August 2007 Archives

THE RED carpet at the Palazz o del Cinema is vacuumed in time for the opening of the 64th Venice Film Festiv al. Lav Diaz, the Filipino filmmaker known for his audacious, marathon films such a s "Batang Westside" and "Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino," gets the closi ng night honors in the festival's Horizons (Documentary) section. The running time of his latest masterpiece, "Kagadanan sa banwaan ning mga Engk anto (Death in the Land of Encantos)"? Oh, just a mere nine hours. Editor's note: Photo by Ruben V. Nepales

WE are in Berlin to visit To m Cruise on the set of his latest movie, âValkyrie,â a thriller based on the tr ue story of several German officersâ attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 194 4. Tom plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who came from a prominent Catholic fa mily in Germany, and who was the one who carried out the mission to kill Hitler and stop his atrocious regime. A bomb in a briefcase that Stauffenberg placed in a room exploded but Hitler su rvived. Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators were immediately executed on t his spot marked by a simple plaque and wreath. It was a sobering experience to visit this site and reflect on what-might-have- beens had Stauffenberg been successful in his assassination attempt. The daring story of Stauffenberg, who is considered a hero in Germany, is virtu ally unknown internationally. Editor's note: Photo by Ruben V. Nepales

FIL-AM hip-hop artists recently made it to the cover of LA Weekly, El Lay's alt ernative weekly publication. The cover story titled "The Fil-Am Invasion," which was written by Sam Slovick, appeared with the sub-head, "Embedded with the hip-hop movement that's taking over Hollywood." The piece heralded the rise of hyphenated Filipinos as DJs in the burgeoning party scene in LA and in key cities across the US. Well, all those ballroom dancing parties that their Pinoy parents dragged these kids to are paying off. These DJs with names like Q-Bert and Jep are lording i t over the club scene in Hollywood and other parts of the LA area. Writer Slovick encapsulated the growing prominence of Fil-Am DJs in this paragr aph: "Icy Ice breaks down the rise of Fil-Am hip-hop like this: As hip-hop migr ated west in the '80s, Filipinos in California already had a thriving funk- and R&B-based mobile-DJ scene going on. With infrastructure intact, the Fil-Am par ty scene moved out of the garage and into the clubs in L.A., San Francisco and Southern California, where the voice of disenfranchised ethnic America resonate d with these first-generation Cali teens -- who, though many in number, felt ou tside the American mainstream. The time was right for a full-scale teenage hip- hop revolt. Fil-Am DJ crews emerged all over Southern California." Read the whole story at http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/ the-fil-am-invasion/16965/.

ATTENTION Fil-Am actresses: cut your hair short now but leave enough for the bangs so you can look like Neile McQueen Toffel when you auditio n to play her in a coming film about the late Steve McQueen. "My Husband, My Friend," a book by the Manila-born Neile about her life with th e legendary actor, will soon be turned into a movie. Neile has just announced t hat Kevin Kasha, an executive at New Line Home Entertainment, optioned the movi e rights to her book. A statement released by the author, actress, singer and dancer through a public ist stated, "A search is now underway to cast the actors who will portray the p opular and enduring screen icon, Steve McQueen, and his former wife, actress an d entertainer Neile McQueen Toffel, who is the mother of McQueenâs children and was by his side for 15 ½ years during the production of all of his major film s." Neile is said to be related to the Salvador showbiz family in the Philippines.