UNPRECEDENTED ACTION UNVEILS IN MARTIAL ARTS FILM “DIE FIGHTING”

Press release

Independent filmmaker Fabien Garcia, a martial arts enthusiast who’s been training in Judo since he was six helms and stars in the action movie to beat in “Die Fighting.” 

Photo courtesy of Crystalsky Media

                In “Die Fighting,” a team of Shaolin-trained kung fu actors are about to make their big break in Hollywood when a shady director forces them through a gauntlet in Los Angeles, forcing them to act and react in a brutal action reality movie, filming their every move as they are pitted against a gallery of thugs.  To make their way out of the movie and keep their families alive, they must face every death-defying challenge the director throws at them or be killed in the filming process.                

                A fan of Jackie Chan and Jean Claude Van Damme films among others, Garcia grew up in France with a love for martial arts films.  When he was fourteen, he started to train in the traditional art of Vovinam Viet Vo Dao, a Vietnamese martial arts that includes weapons work too.  Along with his mixed training in Jiu Jitsu and Vovinam, he learned to incorporate different fighting styles in his competitive fights.  It was during his stay in the Shaolin monastery that he met his partners in film production, Laurent Buson and Yannick Van Damm.  “They were going inside the monastery when I was leaving and we quickly became friends. Yannick Van Dam was a few years ahead of us so he was our big brother and showed us the ropes. Laurent was in another school and Yannick slept in the monastery since he was already one of the monks’ disciples,” recalls Garcia.

                Garcia further shared on his training in the martial arts before being caught in producing films, “After Shaolin, living in the Beijing Sport University was paradise. The training was different, only 2 to 3 hours a day, but the quality of the teaching was also more efficient, as the teachers were all former Wushu national champions. They were the best and knew how to help you improve fast without killing your body. We trained two years in the Sport University and became friends with a national Wushu champion and Beijing Wushu team member, Wang Xiao Na. She was our private teacher until she became pregnant, so we went to Beijing Shi Cha Hai Sport School. That's where the Beijing Wushu Team and a young Jet Li trained.”

                In a review by Bobby Blakey of www.examiner.com,  he finds the movie surprisingly unique and highly recommends it too to be seen in the big screen. “The story itself is pretty simple and straight forward, but they thrust in an interesting twist in the end to help it stand out, but rest assured the fighting is the reason to check out this film. The found footage genre is so over used, but here it finally gets a revitalized feel thanks to the awe-inspiring martial arts and will hopefully be only the beginning to seeing this amazing group come together to showcase their skills. If you are a fan of martial arts on any level you have to check out this film. You will not be disappointed.”

                “Die Fighting” opens July 15 in cinemas from Crystalsky Multimedia.

Max movie review

Lassie is a popular icon for hero dogs and no one ever took that title from him. It is also been years since someone followed in her footsteps until Max. Unlike the predecessors, the story of Max is more real life. He is a Marine K-9 unit. The military's been using dogs for sniffing bombs just like the police.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Why is this story so different from Lassie, Boomer or any dog heroes? The title actor is a dog who can express emotion like any actor. There is also real-life drama that everyone can relate. If the family is hurting from within, they need someone who can remove that hurt from within.

What I like also about Max that it is not always serious. There are some funny moments and there are also action sequences that are not exaggerated. Family dramas like this is rare and the movie is wholesome that is why it is rated General Patronage.

The actor Josh Wiggins who played Justin; Max's new master, has a promising career. He did well in this movie because he relate to his character. He also has three dogs and he has a brother who's in the army.

In closing, the movie has redeeming experiences for each key character. It's all about bridging shattered relationships. For more feel-good movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook. Max opens in Philippine cinemas on June 25. Released and distributed by Warner Bros.

“MAGIC MIKE XXL” – WHO'S READY FOR AN ENCORE?

Press release

The guys who wowed audiences around the world in the rousing hit “Magic Mike” are back. This time, they’re turning up the heat and taking it on the road in Warner Bros. Pictures' new all-male romp “Magic Mike XXL” – with a revealing new story, a fresh perspective on the future and a bigger, bolder set of some of the hottest and most exciting dance moves ever captured on the big screen.

“Magic Mike XXL” reunites original stars Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez and Gabriel Iglesias.

Picking up the story three years after Mike (Tatum) bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, “Magic Mike XXL” finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them.

On the road to their final show, with whistle stops in Jacksonville and Savannah to renew old acquaintances and make new friends, Mike and the guys learn some new moves and shake off the past in surprising ways.

“Magic Mike XXL” director Gregory Jacobs echoes the sentiments of moviegoers around the world when he says, “I wanted to know what happened to these guys. I love these characters, and the possibility of following their story was something that really intrigued me, plus the aspect of Mike reclaiming his bond and his friendship with them, his realizing that he missed them and that they missed him, too. I felt it would be great to get the band back together and make a road trip movie.”

Though purely fictional, some of the elements and atmosphere of Mike’s world are inspired by Tatum’s own experiences from his early days as a dancer, and not all of it could be contained in one telling. “One of the things Channing originally brought up was his trip to a stripper convention back in the day,” says screenwriter Reid Carolin, who, along with Nick Wechsler, Jacobs and Tatum, also returns as a producer on the sequel. “We tried to work it into the first movie, but it’s such a big set piece that it was a story unto itself.”

As happy as the characters were to get the show on the road, so were the actors who portray them. “There was never a dull moment,” states Joe Manganiello, reprising his role as Big Dick Richie (BDR), alongside Matt Bomer as the picture-perfect Ken, Adam Rodriguez as Latin sensation Tito, Kevin Nash as wild-man Tarzan, and Gabriel Iglesias as their freewheeling MC, Tobias. “When we were cast in the first movie, none of us had a clue we would have this kind of chemistry, but it didn’t take long. There was some kind of providence in assembling this group. It just works. Greg has a great heart and I think that sensibility really lent itself to this script, which is essentially about bros bringing out the best in each other and having a good time.”

Consequently, while showcasing the tight group dynamic, “Magic Mike XXL” also plays up their individual personalities and talents to a greater extent. The cast also got the opportunity to demonstrate their comic timing, as the story takes them from a rowdy reunion in Tampa to some hilariously bumpy but rewarding detours through Savannah on their way to the big event.

Says Jacobs, “It’s Mike’s journey but it’s also a journey for all of them. We spent a lot of time fine-tuning and weaving each one into the story because it was important to all of us that the other characters were well developed and that everybody had his moment to break out and shine.”

“Magic Mike XXL” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company.

RUSSELL CROWE DIRECTS, STARS IN ACCLAIMED EPIC “THE WATER DIVINER”

Press release. Read my review here.

When Oscar-winner Russell Crowe stepped behind the camera to direct "The Water Diviner," he stood on a foundation built on collaborations with some of the most noted directors in the film industry, including Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Michael Mann and Peter Weir, to name only a few.

Photo courtesy of RatPac Entertainment

"I've been fortunate to work with some of the very best in the business," Crowe says, "and you learn from everybody. It's the combination of that knowledge that creates what your voice is as a director. So I can very confidently say that I've stolen something from every single director I've ever worked with," he laughs.

“The Water Diviner” is an epic and inspiring tale of one man’s life-changing journey of discovery. Crowe plays Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against the Turks in the bloody Battle of Gallipoli. Arriving in Istanbul, Connor is thrust into a vastly different world, where he encounters others who suffered their own losses in the conflict: Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), a strikingly beautiful but guarded hotelier raising a child alone; her young, spirited son, Orhan (Dylan Georgiades), who finds a friend in Connor; and Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdoğan), a Turkish officer who fought against Connor’s boys and may be this father’s only hope. With seemingly insurmountable obstacles in his path, Connor must travel across the battle-scarred Turkish landscape to find the truth… and his own peace.

The film not only resonated with Crowe as a father of sons himself but also as an Australian who was raised on the horror and heroism of Gallipoli. "I would definitely say the fact that I'm a dad myself influenced the way I felt about the script," says Crowe, "because, as every parent knows, as soon as you have children it affects everything in your life, every decision you make. I think that theme is universal. People everywhere can understand what would drive Connor to search for his sons."

Crowe's entire cast agrees that Crowe was more than ready for the new challenge of helming a film. Olga Kurylenko says, "Russell is one of the most brilliant actors of our time, and I think that is what makes him a superb director. His directions were full of images and feelings, so I didn't just hear them, I could feel them. And, of course, acting opposite him is amazing because it helps bring out your best when the other actor is so extraordinary."

Yilmaz Erdogan adds, "Working with Russell was very good for all the actors because he speaks our language. He understands the details of a performance and how to give you exactly what you need very briefly. He was a perfect leader."

"The great thing for me as a director was to cast such extremely talented people," Crowe comments. "When you get the right actors, they will become experts about their characters far beyond the director, writers or the producers because that's an actor's job. They, more than anyone, will protect the integrity of their characters."

In closing, Crowe reflects, "In war films today, it is important to tread that line where you honor the warrior but condemn war. And I believe 'The Water Diviner' definitely does that.

"It talks of loss and of grief," he concludes, "but the story is ultimately life-affirming and very much about love in its many different forms. Another key thing in life is the simple need to persevere; whatever comes up, you have to find a way to move on, and that requires hope. Hope is one of the fundamental tenants of humanity.and my hope is that audiences will come away reminded of that."

An extraordinary tale of love, faith and heroism, “The Water Diviner” will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting June 24.

The Water Diviner movie review

What's a water diviner? The diviner is a person using a dowsing rod for finding water, minerals, etc. There is no science explaining this phenomenon which is why it is considered pseudoscience. In case of the movie, Russell Crowe's character Joshua Connor uses his dowsing skills to find water. As a farmer in Australia, it is his task to find suitable water source in the Outback.

Photo courtesy of RatPac Entertainment

The movie during the first World War where the Ottoman Empire(Turkey) won their victory during the Battle of Gallipoli. Since Australia still shows loyalty to British rule, Australia also shows support by sending their troops to war.

It is also a good plot using a diviner to search for his three sons who fought in Gallipoli. Not only that it shows culture and heritage of Turkey, it gives us good scenery which is probably good for tourism. 

Not only that Russell Crowe is part of this Australian movie production, he also directed it. We now see how Russell Crowe wants his movie directed. We can see that he mellowed down from being an action movie actor even though it still has action sequences. But he also applied individual stories of characters like Connor, his sons, the Turkish military officer, the Turkish hotel owner and her son.

Movies like these are rarely done since it is a periodic piece and we rarely see award wining movies from different countries which is why Ayala Cinemas exclusively distributes these here. I highly recommend this movie for anyone to watch. The Filipinos can relate to the family values this movie shows.

Opens exclusively at Ayala Cinemas starting June 24. For more current movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

“MAX” LEAD ACTOR JOSH WIGGINS A DOG-LOVER IN REAL LIFE

Check out my review of Max here.

Press release

One of Hollywood’s rising young actors, Josh Wiggins stars in Warner Bros. Pictures' patriotic drama “Max” as the teenaged Justin who reluctantly inherits the precision-trained military dog of his U.S. Marine brother, Kyle.

Justin has issues of his own, including living up to his father’s expectations, and he isn’t interested in taking responsibility for Max, his brother’s troubled dog. However, Max may be Justin’s only chance to discover what really happened to his brother that day on the war front.

That’s where their bond—and their adventure—begins. “They don’t realize it, but they have so much in common. They both feel isolated,” director Boaz Yakin states.

“Josh is terrific,” Yakin acknowledges. “He was immediately able to walk in Justin’s shoes. He’s very comfortable with the animals and he’s a very natural, truthful actor with an instinctive sense of what works. He was able to really ground the film.”

Wiggins immediately related to the story. He not only hails from Texas, where the film is set, but has a brother who served in the army, three dogs at home, and a father who trains bomb-sniffing dogs for the Houston Police Department.

The young actor describes Justin as “a rebellious kid. Justin feels like his older brother was the trophy son and he’s overshadowed by him, so he sees himself as the outcast in the family. I think he resents his dad because his dad was a soldier, and that inspired Kyle to go into the Marine Corps. Now that Kyle is gone, Justin blames his father, Ray, in a way.”

Yakin adds, “Justin and Ray have a contentious relationship. He feels the expectations are being placed on him to live up to his father’s and brother’s ideal. He’s trying to figure out his own way and separate himself from their orbit.”

Wiggins agrees. “Justin is so unlike Kyle and so unlike Ray and doesn’t want to be what his dad wants him to be. So they clash in that regard. He wants to make his dad mad so he revolts, but he doesn’t really think about the risks involved.”

Justin is having a hard time handling Max, who is also displaying behavior that speaks to his underlying trauma, such as aggression and hyper-sensitivity to loud noises. Whatever transpired that day in Afghanistan unsettled Max to his core, and no one has been able to connect with him to figure it out or help him work through it…until Justin.

Wiggins says, “To me, Max is symbolic of Justin’s brother, Kyle. He has Kyle’s character traits of honor and loyalty, and he teaches Justin to have honor and to be loyal. The closer Justin gets to Max the closer he feels to Kyle and the better he understands why Kyle wanted to be a Marine, and why he left Justin to serve his country.”

“Max” also stars Lauren Graham (TV’s “Parenthood”) as Justin's mom, Pamela, Oscar nominee Thomas Haden Church (“Sideways”) as his dad, Ray, Robbie Amell (TV's “The Flash”) as Kyle and Jay Hernandez (“Hostel”) as Sgt. Reyes of the Marine K9 unit.

“Max” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Facts About Just The Way You Are. BlogCon Exclusive

Blogcon exclusive coverage

WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE MOVIE. LizQuen says it all.

#The movie started production before Forevermore began. Shoots were done in segments because of the limited time of the main actors during their commitment on the series.

#Unlike their characters on TV, Liza and Quen have more lines in English.

#The movie is based on the book/online story "The Bet". Star Cinema selected the story for people to relate to the family issue/s in the movie.

#The movie shows similarities of Liza Soberano to her character, Sophia Taylor on being quiet.

#Sophia also shows a strong female characteristics.

For more movie trivia, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook. I will leave you with the wisdom and wit from LizQuen in the video above. You're welcome. Enjoy!

JAI COURTNEY, THE NEW KYLE REESE IN “TERMINATOR GENISYS”

Press release

Australian actor Jai Courtney (Starz’ “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” “Divergent”) stars in Paramount Pictures’ “Terminator Genisys” as Kyle Reese, a rebel soldier from the future who travel back in time to save John Connor’s (Jason Clarke) mother Sarah (Emilia Clarke) from the Terminator sent to destroy her.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

In regards to the plot, Courtney reminds, “There will be stuff that the fans of the franchise are familiar with, like times and places and characters, but this film is different because we are not just carrying on with what we already know. Things have shifted somewhat…”

The chemistry between Sarah and Reese was at the forefront of producer Dana Goldberg’s mind when filmmakers began to audition actors for the part. She says, “We’d done the movie ‘Jack Reacher’ with Jai Courtney and loved him as a person, and thought he was a wonderful actor. We weren’t sure he was Reese. He came in and he tested with Emilia, and I remember standing on the stage watching his audition, and I emailed someone and said, ‘We just found our Kyle Reese.’ It was clear their first read together.”

“When I heard there was going to be a fifth installment to this franchise,” says Courtney, “I didn’t freak out to begin with – I’ve been involved with pre-existing things before – and then I read the script in a locked room, you know with cell phones handed in and all that sort of stuff. That’s when I got pretty excited! I realized that that the guys behind this had the intention of making something pretty cool. That’s when I became invested in the idea.

“It was a pretty funny process getting the role,” narrates Courtney, “I was on a film in Australia shooting so I got on a plane Saturdaymorning, landed in LA, went straight to the audition with director Alan Taylor and the producers and Emilia, got back on a plane to Australia that night, missed Sunday and showed up for work Monday morning. So, just because of the 30 hours I had to spend in the air that weekend I was pretty sure I wanted this role just to make it worth it and fortunately it all worked out.”

The weeks prior to the start of principal photography for “Terminator Genisys” saw the talents entering the arena of training—the very physical shooting schedule included stunts, fights, heavy wirework and…weapons.

“I think it’s a testament to how hard everyone worked,” smiles Courtney, “that the demands of the shoot led to a situation where two Australians in the same cast didn’t even have time to get a beer together!” Courtney was referring to fellow Aussie actor and co-star, Jason Clarke.

“I didn’t know Jason before working on this, but we have a bunch of mutual friends and I was excited to meet him. It was cool! I have admired a lot of the work he has done in recent years.”

Paramount Pictures presents the action-thriller “Terminator Genisys” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons Matthew Smith, and Byung-hun Lee.

In the film, when John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including a new T-800 terminator, the Guardian (Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future…

Terminator Genisys” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

MATTHIAS SCHOENAERTS IS A WOMAN’S ROCK IN THE ROMANTIC EPIC “FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD”

Press release

 For actor Matthias Schoenaerts, playing the steadfast shepherd Gabriel Oak in the big-screen adaptation of “Far from the Madding Crowd” by Thomas Hardy was a profound experience. The 37-year-old Belgian says that the character helped him shape his personal life.

                Truly relatable even in 2015, the exuberant story of Victorian farmer Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) starts out a simple country girl who has inherited her uncle’s farm, and becomes a fierce-willed, impulsive heiress who is faced with a myriad of life choices. She’s surrounded, and confounded, by intriguing suitors, one of them is  the down to earth farmer Gabriel Oak (Schoenaerts).

                “Oak represents values that I really value and admire in people,” begins Schoenaerts, who made his international breakthrough with the 2012 drama “Rust and Bone.” “Even though he suffers a lot of set backs and gets emotional beatings, he always stays on the path of truthfulness and righteousness. That is pretty rare.”

                Though Bathsheba Everdeen values her independence more than almost anything, her life is complicated by three very determined suitors who each seek her hand in marriage.  Her first proposal comes from the upstanding landowner Gabriel Oak, but she is too independent to consider it at the time.   “Oak is a difficult dramatic character,” notes director Thomas Vinterberg.  “Here is this guy who decides on this woman, yet he’s just sort of there for her, hanging out on the farm waiting for her to choose him, so he’s not really the prototype of an active male lead.  So what I was looking for in an actor was the essence of Gabriel’s innate strength and pride.”

                He found that quality in the rising Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts, who first riveted global audiences as a steroid-pumping cattle farmer in “Bullhead,” and then starred opposite Marion Cotillard in Jacques Audiard’s gritty romance “Rust and Bone,” for which he won the Cesar Award for Most Promising Actor.  He also played Eric Deeds in Michaël Roskam’s “The Drop” with Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini. 

                “Matthias is a man’s man and you can feel there is so much integrity in him,” says Vinterberg of Schoenaerts. “He’s a brilliant actor, he's very sexy, and he's amazing to work with.  As Oak, he is that rock in Bathsheba’s world, but then again, he also has a real vulnerability in his eyes.”  

                Schoenaerts was keen to work with Vinterberg, and loved the director’s reasons for revisiting Hardy in our times.  Says the actor: “I was curious as to why Thomas was so eager to make this film now,” he admits.  “He had a very simple and very reasonable answer.  He said ‘I think we need this kind of story right now because we live in very cynical times and we need a story that is about something else, and this is a beautiful one.’  His passion just radiated through his voice.” 

                The rough hewn physicality of Schoenaerts’ performance certainly seduced Carey Mulligan.  “Matthias is such a brilliant actor that he had the essence of Oak the moment he came on set,” she says.  “There is something astonishing about Matthias because he is so huge and domineering yet also very gentle.  He had that sturdiness and reliability you want in Oak – and yet you feel he looks at you and sees straight through you.” 

                “Far From the Madding Crowd” released by 20^th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

THE MUSES OF “ENTOURAGE”

Press release

Emily Ratajkowski, the breakout star of “Gone Girl” who played the mistress of Ben Affleck's character; and champion UFC fighter Ronda Rousey appear as themselves in Warner Bros. Pictures new comedy “Entourage.”

The film is the much-anticipated big-screen version of the award-winning hit HBO series, reuniting the hit show’s original cast, led by Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven.

Once again taking advantage of the theory that “everyone knows everyone in Hollywood,” “Entourage” director Doug Ellin, as he frequently has in the past, recruited actresses to play themselves opposite the fictional foursome, crafting make-believe relationships that seem strangely plausible.

Thus, real-life Emily Ratajkowski plays friend-of-Vincent-Chase (Grenier) Emily Ratajkowski, and MMA/UFC champion Ronda Rousey plays MMA/UFC champion Ronda Rousey. In her “backstory,” Rousey and Turtle (Ferrara) apparently had brief but memorable contact at Coachella—the fictional one of Ellin’s world—two years prior.

“Both women were great to work with,” Ellin says. “Emily is such a lovely person and a smart young lady, down to earth. Just a really great addition to the entourage.”

Ratajkowski is a model/actress quickly establishing herself as one of the most talked-about faces in fashion and film. Last year, she was seen in her first major movie role, playing Andie in “Gone Girl,” the David Fincher-directed adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling mystery novel. She shot to international fame in the summer of 2013 as the bombshell beauty at the center of Robin Thicke, Tip “T.I.” Harris and Pharrell Williams’ “Blurred Lines” music video, which garnered nearly 174 million views on YouTube.

Ronda Rousey truly enjoyed her turn as Ronda Rousey. “I played myself, and I happen to be an authority on myself, so I was obviously qualified.”

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

In the film, Rousey and Turtle have a somewhat volatile reunion following a misunderstanding, and an even more explosive meeting when she invites him to her place. “In the story, I’m always getting hit on by guys who are trying to make money off of me, or who are big meathead athletes, and I’m tired of them. Turtle seems like a good-looking, successful, normal guy who wants to hang out with me, but then I get the impression that he really is just trying to make money off of me, too, and that hurts my ego…which is not good for Turtle.”

“I’ve watched most of Ronda’s fights and was a fan long before she came on to the movie,” Ferrara says. “She’s very intense when she has to be, so I enjoyed seeing that armor come off a bit, and her personality come through. She has a lot of heart and takes her work very seriously, and is just a really talented, impressive person.”

Rousey took in all she could from the more seasoned actor. “I’ve only done action movies before, and I’m good with the whole run around/say one cool line/shoot something and punch that guy kind of thing. But I’m new to comedy, the walking-and-talking and the timing, and Jerry guided me through our scenes and made me feel more comfortable, especially in a romantic situation where I’m just not smooth. If I really like someone, I can become very guarded, but working with him helped me lighten up. Probably a good dating tip for my own life.”

In “Entourage,” movie star Vincent Chase (Grenier), together with his boys, Eric (Connolly), Turtle (Ferrara) and Johnny (Dillon), are back…and back in business with super agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold (Piven). Some of their ambitions have changed, but the bond between them remains strong as they navigate the capricious and often cutthroat world of Hollywood.

“Entourage” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

A FATHER SEARCHES FOR THREE MISSING SONS IN “THE WATER DIVINER”

Click here to read my review of the movie.

Press release

A sweeping drama of love and loss, hope and redemption that takes audiences from the scarred battlefield of Gallipoli to the arid Australian Outback to the teeming streets of Istanbul, “The Water Diviner” starring Russell Crowe will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting June 24.

Photo courtesy of RatPac Entertainment

In the film, Crowe plays Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against the Turks in the bloody Battle of Gallipoli. Arriving in Istanbul, Connor is thrust into a vastly different world, where he encounters others who suffered their own losses in the conflict: Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), a strikingly beautiful but guarded hotelier raising a child alone; her young, spirited son, Orhan (Dylan Georgiades), who finds a friend in Connor; and Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdoğan), a Turkish officer who fought against Connor’s boys and may be this father’s only hope. With seemingly insurmountable obstacles in his path, Connor must travel across the battle-scarred Turkish landscape to find the truth… and his own peace.

The film also stars Jai Courtney (upcoming “Terminator Genisys”) and Isabel Lucas (“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”).

"One old chap managed to get here from Australia looking for his son's grave." That seemingly innocuous notation, found in a letter, became the catalyst for "The Water Diviner.”

The unidentified "old chap" evolved into the central character of Joshua Connor – a grief-stricken father who, alone, travels thousands of miles to find the bodies of the sons he let go off to war and bring them home to rest.

The enigmatic sentence about a devoted father's search for his son's remains had originally been discovered by screenwriter Andrew Anastasios while doing research for a documentary. Anastasios offers, "The line hit me like a thunderbolt; it posed so many tantalizing questions: Who was that father? What made him get on a boat and sail all the way to Turkey? What happened to his son? I showed it to my friend and co-writer Andrew Knight, and he agreed that we should try to tell this man's story. We researched for a year and a half and couldn't find out anything more about this mystery father, so we sat down and conceived his story."

Anastasios and Knight decided to imbue Joshua Connor with a special quality, making him a water diviner, someone who can discern where water might be hiding beneath even the most barren landscape. "We wanted him to have all the qualities we admire: resilience, compassion and courage," says Anastasios. "But we also wanted to add an unexpected dimension to the character that sets him apart; we wanted him to have a special gift that was both engaging and curious."

The filmmakers agree that practical applications are only a small part of Connor's abilities. Anastasios asserts, "The special connection Connor has is not just with the elements but with his sons. He is tied to them by love and by blood. The blood in his veins is the same as that in his sons' and he senses it in the same way he divines for water, the lifeblood of the earth. Call it gut instinct or parents' intuition…he can feel their presence."

Crowe concludes, "Intuition is powerful and it's real, and is something every single person uses at some point in their lives. I'm talking about the pure intuitive force that leads you in life to take a step in one direction or another. So it was no stretch for me to imagine that a man like Connor, given the depth of the bond he has with his kids, would get a physical sensation when he is looking for the bones of his children, like he does from water."

ADRIAN GRENIER PLAYS HOLLYWOOD “IT” BOY IN “ENTOURAGE”

Press material

Versatile actor Adrian Grenier is best-known for his starring role as Vincent Chase on “Entourage,” one of HBO’s most popular half-hour series in the network’s history, which ran for eight seasons and was syndicated in nearly two dozen markets worldwide.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

He now reprises the iconic character in the new “Entourage” big-screen movie from Warner Bros. The film picks up where the series ended. Six days later, to be exact. Vince, having flown from Los Angeles to Paris in order to marry the woman of his dreams, is now on his honeymoon, alone. Well, not quite alone. Rather, he is cruising the Mediterranean on an enormous yacht with a couple hundred beauties in bikinis, minus his soon-to-be-ex-wife.

In order to reach their pal in his time of need (and to partake of the flowing champagne and other available vices), Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Drama (Kevin Dillon) rush to his side. “It’s about loyalty, friendship and brotherhood,” director-writer Doug Ellin conveys. “These guys all take care of each other; that’s what matters the most. All the fancy cars and beautiful women, which we see plenty of in the movie, they all come second.”

“Vince happens to be a movie star, but, first and foremost, he’s a loyal friend,” cites Grenier. “He brought his buddies out to Hollywood to give them a taste of the good life he was given because of his rising stardom, and he’s shared it with them ever since.”

Ellin describes Vince as “a young guy with everything at his fingertips: talent, looks, and everybody loves him. Everyone wants to be him or be with him. He’s always brought his boys along and given them as much of that lifestyle as he can.”

Shortly after the arrival of his troops on the high seas, Vince takes a phone call from Ari (Jeremy Piven). No longer his, or anyone’s, agent, Ari presents his former star client with news, as well as a new opportunity: Ari has become head of a major movie studio, and his first order of business is to offer Vince the lead in the very first movie he will greenlight.

But Vince now has the impulse to do something different with his life, something he hasn’t done before: direct. “He’s at the height of his career and excited about taking the next step,” Grenier relates. “I think it was Doug’s way of making sure that the world is Vince’s oyster and that for him and, by association, his friends, anything is possible.”

Until six months later, after Vince has directed and starred in “Hyde.” But, like many first-time filmmakers, he’s hesitant to show his work...at least not until he gets a little more money to finish it, despite his promise to Ari not to go over budget.

Grenier explains, “I think it’s the natural instinct of a director to want to put the best product forward. Vince doesn’t want to show his movie to anyone before it’s done, because he doesn’t want to be judged on the work before it’s polished. In particular, he wants to make sure Ari’s happy, as the head of the studio. But mostly, Vince is an artist and as an artist, he just wants to get it right.”

“It’s like that dream where you’re walking into a room with no clothes on,” Kevin Connolly offers. “Showing a cut of something, as a director, you’re never more vulnerable. That’s not a comfortable place for Vince to be.”

 “Entourage” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

HIGH-WIRE THRILLER “THE WALK” LAUNCHES NEW TRAILER

Press release

Columbia Pictures has just launched the new trailer for “The Walk,” a true story based on French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's book "To Reach the Clouds".

            Directed by Academy Award-winner Robert Zemeckis, “The Walk” stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young dreamer who dared the impossible: an illegal wire walk between the World Trade Center towers. Last August 7, 2014 is the 40th anniversary of the astounding event, now being brought back to vivid life in the third act climax of the film.

            Twelve people have walked on the moon.  Only one has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.  Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), is aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, who overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan. 

            Robert Zemeckis, the master director of such marvels as “Forrest Gump,” “Cast Away,” “Back to the Future,” “Polar Express” and “Flight,” again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story.  With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX® 3D wizardry, “The Walk” is genuine big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. 

            It is also one of the more rare live-action films that is a PG-rated, all-audience entertainment for moviegoers 8 to 80 – and a true story to boot.  It is unlike anything audiences have seen before, a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.

Opening across the Philippines in October 07, “The Walk” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.