MTV VJ Hanli & VJ Alan Dishes Out On MTV World Stage Malaysia 2014

So as we know, MTV World Stage Malaysia is back and it’s going to be better than ever. This year, the power is in your hands. You get to reveal every crucial information regarding MTV World Stage Malaysia 2014 by tweeting and including the hashtag #worldstagemy.

As Unlock MTV World Stage Malaysia 2014 went live this morning, we spoke to MTV VJs, VJ Hanli and VJ Alan to get more deets about this year’s World Stage. Here’s what went down:

Q: What’s different about MTV World Stage this year?

VJ Hanli: The whole Unlock World Stage thing! Let me explain it – basically, we are getting everyone or as many people as we can to tweet with the hashtag #worldstagemy and the more tweets that we generate, the more information will be shared with the public. So if you go to the website, you can track the updates on MTV World Stage Malaysia 2014. The more tweets we generate, the more information we release. For example at 25% we reveal the logo, at 50% the date and venue and it goes on from there. It’s a real built up and it is going to be super fun!

VJ Alan: This year we are really making this concert for the people. Just to find out the acts alone generated so much hype last year so this year, we are trying to get the fans involved to really make this about them.

Q: How long will the Unlock campaign be going on for?

VJ Hanli: It starts today so we will see how many tweets we get. The more tweets, the less time taken to reveal the information!

Q: What are the both of you expecting from World Stage Malaysia this year?

Both VJs: For it to be even crazier. Last year was the first time we hosted in Malaysia and the scale of it was amazing so we are hoping for this year to up that. We are doing the best we can to build up the hype for World Stage Malaysia 2014 so we expecting a lot more screams, more excitement and definitely more energy! Last year was amazing and we can’t wait for more this time round.

Q: How has social media helped you connect with your fans?

VJ Hanli: It’s helped so much it’s insane. Now it’s more personal because we communicate with the fans one-on-one to find out what they like, what they want and what they don’t want. It’s a direct feedback and at MTV we are all about creating great live, killing boring and taking things to the next level so to be able to have the connection with the fans, it’s great.

VJ Alan: It’s kind of what World Stage and our show have in common – they are really centred around the social media factor. One of the greatest things about our show is that we always receive peoples’ Instagram pictures and we get them featured on the show. By doing that, we not only get to see their pictures but we also get to share their pictures with other people out there who are watching our show. It’s great. With Unlock World Stage, people can share their ideas with one another. Social media brings people together.

Q: Besides social media, how else can fans win passes to MTV World Stage Malaysia 2014?

Both: There are going to be a lot of ways to win. Fans can participate on the MTV show. We believe Hitz.FM will also be giving out passes so in the next two months, we will be coming here a lot for roadshows to give out passes. There really are a lot of ways – the fans will just have to track us on MTV Asia to find out.

Q: Are you really not going to give me any hints as to who’s performing this year?

VJ Alan: Hahaha this is so fun! I love it because everybody really wants to know. I love the energy behind it and that’s the whole point of Unlock World Stage Malaysia – how can we make that energy even more fun, and instead of just being like a personal “Oh I want to know,” we are making it like a group effort of people coming together to find out.

VJ Hanli: We would tell you if we could but we also enjoy having the power. Hahaha. If you really want to know, you have to tweet it and don’t forget to hashtag #worldstagemy!

The acts for MTV World Stage Malaysia 2014 has already been announced and it’s Malaysia’s very own singer-songwriter, Yuna as well as K-Pop idol boy group Boys Republic!

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#Malaysia: Group Of Photographers Spot Rare “Light Pillars” Phenomenon In East Malaysia

Who knew that something so magical exists on our country’s shores, literally)? A group of photographers, led by Mentographian founder Andrew JK Tan, chanced upon light pillars in the sky on Wednesday (21st June 2017) night.

“Light pillars occur when ice-containing clouds – normally miles high in the atmosphere – cling closer to the Earth’s surface, just a hundred or a few thousand feet above it. These thin clouds contain millions of flat, hexagonal crystals of ice that float horizontally in the air. Each ice crystal acts like a mirror pointed downward, reflecting the artificial light back to your eyes – as long as the cloud is about halfway between you and the light source. Together, the crystals form a cluster of mirrors floating at different heights, which allows you to see the light as a column; if they all were at the same level, you’d see only a spot of light. The pillars can be quite colourful at times because each reflected beam is the same colour as its source.” – The New York Times.

What makes Andrew JK Tan’s encounter even more magical than the actual phenomenon is the fact that light pillars are generally seen in cold, arctic regions.

Andrew JK Tan and the group of photography enthusiasts first spotted the light beams at 9pm near Pulau Kelambu in East Malaysia. The light pillars danced in the sky for a couple of hours before they started to fade at 1am on Thursday (22nd June 2017) morning.

The Star Online quoted Andrew as saying, “We were surprised to be greeted by the display of vertical colourful lights. It was magnificent. It is definitely a moment to treasure in our lives.”

Sources: The Star Online, The New York Times / Featured image: Andrew JK Tan.


Jason Mraz To Headline MTV Exit

Human trafficking is a tragic crime that enslaves and exploits its victims, the majority of which are women and children. There are more than 20 million people living in slavery around the world with Myanmar and Southeast Asia particularly affected. The concert forms part of a wider initiative that seeks to educate and train youth through innovative television programming, digital content, capacity building workshops and community-based events.

MTV EXIT Live in Myanmar follows the production of two Myanmar MTV EXIT documentaries on human trafficking, which were broadcast in 2010 and 2012 on national television to educate the public about the dangers of trafficking:

[youtube id=”E7lESZyP4yg” width=”600″ height=”350″]

MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) announced a historic live concert in Myanmar to be held on 16th December 2012 (Sunday) to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking. The free live concert will be held at the Yangon People’s Square, which lies at the base of the magnificent 2600 year-old Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the most iconic and auspicious sites in the country.

Multi GRAMMY award-winning singer songwriter Jason Mraz will headline the event becoming the first international artist ever to perform at an open-air concert in Myanmar.

Also performing are Myanmar’s top artists including Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein and R Zarni. Sharing the stage at the free concert will be speakers from the anti-trafficking sector, government and donor community who work to fight human trafficking in Myanmar.

In addition, MTV EXIT had also launched a contest giving fans a chance to win a trip to see Jason Mraz live in Myanmar. Contest details available here.

MTV EXIT Live in Myanmar will be broadcast in Myanmar on national television and will air across MTV’s international network in early 2013 as a special edition of “MTV World Stage”, MTV’s weekly live music series. Available in more than a half-billion homes, the program will feature performances, interviews and key educational information about human trafficking.

Further details on the concert including how to obtain free tickets will be released soon. For more information, visit their website or follow MTV EXIT on the following social media platforms: Twitter and Facebook.


8 Exciting Details We Notice From Upcoming SciFi Movie, “Dune”

The trailer for the long anticipated Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation of the beloved sci-fi novel, “Dune” was unveiled this week. Besides getting a talented cast, fans are wondering if the film will be able to adapt the immense plot from the source which was released 55 years ago.

Unless you’re a fan of the book series or have seen David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation, you won’t know what’s going on or what to expect. As a general viewer, it might remind you of other sci-fi movies like “Star Wars” or “Blade Runner 2049”. However, Dune’s complex universe and dense plot makes it a film worth to keep an eye on.

Before going any further, this article might contain little spoilers but no major ones, you have been warned. Here are 8 things we can learn from the trailer:

The trailer starts off with some passionate moment between Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), Dune’s main protagonist and Chani (Zendaya), warrior of the Fremen (inhabitants of the desert planet, Arrakis).

It all out turns out to be a prescient dream. Our hero wakes up in Caladan, his home planet, when he has not been to the desert planet yet. We learn that Paul can dream of the future as this was before the pair met in Arrakis.

The relationship between Paul and Chani develops in the latter half of the novel. Due to the massive plot of Dune, the director is only adapting half of the source in the movie. There could be a planned sequel but it could be interesting on how major Zendaya’s role will be in this film.

The chilling lady in the trailer testing Paul Atreides is Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling), the Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit. The test is simple, he has to keep his hand inside a pain-inducing box while she holds a Gom Jabbar (a poisoned needle) by his neck. If he follows his instinct and remove his hand from the box, she would pierce his neck, killing him instantly.

For those who haven’t read the book, the Gom Jabbar ‘Test of Humanity’ is to determine if the person’s awareness is stronger than his instincts. It is usually intended for the members of Bene Gesserit, an all-female group that aims to influence humanity to an enlightened path, but there is a reason why Paul Atreides is being tested.

Dune, another name for Arrakis (the main planet where the story takes place), is actually scarce with water. The scene where we see Chalamet strolling by the beach is on a different planet, Caladan, home of House Atreides. Unlike Arrakis, this planet rains a lot and is rich with water and plants. It has a verdant landscape and it’s where Paul’s father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), reigns.

Nonetheless, Leto and his family have been ordered by the emperor to move and take control of Dune. The flying ships we can see in the background during this scene are basically interstellar freights transporting their items to their new home.

When Paul Atreides is training with Atreides man-at-arms, Gurney Hellen (Josh Brolin), we caught a first glimpse on how the Holtzman shield looks. The jittery holograph effects during the spar that got some viewers confused at first, are actually personal shields commonly used in combat around the Dune universe.

The previous adaptation didn’t have a good and accurate depiction of the shields. It takes form of transparent orange boxes as personal force-fields. But, that was probably the best effects they could pull during the 80’s. Nonetheless, the shields definitely feel closer to home in the upcoming film.

When the family arrives in Arrakis for the first time, we can see Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) excitedly saying, “Ah, my boy!” before rushing to Paul and lifting him up. Momoa’s character is a loyal swordsman of House Atreides.

Idaho is one of the most skilled blade user in the Universe. He is described in the book as dashingly handsome and a lethal one-man army. Later on in the trailer, we get a scene where he easily fights through the threat. We hope to see more of Momoa carving up soldiers with twin swords. Maybe it’s not so bad that he trimmed his beard for this role.

The main antagonist is Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard), Head of House Harkonnen, who can only be seen in two brief unclear shots. Without revealing too much, he is practically the sworn enemy of House Atreides. The only line that we get to hear from him is “Kill them all,” which pretty much sums up his character.

Furthermore, Harkonnen’s ground forces are the Stormtrooper of this franchise and they are led by Glossu ‘The Beast’ Rabban (Dave Bautista). The differences are, they dress in black instead of white, and they show off their bald heads. The Beast is the eldest nephew of Baron Harkonnen and he definitely got that nickname for a reason.

We can see Dr. Liet Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) in the trailer, however, the character is now played by a female. Dr. Kynes is a male in the actual novel but Villeneuve has decided to switch things up in his adaptation.

The character has an eco-friendly mindset who wants a more habitable and greener Arrakis. The actor said, “I don’t think it matters that Kynes, in the book, is a man. What’s important is what Kynes stands for.”

The cherry on top are the enormous sandworms in the trailer. Halfway through the trailer, there was a brief shot of the creature devouring a spice plant, but at the end we get a clearer look at the size of it.

The sandworm at the end is the money-shot of this trailer. It proves that the scale of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is incomparable. His depiction of these predators are the closest to the original concept art.

These terrifying and immense creatures, also known as Shai-Hulud by the Fremen, roams the desert of Dune and devours anything in it’s path. It moves by tunnelling underground and is attracted to anything that vibrates above the surface.

“Dune” is set to hit the big screens on 18th December 2020.

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Uh Oh! Did Siti Nurhaliza Copy Adele’s “Oh My God” MV?

Dato’ Sri Siti Nurhaliza made a huge splash with the music video debut for her new single “Lip Lap Raya”. The song was released in conjunction with this year’s Eid Al-Fitr celebration.

After the music video was uploaded on the iconic songstress’ YouTube channel yesterday (Thursday, 21st April), many netizens have been leaving mixed reactions to the quality of the song’s video. Not only that, one particular netizen noticed that several parts of the video bares a striking resemblance to Adele’s “Oh My God” MV!

♬ Glitch Mode Raya Remix – Abe Moon – Abe Moon

The matter was first brought to light by a social media user known as Amcarrrrrr. He first uploaded a video on his TikTok, suggesting that the “Sesuci Lebaran” singer had copied the Grammy winner. At the time of writing (Friday, 22nd April), the TikTok post has been watched over 6,000 times (and counting).

Of course, netizens have a lot to say about the allegation. In this case, a few fans (known as Sitizoners) have come forward to defend Siti from the malicious commentators. On the other hand, there were also some who have taken to the comments section to criticise the award-winning singer.

Some of the remarks left by them include:

For those who are interested, you can compare the two videos for yourself below: (You can fast forward to 0:09, 0:55 and 2:22 for Siti’s video, and 0:09, 1:10, and 3:21 for Adele’s video.)


Hype’s Now Playing: Maroon 5 – Sugar

Maroon 5 channel Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn circa 2005 in the goofy clip for their latest single, “Sugar,” as they surprise random brides and grooms with impromptu performances of their slinky funk-pop song. “Wedding Crashers” director David Dobkin helmed the clip.

“We’re gonna drive across L.A. and hit every wedding we possibly can. It’s gonna be awesome,” Levine says at the beginning of the video, which was filmed on 16th Dec 2014.

At each venue, the film crew rushes in and sets up a massive white backdrop, as guests stare with puzzled curiosity. Once the band – in mid-performance – is revealed, the couples’ reactions range from deer-in-headlights shock to hyperventilating glee.

“It was an out of body experience. I had no idea I would be affected by the overwhelming reactions we received from the couples and guests. Being able to create an unforgettable experience for several people was the highlight of it all,” Levine says of the shoot in a press release.

“Sugar” is the third single from Maroon 5’s fifth LP, 2014’s V, following “Maps” and “Animals” – the latter of which ranked at Number 32 on Rolling Stone’s “50 Best Songs of 2014” list. Meanwhile, V came in at Number 4 on Rolling Stone’s list of the year’s “20 Best Pop Albums”.

For more information, visit Maroon 5’s website or Facebook page.


#Disney: #Tron3 Is Off The Grid; Fans Start Petition

The game will only end if you’re off the grid. Unfortunately, the plug has been pulled instead.

The third installment of the famed “Tron” franchise was originally set to be directed by Joseph Kosinski, with Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund reprising their respective roles. However, sources told TheWrap that Disney has decided to shut down the sequel.

Earlier in April, it seemed as though Disney had already greenlit the project, which will begin filming this fall in Canada. Jared Leto and Olivia Munn were courted to co-star in the big-budget sequel, even though the studio hadn’t offered them a deal. Before the project could even move forward, the studio decided to cancel the movie as Brad Bird’s “Tomorrowland” underperformed at the box office during the opening week. The movie, which was made for $180 million, only grossed $42.7 million last weekend.

Hedlund starred in 2010’s “Tron: Legacy” as Sam, the son of Jeff Bridges’ character, Kevin Flynn. Wilde starred as Quorra, an algorithm-made-flesh who helps Sam on his journey to find his father. Though the movie grossed $400 million worldwide and garnered a huge cult following, Disney didn’t see it as a huge hit as the merchandise didn’t sell well. After the failure of “Tomorrowland”, Disney executives may have not wanted to expose the studio to another financial risk.

The loyal fanbase has since created a Change.org petition to revive “Tron 3”.

Instead, the studio would rather focus on developing live-action remakes of its animated classics as last year’s “Maleficent” was a box office success, as well as this year’s “Cinderella“. The animated classics that will be made into live-action versions include:

What do you think of Disney’s decision on the cancellation? Do you think the studio should go ahead and take the risk anyway? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

(Sources: TheWrap, comicbook.com / Featured image)

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5 Reasons To Watch Namewee’s Controversial Film, “Banglasia 2.0”

Namewee’s controversial banned movie “Banglasia” was originally slated to be released in 2014 during Chinese New Year, but due to its sensitive content, it was kept hidden for more than 6 years.

Now the film, which has been renamed to “Banglasia 2.0”, can finally see the light as the ban has finally been lifted. The film will be meeting its nationwide audience on 28th February 2019.

Though some changes have been made to the new version to make it more relevant, it doesn’t change the core message of the movie.

Here are 5 reasons why you need to catch “Banglasia 2.0” in cinema!

A lot of us already know that the film is well known for being the first local movie to be banned from the country. Though most of us basically know why it was banned, we still wonder how far the film actually went to make the previous government so disapproving of it.

For those who have watched Namewee’s previous films such as “Nasi Lemak 2.0” or “Hantu Gangster”, you would know that the filmmaker’s basic ingredient is comedy. Sure, there are other elements involved in the movie, but at the end of the day, the intention of the movie is to make people laugh and have fun.

The movie is made purely for Malaysians (and probably Bangladeshis in Malaysia as well) as there are plenty of inside jokes and references about the country’s political situation, latest trends, and cultural diversity. Also, since the movie was made 5 years ago, those who are not familiar with the country’s political condition at that time may not fully grasp the jokes.

Leading the movie is Bangladeshi actor Nirab Hossain who is said to be the Andy Lau equivalent of Bangladesh, and actor Namewee himself who is also the director and scriptwriter of the movie.

Other famous cast include comedian and former member of Senario, Saiful Apek; one of the founding members of Alleycats, David Arumugam; Malaysian-based Singaporean actress Atikah Suhaime, Singaporean comedian Lao Zha Bor; local Indian actor-director Shashi Tharan; and more.

The main objective of the movie is basically to spread the spirit of unity and peace. As the movie is set in a fictional Malaysia where a war is going on in one area of the country, Malaysians of different races must unite to fight against foreign invasion with the help of a Bangladeshi worker.

Though the movie has a serious theme, it is still a comedy, so Namewee hopes that the audience will be able to watch the movie with an open heart.


The Lights Fest: Famous Travelling Lantern Festival Coming To Malaysia?

Have you ever watched the animated movie “Tangled”? It’s a story about Rapunzel with a Disney twist. There is a scene where the royal family and citizens release lanterns into the sky in hopes for the princess’ return.

The Lights Fest reminds us of that stunning part in “Tangled”. What if you could experience something magical like that?

The Lights Fest is basically a traveling lantern festival where you write down your wishes and dreams on biodegradable lanterns and release them into the night sky. It’s a symbolic way of communicating to the universe. This sort of ceremonial event is commonly practised in Asia (especially Taiwan).

A few days ago, we came across a sponsored post from The Lights Fest announcing that they may be visiting Malaysia soon. However, no official announcement has been made on their website and social media.

A post shared by The Lights Festival (@thelightsfest) on May 27, 2019 at 11:17am PDT

Instead of releasing lanterns into the sky, the organiser revealed that The Lights Water Lantern Festival is headed our way. And itis expected to be held at Putrajaya.

The details for The Lights Water Fest are as follows:

To find out more about The Lights Fest, click here.

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Eric Chou & Fattah Amin Liven Up The Launch Of OPPO F11 Pro

Smartphone brand OPPO has officially launched the latest model from its F series, the OPPO F11 Pro in a grand launch party which took place recently at Polo Field, Bukit Kiara Equestrian Country Club.

To liven up the launch event, popular Malaysian actor-cum-singer Fattah Amin and Taiwanese superstar Eric Chou have been invited to perform as well as share their thoughts on the brand new phone.

Fattah Amin who was previously the face of OPPO F5, returns as the ambassador for F11 Pro, while Eric Chou has been upgraded from OPPO F5 Selfie Icon to F11 Pro Brilliant Portrait Icon.

“What excites me about OPPO F11 Pro is their VOOC 3.0 flash charging technology that allows me to charge my phone at an instance’s moment without interrupting the flow of work,” said Fattah Amin.

Eric Chou’s favourite feature of the phone would be its Ultra Night Mode camera which enable users to capture brilliant portraits even in low light.

“I enjoy taking night walks to get inspirations for my music by looking at the night views or city lights. So with the F11 Pro, I am able to capture these moments,” Chou said.

Features of the new OPPO F11 Pro include:-


#BIGBANG: “If You” From #MADESeriesD Won’t Have A Music Video

Looking forward to BIGBANG’s music video for “If You” and “Sober”? Sorry to disappoint, but we’ve got some bad news for you.

YG Entertainment revealed that there won’t be a music video for BIGBANG upcoming single “If You“, touted as the “saddest song BIGBANG has ever written”. However, fans need not panic, as there will be a music video for “Sober“.

An official representative from YG Entertainment stated:

The reason why it does not have a music video is because since BIGBANG’s debut in 2006, “If You” is their saddest song ever. “If You” is a track that will touch you emotionally. A music video wasn’t shot so that you can focus on the music and lyrics only.

Meanwhile, “Sober” is reported to be a summer dance track, which will be accompanied by a music video that is shot in a “unique style”.

“If You” and “Sober”, which will be released tomorrow (1st July), are the BIGBANG’s releases for their third “MADE” release, MADE series “D”. The group has consistently been releasing 2 tracks per month starting from May, with the full album titled “MADE” scheduled to be released on 1st September 2015.

So far, the boys have released 4 title tracks, including “Loser” and “Bae Bae” from MADE series “M”, as well as “Bang Bang Bang” and “We Like 2 Party” from MADE series “A”. All of the title tracks came with their own music videos.

On a side note, YG Entertainment released several teaser photos and countdown counters for BIGBANG’s upcoming releases.

To be honest, we are psyched up for BIGBANG’s upcoming release and we trust that you are too!

For more information regarding their latest single, visit BIGBANG’s Facebook and Twitter.

Source: Koreaboo / Image source: BIGBANG’s official Facebook page.

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Gillian Chung Post Break Up: “I’m Not Unhappy”

Hong Kong pop duo Twins’ Gillian Chung revealed Sunday that she has not lost faith in love despite her break-up with her Korean boyfriend last month, reported Chinese media.

“I’m not unhappy. I still believe in love, if it’s real affection, then even if there is no chance, I’d still speak up, so I won’t have any regrets”, Chung told reporters, during the launch of her first Mandarin album “Tung Blossom”. However, Chung expressed that she won’t be looking for love in the next two years at least, as she intends to focus on her work.

“I hope to spend the next two years on my work, learn more things to enrich myself. I don’t want romance, or perhaps just leave it up to fate“, said Chung. When asked what sort of man would catch her eye as potential boyfriend material, Chung said she is looking for someone who “loves me, has a career, a future and is responsible”. He also has to be able to make her smile every day, give her positive energy and must be filial.

She conceded that such a man is going to be pretty hard to find.

“Charlene (her Twins partner Charlene Choi) told me she wants us to get married at the same time, so I am a little worried about her, because I definitely won’t be getting married in the next two years”, Chung joked.


#PowerRangers: Film To Feature First Gay Superhero Character – Trini the Yellow Ranger

It looks like “Power Rangers“, too, is going to feature a gay moment – which would effectively make it the first-ever superhero flick to have a gay protagonist character.

According to early reviews of the film, in one scene, Trini the Yellow Ranger (played by the pop star and actor Becky G) appears to be having “girlfriend problems”. It may come as a bit of a surprise to the audience because in the original “Power Rangers” series, the Yellow Ranger (played by the late Vietnamese-born American actress Thuy Trang) was portrayed as straight.

The gay character storyline was later confirmed by director Dean Israelite, who described the said “small moment as “pivotal” in the film.

The Hollywood reporter quoted Dean as saying, “For Trini, really she’s questioning a lot about who she is. She hasn’t fully figured it out yet. I think what’s great about that scene and what that scene propels for the rest of the movie is, ‘That’s OK.’ The movie is saying, ‘That’s OK,’ and all of the kids have to own who they are and find their tribe.”

Original Blue Ranger actor David Yost, who is openly gay and left the 1990s “Power Rangers” series due to harassment over his sexual orientation, praised the new film for the move. “They really stepped up to the plate. I think so many people in the LGBTQI community are going to be excited to see that representation,” he said.

Although it is rare to have a superhero depicted as a gay character, the news seem to be cutting it too close to Disney’s big “exclusively gay moment” reveal earlier this month for the live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast”. Malaysians, especially, are still very sore over the fact that it has caused the film to be postponed indefinitely.

It seems like everybody is trying to make a stand for equality and the LGBTQ community. And that’s fine, really. But if there’s anything that we can learn from how Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” went down, it’s the fact that maybe these comments should be withheld until after the movie has premiered.

As it is, there was a time back in 1995 when the Malaysian government decided to take the “Power Rangers” series off the air because the “morphin” (which means metamorphosis, by the way) in “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and “It’s Mophin Time!” sounded too similar to “morphine”, the drug. Oh, you know, lest Malaysian children were influenced to try becoming a Power Ranger though the power of drugs.

Directed by Dean Israelite, starring Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Bill Hader, Bryan Cranston, and Elizabeth Banks, “Power Rangers” is slated to be released in Malaysian cinemas on 24th March.

Sources: THR, E! Online, The Guardian / Featured image: Lionsgate.


Ministry Clarifies Compulsory Face Mask SOPs During Dining In & Inside Vehicle

You may have come across the text message, titled “SOP For Travelling Wed 1 Aug”, on WhatsApp over the past few days. It touches on the standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the implementation of compulsory face mask wearing in the country.

In order to avoid further confusion, the Communications and Multimedia Ministry (MCMC) has released an official statement, confirming that the messages (seen below) are all fake.

The ministry shut down the false claims by stating, “The National Security Council denies issuing the circular “SOP For Travelling Wed 1 Aug” along with the MCO Query Phone +60388882010 claiming to ease the flow of information to the public concerning face mask SOPs when in a private vehicle or public transport.”

In its statement, they also urged everyone to stop spreading fake news and only trust messages sent by the authorities. Having said that, the police have advised diners in restaurants to keep their face masks on until their food arrives in order “to protect themselves from being infected by Covid-19.”

For those who don’t know, there are new SOPs taking effect starting this month; it is now compulsory for everyone to wear a face mask when out in public as well as when commuting using public transportation.

Hopefully the public will adhere to the rules in an effort to curb the spread of the Covid-19 disease. Stay safe, guys!

Source: Malaysiakini. / Featured Image: Sinar Harian.

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DJ Nu-Mark To Rock KL With His Toy Set!

Nu-Mark began DJing at the age of 13 in Los Angeles. Over the course of the last two decades, he has amassed a collection of over 35,000 records and refined his production skills and performance to the point where he is widely recognized as one of the key figures in DJ culture.

As a member of the critically acclaimed, gold-selling Hip-Hop outfit, “Jurassic 5″, DJ Nu-Mark graced the group with precision production and cutting edge stage routines.

More than just a DJ competition, Red Bull Thre3style celebrates the art of party rocking. It is an event that brings together the most important elements of modern DJing. The participants have to play a selection of at least three genres or styles of music in 15 minutes. The participating DJs are judged on their track-selection, technical skills, creativity and most importantly their ability to bring the house down.

Leading up to the international DJ competition – Red Bull Thre3style Malaysia Finals, DJ Nu-Mark from the critically acclaimed and gold-selling Hip Hop outfit “Jurassic 5” will be burning up the decks of The Butter Factory KL with his one of a kind toy set. The hip-hop legend will be bringing some of his favourite beats – new and old – to the party, schooling the local scene what it means to be the ultimate party rocker:

[youtube id=”Bb4etMWgEyU” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Deets for DJ Nu-Mark’s Red Bull Thre3style Showcase are as follows:

For more information, visit their official website.


#IT: First Look At Bill Skårsgard As Creepy Balloon-Wielding Clown, Pennywise

When we first heard that psychological horror classic of the 90s aka every 90s kid’s worst nightmare, “It”, was getting a remake, we just about freaked out and kept our fingers crossed that the plan would eventually fall through. Oh, you know, the scary movie about an inter-dimensional predatory life-form, which had the ability to transform itself into its prey’s worst fears, allowing it to exploit the phobias of its victims.

Yes, the one about a horrible and sadistic wisecracking clown called “Pennywise the Dancing Clown”.

But despite some glitches in the system – the original director left the project abruptly and it took them a while to find someone to play Pennywise – production is now well underway. Filmmaker Andy Muschietti, who is best known for 2013’s “Mama”, is in the director’s seat for the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.

A post shared by Andy Muschietti (@andy_muschietti)

And the actors who will be playing the movie’s underage protagonists are Owen Teague (“Bloodline”) as Patrick Hockstetter, Jaeden Lieberher (“Masters of Sex”) as Bill Denbrough, Steven Williams (“The Leftovers”, “Supernatural”) as Leroy Handlon, and relative newcomer Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh, among others.

More interestingly, the eponymous villain of the “It” remake will be portrayed by 25-year-old actor Bill Skårsgard. You may recognise him by his familiar last name because his brother is none other than Alexander Skårsgard aka Tarzan in “The Legend of Tarzan“.

Bill, who recently starred in science fiction thriller “The Divergent Series: Allegiant”, his first major American film, will play “Pennywise the Dancing Clown”. In speaking to EW about being tasked to play the same horrifying character that was previously portrayed by Tim Curry in the 90s, Bill said, “Tim Curry’s performance was truly great, but it’s important for me to do something different because of that. I’ll never be able to make a Tim Curry performance as good as Tim Curry.”

He certainly has some big clown shoes to fill! But just in case you’re curious, here’s a first look at Bill in costume as the creepy balloon-wielding clown who will soon feed on your childhood fears once again.

The “It” remake will split Stephen King’s original 1986 novel into 2 movies, with the 1st focusing on the children being stalked by Pennywise and the 2nd picking up decades later when those same kids are confronting their same demons as adults. “It” (Part 1) is slated to open in the US on 8th September 2017.

Sources: Screen Rant, IMDb, EW / Featured image: Andy Muschietti’s Instagram.

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Tom Cruise Blasts Film Crew For Flouting Covid-19 Safety Guidelines

An audio clip went viral this week, with Tom Cruise lashing out at the “Mission: Impossible 7” filming crew for reportedly breaking the on-set social distancing guidelines.

The Sun reported that the 58-year-old actor was enraged after he discovered two crew members standing within two meters from one another in front of the monitor.

In the recording, Cruise can be heard raising his voice while scolding the said production crew. He said, “They’re back in Hollywood making movies right now because of us! Because they believe in us and what we’re doing! I’m on the phone with every f**king studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies.”

He went on and ranted, “We are creating thousands of jobs, you motherf**ckers. I don’t ever want to see it again! Ever! And if you don’t do it, you’re fired, and I see it again, you’re f**king gone. That’s it, no apologies.”

“You can tell it to the people who are losing their f**cking homes because our industry is shut down,” he continued. “It’s not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education. That’s what I sleep with every night — the future of this f**cking industry! So I’m sorry, I’m beyond your apologies,” the action star said in the clip.

Tom added, “I have told you, and now I want it, and if you don’t do it, you’re out. We are not shutting this f**king movie down! Is it understood? Am I clear? Do you understand what I want? Do you understand the responsibility that you have? Because I will deal with your reason, and if you can’t be reasonable and I can’t deal with your logic, you’re fired. That’s it. That is it. I trust you guys to be here.”

The audio was reportedly recorded by one of the witnesses who was at the scene, before it went viral on social media. In fact, almost all the other staff on the filming set fell silent when the incident happened.

Tom Cruise went ballistic on the Mission: Impossible 7 crew for breaking COVID protocols…https://t.co/WbIpVlja7w

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) December 16, 2020


#Vape: Health Ministry Considers Ban On Vaping Under Legal Law

Vaping may soon become illegal in Malaysia as the Health Ministry is currently looking at laws that would ban e-cigarettes, vape pens, or other similar devices.

According to The Star Online, Health Minister Datuk Seri S Subramaniam told reporters at Parliament lobby today that vaping will be banned once they have settled the legalities.

Dr Subramaniam told the reporters that the ministry has been wanting to ban vaping before it affects public’s health. He said:

We want to choose an Act that will give us the most power which will enable us to ban it. I would like this to happen before it becomes a major health issue.

“Once we have settled that, we will make the necessary arrangements,” he added. The official announcement will be made once the ministry has conducted its study.

E-cig is viewed as a safer alternative for smokers as the battery-powered vaporiser stimulates the feeling of smoking without the tobacco combusition. However, vaping has become a trend that even non-smokers are starting to vape.

As such, Dr. Subramaniam had previously advised Malaysians to stop vaping or smoking e-cigarettes until its risks are announced. He also said that the ministry was in discussions with various agencies and related parties to “get their views on the effects these methods of smoking have on health”.

Just yesterday (27th October), it was reported that Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is now prohibiting airline passengers from keeping electronic cigarettes (aka e-cigs) in checked baggage. E-cigs users are also required to detach batteries from their vaping device to ensure the safety of other passenger on board

They implemented the regulations after an incident where a man’s vape battery suddenly burst into flames on board the Malindo Air flight OD1003. Though no fatalities were reported, the man sustained burns on the thighs and left hand.

What do you think of the ban? Do you think the Health Ministry should ban vaping? Will it kill the vaping trend? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

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(NSFW) Thief Gives Drunk Man Blowjob Before Stealing His Wallet & Phone

Have you ever been molested and robbed at the same time?

A man in China was shock to find out that he was not only robbed but also sexually assaulted when he passed out on a public bench in Liuzhou, Guangxi. After making a police report, the suspect, believed to be in his late 20s, was apprehended.

According to Shanghaiist, the incident took place during the wee hours on Sunday (13th August). The victim, identified as A’Jun by the cops, was alone when he had consumed too much alcohol. When he woke up, he discovered that his pockets were empty. Not only were his belongings missing, but his belt was loosen and his fly was open.

In the CCTV footage obtained by the police, A’Jun walked into the frame at approximately 2am. Nothing happened for the next 2 hours or so, but at 4:30am, a man wearing a sleeveless round neck top approached A’Jun. After making sure that no one was close by, he unzip A’Jun. The suspect then gave him a handjob before keeling down to give him a blowjob. The entire assault lasted between 4-5 minutes.

After noticing that A’Jun had a smartphone in his pocket, the thief took his gadget as well as his wallet before leaving the scene. The clip from the surveillance footage was widely shared on social network platforms such as WeChat. This led to the arrest of the man, who was staying at a hotel approximately 200 metres from where the episode took place.

The suspect later admitted that he was gay and found A’Jun quite attractive when he noticed him unconscious on the bench. He also confessed that he stole 600 yuan (RM385) and A’Jun’s ID card but threw away the wallet. The man was apparently in Liuzhou on a business trip.

The suspect is currently in police custody and could be charged for rape crime.

Sources: Next Shark, Shanghaiist/ Featured image: LiveLeak.


Wonder Girls’ “Wonder World” in Malaysia 2012

2012 is the year for all you K-Pop fans and that is the gospel. Not only is one of the world’s biggest K-Pop groups making their way over to our shores for the first time, now we hear that another one’s well on their way too.

[youtube id=”BA7fdSkp8ds” width=”600″ height=”350″]

C’mon. You know ’em dance moves by heart by now, right? And yes, it’s the Wonder Girls!

The South Korean girl group whose hit single you just heard/watched  made it into charts around the world when it was released in 2008. In fact, it did so well that by late 2009, “Nobody” charted at #76 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making the Wonder Girls the first South Korean group to enter the chart.

Ironically, the meaning behind the group’s name came from the idea that they are “the girls who can amaze the world“. Boy did they live up to that expectation – and more!

2009 also marked another Wonder Girls milestone as they began their entry into the American market as an opening act for The Jonas Brothers’ World Tour, where they performed the English version of “Nobody”. In 2010, they snagged an opening act gig for Justin Bieber’s Valentine’s Day Concert.

More recently, the five girls, Sun (선예), Yenny (예은), Yubin (유빈), Sohee (소희), and Lim (혜림), collaborated with American R&B and hip hop artist Akon for “Like Money“:

[youtube id=”quE6Cq4Q2bs” width=”600″ height=”350″]

The Wonder Girls’ “Wonder World” Asia Tour kicked off in July 2012 in Seoul, Korea. On the 13th October 2012 (Saturday), the girls will be taking the stage in Malaysia, armed with upbeat, cheerful songs and coupled with their signature cute dance moves to amaze you all over again.

Or at least for the second time around. Has it really been two years since we last saw them during their first concert here?

Tickets can be purchased at a ground sales booth at Fahrenheit88 on starting 1st September 2012. Alternatively, you could also purchase the tickets online via AirAsia RedTix from 2nd September 2012 onwards.

For more information, hit up Wonder Girls’ official website or their Facebook page.

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Dr. Sakinah Forced To Pay RM230K After Losing Court Case Against Doula Practitioner

A doula (home birth companion) known as Masyitah Md. Hassan has won the court case against a specialist doctor who tried to warn the public regarding the danger of home birth procedures and other medical myths. As a result, Dr. Sakinah Sulong has been ordered to pay a total of RM230,000 to the traditional practitioner.

According to a Facebook post shared by Masyitah’s husband, Muhammad Zaki Omar, the court found that Dr. Sakinah had uploaded “defamatory statements” (which was intended to raise awareness) against Masyitah on her Facebook posts on 7th, 8th and 12th February 2018. This came following the viral story about the death of an infant who was delivered through a home birth process on 4th February 2018.

In the post, Zaki also revealed that the court has ordered Sakinah (as the defendant) to do the following:

The issue managed to catch the attention of many netizens. Many of them came to Dr. Sakinah’s defence. In this case, a lot of them weren’t pleased with the court’s decision about the case involving the duo. Check out some of the reactions from Twitter below:

Hari ini merupakan hari yang amat mendukacitakan, apabila seorang doktor pakar yang aktif membanteras mitos perubatan,

Kalah kes dengan doula popular Malaysia, dalam mahkamah siang tadi dan perlu membayar RM230,000 kepada doula tersebut.

— Aiman Psikologi 🇲🇾 (@AimanPsikologi) October 26, 2020

A sad day for the medical fraternity. This is what I mean when I question whether our people truly appreciate our frontliners atau sekadar manis mulut saja.

I stand with Dr. Sakinah Sulong and Medical Mythbusters Malaysia.

May the money collected be used to fight back 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/vRXcr6LUqp

— neddo khan (@neddokhan) October 26, 2020

Dr. Sakinah is currently trending on Twitter, as many social media users continue to leave uplifting and supporting comments to the medical practitioner.


Malaysian Security Forces Flushes Out Intruders

Malaysian security forces have moved out as an operation is launched to flush out the remaining group of armed Sulu gunmen. For three weeks long, the Filipino intruders were engaged in a deadly stand-off. Since then, a total of 27 people have been reported killed from the day the militants landed on 12th February 2013 in Sabah, East Malaysia.

It is said to be Malaysia’s worst security crisis in years.

Early this morning, fighter jets began screaming low over the armed group cornered at the Tanduo village. The group has been holed up there since early February. Continuous explosions were heard as the police and army move in against the gunmen who have reportedly fired back.

More than 300 villagers remain huddled in a Tanjung Labian community hall amidst all the artillery fire and explosions. The villagers are asking for food as most of them haven’t eaten since Monday night.

Many ambulances have been despatched from Tawau. Military trucks were also seen going in whereas elite military and police squads were also on the ground and believed to be involved in the shootouts with the gunmen.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) says no casualties among Malaysian troops in the offensive against Sulu “terrorists”. Meanwhile, mopping up operations is still ongoing and Malaysian security forces are checking from house to house. Enemy casualties are still unknown for now.

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#GotG: Stars Reenact The Dancing Baby Groot Scene

Everybody loves Groot. Everybody wants Groot. Everybody can’t get enough of Groot. This saying is evident during the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con over the weekend.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” stars Michael Rooker (who plays blue alien Yondu in the film) and Dave Bautista (who plays Drax) rocked up to the convention for a panel and to meet with friends. Halfway through, however, they decided to recreate the now classic dancing baby Groot scene from the film. In the originals scene, a baby Groot dances along to the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” while Drax sharpens one of his knives. Every time Drax turns to look at baby Groot, baby Groot immediately freezes.

We bet you played that one a few times over.

The recreation video below (uploaded by Blake Garris onto YouTube), Michael Rooker plays the part of Groot while Dave Bautista reprises his role as Drax. Michael is seen dancing in a giant plant pot while the crowd laughs hysterically when he freezes each time Dave Bautista turns around.

We promise, you definitely haven’t seen any #GotG-related videos that are cuter than what’s coming:

Meanwhile, the Dancing Groot toy will soon be made available for sale by the good people from Funko. This was confirmed by Marvel’s Executive Editorial Director of Digital Media, Ryan Penagos. People, start making a beeline for it!


#Photograph: Ed Sheeran Sued For US$20 Million Over “Me Before You” Soundtrack

A photograph may speak a thousand words, but for Ed Sheeran, it might cost him millions!

The British singer is currently being sued by Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard, and their publishing company HaloSongs, who claimed that the smash hit “Photograph” is a total rip-off from their 2009 song “Amazing”, which was released by Matt Cardle, the winner of the 2010’s X-Factor UK.

Sheeran’s “Photograph” was released in 2014 from his sophomore album “X”, and was most recently used in the soundtrack for the popular romantic comedy “Me Before You“. According to the lawsuit, the chorus for “Photograph” and “Amazing” are 70% similar, with the plaintiffs claiming that the 2 songs share 39 identical notes of “pitch, rhythmic duration, and placement in the measure”.

Now they want at least US$20 million (roughly RM80.7 million) in damages. Interestingly enough, both Harrington and Leonard have hired Richard Busch, the same attorney who won a US$7.4 million copyright lawsuit for Marvin Gaye’s family against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for their hit single “Blurred Lines“.

For those of you who don’t know who Cardle is, the X-Factor winner competed in the British TV talent competition the same year international pop sensations One Direction were formed by Simon Cowell on the show.

Prior to this lawsuit, suspicious fans have already pointed put the similarities between the 2 tracks, and their striking resemblance. So did Sheeran copy “Photograph” from “Amazing”? We’ll let you be the judge.

You can read Matt Cardle’s response here.

Sources: E!News, Long Room, Huffington Post.


(Video) 5 Highlights To Check Out At The One Piece Asia Tour Exhibition In Genting

If you were to ask 10 people what their favorite anime of all time is, there is definitely going to be at least one mention of the anime “One Piece.” This thousand plus episodes and counting anime has been a classic since its release in 1999. Based off a Japanese Manga Series of the same name, which is written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, “One Piece” follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew in order to find the greatest treasure ever.

However, since you’re here, you’re definitely familiar to a certain level about the anime. So, what can you expect to see in this One Piece “The Great Era of Piracy” Asia Tour Exhibition? Is the exhibition worth it?

Highlight 1: 21 iconic thematic zones from the anime, with 6 brand new ones!

With 21 thematic zones, each zone is said to be about half the size of a football field. These zones will bring you back throughout the different arcs in the “One Piece” anime. It’s truly like a ride down memory lane. Then what does the 6 brand new zones hold? Well, that’s for you to find out!

Highlight 2: Life-size fiber-reinforced (FRP) sculptures

Every section contains almost different sculptures, from the main characters to side characters, get ready to take a lot of pictures with the characters. Modelled to be one-to-one sculptures, each of these sculptures are detailed and made with utmost care. The expressions of the characters are also captured nicely, you might even be frightened by some of them!

Highlight 3: Interactive AR and carnival games to collect points and win exciting prizes

When you enter the exhibition, don’t forget to download and sign up with their official app! With the app, you can play games to collect points at dedicated regions. Play mini carnival games, as well as Augmented Reality (AR) games, in order to win a variety of exciting prizes. However, take note that it may take a while for you to play the carnival games depending on the line.

Highlight 4: A place to pay your final regards

Be emotionally prepared for this zone. Upon entry, you’ll come across two tombstones, Portgas D Ace’s and Edward Newgate’s. If you’re a One Piece fan, you’ll bound to be emotional seeing these tombstones. Apparently, there was a fan who cried when they saw this zone, and another who brought flowers to give their final regards.

Highlight 5: Purchase limited edition One Piece merchandise

We’re sure the phrase ‘limited edition’ would catch your eyes. Along with a variety of “One Piece” merchandise, limited edition ones are also for sale. Get them before it’s too late!

Now, let’s get back to the question, is the exhibition truly worth it? If you’re a dedicated “One Piece” fan, you will definitely enjoy it, and this might be a one in a lifetime opportunity! So, what are you waiting for? Get your tickets now!

A post shared by ASTRO XUAN (@xuan.com.my)

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Tiger Uncage Encourages You To Ignite Your Inner Tiger

Tiger showcases Asian talents to the world with new campaign — Tiger Uncage.

Having always been proud of its Asian roots, Tiger Beer aims to showcase this to the world with its latest campaign — Uncage. The new campaign which was recently launched will feature short films on the real stories of young Asian personalities. Featuring inspiring stories of female Chinese tattooist Joey Pang who is a make-up artist turned coveted tattooist, Thai-American stuntman Charlie Ruedpokanon, who has a background in business management but is now a Shaolin-trained stuntman, and Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen, whose film broke Asian convention. Celebrating these individuals, Uncage tells the story of how they have forged their own paths by breaking free from conformity.

With Uncage, Tiger beer aims to speak to young adults in a personal manner and inspire them to realise their full potential. Portraying itself as a symbol of courage — Tiger Beer is encouraging people to “ignite the Tiger inside” by taking the leap to follow their dreams.

Bruce Dallas Marketing Director of Guinness Anchor Berhad (GAB) said, “As an iconic beer brand created in Asia, Tiger aspires to spark a change among young Asians. We see great potential emerging from this region and through UNCAGE hope to inspire young talents to follow their dreams.”

Two simple contests were created for fans during the launch on September 11th, 2014 (Thursday). The first, calls for Tiger consumers to watch Tiger Uncage videos on Tiger’s official website and answer three simple questions to stand a change to win an exclusive paid trip to Hong Kong for a freehand tattoo by Tattoo Temple founder Joey Pang. The second contest calls fans to uncage themselves via a photo contest to stand a change to win exclusive Uncage merchandise. To make things even more interesting, the website also enables consumers to create their personalised 15-second Uncage video at the website based on their Facebook profile.

Tiger Uncage will be launched in 25 countries with print and integrated digital engagement programmes that will be accompanied by the revealing of an enhanced vibrant brand identity across all consumer touch points including fresh logos, visuals and packaging.

More information about Tiger Uncage can be obtained here.


#PiratesOfTheCaribbean5: A Possible Reboot With New Villain & Female Lead

The 5th instalment of “The Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise may open a new chapter for the film series as it was recently revealed that the film could be a reboot of the film franchise.

Former franchise star Orlando Bloom was long rumoured to return to the film to reprise his role as Will Turner and his recent interview with IGN revealed that he is indeed in talks with Disney about coming back.

The British actor was in the midst of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” when IGN asked him about the possibility of coming back.

I’m not entirely sure that [I’ll be back] just yet, but there are talks.

The plot of the film has not been announced yet but his interview with IGN has also revealed a crucial detail about the plot:

Basically they want to reboot the whole franchise, I think, and do something with me and the relationship with my son. I’m of course Davey Jones now, so I’m down the bottom of the ocean. It might be kind of fun to do something where I’m rumbling round the bottom of the ocean, because I won’t look anything like me. Get all gnarly.

From what we remember, Orlando Bloom’s character does not have a son yet but the new information seems to be indicating that “The Giver” star Brendon Thwaite, who is on board to play a British soldier could be playing Turner’s son in the film as well. Brendon Thwaite’s role is said to be teaming up with Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow in the film.

In other casting news, “No Country For Old Men” actor Javier Bardem is on board to play a new villain called Captain Brand. His character is described as “a ghost hellbent on getting revenge against Sparrow” after the death of his brother. “The King’s Speech” actor Geoffrey Rush is also involved in the film to reprise his role as Captain Barbossa.

Variety is reporting that Disney is testing various young actresses to play the female lead of the action-adventure film. While it’s not confirmed, the female lead could be playing a love interest to Brendon Thwaites.

Slated for release on July 7, 2017, the 5th “Pirates of the Caribbean” film will begin shooting in February 2015. Jerry Bruckheimer will return as the producer of the film while Norwegian directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg will be directing the film.

(Source: 1, 2 / Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

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Mika Announces June Release For New Album, “No Place In Heaven”

Multi-platinum pop-star Mika has revealed the release date of his highly anticipated new album “No Place In Heaven”. Slated for a June 15th release via Virgin EMI, “No Place In Heaven” makes for Mika’s fourth studio album.

Following on from his multi-million selling worldwide debut “Life In Cartoon Motion”, and subsequent releases “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” and “The Origin of Love”, Mika’s forthcoming album will be produced by Grammy-nominated producer Gregg Wells, who is known for his work with Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Adele and Rufus Wainwright.

Together, Mika and Wells will be creating a mature new record that shows off Mika’s brilliant song writing talents and breath-taking vocals that will evoke memories of classic 70s pop albums created by acclaimed song writers Billy Joel, Todd Rundgreen, Elton John and more.

To celebrate the announcement of his new album, fans who pre-order the album through iTunes will instantly receive a download of the track “Last Party”, Mika’s tribute to Queen’s Freddie Mercury.

Mika rounded off his last album in the UK with an amazing string of live shows including a sold out show at Heaven and a headline slot at Lovebox Weekend as well performing a live set at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Mika’s single “Popular” featuring Ariana Grande recently hit 100 Million views on YouTube and Vevo and has certified gold in the USA with over 500,000 sales. Throughout his career, Mika has also sold over 10 million records and received Gold or Platinum awards in 32 countries worldwide across his previous three albums “Life in Cartoon Motion”, “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” and “The Origin Of Love”, winning Brit and MTV Awards in the process.

You can pre-order Mika’s “No Place In Heaven” album here: Standard and Deluxe.

We leave you today with Mika’s latest single “Talk About You”. Enjoy!

For more on Mika, stalk him via these platforms: Website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.


A Fool’s Gold Special Ft. A-Trak & Dillon Francis

Its double trouble as Livescape’s NSFW presents a Fool’s Gold Special featuring A-Trak and Dillon Francis!

These two more than talented individuals got together mid-2012 and released the euphorically bouncy summer anthem, “Money Makin’“.  Sure to make anyone dance during a heat wave, Money Makin’ is a featured release through A-Trak’s very own Fool’s Gold Records. Winning the hearts of viewers everywhere with the dancing cash machine and cameos from P-Thugg of Chromeo and rapper Action Bronson in their original video, they subsequently released a remix package of that single which included works by Oliver Twizt, 45 King, and Barjo & Alban Lipp.

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As individuals, A-Trak is a renowned DJ hero, scratching his way through the world’s biggest festivals, sold out solo shows, and even stadium soirees with Kanye West. He remains the youngest ever DJ to win DMC, the world famous DJ-battling Championship. Dillon Francis on the other hand is one of dance music’s boldest and bravest young guns, dropping massive bass lines on high-profile remixes for the likes of Calvin Harris and Flux Pavilion.

Warming up for them are one of Vertigo Club’s most exciting spin master, DJ Silent and one of KL’s most promising bass head, H3!

Admission: RM35 inclusive of one complimentary drink

For more information, hit up Livescape Asia’s Facebook page.

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Andrew Tan, Dino Lee, Ian Chen, & Miu Chu To Guest Perform At #Bii’s Concert In KL

In just less than a month, Taiwanese-Korean singer Bii (畢書盡) will make his way to Malaysia for his first overseas solo concert, “Bii My Love Live In Malaysia 2015″. Set to be held at Stadium Negara on 21st March 2015, Bii is gearing up to show a different side of him and to create another memorable night with his fans in Malaysia.

However, he won’t be the only one performing that night as a new band under his company will guest perform at his concert, alongside Ian Chen 陳彥允, Dino Lee 李玉璽, Andrew Tan 陳勢安, and Miu Chu 朱俐靜.

The Four Knights of Eagle Music namely Andrew Tan, Dino Lee, Ian Chen, and Bii will reunite and they will be joined onstage by the beautiful and talented singer Miu Chu and Eagle Music’s new band, Lao Ding.

Malaysian-born singer Andrew Tan stated that he is extremely honoured and happy to be performing on home ground. Having promoted their album in Malaysia last November, Dino Lee and Ian Chen will fulfill their promises to meet their Malaysian fans again. As for Miu Chu, she expressed her nervousness in meeting her Malaysian fans. Not only will she guest perform at the concert, she will also be promoting her latest album, “Happy Mermaid”.

Debuted in 2010, Bii made his first oversea appearance in Malaysia to promote his self-titled mini album “Bii Story”. A few months after the promo tour, he participated in Petronas Primax’s “Like2SaveFor” event, which subsequently helped to grow his social circle in Malaysia. With so many fond memories made in Malaysia, Bii’s management team Eagle Music decided to bring the original personnel that handled Bii’s solo concert in Taiwan to Malaysia. The singer is expected to bring us top-notch performances with Eagle Music’s new band, Lao Ding.

Earlier in January, a press conference was held at Pullman Hotel, KL for his concert promo tour. During the press conference, he specifically told Universal Music Malaysia that he hopes to include some talented Malaysian dancers to perform on stage with him. After a round of discussion, the organiser decided to hold an audition to look for local dancers who can perform at Bii’s concert. Bii’s dancer teacher and choreographer from Taiwan, Sean will conduct the audition to ensure the capability and charisma of dancers.

Any enthusiastic dancer with a burning passion to perform on stage is encouraged to join the audition.

The audition requirements are as follows:

Participants are required to a choose a song from the selected song list (“Feel Good” and “Action Go”) and record themselves dancing. The video recording should not be longer than one minute. Participants are required to email the recorded video clip along with personal information to umg2007@gmail.com. The audition closes on 13th March 2015 (Friday), 12pm and finalists will be announced on 16th March 2015 (Monday). The finalists will undergo a final round of audition on 19th March 2015 (Thursday) as only 6 finalists will be selected to perform in “Bii My Love Live in Malaysia 2015” concert.

Participants are required to adhere to the terms and conditions and any violation will result in nullification of qualification. The organiser has the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the organizer’s control.

“Bii My Love Live In Malaysia 2015” is brought to us by Presenter Unispace, organiser Absolive Entertainment, co-organisers Click Entertainment and The Voice. The concert tickets are priced at RM488 (VVIP), RM388 (VIP), RM338 (PS1), RM238 (PS2 – SOLD OUT) and RM168 (PS3).

For more information, visit Absolive Entertainment’s website or Click Entertainment‘s website. In addition, you can dial Universal Music Malaysia hotline 03-79587433 (EXT: 108/102/206) for enquiries.


The “Baby BIGBANG” Embroiled In A Sex Scandal

Barely a year ago, two of a K-pop super boy group members found themselves stuck in muddy waters for individual troubles. Kwon Ji Yong aka G-Dragon (also leader of the group) was tested positive for marijuana use while Kang Daesung (the one with the golden voice) was involved in a car accident which cost a person’s life.

Back then, it seemed as though there was a high chance that BIGBANG might disband. Their promotional activities came to a halt and both members stayed away from the limelight due to the bad press they were receiving.

It was in those months that VIPs (fans of BIGBANG) jumped to their rescue, defending the group till the end, and at the same time, BIGBANG also lost a lot of followers.

They’ve bounced back since those difficult times with the release of their BIGBANG “Still Alive” CD and the boys went on to announce their first ever world tour in the years that they’ve been together. People hailed it a great big comeback for the boys. It took them a great amount of time to find the courage to stand on stage again.

However, the “baby” of the group, 22-year-old Lee Seung-Hyun aka Seungri seems to have found himself embroiled in a sex scandal recently. Sorry, did we say a sex scandal? We meant two sex scandals:

On 13th September, Japanese weekly magazine “Friday” published leaked photos of Seungri asleep and half-naked in bed. Presumably taken by the Japanese woman who had a one night stand with him, the photos show a man who looks exactly like Seungri.  While fans have defended the boy, claiming that the pictures must’ve been photoshopped, one thing is true though – Seungri really was in Japan around the same time that the pictures were taken. The Japanese woman also went into explicit details of their “bedroom adventures”, claiming that Seungri has a “choking” fetish.

On 18th September, Taiwanese media “Apple Daily” reportedly published photos and a video of Seungri getting kissed by Anna Kubo (Japanese model and actress). Anna Kubo previously dated Jaycee Chan (Jackie Chan’s son). The duo was in Hong Kong for their Japanese drama, The Files of Young Kindaichi: Hong Kong Kowloon Treasure Murder Case”. As the pictures would prove, Seungri and Anna seemed very comfortable holding hands, hugging, and kissing in public. Too comfortable, in fact, for a pair that weren’t supposedly dating. (Source)

YG Entertainment, BIGBANG’s talent agency and record label has yet to comment on the scandals.

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Westlife Promises To Include Malaysia In Their Twenty Tour

90s boy band Westlife has revealed that they will be coming to Malaysia for their ongoing Twenty Tour. Yay!

During their show in Singapore in late January, the band revealed in an interview that they will be coming to Kuala Lumpur within the next 4 to 5 months.

“When the band ended in 2012, we may have thought at some point, we might do it again, but you know, it was a very very sad time,” Kian Egan commented.

“But we’re all really excited to be back together and we can’t wait to do concerts more than anything,” he said, while Shane Filan who has performed in Malaysia 3 times in the last 2 years added, “Especially in KL”.

Shane was in Malaysia last year for his Asia tour and he also performed exclusively at local celebrity couple Faliq Nasimuddin and Chryseis Tan’s lavish wedding.

Earlier this year, he returned to Malaysia for a special showcase at the Elmina Lake Concert alongside Fazura and Namewee.

“The big thing for us is obviously we have the new single, ‘Hello My Love’ but it’s all about getting to the concerts and we’re gonna be announcing concerts in KL very soon,” Kian continued.

When asked about the KL concert details, Nicky Byrne revealed, “We’re actually announcing our shows out real soon. We gonna be there within the next four or five months. We promise.”

Also, could they be the boy band that Blue’s organiser KC & Friends were talking about previously? Only time will tell!


Harry Potter Invades The WWW

Muggles, take note! This April, Harry Potter and the world of wizardry returns. But we’re not talking about yet another Harry Potter book to add to the existing seven novels (which have, to date, sold over 450 million copies globally) or a secret installment of the film series (which have grossed over $6 billion at the box office).

We’re talking about Harry Potter climbing into your machines and snatching yo space up!

Slated to go live in April 2012, Pottermore, the Potter-centric website is a part social media, part interactive reading platform that will send all (happy) Harry Potter nerds into a frenzy. The site is already fully functioning but only for the beta testers. It was scheduled to launch six months ago but, as more users were invites into the open test, it was evident that the site was far from ready to open as planned.

But of course. When you’re open to one million excited beta users, and have so many hours of Harry Potter fun to offer, you’d definitely need a bigger platform to prevent it from crashing when the regular users come flooding in. Talk about strain!

An excerpt from the Pottermore team’s official statement  reads, “We always knew Pottermore would be incredibly popular, which is why we made the decision to only open to one million Beta users to begin with. We wanted to make sure that we had a really good understanding of how people want to use the site and which bits we’d need to modify before giving more people access. ”

In a press release, J.K. Rowling said that she will be revealing 18,000 new words (about the size of a novella) all related to the Potter universe. Pottermore will also have a backstory on secondary characters, such as Professor McGonagall’s relationships as a young woman or how the Dursley’s met, as well as lore about the world itself, like more history of each house at Hogwarts and details about wand wood.

All that plus the virtual Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, The Three Broomsticks, The Leaky Cauldron, Quidditch – we can already hear the fangirl/fanboy in you squealing with glee! And if you’re not, well, we are.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/LIApkyunK9Y” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

As of now, it hasn’t been confirmed yet if the e-book versions of the book will be made available on the website. That’s okay. We can’t wait to navigate and explore the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

“So get ready to join the Pottermore journey – the wait is nearly over.”

For more information, visit Pottermore or read their official blog here.

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#IMSChina: The World’s Premier Electronic Music Summit Is Going To Shanghai

Following the highly successful 2015 instalments of IMS Ibiza (May) and IMS Engage in Los Angeles (April), the world’s most influential and most forwardthinking business platform for electronic music, will set foot for the first time in China.

IMS China adds to a total of 4 IMS summits to be held around influential electronic music cities in the world for electronic music (Ibiza, Los Angeles, Singapore, and now Shanghai).

Shanghai, the megatropolis with a big club and festival culture, is China’s largest city with a population of 23 million people. It’s also a popular stop for globetrotting superstar DJs/producers, fuelling its thriving dance music scene. IMS China marks the summit’s second foray into Asia, following the 2014 IMS Asia-Pacific in Singapore.

Upon the announcement, IMS’ co-founder Ben Turner revealed:

It’s just one aspect of our push and support of the Asia-Pacific region. IMS Asia-Pacific is our overview of the entire region, and IMS China will shine a spotlight on one country with a gigantic opportunity for growth.

IMS is founded by industry leaders of the global music scene – Pete Tong; Ben Turner; Danny Whittle; Mark Netto; and Simeon Friend – and they have shaped and contributed to the ever-evolving electronic dance music genre through their work.

Presented by UK dance music legend Pete Tong, IMS is an educational, inspirational and motivational thought leadership platform dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for electronic music, the artistry related to DJ-ing and all-related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of summits and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of the genre to art and culture worldwide.

And that’s not all! IMS China will be held to coincide with Budweiser Storm Electronic Music Festival, China’s largest outdoor EDM festival.

This is a great opportunity to explore a huge emerging market and to really help decipher the opportunity there. The event is as much to unite the industry there as it is for the rest of us to find ways of collaborating and understanding the country.

Founded in 2013, Storm Festival drew 24,000 revellers that year, setting a benchmark for the Chinese EDM industry.

In 2014, it saw another attendance record with 35,000 people over 2 days, making it the most successful and well organised festival in Shanghai. Storm 2014 was supported by 80 pre-parties across 21 cities in China, plus six warehouse-sized parties in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, leading up to the 2-day festival.

Storm Festival has showcased global acts including Axwell Ingrosso, Dash Berlin, Kaskade, and Avicii, to say the least.

IMS China is set to take place in Shanghai on 2nd October 2015. More details will be announced soon so hang tight ;)

For more information, visit International Music Summit’s website or Facebook page.


#RoyalPirates: Korean-American Rock Band Is Returning To Malaysia!

Royal Treasures, we’ve got news that will excite you!

Mark 6th November down on your calendar because your favourite Korean-American rock band will be returning to Malaysia for a meet the fans session! It’s their 2nd time in Malaysia, and their fan meet session will be graced by the top 10 contestants of Astro Star Quest 2016 (新秀大赛).

The rock band was formed in 2004 with 4 members, and was named Fading From Dawn. Unfortunately, bassist Richard Kim passed away in a car accident in 2008. After changing their band name to Royal Pirates, they started uploading music covers on YouTube.

They were an independent music band but made their official Korean debut on 25th August 2013 on SBS’ music show, Inkigayo. So far, they’ve released 4 EPs and 1 single, and their albums have been peppered with songs in English, Japanese, and Korean. This appeals them to a wide range of audience and the band also performed as guests on actor Lee Min Ho’s “Reboot: Minho Tour”.

Their latest release was around a year ago with their 6-track EP “3.3”, however, bassist James Lee met in an accident prior to their comeback, prompting him to give up the bass for the keyboard.

They’ve also been selected as judges for Astro Star Quest 2016, and will be making frequent appearances on the show.

Royal Pirates made their first visit to the country in May last year, and held not 1, but 2 showcases in Malaysia. They travelled all the way to Sabah for their 1st showcase and 2 days later, met fans in Bentley Music Auditorium in Kuala Lumpur.

Deets for their upcoming fan meet session are as follows:

You can stream their latest EP, “3.3” here.

For more info, visit Universal Music Malaysia Regional’s official Facebook page. To keep yourself up-to-date with news regarding Royal Pirates, do remember to check out their website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

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Yuna Is Coming Home – Let’s Meet Her!

The countdown to the return of homegrown international superstar, Yunalis Zarai (Yuna) to local shores to kickstart her concert in Penang has begun. Fans from as far as Terengganu and Johor Bahru are making their way to Penang to bear witness Yuna’s first ever concert in Malaysia.

Aptly titled the “Yuna Homecoming Concert Live” at Penang Times Square, the concert  is set to take place on 10th November 2012 (Saturday).

The concert will also feature local favourites such as Diandra Arjunaidi and our friends Kyoto Protocol as the opening acts that will get the crowd pumped up before Yuna herself takes the stage.

In conjunction with the Yuna Homecoming Concert, the singer-songwriter will be appearing in Watson’s Gurney Plaza as well as TESCO Mutiara Damansara for a meet-and-greet session with her fans, sponsored by Olay. Olay is also the main sponsor of the Yuna Homecoming Concert.

Not only will fans in Penang have a chance to see Yuna in person prior to her concert in Penang, fans will be able to participate in the meet-and-greet session as well as a photo session with Yuna.

Photo session with Yuna! Imagine that! Deets are as follows:


Miss Universe 2019’s Best National Costume Belongs To Philippines Instead Of Malaysia

Local fans’ excitement didn’t last long as it was announced today (Monday 9th December) that the real winner of Miss Universe 2019 Best National Costume category belongs to the Philippines and not to Malaysia as revealed earlier.

The news was made via Miss Universe’s official Twitter account, just hours after the initial tweet. Not only that, it can be pointed out that Steve Harvey had initially gotten the winner’s name correct. Looks like his mistake of announcing the wrong winner for Miss Universe back in 2015 didn’t repeat itself.

.@IAmSteveHarvey had it right: Miss Universe Philippines Gazini Ganados is the winner of the #MissUniverse2019 National Costume competition! Congratulations, Gazini. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/L8DpAyNL9I

— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 9, 2019

The mixed-up final results have in turn received massive amount of outrage among the internet community. Most of the netizens were siding with Gazini Ganados (Miss Universe Philippines representative), arguing that she should have gotten her own time to shine instead of giving the wrong spotlight to Shweta Sekhon (Miss Universe Malaysia).

On the other hand, some pointed out the organiser’s unprofessional manner in handling this issue. Some even accused them of initiating unnecessary drama for cheap publicity. Check out some of their tweets here:

But they shouldn't have done that. They could say she won 2nd place! We Malaysians are going crazy for the win now we're heartbroken.

— DONGNI CONGRATS 🥹💕 (@BoiceGeek) December 9, 2019

Gazini deserve a moment to receive her award.😔 To be fair, I think it’s not Steve Harvey’s fault this time.

The previous tweet that showed Shweta winning the category has been deleted at the time of writing. The 22-year-old Malaysian beauty has yet to give any comments to address the issue.

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#HennessyUltrabeat: A 2015 Finale Party Dedicated To Fresh Dance Music Acts & Trends

Fans of Hennessy V.S.O.P and revellers were in for a treat as they partied at the most anticipated party of the year, Hennessy Ultrabeat.

With a stellar line-up led by recently Grammy nominated duo Galantis, the event treated KL-ites to a party experience unlike any other of 2015 in a take-over of Zouk Club KL.

The sold out event, wowed guests as they entered into the Hennessy Ultrabeat world of fresh vibes and fresh sounds, accompanied by the ever present Hennessy V.S.O.P signature long drinks.

Adding to the urban mode of the night was the sleek décor featuring a combination of LED laser lighted structures scattered throughout Zouk. The first of which, an edgy LED-arch photo feature at the entrance of the super-club, guarded by models sporting futuristic attire.

With Zouk Mainroom serving as the party’s nucleus, local resident DJ Wai Hong of B.A.T.E (Brains and The Eye) opened the night with B.A.T.E’s signature brand of fist-pumping tunes featuring the finest in disco, techno and electro.

As the magic hour came round, 2016 Grammy nominated runway hit “Runway (U & I)” pulsed through the room, elevating the party to the next level as headline act Galantis took to the decks. Energy levels were at an all-time high as fans revelled to the beats of the Swedish superduo. The electro pop team Galantis, are made up of Christian Karlsson from Miike Snow and Linus Eklöw from Style of Eye.

Fresh off Stereosonic, their clever mix of hard hitting electronic and pop music kept the party pumping, as the Grammy nominees truly lived up their name and reputation for creating an exhilarating live show matched to their music’s innovation and spirit.

After playing a full 2-hour set, the Swedish pop superduo passed on the torch to KL icons Mr Nasty & Guru Guru to carry this epic party through to its closing. It was then, when guests got to meet and greet with the Swedes as they mingled and partied with the lucky VIPS.

The excitement was felt all across Zouk Club Kuala Lumpur which included satellite room Apex Lounge. In a Hennessy Ultrabeat takeover, Apex was transformed into a dance club decked in Hennessy V.S.O.P Reds and Golds. International DJ, Doorly from the US set the stage announcing his entrance with his signature style of house and dubstep. The party was further livened up with the presence of dancers clad in futuristic-LED outfits on the Hennessy Ultrabeat stage.

Shortly after, Sydney-based DJ and producer, Minx spun the decks pushing energy levels of the crowd further with her sensational beats. The Sydney-based DJ, who owns her own online radio station in Australia showcased her forte of funky and powerful house music.

As the night of exceptional club experience wound to a close, the world’s most loved cognac – Hennessy V.S.O.P once again proved to be a trendsetter in the clubbing scene.

It was evident that Hennessy V.S.O.P never fails to set the benchmark in hosting the most contemporary, and unique parties in town.

For more pictures from the event, check out the gallery below:

For more information, visit Hennessy’s website or Facebook page.


#VFX: BTS of Your Fave Movie/TV Series

We’re all aware that for some movies such as “Life of Pi”, “The Avengers”, or “Game of Thrones”, there’s a whole chunk of reasons why they’re such feasts for the eyes. Two words: visual effects (VFX). But do you really know just how extensively VFX are used in the production of your favourite movie or TV series, or how it must look like behind the scenes?

The basics start with “green-screens” which, in fact, aren’t always green. They can often be blue although technically, screens can be of any colour that’s not being worn by any of the actors. When these scenes are recorded, the “green-screen” colour is digitally selected and made transparent with special software.

After which, yes, you guessed it, VFX comes into play i.e. the application of a scenic background.

Watch this “The Hobbit” VFX showreel for a more in-depth look:

But VFX is not just about background; it’s also about scales.

For example, “The Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) trilogy featured Elijah Wood is 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) tall in real life, but the character of Frodo Baggins is 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) in height. At one point in one the films, Frodo runs along a corridor in Bag End, followed by Gandalf. Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen were filmed in separate versions of the same corridor, built at two different scales; then these two separate shots are combined to create a shot of both actors appearing to be in the same corridor.

VFX is also about animation in general i.e. Smaug the dragon in “The Hobbit” , the creatures in the “Maleficent” Moors, Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Tim Burton’s 3D adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland”.

Because some these characters don’t exist in real life or are hard to recreate with a latex face, a wig, makeup, and a costume, they have to be created entirely with a computer and that takes a lot of time from the drawing board to sculptures to digital work. It’s also very expensive and requires sophisticated machines, a lot of hours, and manpower.

To put that into perspective, LOTR used many ground-breaking practical and digital VFX. The first film has around 540 effects shots, the second 799, and the third 1488 (2730 in total). The total moves up to 3420 with the extended cuts. 260 VFX artists worked on the trilogy, and the number would double by “The Two Towers”.

Check out the gallery below for more behind-the-scenes as well as before and after pictures of VFX creation for some of your favourite movies and TV series. It’ll make you appreciate the movie/TV series a whole lot more!:

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Johor Crown Prince TMJ Had Already Purchased The PS5 Three Weeks Prior To Its Release

Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) has been the talk of the town amongst Malaysian gamers, with its pre-orders selling out within minutes.

Those who did manage to secure a unit, will have to wait until the official release date (11th December) to get their hands on the new console, but the same can’t be said for Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim (TMJ).

The console has only been released in US, Japan, Canada, and Mexico, just to name a few, and has yet to officially release here. Nonetheless, it was reported that the Crown Prince of Johor managed to obtain the high-demand console, making him one of the first to own the console in the country.

The news first came to light when people saw TMJ’s Instagram Stories on his IG, @hrhcrownprinceofjohor, where it shows photos of him and the new console. Gamers would definitely share the same excitement since the console won’t be released for another 3 weeks.

Back on 11th November, gaming fans were disheartened after the long-awaited next generation gaming console sold out almost immediately upon the opening for pre-order sales in Malaysia. With that being said, some online resellers who managed to secure a unit decided to advertise the PS5 for prices up to RM100k. Read about it here.


#Sabah: China Dive Instructor Nabbed In Connection With Stripping Incidents

A Semporna-based dive instructor from China was arrested yesterday by Malaysian police.

He was identified as one of the suspects who posed nude on one of the islands off Sabah’s diving haven of Semporna. Their nude photos recently went viral on social media.

The Straits Time reported that the 33-year-old Chinese national was seized by the police from a rented room in Semporna last night at about 11:15pm.

“The suspect has visited Semporna several times, bringing in Chinese tourist groups to dive on the islands around Semporna,” said Sabah Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Chief Datuk Salehhudin Abdul Rahman.

He told reporters that the suspect is currently being remanded until 25th October (Sunday). The case would be investigated under Section 294 (a) of the Penal Code for public indecency.

Anyone found acting obscenely in a public area is punishable under the law, and can be jailed up to 3 months, or fined, or both, if found guilty.

According to The Star Online, the unnamed suspect, who has a Professional Association of Diving Instructor licence, is a frequent organiser of tours and diving activities around Semporna for China tourists.

This is the 3rd time a stripping incident was reported in Sabah.

Earlier in May, photos of tourists posing nude at the peak of Mt Kinabalu caused quite an uproar among locals, especially the natives who believed that it was a disrespectful act. 4 of the identified nudists were charged in court and sentenced to 3 days in jail and fined RM5,000 each before ordered to leave Sabah immediately.

Regarding these stripping cases, Semporna police chief Supt Peter Umbuas urged tour and resort operators to inform tourists on the country’s laws against stripping and to be culturally sensitive to the local communities.

Sources: The Star Online, The Straits Time, The Malay Mail Online.

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Harry Styles On Sex, New Music & One Direction Reunion

As the cover boy of Rolling Stone’s new issue, Harry Styles has plenty of secrets to spill.

In his new interview, the 25-year-old British star opened up about his upcoming album, ex-girlfriend, and what it would take for One Direction to get back together for some new music.

Since embarking on each of their solo careers, it seems like Styles and his former bandmates have truly put their boyband days behind them. The good news is – that door isn’t completely closed yet; at least in Styles’ books.

“I don’t think I’d ever say I’d never do it again, because I don’t feel that way. If there’s a time when we all really want to do it, that’s the only time for us to do it, because I don’t think it should be about anything else other than the fact that we’re all like, ‘Hey, this was really fun. We should do this again’,” he told the publication.

“I think even in the disagreements, there’s always a mutual respect for each other — we did this really cool thing together, and we’ll always have that. It’s too important to me to ever be like, ‘Oh, that’s done.’ But if it happens, it will happen for the right reasons,” the singer explained.

Unlike many boybands, Styles is till proud of his One Direction work. “I know it’s the thing that always happens. When somebody gets out of a band, they go, ‘That wasn’t me. I was held back.’ But it was me. And I don’t feel like I was held back at all. It was so much fun. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t have done it. It’s not like I was tied to a radiator,” he joked.

When asked about his upcoming album, Styles shared that “all about having sex and feeling sad”. Magic mushrooms played a huge part in his creative process. “We’d do mushrooms, lie down on the grass, and listen to Paul McCartney’s Ram in the sunshine,” he recalled, adding one time when he was “doing mushrooms” he “bit off the tip of my tongue.”

Ouch! “So I was trying to sing with all this blood gushing out of my mouth,” he shared. “So many fond memories.”

In addition, the musician also noted that music is the only place “where it feels right” to talk about his relationships. “It’s not like I’ve ever sat down and done an interview and said, ‘So I was in a relationship, and this is what happened’,” Styles who dated Taylor Swift told Rolling Stone. “Because for me, music is where I let that cross over. It’s the only place, strangely, where it feels right to let that cross over.”

You can check out the full interview here.


#Lovelyz: Seo Ji Soo Caught In Scandal, Woollim Vows Legal Action

Despite being relatively new in the Korean music scene, Woollim Entertainment’s first-ever girl group Lovelyz has already been embroiled in a scandal as a member of the group recently became the latest victim of malicious rumours.

It has been a bumpy start for the girls as malicious rumours emerged online way before the group could even debut. However, the rumours are only targeted at one particular member, Seo Ji Soo who is said to be distributing nude photos of her former girlfriends. Rumours ran wild that Ji Soo was involved in date rape, school violence, and animal abuse as the netizens claimed that Ji Soo dated a few girls in the past and distributed their naked photos.

According to our source, there were several accounts claiming that she had forced them into sleeping with her and took their naked pictures. All of these accounts were posted online by the people she had previously role-played with and dated. They also claimed that she had exposed one of her former girlfriends’ sexual orientation on her college’s homepage.

The reason I’m posting this is because I dated her in 2011 and we broke up because of internal issues. We started dating again in 2012 until I found out that she had spread pictures of my body.

They also released previously unseen photos of hers to prove that they actually knew her.

Another former girlfriend of hers wrote a full account of what actually happened to her and described how the sexual harassment had almost caused her to kill herself. She said:

She took a hidden camera video of us having sex and spread it to the company that I was working for. Rumors of me being a slut began spreading even though I was simply making love to someone I had loved. The video was taken without me knowing. Now I am scared of dating anyone and for a while I couldn’t even leave my house. I quit working for my company and lied to my parents. I even tried to commit suicide. The only thing that I want now is for Ji Soo to not be happy. I don’t want her being forgiven for all of her crimes with her debut after ruining someone else’s life. I am including pictures that Seo Ji Soo personally sent me of pictures inside her company.

Other pictures of their conversations can be found in the original post, with one picture showing an adult toy that Jisoo had bought for one of her exes.

In addition, the original post revealed that she is a role-player who enjoyed rape fantasies about her idols. A role-playing game aka RPG is a popular online activity among Korean teens as they role-play celebrities on social networking sites. The member was said to have been role-playing as a member of INFINITE/EXO in the role-playing cafe. They claimed that she had said disturbing and sexual things like “I want to rape Do Kyungsoo”, “I wonder what color ***’s dick is”, “I want to sleep with L”, “I want to rape Kyungsoo till he bleeds” to satisfy her fantasy.

At one point, she even talked about joining Woollim Entertainment so that she could have sex with INFINITE members.

However, all of the stories and “proof” shots that have been posted just seemed like serious accusations from her alleged exes. Woollim Entertainment has since denied all the rumours and responded by saying that strong legal actions will be taken against the culprit.

The full translation of the notice is as follows:

This is a notice from Woollim Entertainment. There are false rumors on the Internet about Lovelyz’ member Seo Ji Soo, and tomorrow (November 10th) we will file an official investigation about punishing the creator and spreader of these rumors. Woollim Entertainment will take strong legal action against false rumors against someone how is just about to debut, and there will be no cancellation or agreement about the suit. Thank you.

Investigations are currently underway but there has been no official announcements from the talent agency yet. Thus, it is best to take the rumours with a grain of salt as these rumours are serious accusations that inflict severe damages upon Ji Soo.

While we wait for the story to unfold, what do you think of the malicious rumours? Do you think the alleged exes are trying to tarnish the group’s reputation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments box below.

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