The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
- The joy of being a mum
- James Franco is glad to push the boundries
- Academy defends Winfrey as honorary Oscar winner
| Posted: 04 Aug 2011 02:52 AM PDT Known for her male roles in the 1960s, Connie Chan Po Chu now enjoys being a supportive mum. AT 64 years young, the slim and stylish Connie Chan Po Chu wears her hair in a pageboy crop. It harks back to her teen idol heyday of 1960s Hong Kong cinema when she would often play the dashing male lead opposite Josephine Siao. In Singapore recently for a press conference about her concert this Saturday, she just may be moving from gender-bending to genre-bending. "I will give audiences a little of East and West," she promises journalists at Resorts World Sentosa's Hotel Michael of the gig. To be held at the Resorts World Convention Centre's Compass Ballroom, the concert, her first in Singapore, will feature her performing Cantonese songs from her film career, which was bookended by the comedy The Scout Master (1959) and the action flick The Lizard (1972). Besides appearing in Cantonese opera get-up, she will also dance to more contemporary numbers. The guest performer at her show is none other than her son – and only child – actor-singer Dexter Young, 36. She says: "Since I need a guest star for my concert, I might as well give the chance to my son." Dubbed the Movie-Fan Princess, her body of work numbers more than 230 films, including martial arts flicks, traditional Cantonese opera and contemporary youth musicals. Chan's adoptive parents Chan Fei Nung and Kung Fan Hung were Cantonese opera stars and she started learning the craft from them at the age of five and a half. After retiring from showbusiness, Chan got married in 1974 to Jimmy Yeung, who was studying in the United States when they met. They divorced in 1982 and he later died from heart disease. She returned to the entertainment scene in 1999 in Sentimental Journey, a stage production based on the life of her Cantonese opera teacher Yam Kim Fai. She rules out making movies again, though, "because it's not so easy now and I can't adapt". Theatre might be tough, but at least the rehearsal hours are fixed, she adds. While she might be known for her male roles, she has never had female fans professing their love for her. "They understood that idols were idols and they would never cross the line." Chan answers some questions: What do you do to stay in shape? I usually sleep very early, by 10 plus or 11pm, and wake up just past six and go for exercise. I would do half an hour of stretching and then walk for about 30 minutes in the park near where I live. The lazier you are and the less exercise you do, the more tired you feel. I eat simple food, nothing too heavy. I have fruits and soup for breakfast. Why did you decide to make a comeback in 1999? I never thought of entering the spotlight again, but I enjoyed watching stage dramas and, after a while, I really got into it. So producer-director Clifton Ko asked if I was interested in acting in one. My heart was itching, so I said yes. At first I was worried, but I was happy doing it. Plus, the box office was good. Sentimental Journey ran for 100 nights and the audience reaction was great and that was a huge stimulus for me. What advice did you give your son when he entered showbiz? I told him: 'I hope you will finish your university studies before entering the entertainment industry. It's a long and tough road, you must be mentally prepared for it. I can't help you because I have no connections as I'm not making films now.' He's old enough to have his own dreams. How has the industry changed since? During my time, as long as you were willing to work hard, you'll get the chance to make it. Things are more complicated now. But back then, they would bully you if you didn't get top billing. For example, the company car would pick you up first and send you home last. Also, roles would get switched around at the last minute and you would get very disappointed. You had to be very strong. I made my way film by film. I started out as someone's daughter or son, then sister, then became the second lead. When I made top billing, I knew I had to be nice to those who were ranked lower and continue to be humble. What do you see as your biggest achievements? I have a son by my side and my friends are very good to me. My regret is that I don't have a daughter, but I have one now since Dexter got married. How do you get along with your son and your non-showbiz daughter-in-law Ng Man San? My relationship with my son is very good. I had asked my son and his wife if they had wanted to move out after their marriage. But he did not want to as I would be alone after my mother had died. As for maintaining good relations between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the important thing is to be considerate towards each other and respect each other. We get along like friends and that's how it should be. I'm not in a rush to have a grandchild, either. I told them that they should enjoy their cosy two-person world a little more first. How was your own relationship with your mother? Although she was not my birth mother, she really took care of me. I didn't even know she had died in February last year as I was performing that night. At that time, I was very upset and demanded to know why no one had informed me. I really miss her as we're very close. So now in my house, there's a corner with her photo and I would speak to her every day and read to her the Buddhist Heart Sutra. There's also a picture of her by my bedside and I would tell her about my day before going to sleep. It doesn't quite feel like she has left. How would you like to be remembered? Just like a family member, as real and sincere as one. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| James Franco is glad to push the boundries Posted: 04 Aug 2011 12:02 AM PDT DETROIT (Detroit Free Press/MCT): Some performers stick to a plain diet of predictable choices. James Franco approaches life as a feast of opportunities. The 33-year-old actor has appeared in superhero movies, broad comedies, socially relevant dramas, small art films and a TV soap opera. He's studied at a bunch of colleges. He writes. He paints. He directs. He's involved in avant-garde art projects and electronic music. "I only work on things that I'm passionate about," says Franco by phone from Pontiac, Michigan, of his artistic multitasking. And did you see him co host the Oscars in February and follow the media-driven obsession over how he did? The guy is fearless. Franco is currently in Detroit to make Oz: The Great And Powerful, which will call the new Raleigh Michigan Studios in Pontiac home for the rest of the year. But right now, he's talking apes. Specifically, a new ape movie with state-of-the-art technology and a dramatic story arc. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes takes him in a decidedly science-fiction direction. It's a prequel of sorts to 1968's Planet Of The Apes starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut stranded in a world ruled by talking chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The reboot has a grabby trailer -- complete with glimpses of rebellious apes on the Golden Gate Bridge -- that shows just how impressive current special effects are. The film already is getting attention for the dazzling work of Weta Digital, the visual effects company behind Avatar and The Lord Of The Rings, and performance-capture actor Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar, a super-intelligent chimp. But just as intriguing is the presence of Franco, who often leads his audience to interesting places. Here, he plays Will Rodman, a scientist trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer's, the disease ravaging his father (John Lithgow). When his research is shut down, Will winds up taking care of baby Caesar, whose mother was a lab subject, and forms a paternal bond with the cute primate. Will meets a primatologist (Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire) who becomes a key part of the story. With good intentions, he continues his drug experiments with Caesar, who grows into a remarkably gifted chimp. But things go awry when Caesar is moved to a supposed ape sanctuary that's really a virtual prison. Cue the revolutionary battle teased in the previews. This isn't Franco's first brush with ape movies. He co wrote, directed and starred in 2005's The Ape, about a writer who moves into an apartment that comes with a talking, shirt-wearing gorilla. "Both movies push boundaries of what a realistic ape could do, giving them more human qualities than a normal ape would have," says Franco. "That pushing of the boundaries of reality is possible because they are so close to us. In movies and books or whatever, they're great metaphors or analogies to how we are and who we are and how we treat each other." Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes is set in modern-day San Francisco and, like many sci-fi romps, is grounded in issues of the day, in this case, the moral complexities of scientific research. "I am optimistic about science," says Franco. "The experiments that we're pretending to do in this film are to cure Alzheimer's. I think that's fine. What's questionable about the way the scientists in the film are working is how they treat the animals, how they test the animals, how disposable they are." In real life, Franco doesn't take care of any chimps, but he does brag about his two cats. "They're very loving and have great personalities. Said like a true cat owner," he notes with a laugh. Since his breakthrough role on Freaks And Geeks, the 1999-2000 NBC series about a fictional Detroit-area high school, Franco has tackled a wide variety of parts. He got an Emmy nomination for playing James Dean in a 2001 TV movie. He nabbed an Oscar nomination for playing a trapped climber in 2010's 127 Hours. He played a pot dealer in 2008's Pineapple Express, poet Allen Ginsberg in 2010's Howl and the sexy boyfriend Julia Roberts leaves behind for a globe-spanning tour in 2010's Eat Pray Love. And it's not just acting that keeps him busy. Franco's penchant for delving into all sorts of creative endeavors is so well-known that he's talked at length about his Renaissance man image with Stephen Colbert _ and appeared as Frank Jameso, his "twin brother" -- on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. When asked about his many interests, he politely makes it clear that he's not collecting hobbies like coffee mugs. He explains that the pursuits he's been working on lately are things he's been interested in since he was a teenager. Recently, he says, "I started taking them much more seriously and went to a bunch of graduate programs. Before people started talking about it, I was still working on these things for years and years and years. It might seem like, oh, every week, there's something new that I'm doing. I see all of these things as related in one way or another. What I'm doing, each thing I have been working on for a long time, so it's not as if, oh, I'll just try that." One of his most talked-about choices is appearing as performance artist/psychotic killer Robert (Franco) Frank on ABC's General Hospital. While he says he has "plans to do other stuff" with his friends there, he doesn't know where last week's announcement that he'll return to the soap in late September came from. "I have not shot any material for that and I'm going to be doing Oz, so I really don't know. It could happen, but right now, I don't have any material to give them, so I don't know what they're talking about." And, of course, he is no stranger to blockbuster movies. As Peter Parker's pal Harry Osborn, Franco was in all three Spider-Man movies directed by Sam Raimi. He says Raimi, who's directing Oz, is a big part of why he took the lead role in that movie, which co stars Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Zach Braff. "I think we both felt like we didn't get a chance to do everything that we were capable of while collaborating, so this is our chance," he says, describing his first week of filming as great. As he settles into life in Detroit, Franco is still contemplating what he wants to do while he's here. He says he's been in touch with people at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and might work with some students there. "I went and saw that campus. It was really nice," he says. "I actually applied there a year ago, for the art school. I think I got in. But most of my life is farther east, so it was easier to go to a different school." Franco was in Detroit last year for the filming of an avant-garde project by contemporary artist Matthew Barney, which involved a 185-foot barge, a 1967 Chrysler, live snakes and more enigmatic imagery. And so far, he seems happy to be back. "What I've been hearing a lot, from people both in Detroit, New York and L.A. and even people from London, they say that a lot of young artists seem to be moving to Detroit. It's just kind of in the air that this is a hot area for artists, so it's kind of cool to be here when it seems like a lot of people are looking to Detroit as a new artistic location." What will Franco's presence in Detroit mean for the art community? Fasten your seatbelts. It could be a creative ride. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Academy defends Winfrey as honorary Oscar winner Posted: 03 Aug 2011 06:57 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (AP): Film academy president Tom Sherak is coming to Oprah Winfrey's defense. Sherak says Winfrey is "one of the most philanthropic performers in the world" and thus deserving of the academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday night to present Winfrey with an Oscar statuette at the annual Governors Awards in November. James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Smith will also receive honorary Oscars at the private ceremony. Blogs have been abuzz with criticism over the selection of Winfrey for the award since the announcement was made late Tuesday. In an article published Wednesday, Los Angeles Times columnist Patrick Goldstein calls the academy decision "a boneheaded move." "Winfrey has done good work in the world, but that's not enough to merit an Oscar," he writes, and plenty of anonymous Internet posters on Wednesday agree. Sherak says the Hersholt Award recognizes an individual who "exemplifies giving back to the community, the world, society in an extraordinary way." "Oprah has given and given and given," he said, adding that she has contributed more than $500 million of her own money to charitable causes. "She's a member of the academy, she was nominated for an Academy Award and she has produced movies. This is not about personality. This is about a person who has come from the depths, risen to the heights and given back. That's a perfect example of why this award was created." The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was established shortly after the death of the actor in 1956. Previous winners include Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Quincy Jones and Jerry Lewis. The award is presented periodically when the academy's board of governors believes there is a worthy recipient, Sherak said. Goldstein and Deadline.com's Nikki Finke say Winfrey belongs more to the world of television than that of film. She was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for 1985's "The Color Purple," produced and appeared in "Beloved" in 1998 and was an executive producer of 2009's "Precious." Finke asks in her post if "no one among the philanthropic film bigwigs deserved this award more than her this year? Or is this merely a matter of another of the rich and powerful just throwing their weight around and buying the Governors Award honor for ego feed?" Sherak said many philanthropists belong to the film academy, but its governors "felt very strongly" about honoring Winfrey this year despite her limited work in film. "We have a lot of people who are TV people who have made movies," he said. "It doesn't matter that they do other things... She is definitely one of us. What really counts is her contribution to humanity." Goldstein suggests that race played a role in the academy's decision to honor the 57-year-old media mogul: "It is a way of guaranteeing that some people of color will be taking home Academy Awards, even if the honors aren't actually presented on Oscar night." Jones and Smith will receive their honorary Oscars alongside Winfrey at the Nov. 12 ceremony at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland. The two men are being recognized for their outstanding film careers. Jones has appeared in more than 50 films. The 80-year-old actor - voice of Darth Vader - was nominated for an Academy Award in 1971 for "The Great White Hope." His other credits include "Field of Dreams," ''Patriot Games" and "The Hunt for Red October." Smith was NBC's first makeup man when he started his career in 1945. He won an Oscar in 1984 for his work on "Amadeus" and was nominated again in 1989 for "Dad." Known as the "godfather of makeup," he also worked on "The Godfather," ''The Exorcist" and "Taxi Driver." Smith also helped train many of today's top movie makeup artists. The Governors Awards are not televised, but excerpts from the evening could be included in the Academy Awards telecast in February, 2012. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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