who is Maria Callas?

the name is not unfamiliar to the opera industry. La Divina herself, Maria Callas, is an American-born Greek soprano. born December 2, 1923 as Sophia Cecelia Kalos to parents, George Kalogeropoulos and Evangelia "Litsa" (sometimes "Litza") Dimitriadou.

she had her musical studies in Greece and her career in Italy. there she displayed her singing prowess into the works of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. thus, earning the La Divina title.

her devotion to the opera has paid off very well throughout her career. however, her dedication to the work but a love of art made her forget about herself when she was stricken with an ailment, losing her voice. she suffered complications in her body that led to her downfall and returning to the creator on September 16, 1977.

La Divina is remembered in the industry by people through Terrence McNally's MASTER CLASS. in MASTER CLASS, we will see Maria Callas' passion for the art instructing her students. and here in the Philippines, we will witness how Ms. Cherie Gil portrays La Divina as a model with love for life.

see MASTER CLASS in the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City starting July 29 2010. directed by Michael Williams.

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STREETDANCE 3D movie review

in order to win the Street Dance Championships, a dance crew is forced to work with ballet dancers from the Royal Dance School in exchange for rehearsal space. STREETDANCE 3D is Carly's story on how she merged two world's together and achieved what she really wanted. in spite of unseen circumstances, she stood on her feet and graced at the championships. a person that inspired everybody and learned to lead as a follower.

i remembered a couple of dance flicks with this story like Bring It On, Step Up, Take the Lead, You Got Served and Center Stage. minus the cheesy and awkward lines from the cast. but STREETDANCE 3D focused on pure dance without not much focus on the life of the lead. and the greatest thing with this, is it was shot in special 3D cameras with no CGI effects! the images really float from the screen almost real.

STREETDANCE 3D is now showing in all digital cinemas.

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FUN FACTS from the SORCERER’S APPRENTICE

The cast and filmmakers of Walt Disney Studios’ THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE had a blast creating the fantasy adventure about Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage), a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan who recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protégé.
Get a load of these fun trivia about the newest Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster:

• The Phantom. Balthazar Blake’s vehicle of choice is very rare 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom. Its engine, appropriately known as the “Merlin,” helped propel Spitfire aircraft for Britain, which helped win World War II. An exact replica of the real Phantom was created for stunt sequences. During filming in the streets of New York City, the Phantom proved to be a huge tourist attraction.

• The Chrysler Eagle gargoyle comes to life in two varieties: the full-size, motion-base, computer-controlled version constructed by Academy Award®-winning special-effects coordinator John Frazier, and a CG version from visual-effects supervisor John Nelson and Asylum Visual Effects.

• Chinatown. The colorful Chinese festival sequence in which a parade dragon comes to life was filmed over the course of two weeks on Eldridge Street, in the heart of New York’s Chinatown. More than 2,000 people from the local Chinese communities showed up for an extras casting call for 500 available spots.

• Nikola Tesla. The inventions, philosophy and spirit of controversial and brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla hung over the entire movie, and by an amazing coincidence, the last day of filming fell on what would have been his 153rd birthday. And the company also filmed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Manhattan’s 110th Street, where Tesla received a state funeral attended by more than 2000 people.

• The Encantus, the film’s book of spells, weighed a mighty 75 pounds. But there were other versions created, including a 10-pound duplicate and a waterproofed floating version for the so-called “Fantasia” sequence.

• Every single page of the enormous Encantus had to be aged by experts in medieval bookbinding, with methods ranging from sanding the papers to wetting them with tea.

• The seven domains in the Merlin Circle include Space-Time, Motion, Matter, Elements, Transformation, Mind, and in the center, the Forbidden domain—Love. The multi-colored flames that shoot out of the Merlin Circle in the underground lab were created by the special effects team like a gigantic stove-top burner, with fire rods six inches below the deck in a water tank.

• The Coat. Costume designer Michael Kaplan and his team created 10 exact copies of Balthazar Blake’s long leather coat, and all of Balthazar’s rings were custom made as well.

• Arcana Cabana. Set decorator George DeTitta Jr. collected no fewer than half a million objects of escalating weirdness for production designer Naomi Shohan’s Arcana Cabana set, including a prosthetic leg, disembodied doll’s heads, shrunken heads, skeletons and a “unicorn skull.”

(Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, July 15, THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.)

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SNEAK PEEK: “GROWN UPS”

Some guys need a little extra time to mature. In Columbia Pictures’ new comedy GROWN UPS, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider play best friends when they were young kids and are now getting together with their families on the Fourth of July weekend for the first time in thirty years. Picking up where they left off, they discover that growing older doesn’t mean growing up.

The real-life chemistry between the actors translated seamlessly to the characters they play on screen. In fact, many of the stars of GROWN UPS have known each other for years. Rock says, “Most of the guys met at ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I met Adam doing stand-up 20 years ago easily at Comic Strip in New York . We just hit it off when we were the younger funnier guys in the club. Spade I met at ‘SNL.’ Schneider I met at ‘SNL.’”

Adam Sandler also wrote the script, an irresistible idea for the cast and crew. “Adam’s whole idea was that everyone would bring their families and we’d all have a nice summer at the lake house,” remembers director Dennis Dugan. “It was one of the best summers of my life. Because everyone knew everyone else so well, it was like going to a really great party. Adam really wanted that kind of atmosphere to come across in the movie.”

GROWN UPS also stars Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, and Maya Rudolph. The film is directed by Dennis Dugan, produced by Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo and written by Sandler & Fred Wolf.

Opening soon across the Philippines , GROWN UPS is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and like the fanpage to get the latest movie news, video clips and contests.

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the men of INCEPTION

Aside from Leonardo DiCaprio, Warner Bros.’ new sci-fi actioner INCEPTION also features a top caliber group of exciting actors, lead by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“(500) Days of Summer”), Tom Hardy (“RockNRolla”), Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai”) and Cillian Murphy (“Batman Begins”).

In the film, Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction: stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption.

Director Christopher Nolan offers, “It was fascinating to watch the actors evolve as a group, very much the way the characters do in the story. It really brought a richness to their scenes together. As a writer, you hope for that kind of chemistry, but it’s not until you get on the set that you see the cast bring out their characters’ idiosyncrasies and interesting inter-relationships. That’s a vital part of any movie, especially a heist movie, and I think these actors really delivered that.

“The film follows a team of very different people, each with singular skills, who are brought together to accomplish a very special task,” Nolan continues. “If any one of them fails, it can spell disaster, so each individual is integral to their success. And we understand everything they’re going through because we are on that journey with them.”

Cobb’s longtime and most trusted colleague is Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. While Cobb is the master planner, Arthur takes care of the details. Gordon-Levitt asserts, “Arthur is the organized one, the one making sure everything is in its right place. But as fastidious as he is, Arthur didn’t want to apply his organizational skills to being a lawyer or doctor or any of the things he could have been because sharing dreams is fascinating. It’s not just a job for him. Ultimately, it’s not the money he’s doing it for. He wouldn’t risk his life for a good paycheck. He loves it.”

Tom Hardy plays the role of Eames, who, he notes, possesses surprising skills as a forger…and not just on paper. “In the dream world, Eames can project the image of anyone, so he’s actually forging an identity in a physical manifestation and can convince another person that he’s whomever the team needs him to be in order to aid their deception.”

Ken Watanabe portrays the role of Saito, a rich and powerful business magnate, who offers Cobb a very special job with a promise of payment more valuable than money. Simply put, if Cobb can give Saito what he wants, Saito will get Cobb home. There is only one condition: Saito wants to accompany Cobb’s team on the job to be sure he gets what he’s paying for. Watanabe observes, “At first, it’s only a business relationship, but as the story continues, Saito and Cobb develop an understanding and a respect. They need each other.”

The target of Saito’s business proposition is Robert Fischer, who is about to inherit control of his dying father’s multibillion-dollar empire. Cillian Murphy, who plays the part of Fischer, points out, “Despite his vast wealth, Robert is riddled with all sorts of insecurities, as one might expect of someone who has lived his entire life in the shadow of a hugely powerful individual. It doesn’t help that he has a very strained relationship with his father. So here you have a person who is about to inherit the world and is lacking for nothing except, perhaps, the thing he wants most: a proper relationship with his father.”

Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, July 15 in IMAX, Digital 2D and regular format, INCEPTION is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE

Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with the fantasy family adventure LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE based on the beloved Guardians of Ga’Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’ Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.

While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences—causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians—Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

The film features the voices of Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Miriam Margolyes, Helen Mirren, Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham.

Snyder is directing LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE from a screenplay by Emil Stern and John Orloff, based on the Guardians of Ga’Hoole novels by Kathryn Lasky.

Warner Bros. Pictures is presenting the film, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures.

Opening in theatres and IMAX starting September 24, 2010, LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE will be presented in 3D and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.

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PHILLIP NOYCE interview for SALT

Australian director Phillip Noyce has done it all, from acclaimed thrillers like “Clear and Present Danger” and "Patriot Games" to dramas such as "The Quiet American.” Now he's back in the chair for the much anticipated spy thriller SALT, which reunites him with his "The Bone Collector" co-star Angelina Jolie.

In this interview, Noyce takes time out from filming in New York City to talk at length about the film, how it changed from a Tom Cruise movie to a Angelina Jolie film, and working with the talented actress.

Question: This film went from a male lead character, then to a female lead character. And it went through a whole sort of casting process…

Philip Noyce: In the original script by Kurt Wimmer, the lead character was called, at that time, Edwin A. Salt. We discussed the film with Tom Cruise, we had a table read with various actors, including Samuel L. Jackson, who kindly played one of the parts, just so we could hear the script read.

After that table read, Sony Pictures decided they definitely wanted to make the film. Around that time Tom wasn’t prepared to commit to the script as it was – his main fears were that the character was too close to “Mission: Impossible’s” Ethan Hunt, being a rogue spy, with extraordinary abilities. So over many months, we tried to twist and turn the story to differentiate the character of Edwin Salt from Ethan Hunt. But, Tom had a valid point. It was kind of returning to an offshoot of a character that he’d already played. It’s like playing the brother, or the cousin, of somebody that you played in another movie.

Then the project was in hiatus for a couple of weeks. Sony’s Amy Pascal had been talking over the years and had often spoken to Angelina Jolie. They’d expressed their mutual respect for each other and also, their mutual desire to try and create a female spy franchise, so we sent the script to Angelina. Then that script was revised by Brian Helgeland, who basically did a character pass. Based on that script, Angelina committed.

Question: Is the basic script you’re shooting now the same as the Cruise script, in terms of plot structure, and that kind of thing?

Noyce: The script was always evolving. I think that it’s just been a continual process, obviously accelerated by changing the central character. But the locomotive of ideas that drives the movie are the same. An undercover CIA operative is accused of being a Russian mole, and has to go on the run to defend herself. That’s been the same since day one. The tone of the film has changed in this evolution. In the same way, as action thrillers have changed along the lines of the Bond films and the Bourne films. Bond used to be almost cartoonish but now, you can take those Bond stories very seriously, on a dramatic and emotional level.

Question: So, this has a more realistic edge to it?

Noyce: Yeah, it has evolved into a story where we hope at all times that the audience takes seriously the emotional interplay between the characters, and are very, very involved on an emotional level with the story. As well as getting enormous thrills and spills, and all the other popcorn elements that you’d hope to see in a summer movie.

Question: Are you in your element making this kind of movie?

Noyce: This movie is sort of a combination of every movie I’ve ever made, in a weird way. So, was I in my element? Yes. However, the major thing the audience is going to find is that the movie’s a showcase for the incredibly diverse talents of Angelina Jolie. When I say "incredibly", that’s not an understatement. Incredibly diverse. As we know, she’s a brilliant dramatic actress. Without a doubt. That’s been proven. But she’s also shown that she can kick ass as good as any man. In this film, she gets to do both and she does both in a way that I think will startle audiences. It’s highly dramatic, it’s highly emotional. It’s a thrill a minute. People are going to be very, very surprised by what they see, and by what they see her do. As I have been.

(Opening soon across the Philippines, SALT is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and like the fanpage to get the latest movie news, video clips and contests.)

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