MTV Makes Horror Movie
LOS ANGELES – MTV, which made its name as the home of the music video three decades ago, will launch a drive into scripted original programs on Friday that executives hope will mark a new era for the youth-oriented cable channel.
At a time when many TV studios are reducing expensive scripted dramas and comedies, MTV is expanding its horizons beyond its current reality-heavy slate and making original movies and series on a tight budget.
‘A big part of our mission as we go forward is to add scripted programming, animation, comedy and long-form movies to the mix,’ said Tony DiSanto, president of programming at MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc .
Friday’s premiere of ‘My Super Psycho Sweet 16″, a horror movie inspired by the hit MTV reality series ‘My Super Sweet 16″, is the first of four original movies due to air over the next 12 months. Other programs in the works include a comedy series and a US remake of the British teen drama ‘Skins’.
Mr DiSanto said ‘My Super Psycho Sweet 16″, shot in Atlanta, Georgia to maximize tax credits, ‘cost us less than than two half-hour episodes of ‘The Hills”. It went from script to finished production in six months.
MTV declined to say how much it was investing in the productions. — REUTERS
Straits Times
‘Earhart’s Hair’ Actually Thread
WASHINGTON – AN AVIATION museum in the US state of Ohio that believed it was displaying a hair sample from famed flyer Amelia Earhart made an unfortunate discovery, after DNA analysis revealed it to be a piece of thread.
‘In a disappointing turn of events,’ as Cleveland’s International Women’s Air and Space Museum described it in a statement, the lock of ‘hair’ in their possession since 1986 was revealed as thread only after they put it on display this year.
Museum officials said they had confidence in the artifact, having been recovered by a maid at the White House after Earhart – a friend of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt – stayed there shortly before her final flight.
‘It was always believed it was her hair,’ Heather Alexander, the museum’s office manager, told AFP.
The museum had lent a small sample of the ‘hair’ to a historian’s organisation hoping to uncover the truth of Earhart’s demise and seeking to match DNA to other artifacts found on the central Pacific island of Nikumororo.
The thread remains on display at the museum as part of an Earhart exhibition that is on show until Nov 15. ‘We’ve changed the sign and explained everything,’ assured Ms Alexander. — AFP
Straits Times
DIY Wiki-Magazine Soon
JERUSALEM – THE founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia said on Wednesday he had entered into a partnership with computer company Hewlett Packard that will allow users to create and print magazines.
Jimmy Wales, founder of the user-edited Wikipedia, said users will be able to publish personal magazines using content from Wikia sites.
Traditional magazine readership is in decline, with some closing, and the new initiative is aimed at the wealth of information on the Internet that can be personalised.
Using HP’s MagCloud, users will be able to print on-demand magazines from Wikia’s more than 50,000 communities and 3 million pages of content.
To publish a glossy, full-colour magazine for friends, the coffee table or mass distribution, Wikia users select the content and cover page, and then order their request through MagCloud, HP said in a statement. — REUTERS
Straits Times
Retrial For Travolta Case
NASSAU (Bahamas) – A JUDGE in the Bahamas has ordered a retrial in the John Travolta extortion case because of possible juror misconduct.
Judge Anita Allen issued the order on Wednesday after a local politician said in a speech on TV and radio that one of the defendants had been acquitted after the monthlong court case.
Ms Allen did not set a date for a new trial.
An ambulance driver and his lawyer were charged with trying to extort US$25 million (S$35 million) from John Travolta following the death of the actor’s son.
Travolta attorney Michael Ossi said he will cooperate in any way possible and testify again if necessary. — AP
Straits Times
This Butt-Kicker Still A Looker At 47
This butt-kicker still a looker at 47
Actress Michelle Yeoh says it’s not that difficult to be as fit as her
By Tan Kee Yun
October 22, 2009
THERE is no special secret to looking fabulous in your late 40s.
TNP PICTURE: KUA CHEE SIONG
At least not for the gorgeous Michelle Yeoh, who does not look a day older than she was 10 years ago.
The 47-year-old veteran actress, who is the ambassador for dairy products brand Anlene, was in town yesterday for the launch of Anlene’s Cheers to Strong Bones campaign, held in conjunction with World Osteoporosis Day.
Speaking to reporters at Shangri-La Hotel, the former Miss Malaysia was refreshingly candid when the topic veered to her success in maintaining her elegant beauty and slim figure.
‘I must say I’m very happy being in my 40s. It does take great effort to look good, but it helps that exercise has always been an important part of my life,’ she said.
‘Working out is a daily routine for me, I do my stretching, I also walk a lot.’
The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star is renowned for doing her own stunts in her action and martial arts films.
Indeed, strength and toughness are words that have been commonly associated with her since her early movies, namely Once A Cop (1993) and Wing Chun (1994).
She will return to her action roots in her next film, The Sword And The Martial Arts World, co-directed by Hong Kong’s John Woo and Taiwanese film-maker Su Chao-pin.
But beneath that tough, steely exterior, Michelle admitted that she’s ‘really feminine at heart’.
‘There’s no conflict in being tough and feminine at the same time.
‘I might not be your frilly girly type of girl and, yes, I play kick-butt roles in films, but martial arts, to me, is a form of meditation, it’s not me trying to be masculine.
‘Like most women, I enjoy men opening doors for me, lending me a helping hand when I need one.’
She pointed out, too, that her repertoire is ‘actually quite diverse’ and she has taken on ‘gentler roles’ like a geisha in Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and an astronaut in Sunshine (2007).
Even in her last film, the action-packed The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, she played a kind, selfless mother.
Michelle was previously married to Hong Kong businessman Dickson Poon, whose company Dickson Concepts owns businesses such as Harvey Nichols and Charles Jourdan.
The couple divorced after 31/2 years.
She is currently engaged to Mr Jean Todt, former chief executive officer of Ferrari and a leading figure in the F1 racing scene.
She was recently picked by People Magazine as one of its Top 35 All-Time Screen Beauties, alongside Hollywood stars such as Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow. Michelle said the news caught her by surprise.
‘I almost fell off the chair when I heard I had made the list,’ she said.
‘But to be the only Asian actress included, I’m honoured. In a way, I feel I’m representing a lot of Asian women, showing the world that we are graceful and strong.’
And it’s not that difficult to be as fit as her, she said.
Excuses
‘You don’t have to go to the gym to work out,’ she said.
‘People tend to put off their gym sessions forever, they’ll say, ‘Oh, I’ll just go tomorrow’, but tomorrow becomes next week, and they’d just keep delaying it till one day, they’ve given it up completely.’
Hectic schedules are the norm in today’s fast-paced society, she said, so the key is to devise different ways to incorporate exercise into one’s regular schedule.
‘When I was younger, I used to play squash almost every other day,’ said Michelle with a grin.
‘Now, with my workload, that has taken a backseat.
‘I don’t have the time to indulge in sporting activities as often as I hope to, so I dance whenever I can.’
She would ‘simply turn on some music’ in her living room at home, then ‘shake along to it’, she said.
But she’s no amateur dancer.
At 15, she left her hometown in Ipoh for England and majored in ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance in London.
The best part about exercising consistently, she said, is that she can afford to occasionally indulge on food.
‘Keeping fit is never about dieting, you just got to eat in moderation,’ she said.
‘I still enjoy my red wines and chocolates.’
The NewPaper