New Imelda CD sold in US, Canada

Clooney coming?

FLASH: Funfare’s ”roving” DPA said that George Clooney might come for a vacation anytime soon. Is it true that Clooney, one of Hollywood’s A-listers and most sought-after bachelors, will be billeted at EDSA Shangri-La in Mactan, Cebu. Can he travel, hmmmm, incognito? I doubt it.

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US-based Imelda Papin is set to go international with her latest album, Voice of the Heart, which will be released not only in the Philippines but also in the US and Canada.

Last April 12, Imelda signed a contract at the Universal Hilton Hotel (Universal City, L.A., California) with Vic del Rosario Jr., big boss of Viva Records which is the exclusive distributor of the album in the Philippines and in Philippine record stores in the US and Canada; while the Warner Music Group is in-charge of its release also in the US and Canada in such outlets as Barnes & Noble, Borders, Zia Records and digital stores (Amazon.com and itunes).

The contract-signing was witnessed by Imelda’s father Rosendo Papin Sr., graphic artist/photographer Edric Foz and director Isidric Panganiban.

As part of the album promo, Imelda has launched an Imelda Papin Sing-Alike contest on her show Imelda Papin in America which airs every Saturday on LA 18 every second Saturday of the month, from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The winner will get, among other prizes, a round-trip ticket to the Philippines including a three-day/two-night stay at the Red Coconut Beach Hotel in Boracay.

Imelda also has a radio program on KLAV 1230 AM every Sunday, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., which can also be heard on-line at www.klav1230am.com.

Voice of the Heart was launched a few months ago at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas during Imelda’s concert (in which Manny Pacquiao was a guest performer). She is the only Filipino artist included in the hotel’s roster of international artist/performers who include Engelbert Humperdinck, Neil Sedaka, Gladys Knight, Michael Bolton, Kenny G., Air Supply, Kenny Rogers, Paul Anka and Boyz II Men.

A selection from the CD will premiere on Philippine radio on May 15.

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BREAKING NEWS: Clear and MTV Philippines will present A Clear Doll Domination: The Pussycat Dolls Live in Manila on June 11 at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.

In 1995, the Pussycat Dolls started out as an all-female burlesque flavored revue that gave young Hollywood starlets a chance to be in pin-up costumes dancing to ’50s pop standards. Ten years after, the group morphed into full-fledged pop icons that everyone wants to be. Its most prominent and most popular member is Nicole Scherzinger who is half-Filipino. The group’s new album is titled Doll Domination, released in the Philippines by MCA Music. Nicole was recently seen all over Philippine TV as Clear’s newest global endorser.

The STAR did an exclusive interview with the Pussycat Dolls in Kuala Lumpur last year.

A Clear Doll Domination: The Pussycat Dolls Live in Manila is co-presented by Smart Buddy, SM Mall of Asia and SM Supermalls. Official residence is Sofitel Philippine Plaza. Special thanks to ARMVET Printing Company, Inc., Music Management International and Universal MCA Music Inc. Official radio partners are Love Radio 90.7, Mellow 94.7, NU 107, RX 93.1, UR 105.9, Wrock 96.3, Yes FM 101.1 and Y101 Cebu. Official media partners are The Philippine STAR, Business Mirror, Business World, Manila Bulletin and PDI.

Direk Dante up against ‘giants’ at Cannes filmfest

The second time around might be harder for direk Brillante “Dante” Mendoza whose film, Kinatay (The Execution of P which is about a murder victim cut into pieces), is competing for the Palme d’Or top prize with 19 others, most of which are those of the film world’s “giants,” in next month’s (62nd) Cannes Film Festival. It’s Dante’s second time in the worlds’s most prestigious filmfest. The first was last year where his entry, Serbis, got mixed reviews but won the heart of Sean Penn who was a member of the jury.

Among them (according to an Associated Press report) are Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Jane Campion and Lars von Trier, each of whom has won top honors at the prestigious festival on the French Riviera, who are presenting their newest films in the competition scheduled to run from May 13 to 24.

Nineteen films are included in a secondary competition called Un Certain Regard, among them Independencia from the Philippines, directed by Raya Martin.

Another former Palme d’Or winner in competition this year is Britain’s Ken Loach, with Looking for Eric, starring soccer great Eric Cantona. Cantona plays himself in a film about a soccer fan who imagines the former Manchester United goal scorer helps him deal with life’s difficulties. Loach’s film, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, won Cannes’ top prize in 2006.

Jane Campion, the New Zealand director whose The Piano took the Palme d’Or in 1993, is back with Bright Star, about 19th century English poet John Keats’ love affair with his muse Fanny Brawne.

Denmark’s Lars von Trier, who won a Palme d’Or for Dancer in the Dark in 2000, will try for another top prize with Antichrist, a horror movie that depicts Satan, rather than God, as the world’s creator. It stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Spain’s Pedro Almodovar, who won Best Director at Cannes in 1999, will present his new film Broken Embraces. It recounts the tale of a writer and director telling the story of an accident that left him blind 14 years earlier and a torrid relationship with an actress played by Penelope Cruz.

Park Chan-wook, the South Korean director who took Cannes’ Grand Prix, the second-highest award, in 2004 with his gory Oldboy, is back in competition with Thirst, about a priest who becomes a vampire.

Another Asian entry comes from Johnnie To, the prolific Hong Kong director who has shown four of his films at Cannes since his Breaking News was screened out-of-competition in 2004.

This time To is in contention for top honors with Vengeance, a thriller starring French rock legend Johnny Hallyday as a father who tries to avenge the death of his daughter, her husband and their children.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee’s new movie, Taking Woodstock, is set against the background of the Woodstock music festival 40 years ago.

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