Archive for January 8th, 2010
Getting hitched and having kids are among Hugh Grant’s New Year’s resolutions for 2010, the British film star said Thursday in an interview with Spanish television.
“I have some resolutions like losing some pounds. I also need to get married and have children. I need a new house,” he told the evening news
broadcast of private television Telecinco.
The 49-year-old actor, in Spain to promote his new movie “Did You Hear About The Morgans?”, his first film in more than two years, added he was “flirting” with two new projects.
“Neither are romantic comedies. One involves animals and the other involves music. I just need to pluck up the courage to do them,” he said.
The “Bridget Jones Diary” star has had a string of companions including Elizabeth Hurley and Jemima Khan but has never been married.
Earlier Thursday Grant joked during an interview with the online edition of daily newspaper El Mundo that he had changed from a “young, loveable man full of hope and enthusiasm” to “an old alcoholic” since he filmed “Rowing with the Wind” in Spain over two decades ago.
Last month he confessed he was drunk when bought a 1960s painting by Andy Warhol of Elizabeth Taylor at an auction for two million pounds. He sold it six years later for 13 million pounds.
The glitz and glamour of Bollywood come alive on stage at the Esplanade Theatre when theatrical dance spectacular, “The Merchants of Bollywood”, hits Singapore on January 12.
Written and directed by Toby Gough, the Australian production has garnered critical acclaim the world over for its energetic dance routines, colourful costumes and its gifted leads Carol Furtado and Dipender Singh.
The US$2.8 million production follows the journey of Ayesha Merchant (Furtado), a young Indian girl whose family members are the keepers of the classical Karthak dance form. Brought up by her grandfather, Shantilal, and trained in Kathak, Ayesha harbours a secret desire for the bright lights of Bollywood.
Despite her grandfather’s objections, Ayesha chooses to leave everything behind, even her childhood sweetheart Uday (Singh), to pursue her Bollywood dreams.
This dance musical is loosely based on the lives of the real life Merchant family, a family of musicians, film-makers and choreographers who have greatly influenced the development of Bollywood. However, it resonated with Furtado and Singh, who felt that the story is about something much more profound than a runaway girl.
“The story is about what India is today. There are always going to be people who stick with tradition and there are people who are modern. Sometimes the two do not agree,” said Singh in an e-mail interview.
“I feel the story has a very universal appeal; the next generation trying to free itself of the practices of the previous one and leave its own mark on the world,” added Furtado.
She went on to reveal that she could relate to her stage persona as her family did not support her decision to become a dancer when she started out.
“It took a long time for my family to accept my dancing,” she said.
Practise, Practise, Practise
Getting ready for a large-scale stage production like “Merchants” is no easy task. It takes a lot of work to make sure everything goes smoothly after the curtain rises. One of the biggest challenges Furtado and Singh faced in the beginning was to pick up classical dance to play their roles.
“Like all classical dance forms, form is very important; dancers take years to become fairly accomplished at any traditional dance form. And here I was expected to portray this journey of the classically trained Ayesha to Bollywood dance while having a reverse journey myself of contemporary to classical dance!” Furtado said.
“It just takes time to practise as each state has their style of traditional dance,” said Singh.
And practise they did. The cast have to endure gruelling rehearsals that lasted from four to six hours, for every single performance.
“We definitely push our bodies to its limit,” she said, adding that they sometimes even had to rehearse and perform in sub-zero temperatures.
“Rehearsals for me are not as intense as they were a few years ago. Back then it was at least six hours a day. It can get a little intense but it’s great fun learning new moves,” said Singh.
Unfortunately for Furtado and the rest of the female cast, things will not get very much easier as they still have to contend with dancing in their heavy, elaborate costumes. Singh had described the costumes for the female performers as “all very beautiful”, but beauty comes at a price.
“The heavy outfits and accessories worn in the show become quite a hindrance while dancing,” said Furtado.
“There have been times when I needed to be on my knees and I’ve gone down too hard landing on the beads, stones, sequins of my skirt,” she lamented. “Some stories are best left backstage!”
The twin leads of “Merchants” may live and breathe dance, but for now, they have something other than dance on their minds as they prepare to perform in Singapore.
“It’s been many years since I first visited Singapore and so much has changed since then. Like most girls I’m looking forward to the shopping!” said Furtado.
“I am very eager to try the local cuisine as I’ve heard a lot about it from friends,” she added.
Singh shared her sentiments.
“I love food and I will be trying everything, so no strict diet for me while I’m in Singapore,” he said.
“The Merchants Of Bollywood” runs from January 12 to 17 at the Esplanade Theatre.
Charlie Chaplin is to be brought to life as a cartoon character via an Indian-French collaboration that will see the legendary British comedian featured in an animated television series.
DQ Entertainment, an animation and special effects firm based in the southern city of Hyderabad, says it is to reproduce the entertainer’s slapstick in 3D and computer-generated images for television.
The eight-million-euro (11.5-million-dollar) project is a joint venture with French media groups Method Animation and MK2, according to the companies.
Further details were set to be announced by DQ Entertainment at a press conference in Mumbai on Friday.
DQ and Method Animation will make a total of 104 six-minute episodes in India and France, Method’s chairman Aton Soumache told AFP in Paris last November.
The animated shorts – aimed at children aged six and above – will not have any dialogue and are set to hit screens from early next year.
“We’ve been working for more than a year on the graphics concept to find an original way of adapting Chaplin’s world,” said Soumache.
“It won’t be a realistic portrayal but more like a puppet in an offbeat universe. We’ll put him in modern situations but at the same keeping his poetic, child-like view of the world with a retro feel.”
The episodes have been inspired by sketches and gags culled from some 70 short films made by Chaplin involving his trademark bowler-hatted vagabond character sporting a toothbrush moustache, ill-fitting suit and twirling cane.
But there will also be original content, Soumache added.
London-born Chaplin, who died in 1977, is recognised as one of the most influential and recognisable comic actors and directors of the silent film period.
His most famous works include “The Kid” (1921), “The Gold Rush” (1925), “City Lights” (1931), “Modern Times” (1936) and “The Great Dictator” (1940).
Discussions are ongoing to show the series in France from 2011 as well as in Britain and Germany, Soumache said.
DQ Entertainment has worked with a number of high-profile studios and production houses, including Nickelodeon, The Disney Group, Cartoon Network and a host of international broadcasters.
The Indian firm has a 20 per cent stake in Method and has previously worked with them on computer-animated adaptations of French children’s classics “Le Petit Prince” (The Little Prince) and “Le Petit Nicolas” (Little Nicolas).
MK2 is one of France’s biggest independent film companies and owns the international rights to the Chaplin films, which it has restored and reissued on DVD and in cinemas.
The Chaplin estate gave its permission for the project, which MK2 hopes will allow new generations to discover the comic genius.
India’s Business Standard newspaper said Thursday that funds for the projects will be raised by a share offering from DQ Entertainment.
The financial daily said DQ hoped to raise 1.5 billion rupees (32 million dollars) by divesting nearly 25 per cent of the company’s equity in an initial public offering.
An additional 620 million rupees would be raised from internal sources and bank loans, it added.
Animation and special effects have become a growth market in India, as the domestic film industry, including Bollywood, turns to more modern production methods.
The trend has led to the creation of a number of specialist companies, who are being increasingly used by Hollywood and other foreign studios because of their lower costs.
Home-grown computer-generated television series based on Hindu epics like “Ramayana” and “The Mahabharat” have proved popular.
Disney worked with India’s Yash Raj Films last year on a full-length animation feature, “Roadside Romeo”, although the movie flopped at the box office.
India’s animation and special effects industry is expected to be worth 23.3 billion rupees this year and is expected to grow to 39.4 billion rupees by 2013, consultants KPMG said last year.
The animation sector is projected to grow by 21.9 per cent in the five years to 2013, it added in a report on the media and entertainment industry for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Julio Iglesias will perform in Australia and four Asian nations later this year as part of his “Starry Night” world tour, the Spanish singer’s official website said Thursday.
The 66-year-old Grammy winner will kick off his tour of the region with a concert in Manila on March 20 followed by three performances in Australia — in Sydney, Hunter Valley and Melbourne — between March 26 and 29.
He will then perform in Kuala Lumpur on April 1 and in three Japanese cities — Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya — between April 5 and 12.
Iglesias, the biggest-selling Latino recording artist in history, will wrap up his tour of Asia with a concert in Seoul on April 17.
“The tour is focused on the emblematic songs of the artist, songs dedicated to his fans around the world, in gratitude for their unconditional love,” his website said.
In 1985, Iglesias was honoured with a star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame and three years later he received a Grammy Award for best Latin singer with his album “Un Hombre Solo”.
He has released nearly 80 albums which have sold around 300 million copies over his four-decade-long singing career.
In addition to Spanish, Iglesias has recorded albums in German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Tagalog and Japanese.