Limelight

‘Insurgent’ women break action mold

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 …

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Lea Salonga will join ‘Allegiance’ on Broadway this fall

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).

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Liezl Martinez dies at 47

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.

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Salonga to return to Broadway with ‘Allegiance’?

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.

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Will Smith enters a new phase, learns to ‘quiet the warrior’

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 …

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Juana Change topbills DLSU satirical musical

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 …

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‘Birdman,’ ‘Boyhood’ to battle it out for top Oscar, pundits say

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.

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Actress Concepcion: I’ll fight for my son!

By Alvin I. Dacanay Actress and former beauty queen Alma Concepcion expressed anew her determination to fight for her 14-year-old son Richard “Cobie” Puno’s rights after lambasting her ex-partner Rodolfo “Dody” Puno, former executive director of the Department of Public Works and Highways’s Road Board and a member of the politically prominent Puno family, for failing to financially support their …

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Kenny G eyes traditional jazz radio, Hollywood

The biggest-selling instrumental artist of the modern era is recognized worldwide—particularly in China—for his smooth saxophone skills and trademark mop of curly hair. Sure, he’s long been a punchline for South Park and musical purists, but generally laughs off criticism with his own self-deprecating humor.

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Asia eyes Oscar glitz, glamour, even as its own films are absent

Louise Watt / The Associated Press Beijing—Asia will be tuning in to the Oscars and its glitz and glamour, even though the region’s films are missing from the shortlists.

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