This summer is already gearing up to be a highly anticipated movie blockbuster season – with one of them being The Wolverine. This past week, a teaser trailer and stills were posted on Entertainment Weekly, which featured Japanese models Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima, who play Mariko and Yukio respectively. The Wolverine marks their first Hollywood production (as well as Okamoto’s first foray into acting). I’ll admit, while Tao Okamoto is one of my favorite models, Rila Fukushima looks pretty badass. Check them all out!
The art of film and television was introduced to the Philippines in the late 1890′s and although this is the youngest of the Philippine arts , it has developed into the most popular. Because of its appeal, the Philippine Entertainment Industry appears to be growing larger every year. And when we say large, we mean it. With new faces popping up everyday, it would take a very long time to name all of the young and rising Filipina Actresses currently gracing the screen.
We decided to take a different approach. Yes, there are many Filipina actresses, but who are the ones we consider timeless? Who are the leading ladies we can watch years from now and still find ourselves mesmerized by? Who’s performances bring us to tears? In honor of Women’s History Month, we present to you the Ten Timeless Filipina Actresses:
Dept: Pop-arazzi
Author: Ada Tseng
Photographer: Diana King
Hair: Sunny Campos
Makeup: Shelly Samia
Although Twilight fans know Booboo Stewart as an actor who plays the kindhearted shapeshifter Seth Clearwater (he recently starred in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2), longer-time supporters have been following Stewart, the singer/dancer/guitarist/drummer/martial artist, on YouTube as early as 2007. There are videos of young Booboo performing as a member of the Disney pop group T-Squad and rocking out in his band Echoes of Angels. Booboo — along with his sisters Maegan, Fivel, and Sage — grew up on movie sets, since their father was a stunt coordinator in Hollywood. Booboo did his first movie stunt around age 10, and when Fivel saw her big brother doing it, she wanted in on the action. Their martial arts training taught them to be comfortable onstage, and they’ve both been singing and dancing in front of huge crowds since they were pre-teens.
“I think the first concert we did together was in Chicago, opening for Demi Lovato,” says Fivel. “We did it last minute, and our dad ended up driving 36 hours straight, so we could perform there.”
Now 18 and 16, Booboo and Fivel have joined forces with friends Davin Baltazar and Ryan Cook to create their new band 5L.
“5L is just a cool way to spell Fivel’s name,” explains Booboo. “It’s her band really, so it’s only appropriate.”
Fivel dances and sings lead vocals, while Booboo plays the guitar and sings supporting vocals. This arrangement takes advantage of their strengths: Booboo started playing the guitar when he was about 10 years old after receiving an electric guitar for Christmas, and Fivel has wanted to be a singer for as long as
she can remember.
Next up, they play twins in the film Hansel and Gretel — fitting, as people always thought they were twins growing up. Their music will also be featured in the film’s closing credits.
Director Brian Singer tweeted a picture of his current line of X-Men over the weekend.
Over the weekend, director Brian Singer unveiled new names to his current cast of X-Men (which already boasts Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Halle Berry as Storm, Shawn Ashmore as Iceman, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Professor X and Magneto): Fan Bingbing, Daniel Cudmore (who is reprising his role as Colossus from X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand), and Booboo Stewart. It’s already been speculated that Fan will play Blink, a character with teleportation powers and pupil-free eyes. No word on Stewart’s role yet, who previously played Seth Clearwater in the Twilight series.
Sandrine Pinna.
Ang Lee has done more than anyone to bring attention to the Taiwanese film industry, shooting much of his 3D fantasy film Life of Pi in Taipei and Taichung — and always making sure to thank Taiwan in those Oscar speeches, even if his film is about gay cowboys in Wyoming. But Taiwan’s local films have had a recent commercial resurgence as well, catapulted by 2008′s super hit Cape No. 7. More recently, successful films include You Are The Apple of My Eye, Monga, and Seediq Bale, in addition to Taiwan/China co-productions like the ensemble romantic comedy Love. At the same time, Taiwanese dramas are as rampant as ever — and all of this brings us a wealth of new Taiwanese leading ladies.
A comprehensive list that spans decades would definitely include Taiwanese talents such as Sylvia Chang, Brigitte Lin, Lu Yi-Ching, Mavis Fan, Barbie Hsu, Rene Liu, Vivian Hsu and more. But for this year’s Women’s History Month showcase, we’re going to concentrate on young actresses ruling commercial Taiwanese film and television today.
Click on to see the ten ladies!
Captured: our Spring 2013 cover girl Elodie Yung.
In our interview, cover girl Elodie Yung told me that she’s not a model. In fact, this was her second cover shoot. But as you can see in this BTS video of our cover shoot at The Mountain Mermaid in Topanga Canyon – it didn’t matter. The G.I. Joe: Retaliation star was natural at it – and much more, a natural beauty. She radiated so much warmth on the set that everyone fell in love with her – and I promise, after you watch this video, you will too.
High school: such a pivotal time in young women’s lives for college/career decisions, familial tension, first loves, first rejections, no-holds-barred attitude and unexpected self-discoveries.
And when high school years are depicted on American film and television, extracurricular activities may involve solving murder mysteries (Pretty Little Liars), and unrequited love is sometimes best told through song (T.V. Carpio’s cover of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in Across the Universe).
One could argue that Tamlyn Tomita’s Kumiko was the ultimate Asian American high school “girl-next-door” crush, even if, back in 1986, the Karate Kid had to travel all the way to Japan to be in the right neighborhood. But in the past 25 years, there have many memorable Asian American girls – as well as British Asians, Asian-Scots and Asian Canadians that we snuck onto the list — that we can look up to (or reminisce with) in these classic tales of high school.
Below are our Top 10 Asian American High School Girls Next Door:
How do you celebrate your magazine’s ten year anniversary — if you’re InStyle Korea? Easy: you round up the best and brightest Korean stars of the last decade. The cover spread features actresses Kim Hee-sun, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Yeon-hee , Han Chae-young, Kim Hyo-jin, Lee Yo-won, Kim Yun-jin, and Jeon Ji-hyun who serves as the issue’s cover model. The shoot stops nothing short of making all the girls look fabulous – even if they’re surrounded by large legos (in the case with Han Hyo-joo), holding a plastic baby (Lee Yeon-hee), or fawning over a cheetah in a forest (Kim Hee-sun).
Click on for the images!
The Oscars are now in full swing! Check out some of the Asian celebrities hitting the red carpet!
Olivia Munn in Marchesa. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
Jamie Chung may be the hardest working Asian American actress in Hollywood right now. Writer Paul Nakayama witnesses the star in action.
ISSUE: Winter 2012-13
DEPT: Cover Feature
Photographer: Diana King
Stylist: Ashley Avignone @ The Wall Group
Makeup: Shelly Samia
Hair: Alex Polillo
Photo Assistant: Kevin Burnstein
Stylist Assistant: Liat Veysey
Producer: Olivia Wu
Story: Paul Nakayama
