‘TRUE BLOOD’ STAR RYAN KWANTEN IN THE ROMANTIC COMEDY “THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG”

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One of television’s hottest rising talents Ryan Kwanten, who stars alongside Anna Paquin in HBO’s hit series “True Blood” brings his electrifying charisma on the big screen as he stars in one of the most anticipated romantic movies to open in 2014 – “The Right Kind of Wrong.”

               

Photo courtesy of Axinite Digicinema

                Based on the novel by Tim Sandlin, “The Right Kind of Wrong” is a romantic comedy about a failed-writer-turned-dishwasher and fearless dreamer who risks everything to show the girl of his dreams all that is right with the wrong kind of guy.

               

                “The theme of “The Right Kind of Wrong” is that in love, there are no boundaries and there are no obstacles. It’s a fantasy that is fun to subscribe to from time to time and if you do, you’ll root for Leo and feel romantically transported to where you can believe what Leo, our hero, says, which is that nothing is impossible,” said producer Robert Lantos.

                Screenwriter Megan Martin was determined that Leo be someone "who refuses to make the subtle adjustments that could help him move forward in life. Leo can be prickly, he can over-react to the conventional. I'm attracted to people like this. They can drive you nuts, they can say the wrong thing, but they make life so interesting."  The other quality crucial for Martin was "that Leo not be pretentious. In fact, he's the opposite. Leo does not care about his reputation. He is guided by impulse and gives over to his pursuits wholeheartedly. There is an honesty in Leo we can all aspire to."

                To survive, he is a dishwasher in Mount Yalo, an upscale resort town. “He takes dishwashing seriously. He’s a zen dishwasher - when he washes dishes, he’s fully in the moment. People come from other restaurants to watch him wash dishes because he turns it into a performance like Tom Cruise did in Cocktail. He has no embarrassment of any kind,” observed Lantos.

                “Leo is bold, he's brash, brazen and brilliant. He's a rolling stone that gathers no moss. He sees the world through boundless eyes, utterly convinced that if he stays true to his convictions, no matter what, he will succeed,” says actor Ryan Kwanten who was plucked out of the Deep South of “True Blood” and transported to the majestic Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada to play this role.

                Producer Robert Lantos, also has a certain affinity for the notion of challenging adversity and the theme crops up in many of his films, dating back to his first feature in 1978, “In Praise of Older Women,” which was the quest for a new world and the elusive love of an older woman. “I’m inspired by stories about overcoming the impossible.  This may have something to do with my own history or perhaps just my flights of fancy. I don’t set out to make movies on this theme, but somehow it seems that this is what they end up being about.”

                In “The Right Kind of Wrong,” a romantic comedy, or perhaps a comedy about the madness of romance, based on a script by Megan Martin adapted from the novel by Tim Sandlin, Lantos was won over by the whimsical audacity of the central character’s refusal to concede to defeat. “Leo doesn't have a chip on his shoulder about the fact that he's washing dishes for a living even though he is a writer. I think if you do believe the impossible exists, then you make your own wishes come true and things become possible.”

                Can “The Right Kind of Wrong” make you fall in love? Find out when it opens in theaters from Axinite Digicinema, Inc. Follow Mark_Templar on Twitter for upcoming movie news, reviews, and updates.

Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy

Before the online and console gaming, one of the street games starts with chanting like Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy. It's old school but it was fun. It is also the title of one of the entries in this year's Metro Manila Film Festival

Vice Ganda leads an all-star cast including Kiray, Ejay Falcon, Xyriel Manabat Joey Marquez, Ruffa Gutierrez, and Maricel Soriano. The production started filming last July and you will see Vice Ganda play four different roles. Doing multiple roles is now possible since they already have the technology in movies the same way Eddie Murphy did in The Nutty Professor movies.

Director Wenn Deramas says that it is a family oriented movie just in time for the holidays. Present during the blogcon are director Wenn Deramas, Ejay Falcon, Kiray and Xyriel Manabat.

Saka Saka: Newest Action Movie from Star Cinema

Earlier this year, On The Job or OTJ for short; brought back the Philippine action genre in our local cinemas. Star Cinema releases a new action movie as an entry for the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Saka Saka stars Ejay Falcon in his first action movie and indie movie actor Joseph Marco and directed by Toto Natividad. During his debut from a popular reality series, Ejay always wanted to become an action star. He even knows the previous work of Direk Toto.

After appearing in love team roles, Ejay was given a break for the action genre in the series, Dugong Buhay, also directed by Toto Natividad. Thanks to the workshops. Ejay was the first choice for Saka Saka. I saw Ejay's potential to be the next action star, says Direk Toto.

I created this story ten years ago says the director. When Star Cinema was looking for a new action movie, I showed them the script and they agreed. Saka Saka is a Northern(Luzon) term for assassins. Politics in the provinces is dictated with power struggle. Some of the lords in the provinces have saka saka in their employ to do the deed. 

I am not afraid to reveal this because it is no secret, says Natividad. The reason why they are called saka saka because when they have no target person/s, they are doing farming errands on their land which was given to them as rewards for the deeds. In this movie, I am not saying judging them right or wrong but only humanizing them.

Just like me, Ejay Falcon grew up watching local action movies especially FPJ. When I ask him about doing stunts, he prefers he is the one doing it and he was willing. There is one scene where he was running across the rooftops of houses. They shot on location mostly in Rizal. I also ask what project he prefers to do: Love teams or action? He immediately answered action. He adds, he can do even without a leading lady.

During my talk with Direk Toto, we were discussing the future of action movies in the Philippines. He shared with me that he was also involve in shooting Missing In Action trilogy starring Chuck Norris that was shot entirely here in the Philippines. Saka Saka serves as a testing market for action movies. Star Cinemas first movie was action.

If Hong Kong movies are also gaining international recognition, why not ours especially when Natividad already had Hollywood credentials during Missing In Action. I remember recognizing scenes done in Luneta Hotel and National Library which was set up as an American Embassy during the evacuation of American forces in Saigon.

The author with Ejay Falcon and director Toto Natividad. Thanks to Stanley Briz for the photo

Saka Saka is one of the entries in this year's Metro Manila Film Fest that is new. It will be shown in advance exclusively in selected cinemas from December 18 to 24. Saka Saka is released and distributed by Star Cinema.

JUNO TEMPLE SIZZLES IN “AFTERNOON DELIGHT”

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Juno Temple, 2013’s winner of the BAFTA Rising Star Award, the only award to be voted for by the public - Temple has established herself as one of the most versatile and talented young actresses in the past years.

 

Photo courtesy of Axinite Digicinema

                Recognized as a true star in the making, Temple fearlessly takes on the role of McKenna, a club stripper, sex worker turned nanny in “Afternoon Delight” with co-stars Kathryn Hahn, Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch. 

               

                In the movie, a stay-at-home mom named Rachel (Hahn) took interest in McKenna after a lap dance meeting in a club where McKenna works.  Rachel, thinking that her life had gone on a plateau one day tried to experiment with her husband Jeff (Radnor) by visiting a strip club to spice up their marriage.  She eventually meets McKenna who gave her a lap dance.  When Rachel wakes up the next morning, she finds herself restless and nothing is ever the same in her routine.  She started to follow McKenna and tried to get to know her better. 

                McKenna, looking young and fragile, prompted Rachel to lead McKenna out of her current employment as a stripper and sex worker.   When the opportunity presented itself, Rachel took advantage to take McKenna home after being evicted from where she was staying.  Much to her husband’s hesitation to take McKenna in, Rachel arranged to make McKenna their temporary live-in nanny.  Rachel’s obsession in helping McKenna would soon unravel truths about herself that will spill over changes not just to her but to their marriage as well.

                Directed by Jill Soloway, “Afternoon Delight” has also won the directing award at this year’s Sundance Festival.  “Beyond the comedic and cinematic concepts that were on my mind, I made a few feminist choices while writing. Often, when the Madonna/Whore trope turns up in popular entertainment, the bad girl gets thrown under the bus or otherwise metaphorically murdered so that the movie can fulfill a typical Hero’s Journey plot. I am deeply  interested in another possibility, a less-told Heroine’s Journey that unravels in the shape of contiguous spirals. These interconnected circles form an emotional roller coaster for the audience as we allow dual protagonists to repeatedly switch places; both women veer through right and wrong multiple times,” shares Soloway.

               

                Temple’s breakthrough arrived when she won the role of Cate Blanchett’s daughter in the Academy Award-nominated film “Notes on A Scandal.” Temple played Polly, the rebellious daughter of Blanchett’s character Sheba. She was most recently seen opposite Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch in “Killer Joe,” based on the play by Tracy Letts and directed by William Friedkin. She was also recently seen in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” opposite Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, and Anne Hathaway.

                Temple’s other films include “Lovelace” opposite Amanda Seyfried and Peter Sarsgaard,  she recently wrapped production on Disney’s live-action fairy tale “Maleficient,” starring Angelina Jolie. She will also be seen next in ”Horns” opposite Daniel Radcliffe.  Additional credits include “The Brass Teapot,” “The Other Boleyn Girl,” “The Three Musketeers,” “Mr. Nobody,” “The Year One,” “1939 St. Trinian’s,” “Wild Child” and “Pandaemonium.”

                Rated R-16, “Afternoon Delight” is released from Axinite Digicinema, Inc.

Martin Freeman reprises Bilbo in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Like all Hobbits, Bilbo Baggins is fond of his comfortable existence; all he needs to be happy is a full pantry and a good book. When the Wizard Gandalf and 13 Dwarves unexpectedly appear on Bilbo’s doorstep and invite him to join them on a dangerous adventure, Bilbo’s life changes forever. Initially skeptical of the invitation, Bilbo’s spirit of adventure leads him to join the Company of Thorin Oakenshield and become the “burglar” required to complete their quest to outwit a ferocious dragon and reclaim the Dwarves’ stolen treasure. To everyone’s surprise, including his own, Bilbo’s wit and courage prove that there is indeed more to this Hobbit than meets the eye.

 

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

British actor Martin Freeman returns as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

As the second film begins, Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Bilbo, Thorin (Richard Armitage) and the Company are shaken and exhausted ... but not broken. 

Perhaps most changed of all is Bilbo Baggins himself. “I think, as the journey continues, Bilbo is able to look at the world a bit more square on,” says Freeman of the Hobbit at the center of the tale. “He is still the person he was; he is still frightened. He’s not a fighter or adventurer by nature, but to be among different species that want to kill him or eat him ... it doesn’t need to be said how huge a change that is. And Bilbo finds a bravery that he didn’t know he had, and, more importantly, that none of the others knew he had.” 

From his encounter beneath the Goblin Tunnels in the cave of the emaciated and conniving creature known as Gollum, Bilbo has emerged with something more than his courage. He has managed to steal Gollum’s “precious” ring with the power to make its wearer invisible. 

“Bilbo is beginning to have a strange relationship with this gold ring,” say screenwriter and producer Philippa Boyens. “He’s beginning to have a sense that there’s something off about it. It’s a tough choice for him to put it on and disappear, and he takes it off as soon as he can. Having such a great actor as Martin Freeman helps you find your way through this idea that this is not just a magic trinket that turns you invisible. Not every choice he had to make was a good choice down in those holes beneath the mountain.” 

Bilbo chooses to conceal this new information from Gandalf, and, for McKellen, Freeman’s portrayal of Bilbo in this moment illustrates the art the actor brings to his performance. “Martin has a palette of subtlety, and it’s often unpredictable,” McKellen observes. “He doesn’t like to do the same thing twice in front of the camera, so with a multitude of takes, in every one of those takes, Martin will give you a different nuance, a different color, a different aspect of the character he’s playing. You don’t know quite what’s going to happen next, which makes your reaction all the more real. With each take, I discovered something new about Bilbo.”

A production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” is released in 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Evangeline Lily Interview about The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

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Beloved by worldwide audiences for her performance as the feisty Kate in the Fox TV’s acclaimed mystery series “Lost” for which she earned a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination, Canada’s Evangeline Lilly now stars in a Silvan Elf, Tauriel, in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” 

 

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Daughter of Mirkwood, Tauriel is as deadly as she is beautiful. A favorite of King Thranduil (Lee Pace) and Captain of the Woodland Guard, her job is to follow the orders of the King without question. However, Tauriel has a strong will and unyielding passion for what she believes is right. An expert fighter, she carries signature weapons including twin daggers and a bow and arrow. Like Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Tauriel is extremely fast and agile in battle. Although she has lived for many hundreds of years in Middle-earth, she remains one of the youngest of the Elven folk, and has rarely ventured beyond the borders of the great forest.

Question: How did you become involved in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug?"

Evangeline Lilly: I kind of got drawn into the project. I was laid up in bed, having just had my first child—I mean literally just—and I got a call saying, ‘Peter Jackson would like you to play an Elf in his upcoming Hobbit films. Would you mind getting on a call with his writing team and discussing the possibility?’ And I was like, ‘Holy crap!’ 

I thought I had retired at that point from acting, and I was moving into a stage of life with motherhood, and attempting a writing career. My focus was totally shifted away from acting. The Hobbit had been my favorite book as a young teen. Peter Jackson’s realization of The Lord of the Rings films had been some of my favorite movies ever. And I was a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, all of the work of Tolkien. So, I was like, ‘Aw, man, I have to take this call. I can’t say no to that, I can’t. No matter how much I want to move on, I have to take that call.’ 

I also knew from different people in the industry who had worked with them that Peter and his team were incredibly good people. They’re just wonderful to work for. So I took the call, and they told me they wanted me to play a Wood-elf. The Wood-elves were my favorite characters. I used to fantasize as a little girl about being a Wood-elf. I couldn’t say no.

I had been asked when I was working on Lost throughout the years, ‘What is your dream role?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t really have one.’ But you don’t know you have these things until they get proposed to you. And then it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, this is a dream role.’ I didn’t realize it, but this is a total dream role for me. So when my baby was only three months old, I flew up to New Zealand and started stunt training.

Q: Your character, Tauriel, is a new character who is not explicitly described in the book. Did you see that as an opportunity to contribute to the character? And what were the discussions like with you and the writers?

Lilly: Yeah. I was really fortunate in that because my character was brand new, so there was all this room to play. There was all this room for the writers to open up the floor to me and say, ‘What do you envision, and how do you see her, and what would you want to contribute.’ I’ve never worked in a situation where writers are so collaborative with the actor. 

I can’t tell you how intimate that process was. To be invited to Philippa Boyens’s home and sit down with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and go over pages of script that are not finalized, and contribute. And say, ‘Well, I think this, and I think that. And what about this? No, yes?’ It’s kind of nerve-wracking the first time you say to Academy Award-winning writers, ‘I don’t think so.’ [laughs] I’m like, ‘How dare I; it’s so inappropriate!’—but that’s how humble they are, and how open and collaborative, that they would invite that. 

So I really think that I was able to infuse a lot of my own thoughts and feelings about Tauriel into the character, which, of course, is a double-edged sword. Because if the world knows that, they’re going to be particularly angry with me if they don’t like her. But I’m very willing and ready to deal with the masses coming with torches to burn me at the stake. [Laughs] So it’s fine. I think it’s kind of fun.

Q: Can you tell me about Tauriel? What’s she like, and what did you like about her?

Lilly: Those are two great complimentary questions. For lack of a better way of putting it, she is an empowered female figure because she is head of the Elven Guard, so she’s in a leadership position. She is a ruthless, precise, talented fighter. She mows down Orcs like they are blades of grass. 

But what I like about her is that that is not what makes her a strong woman in my mind, or a strong female character—because she’s not a woman; she’s an Elf. [Laughs] It’s the reason why she fights—she fights for truth and justice. And when I see films where women go out and kick butt, their aggression looks like a woman trying to mimic a man. I think that’s counterproductive to female empowerment because I don’t think women should aspire to be like men. I think women should aspire to be the most incredible, powerful version of themselves, which means in my mind, they hold onto their feminine virtues of compassion, grace, love, and beauty, and things that shine out from the inside. 

So when I think about Tauriel, I’m always hesitant to play a role where a woman goes around killing things because I don’t like that message. But in the The Hobbit films, almost every single male character in that movie is motivated by selfish desires. Tauriel is one of the very few characters in the films who is motivated by justice and truth. That’s what she’s fighting for; that’s her drive—her compassion for the weak, and the suffering; and her desire to fight for justice and truth. That’s what I like the most about her. 

When I look at the other characters that share that with her, two that come to mind are Gandalf and Galadriel. And I think, ‘I’m in great company.’ Those are like two of my favorite characters in the Trilogy, and I’m proud to be in that camp, the not selfish camp. [Laughs] 

Q: What was it like for you to join this merry band of actors down in New Zealand?

Lilly: It was wonderful. I like to think of us as the Commonwealth Company because we primarily all came from Commonwealth countries. It was England, and Ireland, and Scotland, and Australia, and New Zealand, and Canada. I was the only Canadian represented. We’ve been on American films so everyone drinks coffee and Coke; everyone on this one drank tea. We had this commonality in our cultural backgrounds that made it a very quick, easy entry into the group. I came in a year after they’d been already filming together for a long time, so I was the new kid on the block. And it would have been very easy for me to feel ostracized or on the outside, but never for a minute did I feel that way. 

I think to a certain extent those boys were like, ‘Oh, my God, a woman, thank God.’ So, in a way, I probably had a leg in because they were grateful to have a female on set who was smiling, and giggling, and doing the things that girls do. So it was wonderful. 

I primarily worked with the Elves and the humans. I actually didn’t work a lot with the Dwarves. And I was very lucky in that I got paired off and in scenes with Bard’s children, and I love working with children. It’s my favorite. I just think it’s so much fun. It reminds me all the time that, ‘Oh, what I do for a living is I play house.’ That’s what I do, and it’s fun, and it’s sweet, and it’s easy and simple, because they don’t think about it, they don’t complicate it. And that was one of the highlights of filming for me. 

Q: What has it been like for you to work with Peter Jackson?

Lilly: Peter is my favorite kind of director because he doesn’t take anything he does seriously. He has a background in genre horror films that he made in his backyard, and he got his start in film. And he still treats it that way, thank God, because he hasn’t become some kind of film mogul who thinks that the sun and the moon rise from him. He always wants to laugh. He always wants to goof around. And he is very humble and very sweet. 

For some reason, I’m very easily intimidated when I’m on a film set. Surprisingly, it’s a characteristic of my own that I don’t understand. I think it’s because I have to be so vulnerable. In life, I’m not easily intimidated at all. But the minute I’m on a film set, if a director is very, very serious, or heavy-handed, or nit-picking every little thing about my performance, I feel it happen inside of me where I get actor’s block. It’s the same kind of thing as a writer’s block, where I just shut down inside. I’m searching for that natural ease and it’s just gone, and I can’t find it, and it’s a horrible feeling—I never had that with Peter. 

He was always helpful, and easy, and lovely. And he has the best earlobes in the industry; I could rub them all day. I love him. And it was just a pleasure. It was a treat.

A production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” will be released in 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures