Limelight

By Alvin I. Dacanay Taklub (Trap), the latest film of celebrated actress Nora Aunor that is helmed by her equally acclaimed Thy Womb director Brillante Ma. Mendoza, will have its world premiere at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival next month, it was announced late last week.

By Arvin T. Ello / Correspondent Two years after it wowed audiences as a one-act play staged at the ninth edition of the Virgin Labfest, graphic novelist Carlo Vergara’s Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady is set to return next month as a full-length musical produced by Manila’s newest theater company Dalanghita Productions, in cooperation with the Philippine Educational Theater …

Thirty-five young men will vie for the four major titles at stake in the inaugural edition of the Mister United Continents Philippines pageant, which will be held at Tanghalang Pasigueño in Pasig City on April 14.

Los Angeles—On the surface, Insurgent, with its dystopian setting and teenage heroine, might just seem like another by-the-numbers young adult tale. Look a little closer and it’s clear that this second installment isn’t merely capitalizing on a popular genre, but, with its half-dozen female leads and supporting characters, actually represents a subtle subversion of what audiences have been taught action …

By Mark Kennedy / The Associated Press New York—Tony Award winner and The Voice of the Philippines coach Lea Salonga will join the cast of Star Trek actor George Takei’s musical Allegiance on Broadway, its producers announced last Thursday (last Friday in Manila).

By Alvin I. Dacanay The Philippine entertainment industry is mourning the death of showbiz luminary and Movie and Television Review and Classification Board member Liezl Martinez, the only daughter of veteran stars Amalia Fuentes and Romeo Vasquez and wife of actor-director Albert Martinez, who lost her eight-year battle with cancer—first, Stage 3 breast cancer; later, Stage 4 lung cancer—last Saturday.

By Teresa Cerojano / The Associated Press Tony award-winning actress and The Voice of the Philippines coach Lea Salonga says talks have not yet been finalized on her joining the cast of Star Trek actor George Takei’s musical Allegiance on Broadway, but added that it is a show she wants to be a part of.

Lindsey Bahr / The Associated Press Los Angeles—Things started to come into focus for Will Smith when After Earth bombed. Once the biggest movie stars in the world, his $130-million sci-fi spectacle After Earth opened in June 2013 to a lousy $27.5 million and would only go on to make up less than half of its production budget, domestically, by …

Story and photo by Alvin I. Dacanay Actress and political activist Mae Paner, better known as satirist and local YouTube sensation Juana Change, returns to the stage this month as the longtime mayor of a small town in Pinatay si Mayor!, a satirical musical that will close the current theater season of the De La Salle University Harlequin Theatre Guild …

Los Angeles—Ahead of the 87th Academy Awards on Sunday night (Monday morning in Manila), Associated Press film writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr share their predictions for a glittering ceremony that could be a nail-biter.