Spotify reveals Spotlight on 2016 artists

Spotify’s annual list of future stars in the Philippines includes homegrown artists The Ransom Collective and Lunar Lights

Following Spotify’s announcement on the biggest artists of 2015 this week, the popular music streaming service is now looking ahead at the brightest stars of 2016, as Spotlight on 2016 artists is revealed.

Spotlight is Spotify’s annual list of the best new artists that Pinoy music fans may love in the year to come. The Spotlight on 2016 list for the Philippines features artists including Charlie Puth, Troye Sivan, The Ransom Collective, Lunar Lights and LunchMoney Lewis, all of which Spotify is tipping for greatness over the coming year.

REEL DEAL: The Life Of Pi SPOTLIGHT

“LIFE OF PI” A GAME-CHANGING 3D FROM ANG LEE

 Starts January 9 in (local) Cinemas

Academy Award winning filmmaker Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) brings to life Yann Martel’s bestselling tome “Life of Pi” in 3d – seamlessly combining CGI and reality into an integrated whole, making it hard for the audience to discern between what is real and animated. 

REEL DEAL: The Watch - Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn SPOTLIGHT

Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn Wards Off Aliens in THE WATCH

Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn reunite in “The Watch” along with Jonah Hill and British comedian Richard Ayoade who band together in the film to uncover the mysterious events happening in their neighborhood.  

Ben Stiller’s Evan is a senior manager at the superstore Costco, having made a not-so-lightning-fast ascent to that position from assistant manager.  Evan is a dedicated employee, but his heart is with the Glenview Neighborhood Watch, of which he is the founder and CEO.   “Evan is very community-oriented,” says Stiller, “because he has so few friends, and these clubs give him the opportunity to meet new people.” 

REEL DEAL: The Watch - Jonah Hill SPOTLIGHT

Jumpstreet's Jonah Hill in Another Outrageous Comedy - THE WATCH

After debuting in the comedy “I Heart Huckabees,” Jonah Hill has steadily posited himself as a solid hilarious support in the string of his movies that followed.  Appearing afterwards in acclaimed hits like “The 40-Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “Superbad,” “Forgettting Sarah Marshall,” “Get Him to the Greek,” “Moneyball” and the most recent “21 Jump Street” with Channing Tatum which is Hill’s highest grossing film after “Superbad.”

His latest movie “The Watch” which is about to open in cinemas this September 5 (in Phils. cinemas) allowed him to work with Ben Stiller, one of moviedom’s great comic talents.  In “The Watch,”  four suburban guys formed a patrol which they tagged as ‘Neighborhood Watch’ after a mysterious incident left a security guard lifeless in the town’s superstore Costco.  Headed by the civic minded Evan (Ben Stiller), he recruits fun-loving family guy Bob (Vince Vaughn), tough-talking ‘wild card’ Franklin (Jonah Hill) and the recent divorcé Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade).

REE: DEAL" Ruby Parks - Paul Dano & Zoe Kazan SPOTLIGHT

REAL-LIFE SWEETHEARTS PAUL DANO & ZOE KAZAN TACKLE SURREAL LOVE IN “RUBY SPARKS”

“Ruby Sparks” is the story of a novelist’s vision who inexplicably comes to life, only to prove far more complicated than even he could have imagined.  With a light touch and a dash of magical realism, the first screenplay from actress and playwright Zoe Kazan attracted the attention of Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, the married team who directed the run-away hit “Little Miss Sunshine.”  The film takes an unpredictable route into fantasy, identity and the ways we invent love – and how love can re-invent us.

Paul Dano plays Calvin, a celebrated author in his younger years who hasn’t had a follow up novel years after his first breakthrough novel.  Struggling with writer’s block, disappointed and unfulfilled, his close relationships are with his dog and his brother. Calvin who is cut off and isolated is constantly being urged by his married brother Harry (Chirs Messina) to get out, live, date and write. Finally finding in his imagination a muse for his novel and with his old typewriter, he creates the perfect girl he named Ruby.  Barely done with his first chapter, to his astonishment that his character, Ruby (Zoe Kazan) has magically sprung to life and arrived in his kitchen where she is cooking eggs.

REEL DEAL: Chronicle - Alex Russel SPOTLIGHT

UP AND COMING AUSTRALIAN ACTOR ALEX RUSSELL IN “CHRONICLE”

A young man flies between the buildings, lifting cars into the air with the power of his mind - based on an original story by director Josh Trank and screenwriter Max Landis, “Chronicle” is the tale of three teens who find a power beyond their imagination, and the struggle they face in learning to control it.

Like so many of us, they’re obsessed with chronicling their lives, however mundane – or in their case, however extraordinary.  For Andrew, Matt and Steve have stumbled upon something beyond their – or anyone’s – understanding. They’re now capable of, well, almost anything.  They can move objects just by thinking about them, crush cars through force of will.  They learn to fly…the ultimate wish fulfillment, until things get dark.

As the story opens, Matt is a cynical, know-it-all, too-cool-to-care teen.  But like his two new cohorts, Matt undergoes radical changes after an encounter with a mysterious force leaves him with incredible powers.  The two other members of the newly empowered high school trio are Matt’s cousin, Andrew (portrayed by Dane Dehaan), and campus king Steve (Michael B. Jordan).  Australian actor Alex Russell reflects on playing the all-American high schooler in the following q&a:

Q: It's not like a traditional Marvel or DC superhero movie.  Was that part of the attraction?

A: You get to do all these incredible action sequences.  You get to do superhero stuff, but the characters are so layered. Not to say that isn't always the case, but if there's a superhero movie the prime thing is to sell that aspect of it—the superpowers and the function of a superhero. This is more about characters learning about themselves and developing as people. It's interesting to think about what Matt, Andrew and Steve would have been like if they hadn't had  superpowers. 

REEL DEAL: Contraband - Mark Walberg SPOTLIGHT

Mark  Wahlberg produces and plays  “Chris Farraday” in Baltasar Kormakur’s  CONTRABAND

For Contraband, Director Baltasar Kormákur employed the same casting technique he used during the years he made movies in his home country.  Rather than choosing an actor by his or her looks, the director casts according to the performer’s personality.  “I like to find the core of people,” he says.  “The outer appearance is less important.  What is the person?  You try to figure that out and make that right for the character.”  

The first actor cast was the same man to whom the director brought his ideas for a film inspired by the one in which he last performed.  Kormákur commends: “Mark Wahlberg has a mixture of boyish charm and toughness, and you believe him as a blue-collar guy.  Chris has actually walked out of the criminal world, but then he’s forced back in.  That’s the great thing about heist-thrillers.  It’s great to see people step outside the norm and do something that the rest of us wouldn’t do.”

Describing his character, Wahlberg explains: “Chris is definitely a thinker, but he is not afraid to raise his voice or get his hands dirty.”  For Wahlberg, when his character finds himself back in the game, and possibly over his head, that’s when the fun begins.  He offers: “Chris is continuing to try to figure out a way to survive, to still solve the problem and then get his ass home to his wife and kids.”

What drew you to this project?

I saw the original movie and really liked it a lot.  These are the kind of movies I like to watch, with the kind of characters I like to play. Now our new thing is to try to find cool European films, obtain the rights and remake them.

Can you describe your character, Chris Farraday?

He is just a good, hard-working guy trying to do the right thing. Unfortunately, his brother-in-law is not the sharpest guy around so Chris has to go back and clean up his mess. This forces him back into the world of smuggling.

REEL DEAL: Scarlett Johannson's Softie Yet Toughie Role WE BOUGHT A ZOO

In Cameron Crowe’s inspiring new film,” We Bought A Zoo,” Scarlett Johansson plays Kelly Foster, a plucky and hard working young woman who is dedicated to her job as a zoo keeper and passionate about the animals in her care.

Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) buys the zoo, Rosemoor Animal Park, in order to give his family a fresh start in life. His wife Katherine has recently died and he is looking for a new direction for himself and his two young children.  Running and restoring a dilapidated zoo is ostensibly an odd choice and Mee definitely takes on more than he bargained for. With the help of an eclectic staff  and with an assortment of adventures along the way, the family works to return the run down zoo to its former glory and to heal their own pain.

Q: What type of woman is Kelly in this movie?

A: “Kelly is incredibly driven and focused. She has dedicated her entire life to her job and she actually says in the film,  ‘I don't have a life,  this is my whole life. I come here from morning to night and my friends are out enjoying themselves with different guys and going to bars.  I don't do any of that stuff.’ 

Q: What was the appeal and challenge of this character for you? 

A: “What I love about   Kelly is that she’s so totally matter of fact.  There’s nothing about her that’s vindictive.  She doesn’t really want anything from anybody except for an honest day’s work and I appreciate that sentiment. I have never had the opportunity to really play a girl who’s very pure and straightforward in her thinking.”

REEL DEAL Movie and Television: The Change Up Spotlight

Growing up together, Mitch ( Ryan Reynolds) and Dave (Jason Bateman) were inseparable best friends, but as the years have passed they've slowly drifted apart. While Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three, Mitch has remained a single, quasi-employed man-child who has never met a responsibility he liked. To Mitch, Dave has it all: beautiful wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), kids who adore him and a high-paying job at a prestigious law firm.