmine

Dallas Buyers Club

Her

Nebraska

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium

The Great Beauty, Italy

The Hunt, Denmark

The Missing Picture, Cambodia

Omar, Palestine

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILN

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Ernest & Celestine

Frozen

The Wind Rises

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The Act Of Killing

Cutie And The Boxer

Dirty Wars

The Square

20 Feet From Stardom

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Alone Yet Not Alone from Alone Yet Not Alone

Happy from Despicable Me 2

Let It Go from Frozen

The Moon Song from Her

Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

The Book Thief

Gravity

Her

Philomena

Saving Mr. Banks

BEST COSTUMES

American Hustle

The Grandmaster

The Great Gatsby

The Invisible Woman

12 Years A Slave

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Grandmaster

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Prisoners

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Dallas Buyers Club

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

The Lone Ranger

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug

Iron Man 3

The Lone Ranger

Star Trek Into Darkness

> For more info, go to oscar.go.com.

J is for 'just plain'

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

WHAT is it with fictional superspies/assassins whose names start with the letter J? There's James Bond, Jason Bourne, Johnny English and here we have Jack Ryan. What's wrong with writers giving their heroes good old names like Bob or even Michael, huh?

Anyway, Chris Pine's Jack Ryan is not the first on-screen version of Tom Clancy's super CIA agent. He's been played by Alec Baldwin (The Hunt For Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games) and Bat ... sorry, Ben Affleck (The Sum Of All Fears) before, so Pine has some big shoes to fill.

While Pine gives a decent portrayal of the rookie field operative version of Ryan here, he is hampered because the character just seems a little too, well, ordinary and colourless to be memorable.

Still, the action and plot are decent, even though at times it reminded me of a very long episode of 24. Hey wait, didn't the lead character of that show have a name starting with J as well? – Michael Cheang (***)

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

WITH no disrespect meant towards Nelson Mandela, I found myself drawn to the woman behind the anti-apartheid global figure instead, Winnie Madizikela-Mandela (Naomie Harris). Naturally, it was because I knew much less about her life (than Mandela's). From the way she is depicted in this movie, Winnie is as sweet as cotton candy when Mandela (Idris Elba) first meets her, but after experiencing the injustice and persecution he underwent, she turns into a strong but bitter human rights fighter, consumed by pure hatred for her oppressors.

Harris' performance outshines the rest of the cast, even Elba's.

I felt chills especially in a scene where Winnie walks out of the courthouse in which Mandela is charged with treason, with her fist raised high in the air in defiance – truly the gait of a woman behind the world's most iconic freedom fighter. – Kenneth Chaw (***)

The Legend Of Hercules

AFTER watching this movie, I felt like giving the cast and crew a pat on the head and going, "Awww, good effort, guys!"

Everyone seems to be trying their best to put out a great, if mythologically untrue, origin story of the Greek demigod hero Hercules (Kellan Lutz). But, unfortunately, it doesn't quite get there.

Visually, the film emulates another Greek-based fantasy action-adventure movie, 300, with lots of CGI and, unfortunately, way too many slow-mo moments. This is one movie, though, that would have looked good in 3D.

Plotwise, it is reminiscent of Gladiator. However, with only two-thirds the running time of that epic, many scenes here are short and choppy, and certain elements don't make sense. The dialogue can be quite cringeworthy if you let it get to you, as are certain key scenes.

Overall, a fairly entertaining, mindless watch. – Tan Shiow Chin (**)

Devil's Due

NEWLYWEDS Zach and Samantha McCall (Zach Gilford and Allison Miller) are in the Dominican Republic for their honeymoon. They meet a taxi driver (Roger Payano) who offers to take them to a cool place with free drinks. Zach – who seems pretty much on a YOLO (you only live once) track – agrees and they are led to an underground club. The next day, they wake up and can't remember anything from last night. Back home, Samantha announces that she's pregnant. The nightmare starts when she begins behaving erratically and Zach believes they are being watched by strange men.

Devil's Due is a found-footage film a la Paranormal Activity. It has a really slow pace, with a few scares in between and then you get all the so-called horror in the last 10 minutes. To me, the real devil here is husband YOLO Zach, who does a lot of stupid things.

YOLO Zach personifies the horror of hipster kids who can't stop documenting every aspect of their mundane lives out of fear that they might die without anyone knowing about them. Watch this if you have games on your phone so you have something to do while Zach helplessly tries to sort out his Rosemary's Baby problem. – Angelin Yeoh (*)

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

THIS is a conceptual, quirky, character-driven, inspirational tale of a constant daydreamer who finally decides to take action in real life when his magazine is about to publish its final issue.

And of course, his inspiration and motivation comes mainly from a co-worker whom he has a thing for.

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a hero in his imagination, but his daydreaming frequently causes him to lose out in real life. When a film negative that is the next cover photo for his magazine goes missing, he finally embarks on a real-life adventure, tracking down the photographer (a perfectly cast Sean Penn).

We are treated to lovely visuals of the countries he visits. And the crazy adventures Mitty gets into go beyond his wildest imagination.

I loved this movie, with all its little details and quirkily apt soundtrack. This is one for indie and arthouse film fans, or those ready for a quietly inspirational underdog tale. – TSC (****)

12 Years A Slave

GSC International Screens

THERE is a reason why this film has been getting a lot attention on the awards circuit. Director Steve McQueen has not only brought forth a topic that the United States would rather sweep under the rug of "freedom", he has made it something that is awful to observe but necessary to acknowledge.

Each frame tells a story – from picking cotton in the vast fields under the hot sun or the cramped living conditions during the night – that the viewer cannot look away even for a minute. Although McQueen doesn't shy away from the atrocities inflicted upon the enslaved, he does it more with sound and close-up shots of the characters' expressions than graphic depictions.

The performances are amazing all round, making everything that we witness seem that much more real and heartbreaking. – Mumtaj Begum (****)

Jilla

THIS is exactly what you'd get from a banana leaf rice meal: a burst of flavours that will leave you full but still craving for more.

A typical ponggal (harvest festival) release, Jilla features two heavyweights of South Indian cinema, Mohanlal and Vijay.

It explores the relationship between a don (Mohanlal) and his adopted son (Vijay). Their relationship is perfectly captured in the course of several scenes at the start of the movie.

Director RT Neason fails to capitalise on the interesting premise. Vijay's performance – one of the best in many years – and his chemistry with Mohanlal save the movie which otherwise has a weak and tangled screenplay with a dull narration.

Overall, Jilla is for the hardcore Vijay fans out there. His ability to hold his own opposite a veteran actor speaks highly of his growth an actor. – Nevash Nair (***)

Kevin Connolly on 'Entourage' movie: No salary hitch

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 02:25 AM PST

No one ever held out for more money, actor clarifies.

DESPITE reports to the contrary, the upcoming big-screen version of Entourage wasn't held up by salary negotiations, Kevin Connolly – who plays Eric Murphy on the series and in the movie – told TheWrap on Wednesday.

"The funny thing about that is, we were always shooting the movie in January," Connolly, who began shooting the film on Jan 16 in Miami, Florida, said. "The movie was never held up by salary negotiations. See, that's the thing; people feel like salary negotiations held up the movie; I was not available. Neither was Jeremy Piven. We were both doing our shows."

Connolly did admit that salary negotiations occurred in the run-up to the filming of the movie, but said that the bargaining never had an effect on the production schedule for the film.

"The movie was always happening. And in the meantime, people were negotiating. It became a thing that wasn't really there. No one, I repeat, no one, held out for more money. That wasn't it.

We knew we were shooting in January, and people were getting the best deal," Connolly offered. "What happens, too, is when you're negotiating with a group of people, some people were more interested in what they were getting paid up front. Other people were more concerned about a sequel deal. It's just people getting on the same page. But nobody ever stopped production. ... People were figuring it out. We weren't doing it anyway, so why not take our time? People just took time to hash out the deals."

Reports emerged last year that cast member negotiations were holding up the movie. Executive producer Mark Wahlberg didn't help quell the scuttlebutt when he was asked by a paparazzo when the Entourage film is coming out.

"Soon as them guys stop being so greedy," Wahlberg replied.

Connolly was on hand at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday to discuss his upcoming CBS sitcom Friends With Better Lives, about a group of friends who secretly wonder if the others have it better off than them.

(Connolly plays Bobby, a married family man with a toddler and another baby on the way – a character that Connolly describes as "light years different" from his Entourage character.)

Aside from the pedigree of the show – created by Friends alum Dana Klein, the show's first episode was directed by James Burrows – Connolly said he was drawn to the project because it offered a path to a "legitimate adult role".

"It was a good kind of a role. Because as a young actor, sometimes you get caught between, 'OK, he's too old to do the college, high-school thing, but he's not old enough to be the dad,'" Connolly, 39, said. "So it's kind of nice to work my way into a legitimate adult role." – Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews


Kevin Connolly on 'Entourage' movie: No salary hitch

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 02:25 AM PST

No one ever held out for more money, actor clarifies.

DESPITE reports to the contrary, the upcoming big-screen version of Entourage wasn't held up by salary negotiations, Kevin Connolly – who plays Eric Murphy on the series and in the movie – told TheWrap on Wednesday.

"The funny thing about that is, we were always shooting the movie in January," Connolly, who began shooting the film on Jan 16 in Miami, Florida, said. "The movie was never held up by salary negotiations. See, that's the thing; people feel like salary negotiations held up the movie; I was not available. Neither was Jeremy Piven. We were both doing our shows."

Connolly did admit that salary negotiations occurred in the run-up to the filming of the movie, but said that the bargaining never had an effect on the production schedule for the film.

"The movie was always happening. And in the meantime, people were negotiating. It became a thing that wasn't really there. No one, I repeat, no one, held out for more money. That wasn't it.

We knew we were shooting in January, and people were getting the best deal," Connolly offered. "What happens, too, is when you're negotiating with a group of people, some people were more interested in what they were getting paid up front. Other people were more concerned about a sequel deal. It's just people getting on the same page. But nobody ever stopped production. ... People were figuring it out. We weren't doing it anyway, so why not take our time? People just took time to hash out the deals."

Reports emerged last year that cast member negotiations were holding up the movie. Executive producer Mark Wahlberg didn't help quell the scuttlebutt when he was asked by a paparazzo when the Entourage film is coming out.

"Soon as them guys stop being so greedy," Wahlberg replied.

Connolly was on hand at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday to discuss his upcoming CBS sitcom Friends With Better Lives, about a group of friends who secretly wonder if the others have it better off than them.

(Connolly plays Bobby, a married family man with a toddler and another baby on the way – a character that Connolly describes as "light years different" from his Entourage character.)

Aside from the pedigree of the show – created by Friends alum Dana Klein, the show's first episode was directed by James Burrows – Connolly said he was drawn to the project because it offered a path to a "legitimate adult role".

"It was a good kind of a role. Because as a young actor, sometimes you get caught between, 'OK, he's too old to do the college, high-school thing, but he's not old enough to be the dad,'" Connolly, 39, said. "So it's kind of nice to work my way into a legitimate adult role." – Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: World Updates

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: World Updates


Tokyo pushing ahead with U.S. base relocation plan despite election loss

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:10 PM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo is pushing ahead with plans to relocate a controversial U.S. base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, despite the weekend re-election of a mayor strongly opposed to the move, and on Tuesday invited tenders for the first stage of work.

Delays in relocating the U.S. Marines' Futenma air base, a move first agreed between Tokyo and Washington in 1996, have long been an irritant in U.S.-Japan ties.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keen to make progress on the project as he seeks tighter ties with the United States in the face of an assertive China.

Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Tuesday that bids for the first phase of construction, a landfill project, were now open.

"We are thinking that we want to proceed with the relocation as smoothly as possible," he added.

Susumu Inamine, a staunch opponent of the relocation, was re-elected mayor of the Okinawa city of Nago, defeating an opponent who backed the project and ran with the strong support of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). His win is a potential headache for Abe and may cause friction with Washington.

"The plan must go back to square one," Inamine told reporters on Sunday. "I will reject all procedures that are premised on the landfill project."

Last month, Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved a plan to move Futenma's functions from a populous part of central Okinawa to Nago's coastal Henoko area.

Preparations for any relocation, such as surveying, could take a year, with the first relocation work starting after that. Japanese media says the government hopes to begin this in 2015, but Inamine's election could cause delays.

Seeking to soothe discontent, Abe's government earmarked 348 billion yen ($3.34 billion) for Okinawa's economic development in the draft budget for the year from April and pledged about 300 billion yen per year through 2021/22.

Abe also promised to study whether the relocation plan could be speeded up and said the government would start talks with the United States on a deal that could allow for more oversight of environmental issues at U.S. bases.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies, Editing by Michael Perry)

Pakistan bombs militant hideouts in tribal area after Taliban attacks

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:05 PM PST

PESHAWAR/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan fighter jets bombed suspected Taliban hideouts in a tribal area on the Afghan border on Tuesday after a wave of insurgent attacks against security forces, sending villagers fleeing from their homes, military sources and residents said.

It was the first time the air force has resorted to aerial strikes in the region since it struck a ceasefire agreement with local Taliban chiefs in 2007.

Residents of North Waziristan, a lawless mountainous region where many al Qaeda-linked militants are based, said there were numerous civilian casualties but the army was not immediately available to comment on the operation.

"Can you hear the noise of the gunships? They are just over our heads," Haji Jamaludin, a local resident, told Reuters by telephone from the area. "Everyone in the village is running around with children and women looking for a safe place to hide."

The air strikes took place as pressure grows on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take tougher action against the Taliban

following the attacks.

The Pakistani Taliban are fighting to topple the central government in Islamabad and impose strict Islamic rule in the nuclear armed South Asian nation.

Sparking speculation that a military operation was imminent, Sharif cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos on Sunday following a Taliban attack on an army convoy in which 20 soldiers were killed.

"This hadn't been planned before, and Pakistan air force fighter jets were called to hit hideouts of the militants involved in attacks on security forces," said one military official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Military officials said fighter jets were targeting only militant positions around the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan. Following a wave of fighter jets strikes, the army later called in helicopter gunships to shell suspected hideouts.

Residents said bombardment started overnight without any warning. Tribal elder Malik Jan Mohammad in the Mir Ali area said 15 people were killed. A Taliban source put the death toll at 27, including civilians.

"We were all asleep when the planes started bombing the village," said Khyal Zaman, a tribesman from the village of Esori.

"We had no idea what happened in the dark and those who survived came out of their homes in desperation along with children and started walking away into the open."

Sharif, who came to power promising to make peace with the Taliban though talks and not military action, has been under growing pressure both from the United States and hawks in the Pakistani army to do more to crush the insurgency.

No meaningful talks have taken place for years. The death of Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a November drone strike has further enraged the Taliban, with its new leader, Mullah Fazlullah, vowing to step up his campaign against the army.

(Writiing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Honduras OKs breakup of state power firm, to allow private investment

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 09:00 PM PST

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' Congress on Monday approved a breakup of the country's state-controlled electricity producer, allowing private interests to invest in the semi-shuttered industry in an effort to stem the company's losses and revitalize the ailing sector.

ENEE, as the company is known, currently generates electricity and also buys from independent producers. But the state-subsidised firm has faced losses of roughly $200 million a year, preventing it from investing in new projects.

"This legislation allows the participation of private actors in all of the electricity market to drive investment in the sector and respond to the demand for electricity that is key to the development of this country," Emil Hawit, ENEE's director, told reporters.

Under the terms of the legislation, backed by 95 of the country's 128 lawmakers, ENEE will be broken into three separate companies - for generation, transmission and distribution - which will be open to private investors.

It was not immediately clear how much would be opened up, but the government would maintain a minority stake. The breakup must occur by July 1, 2015, at the latest, under the legislation.

Preliminary figures showed Honduras ended 2013 with a fiscal deficit of nearly 8 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), and many analysts had expected the government to partly privatise the loss-making ENEE to help close that gap.

Last week, Honduras' Congress approved a 2014 budget that seeks to nearly halve the deficit, bringing it down to 4.7 percent of GDP by the end of this year.

Until now, private investors have only been allowed to produce electricity that they must then sell back to ENEE.

The company produces just over 400 megawatts a year through its hydroelectric and geothermal plants, with the rest of the country's energy needs footed by independent producers.

(Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Ken Wills)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf


Nazi Goreng

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

ONLY in Malaysia will you find brown-skinned neo-Nazis.

This curious phenomenon, a subset within the local skinhead subculture, may be news to the Malaysian mainstream although it is well-documented among punk enthusiasts.

With this in mind, I was excited to learn about Nazi Goreng, a novel featuring two such skinheads as protagonists.

Written by punk-rock guitarist and travel writer Marco Ferrarese, Nazi Goreng appears to offer an exploration of the scene and an exposé of Malaysia's racial tensions as seen by an outsider.

The book opens with Asrul in his hometown of Alor Star, kicking it with his friend and mentor Malik.

As their conversation of making it big out of the "backwater river town filled with mosques" plays out against a backdrop of the Muslim call to prayer, the opening chapters perfectly set the scene for a coming-of-age novel of disenfranchised youth using corrupted punk ideology for some semblance of empowerment.

Sadly, this is not what the novel turns out to be.

Having enjoyed Ferrarese's blog on his jaunts around the South-East Asian punk scene, I was expecting more prose on the subculture, the bands, the venues, and of course, the music.

Aside from a few details on gigs and discussions of bands, though, the description of what it means to be a skinhead seems to be relegated to superficial observations of what the characters look like.

Soon after Asrul and Malik move to Penang to have a shot at the "Malaysian dream", they are caught up in the illegal drug trade.

As things spiral out of control, Asrul grapples with his religious convictions and Malik's penchant for beating up non-Malay "immigrants".

This is a respectable enough storyline for a pulp thriller, with a sufficient number of twists and turns in the plot to keep the reader interested.

Where Nazi Goreng really shines is in its portrayal of the bond between Asrul and Malik, with the latter being the poster boy for the Nazi-influenced brand of "Kuasa Melayu" (Malay power).

With the charismatic Malik leading the way, Asrul's fall from innocence is convincing, and readers will be sympathetic to his attempts at reconciling his moral convictions with his misguided sense of entitlement.

And Malik's character offers a peek into the force that is Kuasa Melayu within the skinhead subculture, and the myriad of contradictory thoughts that the ideology has cobbled together.

At one point in the novel, Malik even expresses his desire to go to London to join a white power group because he identifies with their mission of ridding the city of "immigrant scum" – all the while oblivious to fact that he himself would be seen as such scum there.

With the notable exception of the two main protagonists, however, many of the other characters in the novel appear as hastily drawn stereotypes.

There's the shady Iranian drug lord, the racist low-level cops, the femme fatale of a drug mule from China, and even burly trigger-happy Nigerian gangsters.

Anyone who keeps up with the news on the underbelly of Malaysian life will recognise these characters – and it is true that all stereotypes begin with a germ of truth.

It is just a missed opportunity, however, when these characters do not rise above the stereotypical in the least.

Even when Ferrarese tries to write his immigrant characters with some humanity by offering the reader some insight into their hopes and dreams, they still do not appear to be more than plot devices – like convenient punching bags for Malik's character to tell us that racism is wrong.

Ferrarese's writing, though, is mostly tight and straight-forward enough to keep the pot boiling, especially in his descriptions of familiar local surroundings.

While I was greatly amused by the witty wordplay of the title itself (Nazi Goreng translates directly as "fried Nazi", or more accurately as "mixed Nazi"), this cleverness is sometimes stretched a bit too thin in the novel: "Mister Porthaksh had a grave expression on his face: as if a spirit had come to him with a staple gun and had pinned a grim mask on top of his face, shrouding him out of reality."

And I sometimes found the images conjured up just bizarre: "The moon peeped in through the window, like the iris-less white eye of a giant pervert, to watch what passed between those two bodies.

"The crossing of arms and legs and the pounding of muscles against meat and bones developed like a silent movie before the Cyclop's (sic) creepy eye."

While one can easily ignore such transgressions, they are jarring at crucial plot points – in a climactic scene, when things are really starting to hit the fan, the suspense was spoilt for me when I had to grapple with a character "crawling in the shadow and dust like a tapeworm that had just emerged from a dead anus".

Malaysians who have no prior knowledge of our cities' seedier sides or are completely ignorant of local punk subcultures may find some insight in the blunt honesty of Nazi Goreng. Personally, though, I'd rather just go to a gig and see the reality for myself.

The Shock Of The Fall

Posted: 18 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

Presenting the very deserving winner of the 2013 Costa First Novel Award.

I WAS somewhat underwhelmed by the winner of the 2012 Costa First Novel Award, Francesca Segal's The Innocents. That novel seemed a bit too chick lit and lightweight to win such a lofty award.

So I approached the latest Costa First Novel winner – announced on Jan 6 – with reduced expectations.

However, to use a hyperbolic phrase with good cause, The Shock Of The Fall by 32-year-old Briton Nathan Filer simply "blew me away". This is a brilliant and ground-breaking work of such emotional heft that my eyes moistened every few pages.

It's not a traditional or straightforward narrative, though; more a multi-dimensional portrait of a highly vulnerable and fragile teen. The young man featured is a schizophrenic called Matthew Holmes. Following the childhood death of his brother, Simon, at a holiday camp in Dorset, a rural county on England's south coast, The Shock Of The Fall chronicles both the coming of age and the descent into mental illness of Matthew.

Duly, the reader inhabits the central character's baffling and occasionally terrifying world, which swerves from vignettes of bittersweet family life to chilling visions of his deceased brother.

What undoubtedly enabled Filer to pen such a powerful novel on mental illness is the fact that he used to work as a registered mental health nurse with Britain's National Health service (the NHS). But the book's focus is sensibly demarcated, given the subject matter.

"It's a story about a family coming to terms with grief and it is a character study of Matthew Holmes and one of the things about him is that he's got schizophrenia.

"But it's not a novel about schizophrenia and it's not a novel about the NHS," the author told British national daily The Guardian after winning the award earlier this month.

The novel opens with Matthew, at this point 19 years old, nostalgia-tripping about the family's stay at that fateful holiday camp, though not about the fatal accident itself, which instead hovers over all these pages, ghost-like.

Matt – as he dubs himself – blames himself, probably wrongly, for the accident – with inevitable devastating psychological consequences brought on by his guilt.

In his own words, while writing about himself in the third person, Matt "suffers from command hallucinations", which he attributes to his dead sibling, who is described as having had "special needs" and "a beautiful smiling face that looked like the moon".

Eventually, and as we anticipate, Matt takes us back to the accident itself, a decade previously, when the two brothers ventured out of their family's caravan to a spot on a cliff-top, where Matt tells Simon he saw something interesting take place a few hours earlier.

This episode ends abruptly in a tragedy that unfolded in simply a few seconds, but whose outcome may haunt Matt forever.

We can almost picture 12-year-old Simon falling slo-mo into the sea.

"Whatever wave had been swelling in the sea in the seconds before he fell," Matt writes from a bottomless well of melancholia, "would break in the seconds after. This dismissive and uncaring universe simply carried on with its business, as if nothing of any consequence had happened."

Here in Malaysia, where mental illness issues remain something of a taboo topic (though this picture has improved considerably in recent years), Filer has provided a strong and sympathetic voice in Matthew Holmes, the owner of an unwell mind.

There are Matts all over the world but, sadly, very few live in places with advanced mental-health care programmes.

Usually, novels that tackle the issue of psychiatric illness tend to stereotype or oversimplify their lead characters. However, Matt is so realistically depicted and complex that you can almost sense him fidgeting in the next chair as you read this.

His treatment for his burgeoning mental illness makes him, in a sense, lose his brother all over again. The reader urgently wants him to get better, but this is a realistic depiction of a malady with no reliable cure.

He is, however, "managed" by his local community health team, undergoes therapy, and takes medication.

The treatment scenes are packed with of sharply droll observations.

"The mugs are provided by drug (sales) reps. They have the brands of the medication we hate stamped all over them," Matt notes. And at the patients' day-care centre, "the manics talk – but they talk crap".

And the descriptions of family life for the Holmes before and after the tragedy are beautifully penned, especially those of Matt's close relationship with his grandmother.

Filer's style is uncompromising. For a first novel, the writing here is remarkably audacious and experimental. And as a result of this, the author is able to convincingly capture Matt's desperate state of mind.

The Shock Of The Fall, which took the author three years to in the complete, proves that adage that you "should write what you know" and deservedly won one of the world's most prestigious writing awards for this former mental-health nurse, and now Britain's latest literary supernova.

Netting a globally renowned writing prize is the blissful reverie of many an aspiring novelist. I can't help thinking that it could not have happened to a worthier or more courageous contender.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies


Kevin Connolly on 'Entourage' movie: No salary hitch

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 02:25 AM PST

No one ever held out for more money, actor clarifies.

DESPITE reports to the contrary, the upcoming big-screen version of Entourage wasn't held up by salary negotiations, Kevin Connolly – who plays Eric Murphy on the series and in the movie – told TheWrap on Wednesday.

"The funny thing about that is, we were always shooting the movie in January," Connolly, who began shooting the film on Jan 16 in Miami, Florida, said. "The movie was never held up by salary negotiations. See, that's the thing; people feel like salary negotiations held up the movie; I was not available. Neither was Jeremy Piven. We were both doing our shows."

Connolly did admit that salary negotiations occurred in the run-up to the filming of the movie, but said that the bargaining never had an effect on the production schedule for the film.

"The movie was always happening. And in the meantime, people were negotiating. It became a thing that wasn't really there. No one, I repeat, no one, held out for more money. That wasn't it.

We knew we were shooting in January, and people were getting the best deal," Connolly offered. "What happens, too, is when you're negotiating with a group of people, some people were more interested in what they were getting paid up front. Other people were more concerned about a sequel deal. It's just people getting on the same page. But nobody ever stopped production. ... People were figuring it out. We weren't doing it anyway, so why not take our time? People just took time to hash out the deals."

Reports emerged last year that cast member negotiations were holding up the movie. Executive producer Mark Wahlberg didn't help quell the scuttlebutt when he was asked by a paparazzo when the Entourage film is coming out.

"Soon as them guys stop being so greedy," Wahlberg replied.

Connolly was on hand at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday to discuss his upcoming CBS sitcom Friends With Better Lives, about a group of friends who secretly wonder if the others have it better off than them.

(Connolly plays Bobby, a married family man with a toddler and another baby on the way – a character that Connolly describes as "light years different" from his Entourage character.)

Aside from the pedigree of the show – created by Friends alum Dana Klein, the show's first episode was directed by James Burrows – Connolly said he was drawn to the project because it offered a path to a "legitimate adult role".

"It was a good kind of a role. Because as a young actor, sometimes you get caught between, 'OK, he's too old to do the college, high-school thing, but he's not old enough to be the dad,'" Connolly, 39, said. "So it's kind of nice to work my way into a legitimate adult role." – Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion


A heart that's filial

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

The play Home Together aims to convey important messages through the stories of residents at an old folks home.

THE Confucian value of filial piety is about respect and devotion to one's parents and the elderly, central to most traditional Chinese families where children are taught to uphold this virtue.

But is it eroding in the face of modernisation and the busy lives we lead? Possibly, when you consider that Chinese New Year happens to be the only time when some families gather and reunite over dinner.

In this context, theatrical production Home Together aims to drive home the essence of filial piety and the importance of cherishing your loved ones and family while they are still alive.

Presented by the Bekas Journal Production Team, it will be a bilingual play in Mandarin and Hokkien (with English subtitles), and staged in Klang where Hokkien is predominantly spoken among the Chinese community.

The play opens with a scriptwriter going on a journey to research his new project, and finding inspiration from the stories of four residents in an old folks home who narrate their life stories to him over the course of the 90-minute production.

Material for the script was gathered from the company's own visits to such homes for the elderly, as well as interviews with their own parents.

Director Noah Yap, who also doubles as art director, says he often grapples with the sad truth of how much his parents have aged whenever he returns home to see them.

"It's saddening when we only go back during festive occasions; we don't know what might happen (to our parents) tomorrow," says Yap, 22. This view forms the primary basis of the first story – that people are so busy carving out their own careers, they hardly have time to think about going home.

Two other stories are drawn from Yap's observations of his own family's dynamics. One revolves around a hardcore gambler and wife-beater, who becomes comatose after an accident.

Upon waking, he realises that his family has left without a trace, and so he is forced to live in a home, his heart heavily laden with regret.

Yap candidly says the situation mirrors that of his own father, who gambled heavily in the past; however, his story has a happier ending as the family rallied to his father's side and he changed for the better.

Another story touches on the relationship between a woman and her daughter-in-law, partly inspired by conversations Yap had with his mother, behind his sister-in-law's back!

The final story focuses on courtship during the 1970s, when there were no mobile phones or social media to stay connected, and how lovers back then survived the trials and tribulations of romance.

Producer Robin Khor says the company aims to reach out and share the underlying message of Home Together with as many people as possible rather than try to cultivate artistic appreciation in a city that hasn't had too much exposure to theatre and the performing arts.

This is why they kept the ticket prices affordable in order to entice the masses, who should find the stories relevant and relatable.

"We even went down to coffeeshops and wet markets with banners and leaflets to promote and sell our tickets, so this marketing campaign is slightly different that way," says Khor, 21.

He also plays one of the supporting roles in the third story, as the son who is caught between his traditional mother with her own beliefs and a modern wife who detests the conventional customs that a woman must bear children.

"It is a very real situation and dilemma to relate to. In the end, not knowing who to choose, my 'mother' decides to check in at the old folks home alone because she no longer feels needed," says Khor.

"When we think about it, it makes me wonder how parents can raise all their children yet none can care for their parents in their old age."

One of the play's main cast members, Mike Chuah, says he is still working on getting his expressions and emotions right for a live audience as this is his theatrical debut.

Previously, he worked on commercials, TV dramas and films, which he reckons are quite different from what theatre requires of the performer.

For Home Together, Chuah portrays two aspects of one character – the gambling addict and the remorseful individual he becomes several decades later. He will also be singing a little, when his character reminisces about the music of his younger days.

What has his experience been like, collaborating with the younger generation? Chuah finds it tremendously satisfying, and is happy to support and see the young having dreams and such mature ideas.

"It's touching and some of us even cried while rehearsing our roles. That's how it spoke to us," he adds.

The production will also include live singing of classic songs from the 1960s to the modern era, replete with authentic costumes to suit each time period covered in the play.

> There will be two shows of Home Together on Jan 18, at 3pm and 8pm. Tickets are priced at RM15 each. It will be staged at the Hokkien Association Klang, Jln Batu Tiga Lama , Klang, Selangor. For enquiries, call 011-1122-6422 (Sing Ying).

Smells like teen spirit

Posted: 15 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

IN ANOTHER life, Scott McQuaid might have been a martial arts movie star.

For a while, he was even getting parts – usually as the bad guy.

You may have seen him aiming a kick or throwing a punch somewhere in the background of 1990s Hong Kong hits Bullet In The Head and Ebola Syndrome.

So the question is, how does an English-born martial arts-obsessed fighter like McQuaid end up handling the performing arts curriculum at Cempaka International School, Cheras?

It's a long story, but we've got time to kill.

We're sitting at Coffea Coffee in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur waiting for Jez Izman and Ilyana Fizal – the two talented students about to bring his debut one-act comedy About Last Night to life, at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre this weekend.

He fills me in on the answer to my question in an accent that is unmistakably from Essex.

"When I was a kid I used to follow my brother boxing, and then I saw Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon, and that's how I got into martial arts.

"Then when I left school at 16 I found silat. There was this Indonesian guy teaching. It was very exotic."

His interest in silat and martial arts in general took him to Indonesia, and then to Hong Kong.

That's how McQuaid got into acting.

He'd found his second passion, aside from martial arts.

So, the impulsive teenager decided to go back to England and attend acting school, for two years, before setting off to try his luck launching an acting career in America.

He spent two years honing his craft in tiny basement theatres throughout the Big Apple and amongst all kinds of weird and wonderful artists, and then moved to Los Angeles.

But failed audition after failed audition, McQuaid came to an important life conclusion.

He went back to Britain to get a degree in Performing Arts.

During his studies, he realised that despite his love for serious drama, what he really excelled at was comedy.

Soon, he was writing, directing and acting in comedy skits. And when he graduated, the itch to do something different struck again.

"The day I handed in my last assignment, I went to the airport with my backpack, and got the cheapest flight to Asia."

After travelling around Thailand and Japan, teaching here and there, he came to Malaysia.

And that's where he eventually came across an advertisement for the position of drama teacher at Cempaka, where he's been conducting classes and directing the school's annual stage productions for four years now.

As he finishes his story, Jez and Ilyana arrive.

Both are talented 17-year-old students at the school. McQuaid has worked with them on a number of school plays and musicals.

He's always wanted to make his foray into the local theatre scene, but a busy schedule kept him from it – up till now that is.

He'd written About Last Night a while ago. And when he recently decided to stage it with BluBricks, the language and performing arts academy that he also teachers at, he knew he wanted to cast Jez and Iliyana as the leading roles.

"I wrote the play two years ago. It was inspired by my experiences as a teenager." That's how About Last Night starts off.

"The story opens with two strangers waking up next to each other with no recollection of the previous night.

"They then have to trace back events through a series of clues to figure out what happened."

In the play, Jez plays Adam, the guy, and Ilyana plays Eve, the girl.

This may be their first foray into doing a production out of school, but they are definitely mature enough to be able to discuss the play's themes without any giggles.

McQuaid gives us his best shot at describing the show: "Unexpected. Witty. Awkward. Playful."

> Catch About Last Night at Black Box, Damansara Performing Arts Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor on Jan 18 and 19. Shows at 8pm. Tickets are priced at RM50. You can book by calling 03-4065 0001, 03-4065 0002 or visit www.dpac.com.my.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Metro: Central

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Metro: Central


Chinese come out against sexuality change therapy

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 01:42 AM PST

Beijing (AFP) - A wire connected to his genitals, a Chinese man says doctors administered repeated electric shocks as he watched a pornographic film -- part of treatment he hoped would eliminate his sexual attraction to men.

"I thought I'd try and see if there was a chance I could become a normal person," said the 25-year-old, who asked to be identified only by his surname Zhang.

"I didn't want to cause my family trouble, or disappoint them."

Zhang's treatment shows the extreme end of a lucrative industry in China claiming to "correct" the sexualities of gay men and lesbians, who often face tremendous social pressures to live as heterosexuals.

"If I had a reaction (to the films) I would receive a shock," said Zhang, who said he paid for the initial treatments himself after deciding life as a gay man would be "too tough".

"It wasn't a massive shock, but it was painful."

China officially classed homosexuality as a mental disorder as recently as 2001, although some attitudes -- especially in larger cities -- have become more tolerant in recent years.

Nonetheless gay men and lesbians in China, who are often only children, still have to deal with their parents' expectations of marriage and children.

"Conversion therapy", as it is sometimes known, has more than a century of history around the world, but has fallen out of favour with medical authorities.

It persists in countries from Singapore to Britain and the United States -- where reports of electro-shock use have added to momentum for a ban.

Zhang was treated three years ago, but five clinics contacted by AFP in the last month claimed to offer "sexuality adjustment" through various means, some of them including hypnosis, drugs and electric shock therapy.

The Haiming Psychological Consulting Centre in Beijing touts the use of electricity on its website, saying: "After each shock, the person will quickly interrupt their thought, and separate from their fantasies."

A member of staff at the hospital told AFP that the shock treatment -- in 30-minute sessions every few days -- was used only "in extreme circumstances".

The American Psychological Association, which judges same-sex sexual and romantic attraction to be "normal and positive", concluded in 2009 that "efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm".

The Pan American Health Organization, the Americas office of the UN's WHO, said in a 2012 report that conversion therapies "lack medical justification and are ethically unacceptable".

California banned the practice -- often linked to Christian groups who view homosexuality a sin -- for minors last year, and other US states look set to follow its lead following an activist campaign.

Now Chinese groups are following their lead. Beijing's LGBT Center said in a statement last month that such methods "deeply damage homosexuals' physical and mental health, and worse infringe on their self-respect".

Two activists connected with the Center, which is partly funded by the US and British embassies, posed with a sign reading "Homosexuality is not an illness" outside a clinic they said offered conversion therapy, and hope to persuade health authorities to revoke such facilities' licences.

Some clinics are moving towards counselling and prescribing anti-depressant drugs, said Wei Xiaogang, founder of the Beijing-based "Queer Comrades" group.

"Now it's more like therapy, like talking, because people want to make money, it's all about business," he said.

Several clinics contacted by AFP said that they saw homosexuality as changeable in people for whom it was not "innate".

But Liu Wei, 21, a salesman in the southern province of Guangdong, said: "I have a lot of friends who received the treatment, it has made some of them nervous wrecks".

He visited a hospital last month to ask about treatment under pressure from his father, he said, and a doctor told him his sexuality could be changed "if I made a decision to break up with my partner, and dedicate myself to the method".

The physician told Liu to "watch films and when I fantasised, use an elastic band wrapped around my hand to hurt myself".

Even the doctor admitted the success rate was low, he said, but he was still considering it because his family relationships were "very tense".

For Zhang, the treatment first killed his sex drive but went on to exact a greater toll -- he became depressed, resigned from his job, went into debt to pay his medical fees, and eventually considered suicide, he said.

"I was suffering from headaches, I couldn't stand it, I wanted to die, I wanted to stop."

But ultimately he accepted that his sexuality could not be changed, and came out to his father.

"Later I thought about my whole life, I was like this from a young age," he said. "Being gay isn't a terrible thing, I think." - AFP

Vietnam hands death penalty to 30 drug smugglers

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 01:03 AM PST

Hanoi (AFP) - Vietnam on Monday sentenced 30 drug smugglers to death in the communist country's largest ever narcotics case, involving scores of defendants and nearly two tons of heroin, a judge said.

The 30 men and women, all Vietnamese, were found guilty of drug trafficking and given the death penalty while a further 59 defendants were handed sentences ranging up to life in prison in connection with the case, presiding judge Ngo Duc told AFP.

"This was Vietnam's largest ever trial in terms of defendants, the number of death penalties given out and the amount of heroin involved," Duc told AFP after the verdict was read out in the northern province of Quang Ninh -- which borders China.

"Because of the large number of defendants and the seriousness of the case, the trial was held at the prison," judge Duc added.

The trial, which lasted 17 days, began on January 3 this year.

Investigators said that the defendants belonged to four international smuggling rings responsible for trafficking heroin and other drugs from neighbouring Laos into Vietnam and China since 2006.

One of the leaders of the smuggling rings remains at large, state media reported.

Police busted the rings in August 2013 making mass arrests and seizing large quantities of illegal drugs.

Communist Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws. Anyone found guilty of possessing more than 600 grams of heroin, or more than 20 kilograms of opium, can face the death penalty.

Convictions and sentences are usually revealed only by local media which is strictly under state control.

The "golden triangle" region of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar was formerly one of the world's top producers of illicit opium and heroin but has been overtaken by Afghanistan.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my
 

The Star Online

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved