Leonor Will Never Die screenings in Trinoma
MARTIKA Escobar’s film Leonor Will Never Die will screen on Sundays of November at Trinoma Cinema 5 in Quezon City. The movie won the Sundance Film Festival 2022 Special Jury Prize Award and Toronto International Film Festival 2022 Amplify Voices Award. The film stars Sheila Franciso who plays a retired action film scriptwriter who, after hitting her head with a television, falls into a coma and dreams of starring in her unfinished script. The block screenings are on Nov. 13, Nov. 20, and Nov. 27 at 3 p.m. Tickets are priced at P300. A portion of the proceeds will go to the funds needed for succeeding screenings. Tickets are available at the entrance of Cinema 5, and through this link: https://tinyurl.com/SundanceAnniv. Tote bags, stickers, and postcard merchandise will also be available. The film is now available for private show buying, exclusive booking at Sine Pop, and school screenings. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/leonorwillneverdie.
The Sandman gets 2nd season
NETFLIX has given the green light to a second season of the popular series The Sandman, based on multiple volumes of the Neil Gaiman graphic novels. The Sandman, aka Dream, is played by Tom Sturridge, a powerful cosmic being who controls all our dreams. The first season of The Sandman is a rich, character-driven blend of myth and dark fantasy woven together over the course of 10 epic chapters following Dream’s many adventures. According to Netflix, The Sandman world will continue to expand; the series will return with even more episodes and stories to be adapted from multiple The Sandman graphic novels; and the episode count and story details are being kept under wraps. The Sandman’s creator, Neil Gaiman, released a statement on the renewal: “Millions upon millions of people have welcomed and watched and loved The Sandman on Netflix, from established Sandman fans to people who were simply curious, and then became obsessed with the Lord of Dreams, his family and their goings-on. It gives me unbelievable pleasure to say that, working with Netflix and Warner Bros., Allan Heinberg, David Goyer and I will be bringing even more of The Sandman stories to life. There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus and the rest of them (not to mention more members of the Endless Family to meet). Nobody is going to be happier about this than the Sandman cast and crew: they are the biggest Sandman fans there are. And now it’s time to get back to work. There’s a family meal ahead, after all. And Lucifer is waiting for Morpheus to return to Hell…” The series also stars Boyd Holbrook, Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance, Jenna Coleman, David Thewlis, Stephen Fry, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, Vanesu Samunyai, John Cameron Mitchell, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Joely Richardson, Niamh Walsh, Sandra James-Young and Razane Jammal.
Special packages on offer before Disney+ launch
AHEAD of the official launch of Disney+ in the Philippines on Nov. 17, Alipay+ together with its e-wallet partner GCash have announced that it will offer Disney+ as part of a special package to users of the e-wallet GCash. As part of an early bird deal which is ongoing until Nov. 16, GCash users in the Philippines with Alipay+ Rewards can sign up for the special package that includes Disney+ annual subscriptions, when they pay with their GCash e-wallet via Alipay+ Rewards on the GCash app. Subscribers will be able to start streaming Disney+ from Nov. 17, to watch general entertainment content from iconic brands including Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, National Geographic, and Star. Disney+ is the exclusive streaming home of an ever-growing library of global, regional, and Asian language content such as blockbuster films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to award-winning Pixar animation, to Korean content featuring BTS and other top Asian stars, under the Star brand. Star also offers movies and shows such as Emmy-award winning Grey’s Anatomy, Only Murders in The Building, The Bear, The Simpsons, and The Kardashians. In addition, Star delivers exclusive originals produced in collaboration with producers and directors in the Asia Pacific region. After the debut of Disney+ on Nov. 17, consumers in the Philippines can continue to use their GCash e-wallets via Alipay+ to subscribe to the global streaming service.
Ivan the Selfie Magician marks 18 years of magic
IVAN the Selfie Magician celebrates 18 years of doing magic with a show, It’s Not Real, It’s Magic, on Dec. 3, 3 and 6 p.m., at the PETA Theater in Quezon City. Jonathan Ivan Rivera is a TV, film and theater actor who first learned magic from his father, who was also a magician, when he was just four years old. He made his professional debut at age seven when he made a girl float on air. Over the years, The Mass Communication cum laude graduate from Centro Escolar University who is also an entrepreneur and sincere promoter of healthy food and healthy diet, has been the guest speaker for Magic at PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association) and has appeared in various roles for TV, film, and theater, receiving notices from journalists and critics. He is also a magic consultant for film and theater. A member of the International Brotherhood Of Magicians, Ivan the Selfie Magician has performed all over the Philippines from hotels, malls, resorts, golf courses, country clubs, theaters, yachts and even aboard a flying airplane. For tickets, check Ticket2Me.com.
Sarah Brightman Christmas concert at the Big Dome
INTERNATIONAL superstar and famed Broadway and West End actress Sarah Brightman is set to bring the critically acclaimed holiday special-turned concert series entitled A Christmas Symphony to the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Dec. 7. To heighten the festive mood, Ms. Brightman will be accompanied by an orchestra and choir. She is expected to sing Christmas standards like “Silent Night,” “I believe in Father Christmas,” and “Happy Xmas (War is Over).” But aside from those, she will also sing some Andrew Lloyd Webber creations and covers such as “Pie Jesu” and “A Christmas Dream.” Ms. Brightman’s A Christmas Symphony has had many iterations in the past years. In 2020, A Christmas Symphony was a livestream event which was seen all over the world. Last year, the American public broadcaster PBS aired A Christmas Symphony throughout November and December. The latter was shot at the historic Christ Church Spitalfields in London and the venue was transformed into a winter wonderland to evoke the magnificence of this musical extravaganza. Now, the special is Ms. Brightman’s first-ever Christmas tour that is being brought to many countries around the globe. Tickets are available at https://ticketnet.com.ph/events/detail/Sarah-Brightman.
Ysa Yanez releases self-titled debut EP
SINGAPOREAN-Filipina artist Ysa Yaneza has released her self-titled debut EP, YSA. The four-track EP fuses Y2K pop with R&B vocal stylings, Caribbean-tinged beats, and retro-futurist soundscapes. Chicago-based musician and producer Shubu co-wrote and produced the singer’s current single, “1Nightwitu,” while SOLRWAVE co-helmed “Jaded” and “Thinking of You.” The whole EP was mastered by Stuart Hawkes, a sound engineer who has been nominated for a Grammy and worked on records by artists like Charli XCX, Disclosure, Lorde, and Mabel. Ms. Yaneza will embark on a Manila press tour in November to promote the EP, and she will perform her first live show in Manila in December alongside Singaporean band M1LDL1FE. Listen to Ysa Yaneza’s EP at https://bfan.link/ysa.
The Mellow Dees releases first single
UNLIKELY collaborators Melody del Mundo (Sugar Hiccup’s singer), Wolf Gemora (the former drummer for Wolfgang), and guitar whiz Robin Nievera (who has now chosen to go by the mononym Nievera) have put out new music together as The Mellow Dees. Formed in 2019, the group’s momentum hit a brick wall with the global pandemic in 2020. In July of 2021, they reconvened for songwriting sessions and band rehearsals. They recently released their first single, “Lamán,” a fusion of reggae, island pop, and kundiman (traditional Filipino folk ballad). Ms. Del Mundo is best known for her ethereal voice that harkens back to Cocteau Twins and bands of a similar ilk. Mr. Gemora, meanwhile, drummed on almost everything in the Wolfgang catalog, and was also in the short-lived outfit Lokomotiv with members of Razorback. Mr. Nievera has paved a road independent of his pedigree (he is the son of pop singers Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez), cutting records for majors and indies alike while showcasing his chops on guitar and songwriting. “Lamán” is available on all digital music platforms worldwide via Lilystars Records.
Gracenote, Monty Macalino work on new single
GRACENOTE’S latest single, “Kalituhan,” featuring Monty Macalino of Mayonnaise, is a song inspired by a maze. According to the band, “Kalituhan” is about loving someone no matter what. Vocalist and songwriter Eunice Jorge was able to write the song easily after thinking of a maze as a core concept. “It was a rainy night and I was lying down with a guitar on my bed and the music and words just came out simultaneously. The idea started from the concept of maze. I was just playing with metaphors and contrasts. And the song was made. Finished the demo thru GarageBand June 2019,” Ms. Jorge said of the song. “The tempo was originally a bit faster than the final version. But during the pre-production process with my band, we decided to make it slower to catch the right vibe for the song,” she added. “Kalituhan” by Gracenote and Monty Macalino is available on all digital platforms.