The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Jakarta rocks as stop on global concert circuit Posted: 07 Jul 2011 08:38 PM PDT JAKARTA, July 8 — Kylie Minogue cavorted amid indigo lights as thousands clapped and cheered. An ordinary concert scene — except that this was Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic nations, and tickets cost more than an average month's pay for many. Yet Minogue is far from alone in playing Jakarta, capital of Southeast Asia's top economy. Artists including Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson and Bruno Mars have all held concerts here in recent months, with the Cranberries, Linkin Park, and Lady Gaga set to come.  File photo of Minogue performing during her 'Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour 2011' in Riga, Latvia on February 25, 2011. — Reuters pic "Indonesia is on the radar of artists in Asia because the market potential is huge and people don't mind spending more on tickets," said Jakarta-based music expert Bens Leo. Farid Dermawan and 14 friends shelled out 1.5 million rupiah (RM528) each for their tickets, about 15 per cent higher than the capital's monthly minimum wage peg. Tickets ranged from 1 million to 4.5 million rupiah. "The amount I paid is fine because I am a Kylie fan since I was born. I'm excited," said the 34-year-old Dermawan, a video clip director, as the silvery wings attached to the back of a black vest he made for the occasion flapped up. About 90 per cent of the tickets for Minogue's concert sold, said promoter EC Entertainment, which added that the ticket price range was "affordable." Yet even steeper concerts do well. A recent concert by David Foster sold out, despite tickets ranging from 1 million rupiah up to 25 times that price. Leo said the big name rush is sparked partly by slower demand in countries such as the United States after the economic crisis. Merchandising possibilities are also appealing, allowing artists to rake in still more money. With slowing global demand for CDs and cassettes worsened by the digital age, artists are looking to gain more from a much broader range of products, music expert Leo said. "You don't see CDs on sale in concerts anymore, they offer merchandise now because that's what's selling," he added. At the Minogue concert, fans lined up to buy T-shirts, jugs and books featuring Minogue's costumes and make-up. Jakarta's success on the concert circuit is all the more surprising because the mammoth city of 10 million faces a number of hurdles, including a traffic situation Minogue herself described as "traffic drama" and caused the concert to start 30 minutes late. It took some fans three hours to arrive. Until a few years ago there was also the threat of attacks by Islamic militants against "Western" symbols, which in the past resulted in the sudden cancellation of concerts, much to the disappointment of concert-goers. But successful crackdowns on in recent years have helped brought reassurance to the far-flung archipelago. "In the last one or two years concerts take place at least once a month, and the key draw is improved security," said Wiradi, the production general manager at EC Entertainment. Despite Indonesia's Islamic majority, it remains a secular country and more welcoming to artists than neighbour Malaysia, where criticism of a planned Beyonce concert for its possible "inciting of moral issues" led to the event's cancellation. Still, some doubts linger. Intan Hafsanida, who came in a Greek-goddess style white dress and garland of golden leaves in line with the theme of the concert, said she first thought of seeing the concert in Singapore due to concerns it might be tamed for moral reasons. But in the end, Minogue's revealing dresses and the gyrating crew of buff men cavorted on stage as planned. "I know it's so expensive, but it's still Kylie," said Hafsanida."She has never been here before so this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience." — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| ‘Horrible Bosses’ eyes joblessness, aims for laughs Posted: 07 Jul 2011 04:25 PM PDT  (Left to right) Bateman, Aniston and Foxx pose at the premiere of "Horrible Bosses" in Hollywood, California June 30, 2011. — Reuters pic While that may seem odd or out-of-place for a Wall Streeter in a Hollywood movie (Gordon Gekko would never stoop so low), the director of "Hollywood Bosses" sees many more such jokes and plots in films, given the currently weak economy. Director Seth Gordon said his movie, about three old friends who feel stuck in their jobs so they plot to kill their mean bosses, reflected real people's struggles to change jobs. "You are going to see a bunch of movies that are themed in this way about people that are stuck in some way and want to restart and possibly can't. I think that premise is something that is really relatable right now," Gordon said. "Horrible Bosses," stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as three average Americans being bullied by their bosses — one played by Jennifer Aniston in her raunchiest role yet as an oversexed dentist — who want to move up the ladder but can't. Its big-name supporting cast includes Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. Gordon said the scene where the friends encounter their old acquaintance from Lehman Brothers, who was still out of work, played on people's worries about what might happen if they lost or quit their jobs. "We needed to put a fine point on the fact that these guys didn't have other options," said Gordon, adding that without plotting to go as far as kill their bosses, many real Americans could relate to feeling stuck in their current job. "One thing has led to another, they (the main characters) are in their thirties, they have taken a job or a series of jobs and they have ended up in a place that in the current economy is relatively fragile," said the director, whose career has included directing episodes of TV series, "The Office," as well as the documentary movie, "Freakonomics." "It's not like you can move easily from company to company anymore," he added, noting that his film is set against a backdrop of how the "American Dream" is no longer as attainable as it once was. A few years ago dramatic films including "Up in the Air" about people being fired and serious documentaries such as "Inside Job" followed the initial global economic slump in 2008, but there have been far fewer comedies so it's difficult to forecast how "Horrible Bosses" will play for audiences. Early reviews have noted that "Horrible Bosses" is hardly risky in its content, with website Indiewire noting it is "the lightest and fluffiest of stuff" and "an intermittently funny, instantly forgettable romp." Apart from a wacky turn by Farrell playing a sleazy, cocaine addicted womanizer, Aniston is likely to capture the most attention as a sexually aggressive dentist who hits on her subordinate, played by Day, because it plays against her all-American, good girl image. "I thought it would be fun for me to step out of that, what people usually like to see me play," Aniston told reporters. "I don't think I really care if there would be a bad reaction to it, I actually didn't think there would be, I thought it would be fun for everybody." — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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