Rated G

He premiered his highly anticipated, aptly-time Capitalism: A Love Story at the 66th Annual Venice Film Festival to a positive reception (even Variety called it one of Moore’s “best pics”).

But in the end, the Michelin Man of Docu- Movies lost the coveted Golden Lion (Best Picture Award)  to Samuel Maoz’s hard-hitting Israeli war movie Lebanon.  But don’t cry for the  Big Man. The documentary didn’t leave Italy empty-handed, receiving the Leoncino d’oro Award from 26 local youths selected by the festival.

Persistently controversial with  a touch of  humour, Capitalism: A Love Story is typical Moore as he explores the root causes of the global economic crisis and takes a look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what he has described as “the biggest robbery in the history of this country” – the bailout ( using taxpayers’ money) from the US government to save financial private institutions.

The purposefully contentious filmmaker told  reporters at the Venice Film Fest Press Conference that this film is for all the  “good people who struggled, who worked hard and who have had their lives ruined” by corporate greed

Flick Chick had the chance to meet and interview the man himself  ( Thanks Golden Village! ) And had to, of course, ask that all-important question. No, not how many cheeseburgers does one have to eat to get that size  (just kidding lah!) But will the liberal leftist ever come to our little red dot one day?

” I would love to… but would I get arrested at the airport?” quipped the Big Friendly Giant.

Well, maybe not Mike. Especially if you’re bringing the very capitalist dollars you earned by bashing capitalism ( oh the irony!), to spend it all right here Capitalist-friendly Singapore :) Viva La Tourism!

What are your thoughts on Michael Moore and his documentaries? Let me know what you think by leaving a response.

Till then, always remember to Snap, Crackle and PopCorn!

XOXO,

Your Flick Chick,

G

Check out my cover story and entire interview with Michael Moore in TODAY newspaper next Wed Nov 4

Tags: Capitalism, Capitalism: A Love Story, Flick Chick, Golden Lion, Leoncino d'oro Award, Michael Moore, Singapore, Venice Film Festival 2009

Question: So which two renowned TV/Theatre ( and now Movie) stars kept their hotel neighbours awake with their late night shenanigans?

Clue: His name starts wth  A and ends with drian. Her name starts with Kheng … and ends with Hua

But get your mind out of the gutter, because these two happily married ( to fellow director  Tracie Pang and actor Lim Yu-Beng respectively) were oh-so-noisy for a very good reason.

They were rehearsing for a roughhouse, almost-love-making scene for Glen Goei’s The Blue Mansion . Really!  I got the first-hand account on tape…

Adrian Pang : The night before ( the first day of shooting), we were going through the scene. W wanted to make sure we’re comformtable with each other, and block it very technically with each other.

Tan Kheng Hua: We were terribly terribly professional, weren’t we? ( laughs) I mean, we’re known each other for soooo long!

Adrian Pang: Yeah… so long that there’s no more spooning.

Flick Chick: Oh my, no more Spooning…and simply straight to the Forking?

( Everyone laughs)

Tan Kheng Hua:  So we were rehearsing in my hotel room, going through where he was going to put his hands, where I would put my legs…

Adrian Pang: Yeah, gotta do homework. It would have taken twice as long if not. I mean, with Glen teaching me how to ” rabah” ( molest) her and all…And it was a very emotional time.  Very drama. We were quite intense. 

Tan Kheng Hua: Yes, we were yelling at each other and screaming at each other. ” Make love to me Meng,  make love to me!”

Adrian Pang: All this going on at 3am in the morning. And then suddenly, there was angry knocking on the door.

Tan Kheng Hua:  We just suddenly went very quiet and crounched down. Haha. We didn’t answer the door or anything. We just ” shush” ourselves and started giggling.

Adrian Pang: It was hilarious! I am surprised they didn’t send up security with the nosie we were making… and the things we were saying!

Tan Kheng Hua: But seriously ( doing a scene like that ) was easy because  it was with Adrian. Plus, and you can write this down… Adrian is a such gooooood kisser.

Adrian Pang: Why thank you! ( laughs)

Flick Chick: And how many “Os” is that in “good”?

Tan Kheng Hua: 3″O”s.

Adrian Pang: Only 3???!!

Tan Kheng Hua: Ok, 4. I give you 4 “ O”s.

So there you have it… even award-winning thesps like them two have to rehearse rehearse rehearse!  It’s all for the CRAFT, yo!

Till then, remember to always Snap, Crackle and PopCorn!

XOXO,

Your Flick Chick,

G

Tags: Adrian Pang, Flick Chick, Glen Goei, Late Night Shenanigans, Rehearsing Love Scenes, Tan Kheng Hua, The Blue Mansion

Local  film director Glen Goei really has nothing to be blue about.

His latest dark comedy whodunit The Blue Mansion has been nominated for  Best Asian/Middle Eastern Film at the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) , which is ongoing till Sunday Oct 25.  It is currently in competition with 17 other films from China, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Iran, and Turkey( whew!)…. AND  the only one from Singapore this year. TALK ABOUT REPRESENTING! 

Both he and actress Emma Yong are currently in Tokyo to walk the green carpet (it’s not dirty ok… ecology is the theme of the Festival!), alongside Hollywood movie stars Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation), Japanese celebrities Rinko Kikuchi (Babel), Koyuki (The Last Samurai) and Ryoko Hirosue (Departures).

Name Dropping aside…it’s quite the triumph for Singapore film! Let’s all keep our fingers crossed and hope it’s a Red and White coup at The Blue Mansion come prize-giving day. MAJULAH SINGAPURA!

Till then, do heck out my review in TODAY Newspaper this friday, and on Channel News Asia Prime Time Morning’s  ZOOM IN!  And as always, do remember to Snap, Crackle and PopCorn!

XOXO,

Your Flick Chick,

G 

The Blue Mansion opens in Singapore  tomorrow.

Tags: Awards, Emma Yong, Flick Chick, Glen Goei, Prime Time Morning, Review, Singapore Film, The Blue Mansion, TODAY Newspaper, Tokyo International Film Festival, Zoom In

A journo’s first ever Venice Film Festival experience (or should we say esperienza): PART UNO

Ciao belli amici!

With one of Asia’s biggest film festivals- South Korea’s Pusan- kicking off festivities yesterday with “a focus on regional cinema and a touch of Hollywood glamour”, this Flick Chick was suddenly catapulted back to my very own first-time-film-festival-experience in Venice… just a wee while ago. 6th of September to be exact.

The plethora of world premiere films, the buzz of on-the-cusp new talent and of course, the glitz and glamour of A-lister celebrities and talented auteurs were all one big heady cocktail mix for little old me. But boy did I enjoy it! Especially when I got to interview the indefatigable Michael Moore on his time-appropriate highly anticipated Capitalism: A Love Story ( a documentary about the world’s economic crisis) one day, and fall desperately for the potent charms of a one Mr George Clooney (there to promote The Men Who Stare at Goats) on another.

But the piece de resistance of any work trip/film festival whirlwind is that ONE cheesy souvenir. You know, the kind you get to show off back home to say you’ve been there, done that and got the T-shirt.

In my case, I didn’t so much as get the T-shirt, but the chance to touch it!(and that hunk of a JASON BOURNE body that came with it). I also got a big hug and a “Hello! Wow, you came all the way from Singapore huh?” from a certain Matt Damon. Quiver. Sigh. Faint. Quite the souvenir, no?

There to promote his next movie- the upcoming Steven Soderberg’s The Informant - Matt was funny, witty, super friendly and incredibly incredibly sexy. But I gush.

The highlight? When he actually grabbed my dinky camera from my hands and hugged me close so we could actually take an “OWNSELF TAKE PHOTO” (a photo that is taken by a person who is actually in the picture itself).

Downside? Matt’s “OWNSELF” taking skills aren’t very good ( please refer to exhibit A below) and I couldn’t very well tell Matt Damon to please OWNSELF take again, could I?

So, how are your “OWNSELF” taking skills? Any good ones with stars and celebs? Consider this an invitation to share!

Till then, remember to Snap, Crackle and Popcorn. And keep checking back here for “A journo’s first ever Venice Film Festival experience: PART DUE”

XOXO,

Your Flick Chick

G

Tags: Capitalism: A Love Story, Flick Chick, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Michael Moore, The Informant, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Venice Film Festival 2009

HELLO … is there anyone out there? Greetings and Salutations World Wide Web! Yessiree Bob, Flick Chick’s movie blog is finally up and running. Boy, was it a long time coming. Complete with the requisite blood sweat and tears. But hey, we’re in the movie business right?

You see, it was murder trying to come up with an interesting film related blog name. Not only did it have to be  funny, witty and self-referential, it also could not be  pretentious film snobbery insular, or just plain weird. Which probably explains why my initial “Chi-ca-bow-wow” blog name was shot down. Immediately. “What’s wrong with me onomatopoeic-lly spelling out the soundtrack of a typical cheesy porn movie? I asked my editor wide-eyed. A death stare and hard plonk on the head later, I compiled a list of 20 or so wildly exciting blog names, with many helpful contributions from friends, family and my fellow plus deskers.

From Blog Buster (personal favourite) to Confessions of a Movie Junkie to  24framespersecond, I scoured memorable movie quotes and sifted through film jargon. Names like Lalaland. and Feel Reel were bleeding out my ears and save for actually holding a Choose a Name contest (First Prize: movie tickets!!), I was totally uninspired.

Eventually I had to decide (read:Forced By E.E.E aka Extremely Evil Editor) and had to give up 3 Thumbs up! (coz we REALLY love our films), Flog (Film+Blog) and Cineplexed! to end up with  Rated G. A movie blog that pretty much will run the gamut from  film buff news to  La la land musings and movie world gossip … For General Audiences Everywhere!  Your basic G-rated info with an R-rated edge.  Eh, we don’t discrimate ok?

So do let me know what you think? Or even better, if you have a more interesting alternative

Till then, always remember to Snap, Crackle and Popcorn!

XOXO,

Your Flick Chick

G

Tags: Flick Chick, Genevieve Loh, Movie Blog, Rated G