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Feet shuffling: Playing the guitar is a cinch. It’s tap-dancing on his collection of guitar pedals that’s the new challenge for guitarist Az Samad. – RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star

Guitarist Az Samad has plugged into the world of loops and overdubs on his latest outing.

AZ Samad is very generous with his pleasantries, and that’s his charm. It’s one that quickly gets across to all around him. And once he’s reeled you in, there’s no escaping the kind of mind-bending things he does on a guitar.

But really, all he may seem to need, he already has. Like, the latest in a prolific career to drop, his In The Deep Night/Electric Poetry album. But pardon him if he has pedigree and natural talent to spare.

Az’s eighth solo (he’s appeared on 17 albums and counting) album was a bunch of songs up against a race for time. It came down to meeting deadlines, so this is what a healthy touring schedule with the immeasurable experience gleaned from the performance circuit produced.

The electric guitar is a first of sorts for the 32-year-old musician, on his own album at least. “But I’ve been into this music for years now. I listen to David Thorn. I listen to (Steve) Vai as much as Michael Hedges. This is just expression on another instrument,” he said, much like a golfer switching clubs for a particular shot.

As a fan of the late Hedges, it was surreal when he played where the multi-string wizard last lived, Fort Bragg, California in the United States.

“I actually met someone who knew a relative of the family.”

There is an air of confidence when Az speaks of Night, but no artiste taking a left turn would’ve overlooked the legendary tale of Bob Dylan getting heckled at the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival when Mr Zimmerman went electric.

“To be honest, every time I record a new album, there’s fear ... you just can’t second guess the listener,” he said, accepting that’s what makes the element of surprise so exciting.

The 10-song album could actually have been two EPs, given how the moods of the songs were created by the dynamic of the two instruments. For practical reasons, however (and keeping down his carbon footprint, in the process), a single disc with two separate themes seemed most logical.

“It took me a while to work out the tracklist, but then it worked out nicely how An Open Mind would eventually lead to In The Deep Night,” he explained on where and how two EPs, In The Deep Night and Electric Poetry, came together.

In The Deep Night/Electric Poetry, Az Samad’s eighth album, features two separate EPs fused into one.

The Berklee College of Music graduate’s – he majored in Bachelor of Music in jazz composition and performance (guitar) – walk on the wild side isn’t daunting because of the guitar. “The electric guitar is like taming a wild beast. The challenge is the floorboard. Then you end up with this,” he gestured to his collection of guitar gadgets that looks like a science experiment, at the heart of which is a looping device that lets him play over recorded bits of music.

Main obstacle aside, the dynamic of the electric guitar was a different ball game altogether. He was brandishing a one-of-a-kind custom-made electric guitar, a William Jeffrey Jones Proteus, at the album launch at Merdekarya in Petaling Jaya recently, where this interview took place. Playing in time with his fingers on an electric guitar wasn’t as straightforward as most of us would think, with the feel of the strings easily upsetting technique.

But it could’ve all turned out so differently had Az’s background of digging Kriss Kross, Boyz To Men and (cringe) Shy taken that musical trajectory. But like the generation that lived the moment when Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged video and album were released in 1993, Az forever saw acoustic music as an inspiration.

“I loved that album ... I loved everything on it. I like the idea of having a whole album to say something.”

He got a friend to teach him some chords but was soon encouraged by his dad, poet and novelist Abdul Samad Said, to learn classical guitar. Thus began a journey of education that took him from a hopeful to a full fledged acoustic expressionist. Along the way, he learned from the likes of music luminaries such as the late Eric Roche, Alex De Grassi, studied at San Jose State University – earning a Masters In Music (jazz) – and Berklee, and got into finger-style electric players like Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck.

Az may have carved a name for himself as a solo performer, but he’s played with a host of people, too, Grammy winners included, like Flaco Jiménez and Max Baca. He’s also worked with the likes of drummer Bernie Dresel (Brian Setzer Orchestra), guitarists John Stowell, Adam Rafferty, Stuart Ryan, and Teja Gerken, world music ensemble Bogofusion, electronic jazz-funk group Planet Loop, Cumbia-Dub band Candelaria, string jazz ensemble JazzMine and Malaysia’s very own Reza Salleh. He’s also graced the opening slots for concerts by Tommy Emmanuel and Martin Taylor. Stints with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra playing Beatles and Abba tunes adds to the eclectic nature of his musical pursuit.

“I enjoy playing with other people, like in duo or trio formats. And anyway, even if you play solo, you’re never really playing solo – there’s the audience, the environment and the soundman that come into the equation,” said Az, taking a cerebral stab at explaining what a solo performance is all about.

And among all the people he’s played with, Tara Linda is a recurring favourite of sorts. “She’s an amazing songwriter and singer. I recorded a jazz album with her in Texas ... it was such an incredible experience,” he said of the singer who champions an Americana flavour.

Az’s musical journey as a recording artiste – since his 2002 debut B’Yu – has allowed him to explore jazz, folk and even Tex-Mex, but the dirt under his nails defines him as a true Malaysian. On stage, he’s the model of calmness, completely Zen and into every flick of his fingers on his soul-providing buddy, the six-string guitar. Watch footage of his hero Hedges and a lineage can be traced.

He’s not about to mislead himself into thinking that his brand of music will be cracking the Billboard charts any time soon, but his enthusiasm for the arts, culture and his roots, including “Ribena bancuh”, is a sign of a musician truly embracing and enjoying his artistry.

In The Deep Night/Electric Poetry is available from Candor Music, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur and www.azsamad.com. For more info, check out facebook.com/azsamadmusic.

Chris Tucker doesn’t believe in offensive, curse-filled comedy. ‘I very rarely curse,’ says the comedian.

Let’s get this straight. Chris Tucker made US$25mil (RM75mil) for Rush Hour 3, making him the highest paid actor in Hollywood at the time (2006).

Prior to that, he made US$20mil (RM60mil) for Rush Hour 2. We’re sure he made a fair bit on his movies prior to that, too — to name just two, there was The Fifth Element (with Bruce Willis) and Money Talks (with Charlie Sheen), both from the year 1997.

Yet, despite that kind of earnings, he still owed Uncle Sam US$12mil (RM36mil) in taxes in 2012.

Although he says the issue’s settled now, how it actually happened in the first place is a mystery. If you took Tucker’s earnings for Rush Hour 2 and 3, and paid off his tax debt, there would still be US$33mil (RM99mil) left.

Where did the US$33mil go? What exactly did Tucker order on eBay? Did he bid for a pink-skinned giraffe? Did he place an order for two Millennium Falcons? Perhaps his Labrador retriever needed a bigger garden … something the size of the Isle of Man perhaps? Just where did the money go?

“Well, you’ll have to come and see my show to find out. I talk about all that,” Tucker says on the phone from Sydney, Australia where he’s done three sell-out stand-up shows, as part of his The Return Tour 2013 .

The show sees him returning to his stand-up roots. Tucker, 41, began his career as a stand-up comedian on the HBO show Def Comedy Jam in the early ‘90s. Now, besides being a movie star, Tucker is also selling out shows all over the world in places like The Middle East and Australia with his stand-up.

“It’s nice to know I’ve got fans all over the world,” he says.

When you speak to Tucker, you expect a loud, motor-mouthed, wise-cracking man on the other end of the line. But what you do get is a relaxed, friendly, affable person who wishes you a hearty “Good Morning,” and discusses comedy seriously.

“Comedy should make you laugh but it should also makes you think,” says the man who won critical acclaim for his performance as a meth addict in last year’s movie Silver Linings Playbook.

Although Tucker is into Eddie Murphy and the late Richard Pryor, he is not into offensive, curse-filled comedy either. “I very rarely curse. Every now and then it might come out, but I don’t rely on it (to carry the show),” he says.

In Tucker’s show, he talks about his own life, relationships and friendships. This includes his famous friends like Michael Jackson.

“I think it’s pretty funny and interesting because nobody knows this kind of stuff about him. I’m in a unique position that I know people like Michael and (ex-US President) Bill Clinton. I talk about things you wouldn’t hear unless you come to my show. So I’m in a unique position,” he says.

For his stand-up shows, don’t expect a James Carter (the wise-cracking detective character he plays in the Rush Hour movies) type-persona prowling the stage, either.

“In the movies, I play characters but when people come to my show, they get to see the real me and they get to see some characters,” he says.

Speaking of Rush Hour, since Tucker successfully negotiated a whopping US$25mil (RM75mil) salary for Rush Hour 3, would he do Rush Hour 4 for US$30mil (RM90mil)?

Tucker says with a laugh: “I don’t know how much (money) I’ll get. That’s not important as getting a good story. We are still looking for the script. Me and Jackie (Chan) want to make the fourth one the best yet.”

Meanwhile, there’s still his stand-up shows to get the laughs going. “It’s going to be lots of fun and lots of energy,” he promises.

Will he heckle anyone? “I don’t normally but you never know!”

Catch Chris Tucker at KL Convention Centre on June 24 at 9pm. Tickets are available at www.ticketpro.com.my, all authorised TicketPro outlets and by phone at 03-7880 7999. Ticket prices start from RM195, plus applicable ticket fees.

Actor Charlie Day had a ball being a part of Monsters University.

Charlie Day is one of those celebrities that you feel you could kick back and shoot the breeze with for hours: funny, down-to-earth and completely unintimidating. When I mention this to him during our recent interview for Monsters University (MU) at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California, he deadpans: “Yep, much like the monsters, I frighten no man, woman or child.”

Day is talking about the distinctive and decidedly goofy Art, his character in Pixar’s latest animated offering, a prequel to the hit 2001 movie Monsters, Inc. Art is a member of the Oozma Kappa (OK) fraternity in Monsters University, which houses a bunch of oddballs who are about as far away from scary as you can get. How Mike Wazowski and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan – our two favourite monsters from Monsters, Inc. – rally these social outcasts into becoming some of the university’s best Scarers makes up the story of MU.

Art, a furry purple-and-blue monster who is shaped like an arch, is all legs and mouth, and is one of those free-spirited hippie-types about whom not much is known – fittingly, he’s a New Age Philosophy major. Yet, with his hilarious non sequiturs and goofy presence, he steals many of the scenes he is in. The fact that no one seems to know much about his past adds to the character’s quirky appeal.

“Mine is probably the only Pixar character to scream out, ‘I can’t go back to jail!’ (in a scene where the OK members are almost caught in a bit of trouble),” says Day with a laugh. “I like the fact that there is a little mystery to Art, and it’s fun to be something that is not only animated, but has also been incarcerated!”

This is probably the kind of offbeat humour that appeals to the 37-year-old actor, for whom MU is his first family-friendly outing. Best known for playing the dim-witted Charlie in the hilariously explicit cult hit television show It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, he made his name in cinema as Dale in the raunchy comedy Horrible Bosses, who is sexually-harassed by his female boss – neither of which you would associate with the kind of wholesome entertainment Pixar is known for.

Yet, the unexpected success of Philadelphia (the show was recently renewed for a ninth and 10th season), where Day is co-creator, and Horrible Bosses, for which he is in talks for a sequel, means Day is now in demand for bigger projects too. This year alone sees him acting in two big summer releases, MU and Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim.

Getting the call from Pixar was sheer excitement for Day, not least because he is a huge fan of their work – so much so that he finds it difficult to pick his favourite movie by them.

“That is the hardest question to answer. I’m a big fan of The Incredibles, I think it’s a perfect little movie. But I also love the Toy Story movies, and Finding Nemo. And Up makes me cry. And, I love Monsters, Inc.!” he enthuses.

Hence, being a part of MU was a no-brainer for him. “I got the call, and that’s all I needed to hear. I was in! I’ve always wanted to be a part of one of these movies.”

Art, Day shares, is a combination of his own personality and director Dan Scanlon’s vision for the character.

“The first day I got to Pixar, they had already animated a few scenes with Art, using my voice from TV. I don’t know whether they saw me and thought they needed a monster like that, or saw Art and thought I could be him!

“(When recording), I used a lot of my own sensibility, sense of humour and timing, but so much of it had already been done, I really just had to speak. They had written me wonderfully funny lines to say. Quite easy!”

His depiction of Art, he adds, was also influenced by various real-life people he had met.

“I remembered people in my life, both in college and after, who were a bit like that. And I’m aware of parts of my personality that can be quirky like that,” he says.

The underdog story of MU too, was something he could relate to.

“I’m not a tall man, and I have freckles and a scratchy, squeaky voice. I’ve felt like an underdog my whole life. I probably have a bit of a Napoleon complex for all I know! So to me, the movie is absolutely relatable.

“And I think most people have things about themselves that they’ve felt insecure about, and hopefully by the time they come to adulthood, have learnt to love themselves a little bit,” he says.

Working with Pixar, Day concludes, is something he’d never say no to.

“This was my first big animated feature, and even now that it’s finished, I want to do a few more scenes, I want to keep it going. I’ll sign up for anything they ask me to do; it was just pure joy!”

Monsters University is currently showing in cinemas nationwide.

In 2014, the world’s greatest heroes will join forces. Seriously. There’s Superman, Wonder Woman, Mermaid, Batman, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and some dude named Emmet ... to name a few. Only, they are all yellow, kind of small and, erm, made of plastic. The Lego figures come alive in this computer-animated feature where Emmet must stop a (business) plan in which these mini-figures will no longer exist.

On paper, it sounds like a really bad joke. However, the teaser trailer proves to be quite fun – even eliciting a couple of LOL moments.

Among the voice talents are Chris Pratt (Parks And Recreations), Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie and Will Arnett. The Lego Movie is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia on Feb 6 next year.

A new morning show on CNN – New Day – kicked off on Monday and there already are some sceptics out there, maybe even you. Here’s your need-to-know column on CNN’s latest.

What is new about New Day?

The anchors – former ABC correspondent Chris Cuomo, CNN correspondent Kate Bolduan and news anchor Michaela Pereira; a sprawling faux-brick studio space; a higher story count; more live “remotes”.

What’s New Day up against?

Pretty much everything. Morning TV is balkanised and viewer habits are largely entrenched. For most viewers, CNN first thing in the morning hasn’t been an afterthought but no thought – about 250,000 to 275,000 viewers. (No.1 Good Morning America’s average viewership for the week of June 3 was 5.33 million.)

What will the hosts bring?

A recent Washington Post profile on Bolduan (pronounced “Baldwin”) hints at “a sunny older brother-younger sister act, a newsy Donny and Marie”, which sounds off-putting, but the hosts are decidedly younger than competitors (at 29, Bolduan’s a relative TV child) and youth could be an advantage here.

What does Cuomo, 42 – kid brother of New York’s governor, Andrew – have to say about the challenge?

In a recent interview, this: “The hard truth is that we need CNN’s audience. One of the first challenges is to stop the bleeding and to get (traditional CNN viewers to see the network) as a morning-to-night proposition and give the network a bulwark and a flagship in the morning ... . We need to get our own viewers to embrace what we have and then we grow from there. We have very reasonable expectations because of the history here, I’m convinced that there’s so much going on in morning TV that everything is up for grabs.”

Finally, what do I think?

This could work simply because any growth will be seen as a victory. Plus, Cuomo is right to an extent: Today’s recent string of mistakes has indeed stirred the migratory habits of some morning viewers. Finally, if the anchor chemistry is decent – not cloying, or forced, or predicated on babble – and if the real news story count is high, New Day has a fighting chance. – Newsday/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Multi-hyphenate James Franco has more jobs (and hobbies) then one can count, but it's his latest piece of work that's buzzing around the web.

Franco wrote a critical take about Man Of Steel for Vice, but much of the attention on the piece is actually based on what he said about Spider-Man, not Superman.

Franco, who attended the Man Of Steel premiere incognito because he believes Henry Cavill does not like him based on their history filming Tristan And Isolde, says he really enjoyed Man Of Steel. But that's perhaps the least interesting part of the Vice article.

In the piece, Franco jumped right into taking shots at The Amazing Spider-Man movies, which are essentially a quick reboot of his own Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi.

Franco distinguishes between the old and new versions by calling the current series one that "arose even before there was time to bury the corpse of the old one and enshroud it in the haze of nostalgia."

He writes, "I don't have a huge emotional attachment to the Spider-Man franchise as a subject, my biggest sentimental ties are to the people I worked with on those films: Sam, Toby, Kirsten (Dunst), the late and great Laura Ziskin, and the hundreds of others who worked with us. I don't really feel much distress over its being remade, for many reasons, but what is interesting to me is that it has been remade so quickly - and the reasons why."

The reason? "The answer is, of course, money. We are in the film business, and the studios are owned by large corporations who want to make money."

And make money the film certainly did. Marvel recently announced third and fourth installments of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Not being a fan of the remake is not new for Franco. In an interview with MTV News earlier this year, the actor referred to The Amazing Spider-Man as being, "Eh."

"I mean, they could have strayed a little bit more from the original," Franco said. "It's like, 'Why?' Well, I guess they made a lot of money. Congrats. Good for them. Sam and I moved on, we made Oz.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Sam Taylor-Johnson has signed on to direct Fifty Shades Of Grey for Universal Pictures and Focus Features, TheWrap has learned.

Taylor-Johnson is the wife of Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson who starred as a young John Lennon in her directorial debut Nowhere Boy.

Sam Taylor-Johnson's hiring immediately prompts speculation that her husband will be considered for the role of Christian Grey.

Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti are producing with 50 Shades author E.L. James.

Moviegoers will have to wait until 2015 to see the fourth entry in the Jurassic Park series, reports Variety.

It now turns out that Jurassic Park IV, initially slated for release in June 2014, won't be coming out until the year after for scheduling reasons.

The young director, Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed), is currently working with Steven Spielberg, who started up the dinosaur series back in 1993, to finalize the screenplay, whose contents remain under wraps, according to the Hollywood-based magazine.

(Relaxnews)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Netflix has renewed its supernatural drama, Hemlock Grove, for a 10-episode second season slated to go into production later this year and return in 2014.

Additionally, the streaming video site has hired a new executive producer and showrunner, Charles Eglee (The Walking Dead, Dexter, The Shield).

"The worldwide fan response to Hemlock Grove was phenomenal" said executive producer Eli Roth.

"Netflix members loved the potent combination of sexy monsters, mystery, and the dark family soap opera that ended with a huge twist, leaving audiences worldwide totally shocked. Season 1 was just a warm up for what we have in store for Season 2. Get ready to be scared in ways you never expected."

Hemlock Grove was Netflix's third original series. Based on the novel of the same name by Brian McGreevy, who developed the series with Lee Shipman, it followed the mysteries surrounding violent deaths in a small Pennsylvania town.

The series stars Famke Janssen (X-Men), Bill Skarsgård (Simon & The Oaks), Landon Liboiron (Terra Nova), Freya Tingley (X), and Dougray Scott (Mission Impossible II).

"In its first season, Eli, Brian, Lee and the team did an incredible job of introducing viewers to a unique world of memorable characters," said Netflix's vice president of original content, Cindy Holland.

"Chic's addition to the show, and his experience on such fan favorites as The Shield, The Walking Dead and Dexter, will heighten the intensity of the mystery that grips Hemlock Grove."

"We are thrilled to be working with Netflix on the second season of Hemlock Grove, a show that the audience has enthusiastically embraced," said producer Gaumont International Television's CEO, Katie O'Connell.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Iron Man 3 broke the US$400 million mark at the domestic box office on Tuesday, according to Disney.

The amount was not unexpected but is still impressive, with Man Of Steel taking most of the superhero movie buzz away over the weekend.

The number means that third installment of the Iron Man franchise has earned US$1.2 billion worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing film ever. In doing so, it eclipsed another Disney film, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, now ranked sixth worldwide.

To break down the math for you: That's US$803.9 million internationally and US$400.4 million domestically, making it Disney's sixth billion-dollar and second highest-grossing release of all time, behind only Marvel's The Avengers.

Iron Man 3 has surpassed the total gross of The Avengers in China, Finland, Hong Kong, Korea, Russia, Poland, Switzerland, Thailand and Ukraine, as well as Malaysia and Vietnam, where it is the highest grossing film of all time.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The sun won't come out tomorrow after all for Sandra Bullock.

The actress won't be joining the cast of Sony's Annie reboot after a second attempt to get her in the cast fell through, according to an individual familiar with the dealmaking process.

Bullock was in line to play Miss Hannigan, who runs the orphanage where Annie (Quvenzhane Wallis) and her friends live. She had initially passed on the role before coming back to the negotiating table, though her representatives at CAA were unable to strike a deal with Sony.

While it would've been fun to see Bullock making life hell for little orphan Annie, there are several other top comic actresses who Sony will be pursuing in the coming days, so stay tuned.

Directed by Will Gluck and produced by Will Smith and Jay-Z, Annie is scheduled to sing its way into theaters on Christmas Day 2014, the same day as Disney's star-studded Stephen Sondheim musical Into The Woods.

LOS ANGELES: Emmy award-winning US actor James Gandolfini, the star of the long-running mafia drama "The Sopranos," has died at the age of 51 in Italy, media reports said Wednesday.

Gandolfini (pic), who won three Emmys and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano on the hit HBO series, suffered a heart attack, celebrity website TMZ and industry daily Variety reported.

Tributes poured in from fellow actors including Susan Sarandon, who tweeted: "So sad to lose James Gandolfini. One of the sweetest, funniest, most generous actors I've ever worked with. Sending prayers to his family."

"I'm truly heartbroken to hear that James Gandolfini has passed away. He is one of my all time favorite actors. Tragic loss," Jonah Hill wrote on the microblogging site, while Steve Carrell said it was "unbelievably sad news."

Gandolfini's agents and HBO were not immediately available to confirm the reports.

TMZ said Gandolfini was in Italy for the Taormina Film Fest in Sicily, where he was expected to participate in a roundtable discussion with Italian director Gabriele Muccino this weekend.

Gandolfini had a long film and stage career before lending his heavy stature and big grin to play a depressed mafioso in "The Sopranos," a celebrated series that ran from 1999 to 2007.

The New Jersey-born actor began acting in the New York theater, making his Broadway debut in the 1992 revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" with Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin.

His breakthrough role came as a hitman in Tony Scott's 1993 "True Romance," which he followed with "She's So Lovely" (1997), "8MM" (1999), "The Mexican" (2001), "The Man Who Wasn't There" (2001) and "In the Loop" (2009).

He played CIA director Leon Panetta in last year's Oscar-winning Osama bin Laden manhunt movie "Zero Dark Thirty," and was seen in this year's comedy "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone."

He is survived by his wife, Deborah Lin, whom he married in 2008.

He had a son, Michael, with his first wife, Marcy Wudarski.-AFP

LOS ANGELES: Emmy award-winning US actor James Gandolfini, the star of the long-running mafia drama "The Sopranos," has died at the age of 51 in Italy, media reports said Wednesday.

Gandolfini, who won three Emmys and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano on the hit HBO series, suffered a heart attack, celebrity website TMZ and industry daily Variety reported.

Tributes poured in from fellow actors including Susan Sarandon, who tweeted: "So sad to lose James Gandolfini. One of the sweetest, funniest, most generous actors I've ever worked with. Sending prayers to his family."

"I'm truly heartbroken to hear that James Gandolfini has passed away. He is one of my all time favorite actors. Tragic loss," Jonah Hill wrote on the microblogging site, while Steve Carrell said it was "unbelievably sad news."

Gandolfini's agents and HBO were not immediately available to confirm the reports.

TMZ said Gandolfini was in Italy for the Taormina Film Fest in Sicily, where he was expected to participate in a roundtable discussion with Italian director Gabriele Muccino this weekend.

Gandolfini had a long film and stage career before lending his heavy stature and big grin to play a depressed mafioso in "The Sopranos," a celebrated series that ran from 1999 to 2007.

The New Jersey-born actor began acting in the New York theater, making his Broadway debut in the 1992 revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" with Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin.

His breakthrough role came as a hitman in Tony Scott's 1993 "True Romance," which he followed with "She's So Lovely" (1997), "8MM" (1999), "The Mexican" (2001), "The Man Who Wasn't There" (2001) and "In the Loop" (2009).

He played CIA director Leon Panetta in last year's Oscar-winning Osama bin Laden manhunt movie "Zero Dark Thirty," and was seen in this year's comedy "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone."

He is survived by his wife, Deborah Lin, whom he married in 2008.

He had a son, Michael, with his first wife, Marcy Wudarski.-AFP

Zombie apocalypse is nigh ... or so pop culture tells us. Here’s a handy survival guide if we ever get to that state.

GOOD zombie films (George A. Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead and Dawn Of The Dead) and TV series The Walking Dead (based on Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel) serve as a social commentary on the state of humanity (or lack of it) when – you know – s*** hits the fan. But, just in case zombies are real, it is important to know how to survive an attack. Max Brooks – who penned the bestseller World War Z (the movie version is in cinemas now) – has got it covered in his 2004 book, The Zombie Survival Guide. Nonetheless, with so many films, television series, books and videogames on these relentless creatures, we thought we’d take a stab at making a list too.

Arm yourself

Guns are not the only weapons to fight off zombies. Plus, the sound of a blasting gun attracts (more) zombies, and we don’t need that. Gardening tools, musical instruments (trombone sounds like an excellent idea) or sports equipment (hello, hockey stick) can be turned into a deadly weapon. Forget about some household items though, unplugged toasters and limited edition vinyls won’t stop their slow advance – Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s characters in Shaun Of The Dead tried and failed.

You can also kill two birds with one stone – shove your enemy to the hungry zombies while you make your escape. Andrea (Laurie Holden) did exactly that to the one-eyed Governor (David Morrissey) in Season Three of The Walking Dead. Now, that’s what we call a win-win situation.

Aim for the head

Now, whatever weapon you’re using, make sure you go straight for the zombie’s head. Grab those rolling pins or cricket bats, and just go into attack mode and bash their brains out. Remember, a decapitated head can still bite, so make sure it’s totally destroyed. When using cars to kill, “double-tap” a zombie (like in Zombieland). First run over it, then do it again – to glorious sloshy bloody sound – in reverse.

Time to socialise

Find like-minded people, so you can work together to stay alive. If Survivor taught us anything, it is strength in numbers. Same applies here, except Jeff Probst doesn’t appear after some tough kills.

Location, location, location

It’s exhausting to be on the run, so find shelter. An abandoned house is great but the two most effective places to hide during a zombie apocalypse are shopping malls (Dawn Of The Dead) and prisons (The Walking Dead). There are weapons and canned goods at these places. About the only thing you can’t control is the kind of people you get stuck with.

If you can’t beat them, join them

Killing a walker needs focus. Before you realise it, you might suddenly have a herd of walkers flocking towards you, with no way out. Act quickly: after killing the zombie, rub its blood all over yourself, and start shuffling like one as if your life depended on it (and it does). Make sure you have vacant eyes with a hint of sadness in them, and moan a lot. This trick is proven to work on Warm Bodies, The Walking Dead and Shaun Of The Dead.

However, if you are unfortunate to be stuck in the United States of Zombieland or 28 Days Later, then shuffling does not work because these herd of zombies run really fast.Similarly, in the latest zombie film, World War Z, the zombies move at breakneck speed as they go after Brad Pitt. Then it’d be best to adhere to Zombieland’s rule #1: Cardio – get in tiptop shape so you can outrun them and their nasty teeth.

Sleep your way through it

Try to get shot or something, and be in a coma. This is so, you know, you can totally skip the first stage of the apocalypse (28 Days Later, Resident Evil 2 and The Walking Dead). When you wake up, some zombies would’ve already been maimed which means they just gnash at you when you do go out to be bathed by the sun and the smell of rotting corpses.

Become a bad@$&

You have to have a heart of stone if you want to kill clown zombies, Nazi zombies or even your relatives who have turned into zombies (Zombieland, Dead Snow and Braindead respectively). Please don’t be wishy washy about offing a zombie. However, make sure you look cool like Alice (Milla Jovovich) does as she goes on a killing rampage in Resident Evil.

Trumpeter Byron Stripling and the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra paid a delightful tribute to Louis Armstrong.

WITH his charisma, humour and wit, trumpet virtuoso Byron Stripling blew and sang his way into the hearts of the audience in a special tribute to Louis Armstrong last weekend.

From New Orleans style jazz to complicated bebop lines, he ruled the stage.

Under the baton of Grammy award- winning composer Jeff Tyzik, Stripling collaborated with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur in a two-day concert series.

No, he didn’t have Armstrong’s trademark gravelly voice, but Stripling’s skills on the horn as well as strong stage presence made up for it.

The tribute leaned heavily towards the New Orleans influence of Armstrong’s music, with Tyzik responsible for the majority of the arrangements.

The show began with a medley of tunes like I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues, Saint James Infirmary and Royal Garden Blues. This was followed by the upbeat Red Arrow composed by bebop trumpeter Red Rodney in 1957.

Stripling delivered clean, strong chops combined with harmonic sophistication and brilliant improvisation.

It was a prelude to what was to come.

He then launched into Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans, from the 1947 movie New Orleans starring Billie Holiday and Armstrong. Stripling demonstrated his vocal prowess here and while he had a unique quality, it was a pitch higher and more refined than Armstrong’s.

Incidentally, Stripling is also an accomplished actor and singer. He was chosen, following a worldwide search, to star in the lead role of the Broadway bound musical, Satchmo, which was Armstrong’s nickname.

In St Louis Blues, Stripling tried to replicate the way Armstrong had performed with a philharmonic orchestra ages ago. He planted a trombonist and clarinet player in the middle of the orchestra and whenever it was time for an instrumental solo, these chaps would stand up and deliver. They pulled it off remarkably well.

The audience instantly sang along to the jazz standard Sweet Georgia Brown. Numerous singers have done their spin on it and Stripling’s version was equally captivating.

Ever so often, Stripling launched into some theatrics which had the audience laughing out loud. He told the tale (a true story, he claimed) of an audience member in Singapore.

Apparently, a man who was seated in the front fell asleep and started snoring while Stripling was performing. The trumpeter, disturbed by the loud noise, stopped his show and asked the wife to stir her man.

The unruffled woman responded, “Your music put him to sleep so you wake him up!”

After intermission, Stripling and the MPO played Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Minnie The Moocher, Honeysuckle Rose and Ain’t Misbehavin’. In Flat Foot Floogie With A Floy Floy, Stripling tried to get the audience to sing some complicated scats but the untrained tongue can only do so much so we gave up after a rather feeble attempt! While the vocalising was fun, Stripling was in his element with the trumpet solo, playing beautifully on the bridge.

The audience had expected Stripling to deliver a few of Armstrong’s more popular numbers.

Indeed he did, but songs such as Mack The Knife, Hello Dolly, Basin St Blues, When The Saints Go Marching In and What A Wonderful World were all lumped into a medley so we never got to feel the essence of the songs.

Unlike most MPO concerts – pop or classical – this tribute was particularly short. The first half lasted 38 minutes and the second half, only 30 minutes.

Yes, Stripling came back for an encore but he sang an a cappella number, lasting no more than four minutes, much to the disappointment of all.

Still, it was an entertaining night. Had he been alive, good ‘ol Satchmo would have smiled at his legacy.

Bring the noise!: Hujan rocking the stage with (from left) drummer Acer, frontman Noh and keyboardist Dimas at the Bentley Auditorium in Petaling Jaya, Selangor last Sunday.

Hujan and Love Me Butch’s Sang Enemy Worldwide Transgression 2013 tour ended with a bang.

IN a country without an established touring circuit like Malaysia, organising a tour is never an easy thing. Even before taking into consideration the all-important factor that is audience-pulling power, the question of logistics and dealing with the red tape of each location is a nightmare that not many bands or concert promoters are willing to deal with. Touring the country is quite a risk to take indeed.

Apart from 1980s rock legends like Search and Wings, there aren’t that many high profile tours by local bands happening in the last few years.

Of course, there have always been small scale Malaysian tours by local independent bands throughout the years, but props must go to local indie act Hujan for daring to do it on a much bigger scale, roping in alternative metal act Love Me Butch to go on a double-bill tour, complete with a tour bus and all.

Even more special is the fact that both bands promised to play for at least an hour each, enabling them to dig deep into their catalogue and play hits and live favourites.

Apart from rocking out at the concerts, the bands also worked closely with

1Malaysia For Youth (1M4U) for a few community based projects in the states they visited, which included holding music and entrepreneurship workshops in each city.

Organised in conjunction with the release of the bands’ latest albums, Sang Enemy for Hujan and Worldwide Transgression for Love Me Butch, the tour made stops in Melaka, Kuala Terengganu, Alor Setar and Ipoh throughout May and June. The tour culminated at the Wisma Bentley Auditorium, Petaling Jaya in Selangor last Sunday. Perhaps to end things with a big bang, the tour finale included two regional bands as openers – post hardcore band Caracal from Singapore and one of Indonesia’s biggest stoner rock bands, Seringai. Manifesto, the recent winners of popular TV show Versus, also made a guest appearance.

Caracal opened the show with a suitably heavy and energetic set to warm up the audience, but it wasn’t until Indonesian heavy hitters Seringai took to the stage that the crowd finally loosened up and went crazy in the moshpit. Playing favourites like Membakar Jakarta and Program Party Seringai, it was quite surprising to see the crowd singing along to the band’s songs. Seringai was the undoubted winner of the night, with the kind of audio clarity and tight performance worthy of an international band.

Manifesto filled up the stage next, and the crowd lapped up its performance as enthusiastically as they supported and voted for the band throughout Versus. A combination of Modread’s super-tight musicianship and Tomok’s rock steady singing skills is always going to be a winner.

As good as the opening bands were, this was the headliners’ show and as soon as Love Me Butch took to the stage, the audience went completely berserk, singing and shouting along to their favourites and getting all sweaty jumping around in the moshpit and crowd surfing. Hit singles like Hollywood Holiday and especially Reconcile received the most amazing of responses, and it was quite a sight to see and hearLove Me Butch in roaring form.

Of course, the craziest response of the night was saved for Hujan, as it was quite obvious that its beloved supporters, Raingers, had arrived in sizeable numbers. The Hujan lads, led by main man Noh, duly returned the love showered on them by their fans with a rollicking performance as they blasted one hit after another.

Such is Hujan’s large catalogue of crowd favourites that it could even afford to not play its first ever hit, Pagi Yang Gelap. But that didn’t matter as older material like Bila Aku Sudah Tiada and Aku Skandal more than made up for it.

In accordance with Hujanadopting a metalcore-inspired sound, the group ended the show (before the encore, of course) with Syarul from Love Me Butch and Joe from metalcore band The Padangs doing the screaming duties on Mana Mungkin. Lead singer Noh encouraged the crowd to come onstage which they duly did and that stage invasion was quite a sight to behold. What a glorious end to a rocking night out.

Catching up with Kaley Cuoco on the latest season of The Big Bang Theory.

WHEN The Big Bang Theory premiered in 2007, some critics were unkind towards the show’s brand of nerdy humour, claiming that it mercilessly “clubs audience over the head with the same that’s-how-nerdy-they-are jokes”. They thought it was lame and wanted it dead.

The primetime sitcom focuses on the daily lives of brainy housemates Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), a theoretical physicist with an IQ of 187, and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), an experimental physicist with an IQ of 173.

The nerds and their equally nerdy friends – aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) – are such geeks that no conversation is complete without one of them referencing lines from Star Wars, Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica. And no ... they’re not exactly hot stuff in the chick department, either.

Adding to the mix is the ditzy (and literally) girl-next-door Penny (Kaley Cuoco), who is Sheldon’s usual pain-in-the-neck and the others’ object of desire. Critics weren’t too happy with the character. One even described Penny as “bland”.

Well, now it seems Cuoco (and the rest of the cast and crew) is having the last laugh. The show is now one of the most successful American sitcoms around, having won numerous awards.

The latest one is the recent 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards, where both Helberg and Cuoco won the Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards, respectively. The show was also named Best Comedy Series.

In an interview transcript provided by HyppTV, Cuoco mentions that she has always had a feeling that the show would be successful.

“I knew it from the very first episode. I knew we’d created something funny and entertaining and different. We had an incredible cast and funny stories to tell ... I had a feeling that it was all going to work out. Thankfully, I was right,” said Cuoco.

Perhaps, she’s the real genius here. The Big Bang Theory is now in its sixth season and much has changed since the show first aired.

For starters, Sheldon is now in a relationship with Amy (Mayim Bialik), a neuroscientist. Cuoco shares her opinion on Penny’s budding friendship with Amy.

“Amy is a good friend and she always wants to help. Some people think there’s a little bit more to the relationship, but I’m not sure about that.

“However, I know Amy literally likes being the shoulder Penny cries on. It’s very sweet. Penny can rely on her.”

The series also focuses on Penny’s on-off relationship with Leonard. Their relationship took off in Season Three and the lovebirds’ biggest problem is their insecurities.

“Oh, there’s always a problem with those two – but that’s part of the fun of the show. At the end of day, I think they’re just really good friends for now. That’s what I honestly believe.

“Down the line, like at the end of the show, I really hope they are together – but right now, I think it’s probably not right for them,” said Cuoco.

The actress feels that the character needs some time off from the fiery relationship.

“Penny dating (other guys) ... that would be fun. She hasn’t really done that in a very long time, so it would be cool to see it on the show.”

Apart from relationships, Cuoco also hopes the show will finally introduce Penny’s mother – the only parent who has yet to make an appearance.

“I think Lisa Kudrow is at the perfect age to play Penny’s mother because the character is just like a little Lisa. I see her hitting on all the guys. That would be so much fun! She could arrive on the show as a ‘cougar’ but you’d get the feeling this has happened many times before.”

Considering Penny’s sibling issues – she once described her brother who operates a meth lab as “kind of a chemist” – her idea to have a “troubled” mother makes sense.

“All the siblings are so messed up with parole and other nonsense. You have to have a reason behind where that comes from: Their mother.”

The Big Bang Theory is filmed in front of a live studio audience, and the show is known for its sharp writing and hilarious banter between the characters.

However, there are moments when a joke falls flat and Cuoco reveals how the writers “fix” such nerve-wracking moments.

“Some jokes just don’t work and you get stuck in the middle of the scene waiting for laughs that are never going to happen. You think to yourself, ‘well, that didn’t work’.”

She added, “You just keep going. You carry on with the scene, but as soon as you stop – the writers jump into action. You’ll see 30 people running from out of the darkness with 30 new ideas.”

The writers would have it all figured out and eventually get the desired effect on the audience.

“In the end, they always get a laugh. The writers know what they’re doing and they know what’s funny. We rarely get killed on a joke. It just doesn’t happen.”

Catch the latest season of The Big Bang Theory on Warner TV (HyppTV Ch 613) every Wednesday at 9.30pm.

The Drums' Jacob Graham (left) and Jonathan Pierce have charged ahead in the indie scene with two albums and a loyal global following.

The Drums gave the indie genre a massive boost at the Green Room party last weekend.

It was close to midnight at the Heineken Green Room party last Saturday in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and New York-based indie outfit The Drums’ headlining set was coming to a close. There was a glow coming from the crowd – not so much the house lights – but rather from the feelgood vibe on the dancefloor after the masses watched one of the most endearing sets played at KL Live in recent times.

The Drums, which flew in from the Big Apple only the day before, showed no signs of jetlag as it carried the audience through a memorable gig. The tunes, filled with themes of pain, longing, awkward first kisses and sad goodbyes, were not exactly the loudest bangers compared to KL Live’s reputation as a dance and heavy rock venue.

But The Drums’ brand of indie rock held its own last weekend – and the crowd simply loved each and every minute of it. The crowd-pleasing setlist included favourites like Days, Let’s Go Surfing, Money, I Need A Doctor and Down By The Water, which brought the smiles and singalongs.

With heart-tugging lyrics and inspiration from vintage 1980s British indie bands, there was no denying The Drums made for a daring headlining act for the Green Room series. This was a gig to rival the explosive The Gossip show in 2011.

Emerging from Brooklyn via Florida in 2009, after various spells in different incarnations, the two founding members of The Drums – Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham – initially caught the ear of the indie world with the Summertime! EP, an escapist collection of beach pop fantasies.

From the “innocence” of its debut EP to the upbeat pop and darker introspective side of the band on its self-titled debut (2010), to the even darker sophomore album Portamento (2011), the band sidestepped the pitfalls of a slump by recording its music quickly. The duo self produced and often laid down tracks spontaneously in singer-songwriter Pierce’s kitchen.

Released just 14 months after its debut, Portamento revealed a band tugging lightly at the boundaries of its sound while still retaining its recognisable sonic signatures.

Certainly Malaysian fans sort of already knew this, judging by the easy rapport they had with the band.

“I think a big part of what made Portamento a darker record was, I think, mine and Jacob’s friendship, which has always been sort of at the cornerstone of our band,” said Pierce during a press meet in Kuala Lumpur the evening before the concert.

“We met when we were just young kids and we’ve always been creative together. As close as we thought we were, we didn’t imagine how truly close you become and how much time you spend with someone when you’re on the road for two years solid at the time. And I think we both kinda saw things that we didn’t like in each other and also things that we love in each other,” he added.

It’s almost akin to a marriage, according to Pierce, comparing it to being with someone all the time and sharing every experience with them.

“A lot of good can sometimes come out of that, but a lot of not so good too. I think our friendship and our working relationship will probably be forever changed because of that.

“We welcome the sadness and I think we’re really thankful for having shared this because without those experiences it’s hard to write meaningful songs. We always have our arms wide open to hardships and struggles because we kind of embrace that anyway.”

Friendship may be one thing that influences the band’s music, but since its formative years, there had always been something about British subcultures that attracted both Pierce and Graham, something in the British indie scene that tapped into music that they couldn’t really find anywhere else.

“Definitely there is a sensitivity in British indie music of the 1980s and the 90s you didn’t find in the US,” said keyboardist Graham.

Pierce added: “The US was, when we were growing up, very concerned with being masculine and tough and even indie music was very hard, so you discover the British bands aren’t concerned about that at all. We’ve always loved the sound and we can connect to it.”

“It’s refreshing to hear music that’s done by grown men who aren’t afraid to show their sensitivity or some weakness or some frailty, we always found that refreshing and we’re drawn to that.”

Perhaps this sums up the identity of The Drums, as Graham continued: “With so many songs from when we were teenagers that were so important to us, and so special to us, that’s always sort of been our goal to write those songs. Don’t write a song just because it sounds interesting. There’re a lot of songs that have like a little hook that happens and that’s all there is to a song. We like our songs to be about something.”

“We care about every little detail, we’re really concerned about our lives and what goes on in them,” added Pierce. “We’re firm believers in being really honest while writing a song. It’s a great time stamp just for ourselves to say how we’re feeling and put it down in a song and it’s forever there.

“Just selfishly, we can look back and remember that time and I think it only improves your live shows as well when you’re really feeling the words rather than thinking that ‘I know this is a cool phrase to say so let’s put this in’,” he maintained.

Judging by the screaming fans and crowd-surfing antics stageside, The Drums definitely charmed its way into the hearts of the masses.

Columbia Pictures has already scheduled the releases of the third and fourth chapters of The Amazing Spider-Man.

As long as no major issue is encountered, Andrew Garfield's version of Spider-Man will continue his adventures until 2018. The Amazing Spider-Man 3 will be released in theaters on June 20, 2016 in North America. The fourth chapter will come out nearly two years later, on May 4, 2018.

This announcement proves Columbia Pictures' faith in Marc Webb, the young director who succeeds Sam Raimi in helming the Spider-Man franchise.

The studio also mark the several blockbuster releases in the coming summers and indicates that it's far from ready to give back the cinematic rights to the superhero -- which they've held since 1999 -- to Marvel.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will come out on the big screen next May 2 in North America.

Andrew Garfield will be seen once more as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. That movie will focus on his relationship with Mary Jane Watson (Shailene Woodley), and the hero will have to face The Green Goblin (Chris Cooper), Electro (Jamie Foxx) and the Rhino (Paul Giamatti) in his fight for justice.

(Relaxnews)

Disney has revealed a gag-filled scene from its 2013 year-end holiday motion picture, Frozen.

Disney's first teaser trailer for the film, which draws on Hans Christian Andersen's tale The Snow Queen, shows a scene that focuses on a big misunderstanding between a snowman and a reindeer, fighting over a carrot.

Nearly 25 years after its version of The Little Mermaid (1989), Disney returns to the works of the Danish author to create this 3D animated movie about Anna, the Ice Princess (voiced by Kristen Bell), on a quest to find her sister, the Snow Queen (voiced by Idina Menzel), who has accidentally triggered eternal winter.

Frozen is scheduled to be released on November 27 in the US.

(Relaxnews)