Channing Tatum is one busy man

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Channing Tatum has been enjoying a stellar rise to movie stardom over the last few years, and even if White House Down isn't the explosive hit he's hoping for, his career is showing no signs of flaming out any time toon.

While White House, Roland Emmerich's US$150 million exercise in the art of CGI destruction, is only on track to rake in around US$30 million at the domestic box office this weekend, Tatum has at least three other potential moneymakers in some level of production.

The biggest of the three, at least in size and scope, is Jupiter Ascending, the next sci-fi spectacular from Matrix directors Lana and Andy Wachowski.

Tatum stars opposite Mila Kunis in Warner Bros.' summer 2014 release, which follows a destitute woman (Kunis) targeted for assassination by the Queen of the Universe because her very existence threatens to end the Queen's reign over the cosmos. Tatum will expand his action star power as a genetically engineered ex-military hunter who arrives on Earth to track Kunis down.

Although Tatum's showbiz success has been steadily increasing since he made young women swoon as a troubled breakdancing janitor in 2006's Step Up, the 33 year old proved his comedic chops in last year's breakout comedy hit, 21 Jump Street, which he also executive produced.

Following a hilarious cameo in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's This Is The End, Tatum hopes comedy fans will once again flock to see him go undercover alongside Jonah Hill in 22 Jump Street - another project that should assure Tatum has a strong summer showing next year.

And just as Tatum proved his worth as a funny person, Foxcatcher - a wrestling drama based on a tragic true story - should elevate his thespian status in the eyes of the most serious filmmakers.

Tatum stars in Moneyball director Bennet Miller's next film as Olympic Wrestling Champion Mark Schultz, whose brother, Olympic Champion Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), is killed by paranoid schizophrenic John duPont (Steve Carell). Columbia Pictures is releasing the Annapurna Pictures production on October 15.

Tatum is also busy building his producing credits, which began with the 2010 documentary Earth Made Of Glass, followed by the 2011 ensemble high school reunion flick, 10 Years. Tatum's company, 33andOut Productions, is developing Peter Pan origin adventure, Neverland, which Gavin O'Connor (Warrior) will direct for Sony Pictures.

Most recently, Tatum has set his ambitions toward making it on the small screen, too. He is attached to executive produce a television pilot written by actor Nick Zano. Still untitled, the project is in very early stages of development at Warner Bros. Television. The half-hour, multi-camera comedy is based on Zano's own experience being raised in a multi-generational house of seven women in New Jersey.

Still want more Tatum? Cross your fingers 20th Century Fox can close a deal with him to appear alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the theatrical adaptation of classic musical, Guys And Dolls.

So with a bevy of projects on the heels of release, entering production, or graduating from development, the Magic Mike star's future appears to be brighter than a strobe light flashing in a Florida strip club.

MJ's son, Prince to testify in pop star's wrongful death suit

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Prince Jackson, the eldest son of late pop star Michael Jackson, is expected to testify on Wednesday in the wrongful death suit filed by his family against concert promoter AEG Live, a Jackson family attorney said.

Lawyers for the Jackson family will call Prince Jackson, 16, to the stand four years and one day after the King of Pop died from a drug overdose, attorney Perry Sanders said on Tuesday.



Prince was 12 when Jackson died from an overdose of surgical anesthetic propofol while the singer rehearsed in Los Angeles for a series of comeback concerts in London in 2009.

AEG Live executives, Jackson's personal chef and the choreographer for his aborted This Is It concert series, are among those who have testified at the trial, which began in April.

Witnesses have painted a picture of the singer's final months. They testified Jackson, 50, had grown so weak he had difficulty executing dance moves and remembering song lyrics.

The Thriller singer's mother, Katherine, is suing privately held AEG Live, which was promoting Jackson's This Is It concerts, for negligence in hiring Dr. Conrad Murray as his personal physician.
Murray was caring for the singer as he prepared for the shows. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011.

Prince will follow expert witness Gordon Matheson, a physician, who testified that Murray had a conflict of interest while caring for Jackson because Murray's heavy debts and monthly salary from AEG Live would bias his care of the singer.

AEG Live has said it did not hire or supervise Murray and argues that Jackson had prescription drug and addiction problems for years before entering into any agreement with the company.

AEG Live also has said they could not have foreseen that Murray posed a danger to Jackson.

Katherine Jackson, 83, along with the singer's three children - Prince, Paris and Blanket - are listed as plaintiffs in the case.

Earlier this month, Jackson's 15-year-old daughter Paris was rushed to the hospital after a suicide attempt, forcing Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff to order a court investigation into the teenager's "health, education and welfare."

Perry Sanders, Katherine Jackson's attorney, said on Tuesday that Beckloff had reviewed the report on the investigation into Paris' welfare, and would not be making any changes in Jackson's children's living situation.

"In light of all current circumstances and the special investigator's report, we agreed with the judge that appropriate decisions are being made regarding care of all three children, and no further action is required," Sanders said in a statement.

Style amidst the smog

When the two Mayas meet: Actress Maya Karin (right) strikes a pose with Melinda Looi’s daughter Maya for a campaign shot, dressed in modern baju kurung.

The hazy climate does not deter Melinda Looi from her hectic work schedule.

WHEN I looked out of the window this morning, it almost felt as if I were holidaying in Cameron Highlands or Genting Highlands. Unfortunately, the truth is far less romantic.

It’s the haze, which usually comes around this time of the year. It’s approaching mid-year and many from the West will be on their summer holidays soon.

Tourists, no doubt, will want to explore the outdoors while children will clamour to run around in the parks. It would be a real shame if their activities were curtailed because of the air pollution.

For now, my children are locked up indoors. Mika is asthmatic and therefore, reacting quite badly to the haze. I, too, am not feeling good and most of my colleagues are coughing badly.

Since the haze has come upon us, we don’t open our windows or doors because it is so visible, and can be smelt too. Fortunately, we have air conditioners at home which are on all day.

But I can’t help thinking of those who can’t afford this, or people who have to work outdoors. How are they meant to cope?

What’s worse is there is nothing we can do about this but to pray for rain to come and wash away the pollutants.

Onto a more positive topic, my 3D show took place last week. And it was amazing, not according to me, but the audience.

Or course, we were pleased as punch, even though there were parts I wished had worked the way I wanted.

Still, I think everything turned out well, especially since the team put the show together in less than three months, and on a part-time basis too.

After the show, we received invitations to participate in other 3D shows and there’s even a possibility of some of our items being installed in an art museum. To me, this would be a dream come true!

But the pace has not slackened. One show down, I have another on the way. I’m talking about my Raya show. This one, however, is something I’ve done every year, so I’m quite confident of it.

By the time you read this, the showcase will be over.

I’d like to thank Ida Nerina for agreeing to help us direct it, and injecting it with a twist.

Ida came up with the idea of filming Malaysian celebrities wearing our outfits on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, and then projecting these clips (in black and white) onto the backdrop while the celebs walk out as if they were emerging from these streets. I thought it was a brilliant idea and went with it.

Fortunately, it wasn’t hazy when we did the shoot, otherwise our effort would have been ruined.

I had approached my celeb friends to brainstorm for ideas for the show at the very last minute. I sent SMS-es to Low Ngai Yuen and Ida, both of whom agreed to meet up.

We did so that very night, and my two crazy friends hatched the entire concept of the show there and then. There is just something about artistic people and tight deadlines producing genius brainwaves!

For the show, Ida and Low brought together Aby Latif as assistant director and producer, Farinie Mat Isa (to assist Abby), and videographers Gloria Kurnik, Felicia Lee and Johan Saly. I would like to thank them for their time and efforts, which was for a good cause as proceeds from this collection will be channelled towards charity. This is something I intend to do every year from now.

We were blessed with two hot and sunny days of shooting. Our celeb models were Aishah Sinclair, Dira Abu Zahar, Datuk Yasmin Yusuff, Ning Baizura, Tania Khan and Melissa Saila, who were very professional and absolutely rocked Chow Kit, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and the Maju Junction area.

I must say the idea of using celebs to model the outfits was good as they looked sensational in the Raya For Her collection under my ‘emel’ by Melinda Looi label.

For our showcase, we also had fabulous performances by my artiste friends – violinist Dennis Lau, singer cum actress Crystal Lee, singer Noryn Aziz, and actress-singer Maya Karin, whom we used as the face for our Raya collection shoot (my own Maya adores her).

The guest designer for our hijab/tudung collection is celebrity Diana Amir. The Diana Amir X emel by Melinda Looi was launched on the same stage and same day as my Raya collection. Diana was so kind to pull together a team of celebs and bloggers to model the hijab collection.

As Raya is upon us, I wish for everyone to be blessed with a great life, and to our Muslim friends, have a great time preparing for the festive occasion.

Award-winning fashion designer Melinda Looi tries to marry consumerism and materialism with environmental consciousness, and believes her greatest creations are her children. Follow her on Facebook or write in to star2@thestar.com.my.

Stage front

Stop and stare: OneRepublic, led by main man Ryan Tedder (front), to bring the party to Sunway Lagoon’s Surf Beach in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, on Oct 31.

Linkin Park, Yuna and OneRepublic are set for concerts in Malaysia.

IF you’ve had enough of hipster-infested music festivals, K-pop music extravaganzas and the lack of full-length concerts heading our way, then you’re in for a treat. Well, make that three. Recently, American rock band Linkin Park announced it will be returning to Malaysia for a concert.

The band is bringing its Living Things World Tour to the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 19.

Formed in 1996, the Californian band rose to fame with the release of its debut album Hybrid Theory (2000). The best-selling album spawned hit singles like Crawling, Papercut, In The End, and One Step Closer. The band’s latest album Living Things, released last year, debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 charts in the United States.

Fans can look forward to seeing vocalist Chester Bennington, drummer/percussionist Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, deejay Joe Hahn and co-vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda for a night of rocking mayhem in Bukit Jalil.

This is the band’s second appearance in Malaysia. In 2003, the band played a concert at Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur for over 25,000 fans.

Tickets for Linkin Park’s Living Things World Tour in Malaysia are available through www.ticketcharge.com.my.

After Linkin Park, fans can also look forward to Los Angeles-based Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna returning home for three orchestra-backed shows (Sept 6-8) at Istana Budaya in KL.

Yuna, who kickstarted her major label career (Verve Records) in the US earlier this year, already has her Sixth Street digital EP and new single I  Wanna Go gaining attention in the global pop scene. Any homecoming gigs by this indie darling are bound to be sold-out affairs. More info: www.istanabudaya.gov.my.

OneRepublic’s first proper show in Malaysia is another treat. The American pop-rock band will play Sunway Lagoon’s Surf Beach, Petaling Jaya, Selangor on Oct 31. Formed in 2002, the band consists of vocalist Ryan Tedder, guitarist Zach Filkins, bassist Drew Brown, drummer Eddie Fisher and keyboardist Brent Kutzle.

The band’s debut album Dreaming Out Loud in 2007 featured hit singles Apologize and Stop And Stare. OneRepublic also appeared at the MTV Asia Awards in Genting in 2008.

The upcoming show is set to showcase material from its latest album Native, which has a more dance-orientated groove.

Tickets to OneRepublic’s Native Tour stop in Malaysia are available at www.ticketpro.com.my.

In other concert news, R&B star Alicia Keys is due to play a concert in Kuala Lumpur in November. More details soon. – Angelin Yeoh

Top tips for flashers

Some celebrities have found that not all erotic ensembles look great on the outside.

 

NOT all erotic ensembles look great when worn on the outside; some celebs have learned this the hard way when they were caught roaming on territoire vulgaire. 

A repeat offender seems to be Lady Gaga, who’s been photographed several times prancing down the streets sans pants. Her reasoning: “My grandmother is basically blind, but she can make out the lighter parts, like my skin and hair. She says, ‘I can see you, because you have no pants on.’ So I’ll continue to wear no pants so that my grandma can see me.”
Here are a few pointers on how go inside-out without letting your dignity slide:

Mix and match

Who says lingerie-inspired pieces should only be worn in the evenings? It may be a lot bolder than your average v-neckT-shirt, but you can totally wear them in a low-key setting with the right accessories. A pair of acid-washed jeans and Mary Jane pumps, for instance, will make a lacy camisole totally day-friendly.

Sexy, not slutty

To avoid looking like a streetwalker, you need to learn how to balance your outfit. “If your top is overly sexy, make sure your bottom is covered, and vice-versa,” says Joanne Kam. “The last thing you want to do is look cheap in your outfit.”

Be creative

There are various ways to wear a piece. For example, you can wear a slip as a dress (if it’s sheer, add another slip underneath) or let it peek out from under a skirt. The pretty edging is a nice detail and the right slip will give your skirt some petticoat-like volume.

Playing safe is OK

There’s nothing wrong with being shy. However, stylist Max Mak believes that it doesn’t have to stop you from getting in on the trend. His advice: “Invest in a skin-colour sleeved T-shirt. Wearing a corset on top of it makes you look instantly trendy.” And, you don’t even have to bare your skin!

coor Club. The Sacoor Club card entitles clients – categorised as platinum, gold or silver members – to several benefits including discounts, special promotions and free tailoring.
“The opening of our second store in Malaysia indicates the brand’s success, only within four months since we made our presence felt in the country,” enthused Moez Sacoor, marketing director of Sacoor Brothers. He is the youngest of four brothers who started the business.
“This gives us absolute confidence in the Malaysian market and further encourages us to strive for more stores in the country. We are also catering to the tourists and our loyal customers from overseas who are in Malaysia either for a visit or on business. More stores translate into accessibility, so if you’re not back at home, you can still get your Sacoor Brothers apparel here,” said Moez in a press release.
He added: “Apart from our casual wear, we are quite the experts in suits and we definitely see a growing appreciation of suits in Malaysia. I am confident that through our expertise and positioning of the Sacoor Brothers brand, we will be able to constantly offer our clients fine and timeless wear, accompanied by the excellent assistance of our floor staff.”
The first Sacoor Brothers store was opened in November 1989 in Lisbon. Today, there are over 60 boutiques across the globe in countries like Spain, Britain, Belgium and Kuwait. – William K.C. Kee

Bling it on

By CHARLOTTE HIGGINS


All grown up: Although she starred in eight Harry Potter movies, Emma Watson has moved past the role of Hermione Granger, which made her a household name.

Emma Watson is keen to step away from her past at Hogwarts – but not to jump on to the celebrity rollercoaster.

IF the Harry Potter franchise was one of the most overwhelming cinematic phenomena of recent history, the films’ plucky Hermione, Emma Watson, shows no sign of being swamped by her past.

The actor’s latest foray beyond Hogwarts sees her as part of a young ensemble cast for Sofia Coppola’s latest work, The Bling Ring, which opened the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section back in May.

Speaking before the premiere, Watson said: “Harry Potter feels like such a long time ago; so much has happened in the last three or four years, but obviously it’s still very present, it’s still being played in people’s living rooms. I’m not trying to run away from it ... but it’s that I’ve had such an amazing three or four years having a chance to transform into new roles and work with new creative people.”

Watson, who also took a role in 2011’s My Week With Marilyn and will appear in Darren Aronofsky’s biblical epic Noah, added that she had relished the chance to work in a freer fashion: “I am used to really having to stick to my lines because people know them by heart, so it was lovely just to be able to ad lib or improvise.”

Coppola’s film is based on the true story of a group of suburban Los Angeles teenagers, some from privileged backgrounds, who stole luxury goods from the houses of the rich and famous out of a desire to possess their wardrobes and lifestyles.

Watson researched her role, she said, by watching reality TV shows such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians and The Hills. She said: “It wasn’t so much about the stealing, it was more that they wanted to pretend for two hours that they were Paris Hilton. That they were living that lifestyle for real.”

Among their most prominent targets was Hilton – whose front door key they found under her doormat. Between October 2008 and November 2009, the group stole more than US$3mil (RM9.4mil) worth of items, including “a stash of Rolexes” from British actor Orlando Bloom, according to an account by one of the real “bling ring”, Nick Prugo. The teenagers used Google Maps to identify escape and entry points and social media to know when the celebrities were away from home. They also boasted of their new possessions on Facebook.

The real Hilton makes a brief appearance in a film that piles on the ironies: her home was used as a location, so we see her jewels and designer clothing; the Louis XIV-style armchairs heaped with cushions screenprinted with her face; and her “nightclub room” complete with its own poledancing pole.

Having a film made about their exploits might be regarded as the final victory for the real-life “bling ring” – but according to Coppola, that was far from her intention. “I changed the names of the characters because I didn’t want to make them more famous,” she said, adding that it was “not a documentary” and she was “not too concerned with the reactions” of the people on whom the story is based.

Coppola was born into celebrity as the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola; Watson had it thrust upon her as a child. But Watson distinguished herself from the celebrities touched on in the film. “There are celebrities that create a brand and create a business and a whole job, a whole life, out of other people’s interest in their lives, and then there are celebrities or people who have a craft or a trade,” she said.

“As long as people understand the difference, then it’s okay,” she said.

Coppola added that what had drawn her to the story was that “it could not have happened 10 years ago” and depended on the rise of social media and a celebrity-news cycle.

“There’s so much information, and a lack of privacy: these kids knew so much about the people that they felt they (really) knew them. They knew what they were having for breakfast.” – Guardian News & Media