Star Gazing

Greetings and salutations, fellow Stargazers! This is May Seah, your Showbiz Sista, stalking Chinese superstar Zhang Ziyi. Ziyi is presently in Singapore, and a mere hour or two ago, she was at Ion Orchard for the opening ceremony of Omega’s flagship store.

“Hallo hallo,” Ziyi said in English (I kid you not). David Gan was also there, because he’d done her hair as per usual, and you know what bosom buddies they are.

As the new Omega ambassador, Ziyi joins the ranks of Hollywood heavyweights Cindy Crawford, George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. “It’s fate”, she said. “My first watch was an Omega – I bought it when I was very young with my first earnings. I don’t wear it because I’m afraid of losing it.”

Her last movie was the rom com Sophie’s Revenge, which she also produced, but she’s got a new top-secret movie in the works. She didn’t know how much she could reveal, but “All I know is I have no vacations coming up.”

“She speaks perfect English,” insisted the host, but then why, pray tell, was she answering all the questions in Mandarin? Hmm. Showbiz Sista recently did a telephone interview with the Memoirs Of A Geisha star, which was supposed to be in English, but at the last minute, little miss diva said she would only do it in Mandarin. Hmm again.

“Is it acceptable to propose with a diamond watch instead of a ring?” someone asked. Ziyi’s answer? “I don’t know.” Later she recovered the fumble by saying she would definitely be won over by a watch AND a ring. Better watch out, Vivi Nevo!

Showbiz Sista, signing out. Live long and pop corn!

Greetings and salutations, fellow stargazers! This is May Seah, your Showbiz Sista, bringing you exclusive snapshots of the set of Desperate Housewives, all the way from Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Yessiree, Showbiz Sista got to set foot in the actual house belonging to Martha Stewart on steroids, Bree Hodge, as well as the Roccoco extravaganza that was Gabrielle Solis’s abode.

The anticipation mounts!

Here is part of the outside of Gabby’s house!

And this is Gabby’s bedroom, where all the action takes place.

Talk about opulent luxury… She’s a material girl, Gabby is. Are you ready for what’s coming up next?

Gabs’s shoe closet! Eee!

And now here we are in Bree’s front hall. Should we wipe our feet?

Here is where Bree holds her pitcher-perfect dinner parties.

And, in a corner of the kitchen… Bree’s characteristic stash of cleaning arsenal!

Stay tuned to TODAY to find out what’s in store in the newest season of Desperate Housewives, which is available on demand through SingTel mio TV’s Season Pass. For more information, visit www.singtelustv.com or call 1800 555 6000. 

Showbiz Sista, signing out. Live long and pop corn!

Tags: Bree Hodge, Desperate Housewives, Gabby, Gabrielle Solis, Los Angeles, Martha Stewart, May Seah, Showbiz Sista

Greetings and salutations, fellow Stargazers! This is May Seah, your Showbiz Sista, catching up with Phua Chu Kang, who recently got his little yellow boots walking all the way to Kuala Lumpur in the newest incarnation of hit sitcom PCK Pte Ltd: PCK Sdn Bhd, which premiered this week. Chu Kang and Rosie set up home across the Causeway, joining up with a new team of Malaysian neighbours and friends.

Okay, so it’s Gurmit Singh who speaks for Singapore’s favourite contractor, but that’s as good as we’re going to get! Want to know about the big move? Was it treachery on this Singaporean’s part? Was it for the fried carrot cake? Showbiz Sista finds out!

Why did PCK move to Malaysia?

Gurmit: Why? From PCK’s point of view, or from production’s? Haha! It’s all about globalisation. First it’s Malaysia, then he’ll go to Thailand, then India, then China then Russia.

All part of a great master plan?

Oh, yeah. He’s taking over the world.

So he’s going to be the best in Singapore, JB, Batam, and the whole world?

In the whole world. Possibly the galaxy, if he can. He’s just awaiting the mode of transportation.

Who knew he harboured such dreams of grandeur?

It’s very Ah Beng Ah Seng to do that!

Does he integrate well, or does he miss Singapore?

He’s doing fine because Singapore and Malaysia are similar in so many ways. We all live to eat and there’s a lot of food there. And of course Malaysia has a larger land area, meaning there’ll be more projects for him to build. He’s pretty comfortable there.

Where does PCK stand on the chicken rice-chilli crab war between Singapore and Malaysia?

Well, you know, PCK loves Malaysians, he loves his Malaysian fans, he loves his Malaysian customers, but he has to be Singapore first, so of course he’ll say Singapore wins the war.

How different is filming in Malaysia from filming in Singapore?

In Singapore, we shoot in studio. But in Malaysia we shot on location all the time. The house scenes are all shot in a real house. In the studio it’s ridiculously cold. Although I don’t feel that because I got my wig and I got my boots, so I’m always the warmest guy around. In Malaysia it was the opposite. It was always so hot.

So you were always the hottest guy around?

Yeah. With the boots and the wig. I don’t want people to think that I think I’m the hottest guy around! They’d be like ‘Yeah, right’!

Would you say that out of all the projects you’ve done or the characters you’ve played, PCK is the nearest to your heart?

Oh, yeah. He’s served me so well in my career. He’s brought me to places that I think as Gurmit, I wouldn’t have gone. I’ve met with VIPs, ministers, royalty. It’s amazing how this character can break down barriers. He transcends languages and hierarchy.

Who’s the royalty?

I can’t say, otherwise I’ll be killed.

You don’t think that Singlish limits us?

I’ve always been of the point of view that Singlish is unique to Singapore and something we should embrace instead of fight.

And yet PCK made fun of Ris Low.

Haha… Look at this Ris Low. Here’s the irony of it all. When Ris Low said ‘boomz’, everybody thought, ‘What the heck is she talking about? What is she doing? What is going on?’ Right? Now, use that same word boomz, and say it was said by Randy Jackson, the American Idol judge. Let’s say he was talking to David Cook and he said, ‘Yo dawg, you were da bomb, you boomz.’ Had he said that, everyone would have gone, ‘Wow, that’s such a cool word.’ So I actually empathize with Ris.

Catch Phua Chu Kang Sdn Bhd on Tuesdays at 8.30pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 5. Showbiz Sista, signing out. Live long and pop corn!

Greetings and salutations, fellow stargazers! This is May Seah, your Showbiz Sista, in not-so-sunny Los Angeles. That’s right, Tinseltown is having an unusually frigid hiatus from its usual balmy temperatures—and you know what else is rather frigid? Calista Flockhart.

Yes, Showbiz Sista hobnobbed with the Brothers And Sisters star today and found her at best tired and really, really in character as the ailing Kitty Walker, and at worst, just plain disinterested and cranky. She didn’t say anything mean, but the way she fielded questions was listless and uninspired and a bit duh, really.

In contrast, her co-star Rob Lowe, who plays Kitty’s husband Senator MacCallister, was way more interesting—he did this cool thing where he pretended to be wearing a wig and sort of shifted his scalp around. Hoho.

“What’s it like to be SO pretty?” Showbiz Sista asked him. “If it weren’t coming from someone as pretty as you, I might think it was a backhanded compliment! With the emphasis on backhanded!” laughed Rob. “ I blame Alec Baldwin for all of it. Alec’s comment at the Emmy’s started this whole discourse on what I look like. I’m going to have to knock him silly with that.”

Then the lovely Calista poured cold water by tsk-ing disapprovingly and saying, “I work with this guy almost every day, and he doesn’t even think about it. It’s all about what’s inside and what he’s trying to do and how he’s acting. He doesn’t sit around and go ‘Oh, aren’t I pretty.’ He’s a good-looking guy, and makes me feel ugly, but I think it’s a non-issue for him.” Oh, pooh, pooh.

Thankfully, Rob saved the conversation with a witty, “It’s definitely a non-issue for my wife.”

For now, this is Showbiz Sista, signing out. Look out for more Brothers And Sisters stuff coming up in the paper! The latest season of Brothers And Sisters is available on-demand through SingTel mioTV’s Season Pass. Live long and pop corn!

Tags: Brothers And Sisters, Calista Flockhart, May Seah, Rob Lowe, Showbiz Sista, SingTel mioTV

Greetings and salutations, fellow stargazers! This is May Seah, your Showbiz Sista, still reeling from having to work overtime trying to cover Fann and Chris’s wedding. Yes, trying is the word.

Caldecott’s top celebrity couple, Fann Wong and Christopher Lee, held their wedding banquet on Tuesday evening at the Shangri-La Hotel, inviting half the people in Singapore and lots and lots of fellow celebs.

“All media are free to cover the wedding,” said the email invite. What they neglected to add was, “From just outside the doors, oh, and by the way, please stand behind the yellow line.” There was even a hotel staff whose express duty all evening seemed to be shouting: “Move back! Take THREE steps back!”

See, Showbiz Sista used to think that good wedding PR entailed feeding the journalists (eg. Michelle Chia and Shaun Chen’s do), and/or inviting them into your home (eg. Zoe Tay’s do). Now, she’s adjusted her standards to “telling the journalists they should come prepared with tins of food and foldable chairs.”

“We knew the media would want to come anyway,” was the rep’s answer. Hmm yes. Showbiz Sista can’t think of a better way to spend her evening than peering through a crack in the door and reaching for the edge of Michelle Chong’s dress as she walks by.

Oh well. Congratulations, Fann and Chris. You’re finally married.

Showbiz Sista, signing out. Live long and pop corn!

Tags: Christopher Lee, Fann and Chris wedding, Fann Wong, Showbiz Sista, Stargazing, Today newspaper