By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES, California–Matt LeBlanc’s former business manager has filed a lawsuit alleging the actor owes her at least $1 million.

Camille Cerio claims she served as LeBlanc’s manager in 1994, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The suit cites a 1994 letter in which LeBlanc approved the payment of 15 percent of his earnings for “pilot and series derived from ‘Friends Like Us’ and subsequent jobs derived henceforth” to Cerio. “Friends Like Us” was the original title of NBC’s hit series “Friends.”

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By Dolly Anne Carvajal
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–“Kilig factor” runs high when you’re around Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes. Their affection and sweetness for each other is no put-on at all.

“I gently remind Dong to stop doing his annoying mannerism every now and then,” Marian says, giggling. “I’m used to it but others might find it weird. He does it unconsciously so I have to call his attention when he’s at it again.”

She obviously has grown fond of her leading man to the point of learning to live with his idiosyncrasies. Marian rambles on like a girl talking about her crush.

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By Oliver Pulumbarit
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–The short-lived but fan-favorite space saga, “Firefly,” created by revered writer-director Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”) is finally being shown locally on the C/S channel (Mondays, 8 p.m.). Many years after it was canceled, the precursor series to 2005’s “Serenity” feature film remains a tautly conceptualized “space western,” an occasionally rowdy and straightforward exploration of human conflicts and perspectives, as exemplified by its main motley band of space-farers. Several centuries into the future and amazing technological breakthroughs later, survival is still the name of the game, and unlikely alliances may be the only way to assure that.

The team of nine, led by former soldier Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), traverses the blackness of space with the Firefly-type ship Serenity, and gets smuggling jobs while trying to steer clear of sinister lawmen, vengeful crime lords, and the barbaric cannibals of legend called Reavers. Mal isn’t the typical hero figure; he knows how to fight dirty and has questionable motives sometimes. But he also knows when to fight for what he — or his crew — believes in. Among Whedon’s colorful menagerie of hero characters, Mal can be counted as one of the cockier, more conflicted ones.

Disparity

As with previous Whedon ensembles, “Firefly” has a cast of characters that shows strength through disparity. Mal’s second-in-command Zoe (Gina Torres) and the expert pilot Wash (Alan Tudyk) are spouses with contrasting personalities. Simon (Sean Maher) is a fugitive doctor who has a psychically attuned teen sister River (Summer Glau). Inara (Morena Baccarin) is the comely, classy courtesan; Kaylee (Jewel Staite), the sprightly, girl-next-door mechanic. Enigmatic figures such as the cleric Shepherd Book (Ron Glass) and the amoral mercenary Jayne (Adam Baldwin) lend profound angles to the group’s adventures.

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By Niño Mark Sablan
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–After hosting the first season of the AXN Original Production “The Amazing Race Asia,” Singapore-based Chinese-American actor Allan Wu was deluged with endorsement deals, commercial offers and other various proposals — even invitations to star in a Filipino movie.

And while he did accept some of those irresistible offers (the Filipino flick sadly not being a part of it), he is now back as the host of season two of one of the world’s greatest, most exciting and most successful reality TV franchises.

“The Amazing Race Asia” Season 2 (TARA 2) is set to premiere soon on AXN. While host Wu admits to trying to look a lot less like Phil Keoghan of the US edition and a lot more like himself in the new season, the show itself has undergone several exciting changes.

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By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–The quotation on his calling card says it all: “It’s a good story, man!”

South Korean director-producer Lee Hyung Min made it clear that “story is king” in the broadcast media.

He was one of the invited speakers in the “international co-production” workshop held in Makati recently. It was organized by the Korean Broadcasting Institute (KBI) and the country’s National Broadcasting Network (NBN).

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