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Rising talent: Charlotte Lim (left) with acclaimed film director Ang Lee during the premiere of Lust, Caution in Shanghai, in 2007, where she chipped in as the second assistant director for the movie.

Local independent filmmaker Charlotte Lim has made significant inroads with her movies at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

In January, one Malaysian short film made it to the annual International Film Festival Rotterdam 2013 in the Netherlands, which promotes “alternative” cinema.

The film, Hanger, was directed and produced by Malaysian independent filmmaker Charlotte Lim Lay Kuen. Running a duration of 13 minutes, it was shot in Lim’s hometown of Malacca, in the house belonging to her grandmother where she grew up.

There’s a note in the festival’s website that lauds the film’s production quality and technical flair. It reads: “Carefully made. Beautifully lit. Deftly played. Perfect poetic cinema.”

It’s a testament to Lim’s dedication to her craft, as well as international acceptance towards her work. In fact, this was Lim’s fourth participation at Rotterdam – her previous film I’m Lisa (2010) was awarded a special mention at last year’s festival, under the Tiger Awards Competition.

Despite making these little inroads abroad, Lim, 32, doesn’t like calling it an achievement. Instead, she relishes the experience as a cultural exchange and exposure of sorts with like-minded peers from around the world. She has produced four short films, as well as a full-length feature called My Daughter (2009).

In a one-on-one interview, Lim reveals that I’m Lisa was borne out of a mutual click she had with Malaysian actress Lai Fooi Mun who also starred in My Daughter. “She was about to leave Malaysia to become a flight attendant, so I proposed for the collaboration of another project based on Lai’s true story of her own family dynamics. At the same time, I’m Lisa was produced as part of my presentation for the Tokyo Filmex Festival.”

The film depicts a lady going through the process of cleaning and cooking frog broth for an elderly woman. It is an abstract, slow-moving composition that you either love or loathe and can be bewildering for an audience that’s used to watching commercial movies.

“(These) films are a lot more personal given that every individual would interpret differently what comes across. And so, the message isn’t a priority as with the communication I hope to facilitate with viewers,” Lim explains.

I’m Lisa caught the attention of a Rotterdam programmer who made it competition-worthy. The special mention award quickly came after.

In the case of Hanger, Lim says it was written and shot in 2011, at a time when she felt an underlying wave of emotions that were urging her to spend time in solitude and to keep writing.

“I ended up spending a lot of time at a cafe in Malacca, where through most afternoons, I could only muster up a few lines or words. And the entire process made me talk a lot to myself. Despite those writer’s block moments, I came up with eight scenes for this short film,” she says.

Lim adds that Hanger showcases part of her childhood. Some of the scenes, like a pair of hands filled with rubber seeds, recount her growing up days in rubber plantations. Another scene of a forgotten brick wall sheds light on remnants of a railway track built during the Japanese Occupation.

“I’ve always kept my heart close to old structures of the bygone days, as I feel the environment has forced changes through them. It’s my personal mission to also show that there’s more to Malacca than just A Famosa,” says Lim, who was born in Gajah Berang.

After college, Lim’s first work experience came via an industry internship, where she worked in a production house that made television commercials.

The internship paved way for her introduction to local filmmaker Ho Yuhang, who was still new to the industry at the time. Lim was the assistant director in Ho’s first telemovie.

Not long after, Lim moved from making commercials to movies. She was an assistant director in James Lee’s Petaling Street Warriors, and a second assistant director in Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution. She was also assistant director in Tsai Ming-Liang’s I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone, and Ho’s Rain Dogs and At The End of Daybreak. Despite these promising prospects, they still didn’t lure her as much as independent films did, with its creative and experimental freedom.

“Filmmaking, for me, has to be made with a clear vision and purpose. There are films in the market which are badly shot, with no production value and which ‘disrespects’ the audience ...

“Some may argue that a film is purely entertainment and that nobody takes it seriously anymore but I beg to differ. My contention is that if you don’t take your film seriously, why bother making it, especially as so much time and resources have gone into its production,” asserts Lim.

She laments that the younger generation have little interest in independent cinema, where films are made with a certain kind of “language” and style of shooting. Every film, as an art form, has its own unique language.

“A lot of people have become rather attached to technology in creating impact and eliciting effects, while neglecting the storytelling aspect. There’s nothing wrong with all the high-tech stuff being used. Unfortunately, it’s the lack of cinematography that makes films look like a television drama,” she candidly opines.

For her, the laborious effort of filmmaking lies in finding the right vision to portray and the words to say. Last year, Lim made a documentary about the life of a real-life couple – the husband is an Iranian artist and his wife is Korean – who had been living in Malacca for three years, but had no choice but to return to Iran due to visa problems.

Lim, who had harboured a fear of digital tools and camera equipment, overcame that when she was “forced” to shoot the entire documentary on her own.

“I think it was very important for me to shoot it alone so I could become more intimate with the subjects. Documentaries can be tricky because you are shooting real characters in their real setting, which means you need to develop a relationship with them, so that they are comfortable going about their own routine despite the camera rolling.

“Unlike the conventional way of shooting that involves interviews with the main cast, I captured them sans dialogue in their present state at home, to recreate the pair’s surreal sense of living,” Lim notes.

Lim wishes that more young filmmakers will take to capturing important footage with real stories of real people.

“If everyone can contribute a little towards documenting our heritage, then there’s a lot of footage that can be used purposefully in time to come. That way, we can say we have done our part for the community.

“We shouldn’t be afraid to stand out from others, even if that might mean a lonelier path we are taking.”

Award winner: Irrfan Khan won the best actor award for his role as a soldier and athlete-turned-bandit in the film Paan Singh Tomar, which won a few other awards in the recent Indian National Film Awards.

Bollywood has always been one of the most thriving – and colourful – film industries in the world.

India’s movie industry toasted its 100th birthday last week with the release of two films celebrating its humble origins in the silent era and the influence of glamorous modern-day Bollywood.

Bombay Talkies comprises four short stories inspired by India’s love of cinema, created by some of the country’s leading filmmakers.

“You usually celebrate birthdays and that’s what we are doing today. Indian cinema turns 100 and we are acknowledging that,” said Zoya Akhtar, who directed the film along with Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee.

The acclaimed cast includes Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Rani Mukherjee, with a cameo from acting legend Amitabh Bachchan.

The film’s theme song features Bollywood A-listers such as Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor.

The movie will have a special gala screening at the Cannes Film Festival, which kicked off on Wednesday, where India is to be honoured as the “guest country” in its landmark year.

“The four short stories are about passion for cinema and ingredients like drama, music, dance and entertainment. All of these ingredients are a huge part of our films and culture,” said co-producer Ashi Dua.

Its release comes 100 years to the day since the opening in Bombay (now Mumbai) of Raja Harishchandra, the first all-Indian silent feature film, based on the tale of a virtuous king from the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

It marked the birth of one of the world’s most vibrant film industries, which produced almost 1,500 movies last year in various languages and corners of the country, with Hindi-language Bollywood leading the way.

While Bombay Talkies explores life in the present, the second film that was shown was the award-winning Celluloid Man, which pays tribute to the founder of the National Film Archive of India, P.K. Nair.

The documentary, so far only shown at festivals, showcases Nair’s lifetime dedication to preserving films that date back to the silent era, and it is peppered with clips from historic black-and-white productions.

Thanks to the efforts of 80-year-old Nair, nine silent films out of 1,700 made in India have been preserved, although no records remain of many others.

“Almost 70% of the films made before 1950 are lost, including some real gems like the first ‘talkie’,” Nair told AFP, referring to the first Indian film with sound, 1931’s Alam Ara (The Light Of The World).

He said digital technology would help to preserve the cinematic gems that still exist for future generations.

“There are currently about 12,000 films awaiting digitisation.”

The annual National Film Awards was also held last week in New Delhi, following a six-day festival showcasing the colourful history of Indian cinema.

In the awards, the best Hindi feature went to Paan Singh Tomar which stars Irrfan Khan (who tied for the best actor award with Vikram Gokhale in Anumati). The film revolves around the life of Indian soldier and athlete Paan Singh Tomar who became a notorious bandit. Meanwhile, Usha Jadhav won best actress for her role in the Marathi film Dhag, whose director Shivaji Lotan Patil won the best director award. The ceremony also celebrated works from various regional film hubs, in languages including Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu and Bengali. – AFP

NEW DELHI: Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt, who is in jail for arms possession, is being held in a cell built for militants where he cannot see daylight and wants to be transferred, a report said Saturday.

Dutt, 53, surrendered on Thursday to serve out the remaining three-and-a-half years of a five-year term in a case linked to deadly 1993 Mumbai bombings.

Dutt's lawyer, Rizwan Merchant, has demanded the transfer of the actor whom he said was being kept in the cell once occupied by Mumbai attacks gunman Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, according to the Indian Express daily newspaper.

Pakistani-born Kasab was executed last November, nearly four years after 166 people died in a three-day rampage that traumatised India.

The steel bunker specially built for Kasab at Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail had no ventilation and the actor could not even tell if it was day or night, the lawyer said.

"He (Dutt) is not a terrorist" and should not be kept in such a cell, the lawyer was quoted as saying.

There was no immediate comment available from the jail.

The actor, whose parents were two of India's biggest stars, shot to fame in the 1980s in a string of action movies in which he performed his own stunts, earning him the nickname "Deadly Dutt".

He was convicted in 2006 of possessing guns supplied by gangsters who staged the 1993 bomb attacks that killed 257 people but was freed on bail after serving 18 months in prison. In March, the Supreme Court upheld Dutt's conviction.

He was cleared in 2007 of more serious conspiracy charges in the blasts, believed staged by Muslim underworld leaders in revenge for religious riots in which mainly Muslims died after the razing of an ancient mosque by Hindu zealots.

Dutt, whose mother was Muslim and father Hindu, was found guilty of possession of an automatic rifle and a pistol which he insisted were only meant to protect his family in Mumbai's charged atmosphere following the mosque's destruction.

After the Supreme Court upheld his conviction, the father-of-three wept and declared himself "a shattered man". - AFP

Shut up already: People have actually paid Foo Yoh to stop singing.

Foo Yoh, whose fame has been compared to William Hung from American Idol, turns rejection on its head to rake in some cash.

He’s no reject; he’s your lovable, not-so-polished singer who wanted to share his wealth with Red FM’s listeners.

Chang Foo Yoh, or better known as Foo Yoh, is a singer with a claimed net worth of RM1.5mil. He amassed his fortune from being paid NOT to sing!

Born in Gopeng, Perak, Foo Yoh picked up his love for singing while studying in Boston, United States.

He even visited many record labels to showcase his talent. Unfortunately, he didn’t land any record deal.

All the rejections only fuel his passion for music even more. He even approached venues like Wimbledon and Madison Square Garden for a chance to perform. However, his perseverance has paid off ... well kind of, as he was given cash to disappear.

On a recent trip back to Malaysia, he approached Red FM with a proposal that would allow him to showcase his “talent” on air and give out cash generously.

Red FM’s Foo Yoh Mega Mash Up was a competition run on Red FM from 8 April to 10 May with a total of RM25,000 given out during that period. Many listeners walked away with extra cash in their bank account by calling in to Red FM and identifying the songs sung by Foo Yoh.

So, what about him that caught Red FM’s attention? “Regardless of the quality of his performance, Foo Yoh exhibits the Red FM spirit of Living It!” said Lil’ Kev of The Red Breakfast WTF.

He added: “We thought it would be entertaining and fun for our listeners whether they participated or tuned in while stuck in traffic. I would compare him to William Hung of American Idol fame; Foo Yoh would have definitely struck a record deal had he been on the show!”

Foo You said: “I know I am different from the rest of the chart topping artistes out there. I’ve faced a lot of rejection but I have never let that changed me. Auto tune is just not for me.”

Neo Teng Chia, who works as a research manager in a bank, was the first winner of Red FM’s Foo Yoh Mega Mash Up.

“Music is my escape and I enjoy the music played by Red FM, I have been a huge fan since 2009. When I heard Foo Yoh sing, it didn’t take me long to identify the songs. Although out of tune, I could tell that they are my favourite songs – Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. Thank you Foo Yoh for the RM800 that I’m going to use on a shopping spree,” said Neo.

Keep tuning in to Red FM for great music and entertaining competitions to win cash and more.

Red FM is a subsidiary of Star Radio Group.

Poignant selectio n: Redza Minhat in a scene from KIL. The drama directed by Nik Amir Mustapha will be screened for the international film market at Marche du Film in Cannes.

THE prestigious Marche du Film will see four Malaysian feature films making their international screening debut in Cannes, France.

Creative Content Association Malaysia (CCAM), an association of the leading content creators in Malaysia, announced that Vikingdom by KRU Studios, Bola Kampung The Movie by Animasia Studio, Penanggal by Tayangan Unggul and Primeworks Studios and KIL by Primeworks Studios will be exhibited at the film market event.

The Malaysian films will be screened alongside productions from across the globe to prospective film buyers, acquisition executives, international sales agents and distributors.

“We are very excited to be embarking on this journey for the first time bringing local films with an international clout to hopefully garner interest from major industry players from all over the world,” said CCAM chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Mahyiddin Mustakim.

He added: “We hope this paves the way for more feature films from Malaysia with an international appeal to join us as we gear up for a more aggressive approach in making our films not just visible but marketable as well.”

Mahyiddin also said CCAM will be hosting trade missions to selected international events in the future and looks forward to a possible collaboration with government agencies such as the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas).

Established in 1959, Marche du Film is the business counterpart of the Cannes Film Festival and is one of the largest film markets in the world.

It is held annually in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival (held from May 15-24 this year).

The international film festival will feature the screening of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring and Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra.

This year’s Marche du Film will see a record number of 5,000 films presented to industry professionals.

For more information, visit marchedufilm.com/en.

Emma Watson (R) poses with US actress Claire Julien (C) and director Sofia Coppola.

CANNES (AFP) - Harry Potter star Emma Watson abandons magic for pole-dancing and cat burglary in Sofia Coppola's latest movie, one of two Cannes contenders on Thursday with twists on the girls-gone-wild theme.

The Bling Ring is based on true events in fame-fixated Los Angeles where a gang of teenagers in 2009 broke into the mansions of celebrities including Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan and Megan Fox.

Snatching millions of dollars' worth of jewellery and designer frocks, they sought to grab a piece of the A-list lifestyle, becoming minor social media stars themselves in the process.

"The story couldn't have happened 10 years ago and so I thought it was an interesting story for a movie that said so much about our culture today," Coppola told reporters.

The British Watson puts on a Valley Girl accent to play Nicki, the product of New Age home-schooling and flashy consumer culture who links up with a group that learns that globe-trotting stars often don't bother much with home security.

Watson said moving from her role as Hermione in one of cinema's biggest franchises to an unsympathetic mall rat required her to take in hours of reality television.

"I watched a lot of the Kardashians, I watched a lot of Paris Hilton, I watched a lot of The Hills," she said.

"It would be very easy for Nicki to feel like a parody, not real, and somehow I had to understand and empathise with her and that was really my biggest challenge, second to getting the accent down -- it's a very specific dialect."

Paris Hilton, who leaves her house keys under her doormat, is an early victim and Coppola's camera ogles her wardrobe of slinky dresses and hip-hop-calibre baubles, and a private nightclub festooned with animal prints.

It is there that Nicki gives Hilton's dance pole a spin, prepping for nights out clubbing when she hopes to get noticed by a producer and be cast in a music video.

Watson said Coppola allowed her to ad-lib and let her hair down on set, which she described as a welcome change.

"It was nice to work with someone that's really spontaneous as well and I could work in a way that was a lot more loose than I was really used to -- I'm used to really having to stick to my lines," she said.

When the ring is finally caught thanks to grainy security video at another star's home and their own selfies (photographs of oneself taken with mobile phones) on Facebook, Nicki proves a master at media spin.

Opening Cannes' Un Certain Regard sidebar section for edgy new cinema, The Bling Ring drew polite applause at a packed press screening ahead of its red-carpet premiere. Hilton, who lent Coppola her home for the filming, has said she plans to attend.

Britain's daily Guardian called it "an interesting surprise".

"It puts you inside the unwholesome opium den of celeb-worship, and when the gang infiltrate Hilton's bizarre home, a Tutankhamun's tomb of kitsch, there is a real frisson," it said.

Meanwhile in the main competition, France's Francois Ozon unveiled Young And Beautiful set among Paris' gilded youth with their own ennui-driven lives on the edge.

Seventeen-year-old Isabelle spends a sun-kissed family vacation in southern France where she loses her virginity to a sweet German fellow tourist.

Once back at school, Isabelle -- played by Marine Vacth -- inexplicably begins turning tricks, promoting herself online.

One regular john is a Viagra-popping married man in his 70s. When he has a fatal heart attack during one of their trysts, Isabelle is questioned by the police and her double life comes to light.

No one, least of all Isabelle, can articulate why she turned to prostitution but the sly smile that crosses her rosebud lips when clients flood her phone with text messages provides a vague clue.

"In all the films, French and others, I had the impression that youth was idealised while I have a painful memory of my own adolescence," Ozon said after a well-received screening.

"The idea was to create a portrait of a young girl today rooted in a certain reality but not to give all the answers, sharing the mystery (of Isabelle) with the audience."

Young And Beautiful is one of 20 films in competition for the coveted Palme d'Or top prize at Cannes which wraps up on May 26.

LONDON (Reuters) - British boy band One Direction, one of the pop industry's biggest acts of the last 18 months, are working on an "edgy" third album and will start a world tour next year.

The five singers told a press conference in London that their new album, which the music press speculated would share the same name as their upcoming Where We Are 2014 tour, will depart from the teen pop that has had young girls screaming around the world since they first emerged from a talent show.

"The answer is yes, there will be a new album and yeah, I think it's taking a slightly rockier tone to it," One Direction's Louis Tomlinson told reporters on Thursday before handing over to bandmate Liam Payne to expand.

Payne said the group, which also includes Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles, helped out with the songwriting on the new album, but did not mention a release date.

"We've written a lot of the songs, which is nice this time," Payne said. "We've just made it a bit more edgy I suppose."

One Direction, whose members are aged in their late teens and early 20s, have sold 14 million singles in the two years since their debut album Up All Night.

They will start their tour on April 25, 2014 in Bogota, Colombia.

"It's not just the same tour going round again in stadiums," Styles said. "It's gonna be a much bigger show."

The group have confirmed 13 dates in Latin America, Ireland and Britain, with more to come.

One Direction shot to fame on The X Factor television singing competition and have conquered the global market with two albums and a string of catchy hit singles.

The band topped the Billboard 200 album chart twice last year with Up All Night and their second album Take Me Home. They were named Billboard's top new artist/group in 2012.

REUTERS - A close friend of Michael Jackson who had testified in defense of the late pop king at his child sex abuse trial said on Thursday that the singer had intimidated and brainwashed him into lying about years of sexual activity with him.

"It was complete manipulation (by Jackson) and brainwashing," choreographer Wade Robson told NBC's Today show. "He would role play and train me for these (court) scenarios."

Robson, 30, filed a creditor's claim under seal against Jackson's estate earlier this month alleging he had been sexually abused by the singer from age 7 to 14.

He made his claim against the singer's estate nearly four years after Jackson's sudden death in June 2009 from a lethal dose of surgical anesthetic propofol.

Robson (pic), an Australian native, was a child dance prodigy and developed a friendship with Jackson, appearing in some of the singer's music videos in the early 1990s and sleeping over at Jackson's Neverland Ranch home in Southern California.

"From day one of the abuse, Michael told me that we loved each other and that this was love, that this was an expression of our love," Robson said. "And he would follow that up with, 'But if you ever tell anyone what we're doing, both of our lives and careers will be over.'"

Jackson was tried and acquitted in 2005 on molestation charges involving another minor. Robson testified at that trial in defense of the singer and also defended him during a 1993 criminal investigation into child sex abuse allegations.

The attorney for Jackson's estate said Robson's claim "is outrageous and pathetic."

"This is a young man who has testified at least twice under oath over the past 20 years and said in numerous interviews that Michael Jackson never did anything inappropriate to him or with him," Jackson attorney Howard Weitzman said.

Robson, who has worked as a choreographer for pop singer Britney Spears, said the birth of his son two years ago triggered abuse-related nervous breakdowns and spurred him to speak out.

"For the first time in my life, I began to realize that my completely numb and unexplored feelings in relationship to what Michael did to me might be a problem," he said.

Jackson's estate is in the process of settling dozens of claims from creditors and others who had dealings with him during his long career.

An unrelated wrongful death suit, brought by Jackson's family against concert promoter AEG Live, is in its third week of trial in Los Angeles.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Actor Sanjay Dutt, one of Bollywood's biggest stars, has returned to prison to serve the remainder of a five-year sentence for firearms offences during the Mumbai bombings 20 years ago, forcing at least one film onto the back burner.

Dutt, popular for his role as a do-good gangster in the Munnabhai films, was sentenced to six years jail in 2007 for acquiring illegal weapons from men convicted for the 1993 attacks that killed 257 people.

He served 18 months but then was out on bail, fighting the conviction until a court in March ordered him back to jail.

Projects worth up to 2.5 billion rupees and the fate of several Bollywood movies hung in the balance after the March ruling, but the actor was said to have wrapped up filming for most pending projects in the last few weeks.

But at least one film, the third Munnabhai comedy in which Dutt (pic) was to reprise his role, has been put on the back burner.

Dutt returned to prison late on Thursday night. He was later expected to be moved to a jail in the western city of Pune.

Clad in white kurta pyjamas and sporting a traditional Hindu "tilak" mark on his forehead, Dutt waved at waiting reporters before leaving his house amid heavy security. The actor was accompanied by his wife and sister.

Television showed Dutt being taken to a Mumbai court. He was swamped by media at the court complex and had to beg reporters to move back so that he could get out of his car.

"I have to surrender," the actor said, gesturing with folded hands. "Please move back! I need to go upstairs."

The beefy action hero was the most high profile of 100 people involved in the Mumbai bombings trial, which ended in 12 people receiving the death penalty and lifetime sentences for others.

In 2007, Dutt was cleared of conspiracy charges in the attacks but found guilty of illegal possession of an AK-56 rifle and a pistol, which he claimed he required to protect himself and his family during a period of rioting in Mumbai.

In March, the Supreme Court reduced the 53-year-old actor's sentence to five years and ordered him back to jail, but in April it gave the actor four extra weeks of freedom to finish some of his Bollywood films. A last-ditch petition was dismissed by the court on Tuesday.

Dutt is best known for his turn in Lage Raho Munnabhai, a comedy about a gangster espousing Gandhian values that won the popular film prize at the National Film Awards for 2006.

Scarlett Johansson is finalizing plans to adapt Truman Capote's long-lost first novel, Summer Crossing, the starlet announced at the Film Market during the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.

Johansson (pic) began working on the Summer Crossing project in 2011. This will be the 28-year-old actress's first shot at directing a feature-length film.

She has made one short already, called These Vagabond Shoes, which came out in 2009.

Truman Capote started writing 'Summer Crossing' in 1943 and trashed the unpolished manuscript about 10 years later, feeling it was "thin, clever, unfelt."

But his house-sitter in Brooklyn Heights rescued the manuscript from the trash and the house-sitter's nephew discovered it among Capote's old papers 50 years later, tried unsuccessfully to auction it off through Sotheby's and eventually sold the papers to the New York Public Library.

The novel was finally published in 2005 with the permission of Capote's publisher. It tells the story of doomed love between a 17-year-old New York high-society debutante and a Jewish parking lot attendant in the summer of 1945.

Scarlett Johansson and her partners plan to start shooting in 2014.

(Relaxnews)

Candice Glover arriving at the Season 12 finale of 'American Idol' in Los Angeles, Calfiornia May 16, 2013. - Reuters

Candice Glover, a soul singer from rural South Carolina, was named American Idol on Thursday, becoming the first female singer to win the television singing competition since 2007.

The 23-year-old defeated country vocalist Kree Harrison in the popular vote with her powerful voice in what judges deemed a close contest to take the title on season 12 of the popular Fox network show.

"You are officially our American idol," host Ryan Seacrest said as the crowd of 7,000 in Los Angeles cheered. "Three years, persistence, determination and a lot of talent. You deserve it."

It was third time lucky for Glover, who appeared in two earlier seasons of the show, and finally won the crown by making songs like Somewhere from the musical West Side Story, and the jazz tune You've Changed all her own.

"Oh, my God," a shocked Glover said with tears streaming down her face after hearing Securest call her name. "Three years."

Seacrest announced Glover as the winner at the end of the two-hour finale show, which featured performances by judges Keith Urban and Mariah Carey, as well as Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Lopez, rapper Pitbull and South Korea's Psy, who sang his new single Gentleman.

Glover, the first woman to be crowned Idol since Jordin Sparks six years ago, won a record deal, which could help propel her to the stardom enjoyed by other women Idol winners such as Grammy Award winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. - Reuters

THE Kuala Lumpur Palestinian Film Festival is back for another run this year. Organised by Viva Palestina Malaysia, in collaboration with the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry and the National Film Development Corporation (Finas), this year’s festival will once again screen films that will give audiences a glimpse into the humanitarian crisis that is the Palestine conflict.

Leading the film selection this year is 5 Broken Cameras, the film that was nominated for a Best Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards. This harrowing account of the conflict, in particular the building of a wall along the Israel-Palestine border and the Palestinian villagers’ opposition, was shot over a few years by farmer Emad Burnat.

In it, audiences get to see how the conflict affects the every day lives of Palestinians, as one by one, Emad’s friends are either killed or imprisoned by the Zionist regime. Emad himself was also jailed for some time.

Emad will be the guest of honour at the charity premiere which will be held on May 18. The festival runs from now to May 19. All films will be screened at Golden Screen Cinemas in Pavilion, KL.

Admission is free.

Other films to be screened include Man Without A Cellphone, directed by Sameh Zoabi, about a Palestinian slacker looking for a girlfriend and at the same time drawn into joining the fight against the Israeli occupation; and Gilad And All That Jazz, about famous saxophonist Gilad Atzmon, who was born into a pro-Zionist family but later declared himself an enemy of the Israeli state.

The funds raised at the festival will be used to help the agricultural sector and a paediatric surgical referral centre in the Gaza Strip.

> For screening times and other information, go to vpm.org.my/events/events/66-the-kl-palestine-film-festival. Or contact 012-277 1710, 012-217 0918, 016-209 4500 or 012-911 1251.

Dimple (Shantini Venugopal), Ilham (Anding Indrawani) and Maya (Nadiah Aqilah) getting together in a scene from Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! the musical.

A musical inspired by the legendary Sudirman’s music and the life lessons of his tunes.

PERHAPS it’s the cynic in me. Growing up, I’ve always been accustomed to the idea that the late Sudirman’s songs were mostly tragic tunes about longing, unrequited love and saying a painful goodbye.

So, going for Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! the musical, I had expected it to be a tragic tale about life in the infamous Chow Kit subdistrict of Kuala Lumpur.

To my surprise, Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! the musical is anything but tragic.

It’s a story about finding hope and optimism in the unlikeliest of places – Chow Kit road.

Written by Saw Teong Hin (director of Puteri Gunung Ledang) and Amry Ruhaiyat; the musical focuses on the character of Ilham (played by Anding Indrawani) and his journey to prove that he can become a legitimate member of society. It all begins when Ilham is minding his own business in Chow Kit when a group of Datins drop in with the mission to “help the people”.

Their arrival is instantly met with cynicism and Dimple – a colourful transexual played brilliantly by Shanthini Venugopal – even said, “Eh, kandang dah buka ke? (Is the cage already open?)”; referring to how the residents of Chow Kit are made to feel helpless that only certain members of the society can help them.When the Datins offer cash handouts, Ilham dimisses it and suggests that Chow Kit gets something more substantial and worthy in the long run.

Adibah Noor captivates the audience as Datin Jamilah in the musical.

One of the ladies, Datin Jamilah (Adibah Noor) decides Chow Kit should get its own community centre. Seeing how a community centre will exhaust the ladies’ funds for other things, like fancy jewellery and probably shopping trips to Sogo, they challenge Datin Jamilah to transform rowdy Ilham into a well-mannered man that can ideally fit into their world. If she succeeds, they will pay for the community centre project. The others, including Ilham’s friends, laugh at the idea, but Datin Jamilah accepts the challenge and takes Ilham home with her.

The musical uses Sudirman’s tunes to narrate some sequences and altogether, the audience can look out for 17 songs. Some memorable tunes include Punchcard (used at the beginning to show how members of the working class function), Kulit (Chow Kit folks expressing their disapproval for the Datins) and Kerana Mata (Ilham meets his love interest Maya, played by Nadia Aqilah, for the first time and the two engage in a romantic tango).

To accompany the multi-layered sounds of Chow Kit road, the musical is a visual spectacle of colourful clothing, glittering lights and quirky characters.

Tony Eusoff plays Tokoo, a dishevelled drug addict who acts as a father figure to Ilham. Then, there’s Dimple, who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and sometimes, knock sense into him. Ilham also has a very strained relationship with his mother, Jelita (played by famed jazz singer Junji Delfino).

Of course, this being a 90-minute musical based on characters in Chow Kit road, some of the lines read by the actors are a bit provocative.

There is a scene where Dimple and Jelita exchange banter about who is “better” at their job as streetwalkers. Then, Ilham also attempts to seduce Datin Jamilah at her home. But of course, Datin Jamilah puts Ilham in his place and the jobless youth strives to change for the better.

Complications ensue when Datin Jamilah’s daughter Maya falls in love with the new and improved Ilham. In terms of performance, Adibah Noor’s Datin Jamilah doesn’t disappoint. She delivered some of the best lines and provided the most laughs for the audience. Going into this musical as a Sudirman fan, it was fun trying to figure out which song would fit which scene.

As Ilham goes from drab to fab, you wonder which song will be used to portray his transformation. Then, when Jelita longs for Ilham’s return to Chow Kit, it’s no surprise the writers chose Sudirman’s haunting ballad Merisik Khabar to go with that scene.

Some songs get a different delivery. Like I never thought I’d hear Milik Siapakah Gadis Ini as an upbeat song with Bollywood-esque beats. Depending on how you feel as a Sudirman fan and Maya using that song to woo Ilham back, some might find it refreshing. But because I’m old-fashioned, I wished they’d kept it the way it was.

Overall, Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! the musical has something for everyone. The audience get to see a different side of the subdistrict and ultimately, how the people there can make it on their own. The musical also pokes fun at rich people (who do charitable acts just to benefit themselves) and even the media. Also, look out for powerful performances by Anding, Shanthini and Delfino.

> Chow Kit Road! Chow Kit Road! runs until May 26 at Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur. Tickets (RM55, RM110 and RM170) are available at ticketpro.com.my. For more information, go to masakinitheatre.com.my.

Epic – Based on the children’s book The Leaf Men And The Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce, this 3D animated film revolves around Mary Katherine, a teenager who finds herself swept up in a battle to save a secret world, and ours as well. Featuring the voice talents of Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, Beyoncé Knowles and Christoph Waltz.

Fast & Furious 6 – Director Justin Lin brings back almost the entire cast of the fifth movie, with our fast friends now working on the side of the law. Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) enlists Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his team to bring down someone who specialises in vehicular warfare. Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez and Elsa Pataky are among the old guard, while Gina Carano, Luke Evans and Jason Statham are newcomers to the franchise.

Crazy, beautiful: Ke$ha appears to lead a happy-go-lucky life, but she’s human; she has baggage and heartaches too.

The flamboyant singer gives fans a peek into her colourful and vibrant life in a new reality series.

AT first glance, pop star Ke$ha’s life looks like a kaleidoscope made up of a frenzy of glitzy concert shows, night after night of wild partying and colourful (ahem) “encounters” with strangers at the bar.

“I like to make out with people, I’m kind of like a make out slut,” Ke$ha said candidly in a recent conference call from Los Angeles. “But I don’t actually do more than that with anybody. I think people think that I get super frisky all the time, but I don’t. I just like to make out with people because kissing is super fun,” she quickly added.

The singer-rapper, whose real name is Kesha Rose Sebert, was fielding questions about her six-part documentary series, Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life, where viewers get front row seat to her wacky, exciting life.

The 26-year-old star explained there was nothing she wouldn’t do just because the cameras were rolling. Get this, the man behind the camera is her brother. Journalist and documentary filmmaker Lagan Sebert left his job and filmed his sister’s journey as she travelled around Europe, Australia and North America as part of her Get Sleazy Tour in 2011.

Ke$ha said that it was this close relationship with her brother that made her feel comfortable in showing viewers the real her. (If it’s any indication, she repeatedly peppered the interview with statements about the show like “no makeup on,” “no pants on” or “I wish I put a bra on”). In fact, she felt so comfortable that she allowed cameras to capture her drinking her own urine.

“I did drink my pee, but that was because I’m really bad at saying no. And I also have a philosophy that I’m down to try anything in life one time … So I tried it, and it was really disgusting. I don’t recommend it, and I probably won’t be drinking my pee ever again,” she revealed.

The controversial scene may not make it to the series but Ke$ha is fighting hard to get the footage aired in a bid to “give my fans the truth”.

But it is not all fluff all the time with Ke$ha. As the camera rolls on, viewers will see a shift in her life. In one episode, she speaks through tears about celebrity blogger Perez Hilton’s move to leak intimate photos of her and her boyfriend Harold, eventually leading to their break up.

“He single-handedly ruined the only relationship that’s ever meant anything to me,” she said after learning that the blogger was among the audience at the Los Angeles leg of her tour.

“My family doesn’t have to deal with this. He stands for everything I hate. Everything I’m against.”

Ke$ha also called the blogger “a bully that was incredibly loud and had a platform” but said that the experience enabled her fans to relate to her more.

“I think it just shows my fans that, although on a different level, I also know what it feels like to be bullied just for being yourself,” she said, adding that she used to get bullied in school for her fashion choices.

True enough, in an episode, a bullied teenager, Jaiho, walks up to the singer and thanks her for empowering him through her music.

With so many reality shows on TV these days, notably, Keeping Up With The Kardashians (Ke$ha admitted to being “secretly in love” with the show), one wonders how will Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life compete with them.

Ke$ha shared that she doesn’t see it as a competition: “I love seeing women dominate the airwaves musically and I love seeing women all over TV just killing it. So it never really felt like a competition, and we’re so different that it’s not a competitive thing for me.”

Asked whether the singer will swap her “crazy” life for marriage, babies and a home in the suburbs (like the Kardashian sisters, perhaps?), she responded with a laugh: “Ew, gross.”

> Watch Ke$ha living her cool life every Saturday at 5.30pm on MTV (Astro Ch 713).

After more than a decade away from American television, actress Gillian Anderson is back on the new TV series Hannibal, playing psychiatrist to human flesh-chewing, Chanti-sipping serial killer Hannibal Lecter.

Her three-episode arc on the show is sure to delight fans of science-fiction series The X-Files, nothing short of a pop cultural phenomenon when it aired from 1993 to 2002, on which she played FBI Agent Dana Scully.

At a press conference for the show in Toronto, the 44-year-old says she was drawn to this project by the stellar cast, which includes actors such as Hugh Dancy (Martha Marcy May Marlene, 2011), Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, 2006) and Laurence Fishburne (the Matrix films, 1999 to 2003).

“The thought of being able to dip into Toronto for a few days and play with this line-up of actors was just too good to refuse,” says Anderson, who also reveals there is a connection between Agent Scully and the female FBI agent Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster in The Silence Of The Lambs (1991), a role which won her the Best Actress Oscar.

“It feels a little bit like a full circle, because The X-Files started shortly after The Silence Of The Lambs came out. And I was told shortly after we began that she (Dana Scully) was loosely based on Jodie Foster’s character,” she says. The X-Files creator Chris Carter has long cited Jonathan Demme’s film adaptation as an inspiration, and has said that he deliberately made Scully a redhead like Starling.

“There’s something about it that feels like we’re in the same conversation,” adds Anderson, who was reportedly in the running for the role of Starling in the 2001 Lambs sequel, Hannibal. It eventually went to Julianne Moore.

As Scully, Anderson became something of a geek goddess for the legions of viewers who lapped up the show’s alien abductions and conspiracy theories, and even a lightning rod for debates about feminism because of her unusual partnership with Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), which eventually turned romantic.

When the series ended, the actress seemed to vanish off the radar in the United States, although she appeared in the two X-Files films in 1998 and 2008, which disappointed fans and tanked at the American box office.

She did better on the other side of the pond, where she slipped easily into a British accent because of a decade spent there as a child, appearing in TV productions such as an adaptation of Bleak House (2005) and the period drama Any Human Heart (2010), which earned her a Bafta nomination for her role as Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor whom King Edward VIII abdicated to marry. She also had a supporting role in the acclaimed 2006 film The Last King Of Scotland.

The X-Files is still something Anderson holds close to heart; she believes the show was ground-breaking in many ways.

“If you look at the way that it was lit, the way that it was shot, the production values, the money that was thrown into it and the horror aspect of it, the unsolved crimes... I mean, look at the number of other shows that have tried to copy it over the last 20 years,” she says.

The show has also had a lasting impact on her - she admits that there will always be a little bit of Dana Scully in all her performances.

“She’s there somewhere.” – The Straits Times, Singapore/ Asia News Network.

> Hannibal airs every Tuesday at 10pm on AXN (Astro Ch 701/HD Ch 721).

The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been filmed for the big screen three times before Australian director Baz Luhrmann worked his magic on the latest instalment, which began its run in Malaysian cinemas on May 16.

All four movies have retained the novel’s title and each one stayed quite faithful to the original plot. There was also one TV film adaptation, and the book’s famous characters and storyline have been re-enacted in several popular TV shows.

1926
Director: Herbert Brenon
Cast: Warner Baxter (Jay Gatsby), Lois Wilson (Daisy Buchanan), Neil Hamilton (Nick Carraway), Georgia Hale (Myrtle Wilson), William Powell (George Wilson)

This black-and-white silent movie is said to be the most faithful adaptation of the book (reports say that perhaps the author had provided his input to the studio), but since it was made 87 years ago, a full version of the film is unfortunately not available today.

1949
Director: Elliott Nugent
Cast: Alan Ladd (Jay), Betty Field (Daisy), Macdonald Carey (Nick), Shelley Winters (Myrtle), Howard Da Silva (George)
Notable song: Al Jolson’s There’s A Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder Based on online reviews, it seems this version did not stick to the storyline, and was even a little off-base with the fashion. Also, there are quite a lot of negative comments on the acting.

1974
Director: Jack Clayton, with a script by Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Robert Redford (Jay), Mia Farrow (Daisy), Sam Waterston (Nick), Karen Black (Myrtle), Scott Wilson (George) Notable song: Irving Berlin’s What’ll I Do (sung by William Atherton in the film)

Perhaps the most well-known adaptation, this film sees Redford and Farrow playing the young lovers. Howard Da Silva, who played George Wilson in the 1949 film, appears in this one as a character named Meyer Wolfsheim.

2000 Director: Robert Markowitz
Cast: Toby Stephens (Jay), Mira Sorvino (Daisy), Paul Rudd (Nick), Heather Goldenhersh (Myrtle), William Camp (George) This made-for-television film has received much praise for Rudd’s portrayal of the film’s narrator (which is Jay’s best friend Nick), but not so much of British actor Stephens’ work. Rudd, who, prior to this movie was best known as Alicia Silverston’s lovable stepbrother in Clueless, did a good job bringing not just Nick but the story to life.

2013
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay), Carey Mulligan (Daisy), Tobey Maguire (Nick), Isla Fisher (Myrtle), Jason Clarke (George)
This latest version was released last week in the United States and was the opening film at the Cannes Film Festival, which is currently happening. Early reviews praise the movie’s amazing visuals and also DiCaprio’s stand-out performance as the main character. However, Luhrmann’s choice of music for the film bewilders many. Indian actor Amitabh Bachhan is also in the film, playing Meyer Wolfsheim.

Will Gatsby (Leonardo Di Caprio) and Daisy (Carey Mulligan) find true love in The Great Gatsby?

Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious take on the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic is easy on the eyes and resonates strongly with the lovelorn.

The Great Gatsby, which kicked off the Cannes Film Festival earlier this week, is not just any movie.

Filmmakers have been trying to get it right for the last 90 years – there were movies made in 1926, 1949, 1974, 2000 – and thus I count Baz Luhrmann as the fifth director attempting to find that Midas touch (the Morgan and Maecenas touch would do, too).

What has made Gatsby so endlessly fascinating to so many generations of readers? Was it Fitzgerald’s bold, insightful commentary of the 1920s American nouveau riche (his own opulent lifestyle as a New York celebrity afforded him a bird’s-eye view, after all)?

Was it the wild and vibrant Jazz Age that gave the novel such a splendid backdrop and made it so wondrously captivating? Or was it the heart-rending story of unrequited love at the heart of the book that made everyone empathise with it?

The novel – slim though it be – is packed with imagery and metaphor (I am racing through an RM8.50 copy I picked up at Borders for a quick recap, and I see lines like “inside, the crimson red room bloomed with light” and can just imagine how Luhrmann’s eyes must have lit up at the prospect of bringing such words to life).

There is no doubt that Luhrmann has crafted a beautiful film. One expects no less of him. The colours are rich, the costumery gorgeous (with Brooks Brothers and Prada on the payroll we would expect nothing less), special effects dazzling (and in 3D to boot), the music is heady, and the actors beautiful.

In fact, the whole gin gang – comprising Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby), Tobey Maguire (Nick Carraway), Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton (Daisy and Tom Buchanan), Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke (Myrtle and George Wilson), Elizabeth Debicki (Jordan Baker), and Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan (Meyer Wolfshiem) – is so deliciously good-looking.

See Star2 on Saturday for the full review in print.

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Will the fifth time be the charm?

MUMBAI (AFP) - Hollywood actor Jon Hamm, best known as the dapper Don Draper in hit US TV series Mad Men, has begun shooting his new film in the home of Bollywood, according to those working on the movie.

Hamm is in Mumbai for the making of Disney's Million Dollar Arm, based on a true story, in which he stars as sports agent J. B. Bernstein who discovers two Indian teenagers and signs them up to play baseball.

"This is so cool and yet so weird -- Jon Hamm (pic) playing me in a movie -- this shoot has begun," Bernstein wrote on Twitter, posting a picture of Hamm being filmed in the Indian city.

A member of the film crew, declining to be named, confirmed to AFP late Tuesday that shooting was under way in Mumbai's northern suburbs.

Hamm, 42, has also been spotted out on the town posing with fans and dining with top Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, according to local media reports.

Slated for release next year, Million Dollar Arm is directed by Craig Gillespie and also stars Indian actor Suraj Sharma, last seen in Ang Lee's Oscar-winning Life Of Pi.

In the real-life tale behind the film, Bernstein used a reality TV show to recruit Indian cricket players to Major League Baseball, with the chance for them to win training in the United States.

Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, the 2008 winners, accompanied Bernstein to America to learn the new sport and were eventually signed up to the Pittsburgh Pirates team.

CANNES, FRANCE (AFP) - Great Gatsby star Leonardo DiCaprio on Wednesday opened the 66th Cannes Film Festival ahead of the European premiere of Baz Luhrmann's controversial 3-D epic which kicked off the world's most prestigious film meet.

Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman, Carey Mulligan and a troupe of 1920s "flapper" dancers were among those braving driving rain and plunging temperatures on the red carpet.

Dresses billowed in the wind outside the festival palace forcing stars to hang on to their hemlines.

Leonardo DiCaprio kisses Audrey Tautou during the opening of the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes.

Inside, Spielberg, this year's jury head, appeared touched by an unusually enthusiastic standing ovation, telling the audience that at 66 he was getting "older alongside the festival".

Earlier, Luhrmann's high-octane take on the Roaring Twenties classic got a cool reception at a press screening, where it met prolonged silence punctuated by some whistles of disapproval and a smattering of supportive applause.

DiCaprio, who stars as F. Scott Fitzgerald's enigmatic millionaire Jay Gatsby, also led fellow cast members Mulligan and Tobey Maguire for a photo call ahead of the grand festival opening.

Other stars expected at the glitzy 12-day movie fest on the French Riviera include Ryan Gosling, Michael Douglas, Matt Damon and Alain Delon.

Luhrmann's Gatsby has left critics in the United States and Britain divided on whether it amounts to inspiration or a turkey.

The Australian director's adaptation targets a younger generation who have never seen the 1974 version, which starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in the leading roles.

Three-D effects and a score produced by rapper Jay-Z and tracks from Beyonce and will.i.am provide the core of his eye-catching, youth-friendly pitch.

After its North America premiere earlier this month, the New York Times described it as "eminently enjoyable" and film website Indiewire hailed a "guilty pleasure, a swirling audacious piece of cinema".

But others panned it as superficial and brash. "Once his (Luhrmann's) agenda of swooping camera movements and gleaming roadsters and anachronistic music takes full hold, there's nothing left to fall back on," said industry watcher The Wrap.

"The Great Gatsby is an immortal American tragedy, but the story's impact gets completely buried in Luhrmann's flash and dazzle."

Rolling Stone was even more blunt, calling the us$100 million movie a "crushing disappointment".

Aside from the "staggering beauty of the costumes, nothing works. The actors are buried in the art direction, along with feeling", it said. "The film looks as stiff and lifeless as a posh store window."

Despite the doubts, Gatsby took us$51.1 million at the weekend's US box office, reportedly exceeding distributor Warner Brothers' expectations of between US$35 million and US$40 million.

The film, which is not in competition at Cannes, came in second behind the blockbuster Iron Man 3.

Figures showed the film had proved popular with older audiences too.

Viewers over 25 made up 69 percent of the opening weekend's audience, according to Warner Bros.

The opening festivities in Cannes will be rounded off with a gala dinner later Wednesday for 650 people with Anne-Sophie Pic, the only female French chef with three Michelin stars, at the helm.

Pic, who works at her family's Maison Pic restaurant in Valence in southeastern France, told AFP she was proud to have been chosen along with the two-star chef Bruno Oger.

But she said she was also stressed "by the desire to do well". "It's a real challenge, one of the finest dinners of the year," she said.

Twenty films are in competition in Cannes for the coveted Palme d'Or prize.

Among the most keenly anticipated films is Steven Soderbergh's Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra, which the director has said he had trouble getting made because it was "too gay".

The film will be something of a swansong for the 50-year-old Soderbergh, who has announced his retirement.

Other big names in competition include the Coen Brothers with Inside Llewyn Davis and Roman Polanski with Venus In Furs.

Amelie star Audrey Tautou, who hosted the opening ceremony, said earlier she discovered she had been chosen as the maitresse de ceremonies by text message.

"The offer threw me off balance a bit. I was immediately touched, but torn between wanting to accept and for two or three days wondering if I could do it," she told AFP in an interview.

"In the end I refused to allow myself to be ruled by fear," she added.

The festival is also a meeting point for thousands of executives involved in the less visible side of movie-making -- script-writing, talent management, technology and film distribution.