Award-Winning Play "THE NORMAL HEART" All Set To Open On July 3

AAI / The Necessary Theatre proudly announces the Asian premiere of " THE NORMAL HEART " - the 2011 Tony Award Winner for Best Revival of a Play about the early rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s. During this period, a deadly epidemic was decimating North America’s gay population, killing people in the thousands, devastating an entire generation and changing the way we think about sex forever.

Written by playwright and activist Larry Kramer, " THE NORMAL HEART " is a largely autobiographical play that puts a human face to an issue often mired in numbers, facts and statistics as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the openly gay founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group. He watches in horror as friends and lovers fall prey to a mysterious virus targeting his community.

Benefit Concert For The Late Kokoy Jimenez

WOW KOKOY! a benefit concert for the late Rafael “Kokoy” Jimenez will be held on Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 8 pm at Music Museum (in Greenhills). Kokoy was a TV/Stage/Movie Director who began his career working on films such as Oro, Plata, Mata and City after Dark. He is best known as the director of Batibot, the iconic children’s educational TV program which was the Asian Sesame Street. Kokoy was a disciplined and exacting professional who demanded the same from the many talents he worked with including Lea Salonga, Pops Fernandez, Tessie Tomas, Sarah Geronimo and many more industry stalwarts in front as well as behind the cameras.

His friends are presenting WOW KOKOY! with singer-actress-comedienne Mitch Valdes and musician-composer-musical director Mel Villena with The AMP Big Band and special surprise guests. Organizers promise this will not be a sad event but an occasion to celebrate the (never) late Kokoy Jimenez.

For ticket inquiries, please call Ticketworld at 891 9999, Lanie at (0919) 996 4989 and Cristy at (0917) 8060228. Ticket price is 1,500.

REEL DEAL: "Thor," "Game of Thrones" Director Up For "Terminator Genisys"‏

In 2011, Alan Taylor directed the final two episodes of “Game of Thrones” freshmen season to universal acclaim. He would then join GOT as Executive Producer for season two, as well as directing four more episodes. He garnered his third Emmy nomination for his work on the series.

In 2013, Taylor took on Marvel's “Thor: The Dark World” which grossed over $640 million dollars worldwide.

Now, the action director sets his sights on reimagining the iconic Terminator franchise with Paramount Pictures' action-thriller “Terminator Genisys” which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons Matthew Smith, and Byung-hun Lee.

In the film, when John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including a new T-800 terminator, the Guardian (Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future…

REEL DEAL: Matt Damon In "THE MARTIAN"

The recent release of the first look photos of Ridley Scott’s upcoming film “The Martian” starring Matt Damon reveals the actor as a stranded astronaut left behind by his crew after being presumed dead during a fierce storm.  

“The Martian” features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.

The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Andy Weir wherein Damon’s character Mark Watney, an astronaut left behind on Mars, must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to survive on the hostile planet while waiting for the most daring and impossible rescue mission to bring him back.

“The Martian” opens very soon this November 26 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

REEL DEAL: Meet the Muses of "Entourage"

Emily Ratajkowski, the breakout star of “Gone Girl” who played the mistress of Ben Affleck's character; and champion UFC fighter Ronda Rousey appear as themselves in Warner Bros. Pictures new comedy “Entourage.”

The film is the much-anticipated big-screen version of the award-winning hit HBO series, reuniting the hit show’s original cast, led by Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven.

Once again taking advantage of the theory that “everyone knows everyone in Hollywood,” “Entourage” director Doug Ellin, as he frequently has in the past, recruited actresses to play themselves opposite the fictional foursome, crafting make-believe relationships that seem strangely plausible.

REEL DEAL: New "Max" Poster Salutes Hero Dog‏

“Best Friend. Hero. Marine.” These adjectives prop up the title character of the dog “Max” in the second one-sheet art which has just been shared by Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.

Directed by Boaz Yakin (“Remember the Titans”), “Max” stars Josh Wiggins (“Hellion”) as Justin Wincott, Lauren Graham (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” TV’s “Parenthood”) as his mom, Pamela, and Oscar nominee Thomas Haden Church (“Sideways”) as his dad, Ray.

A precision-trained military dog, Max serves on the frontlines in Afghanistan alongside his handler, U.S. Marine Kyle Wincott. But when things go terribly wrong on maneuvers, Kyle is mortally wounded and Max, traumatized by the loss of his best friend, is unable to remain in service.

Shipped stateside, the only human he seems willing to connect with is Kyle’s teenage brother, Justin, so Max is adopted by Kyle’s family, essentially saving his life. But Justin has issues of his own, such as living up to his father’s expectations for him; he isn’t interested in taking responsibility for his brother’s troubled dog. However, Max may be Justin’s only chance to discover what really happened to his brother that day on the front, and with the help of a tough-talking young teen, Carmen, who has a way with dogs, Justin begins to appreciate his canine companion.

REEL DEAL: Pixar's "The Good Dinosaur" Teaser Trailer is Here!‏

Disney-Pixar has just released the first teaser trailer for “The Good Dinosaur” which may be viewed at http://youtu.be/JNIkFTRZGjA.

Directed by Peter Sohn (the popular animated short “Partly Cloudy”), the buddy comedy takes place in a world in which the asteroid didn’t smash into Earth millions of years ago, leaving the dinosaurs alive and thriving.

REEL DEAL: Stylized Black & White Banners for "Magic Mike XXL"‏

Warner Bros. Pictures' “Magic Mike XXL” puts on the style with the release of its visually striking black and white banners featuring the cast of the eagerly awaited male revue sequel.

“Magic Mike XXL” reunites Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez and Gabriel Iglesias, stars of the 2012 worldwide hit “Magic Mike.”

Picking up the story three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, “Magic Mike XXL” finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them.

REEL DEAL: "Insidious: Chapter 3" Breaks Records for Biggest Horror Opening in PH‏

Columbia Pictures' “Insidious: Chapter 3” gave the Philippine box-office a good scare as it grossed a spooky P65-million in only three days. This enabled it to take out “San Andreas” from the No. 1 spot (P58-million in 5 days) and break the record of last year's “Annabelle” (P53-M) for the biggest opening weekend ever for a horror film.

This was announced today by a spokesman of Columbia Pictures which distributed the film locally.

“Insidious: Chapter 3” is the new movie in the terrifying horror series, written and directed by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell. The film is set years before the haunting of the Lambert family, and the psychic Elise’s (Lin Shaye) battles with spirits from The Further, in “Insidious” and “Insidious: Chapter 2.”

The film frightened off two more significant records along the way: Biggest single-day gross ever for a horror title achieved on Saturday, June 6 at P23.9 million, beating “Annabelle's” P15.7 million by 52 percent; and all-time highest horror opening day at P20-million on Friday, June 5, going over and beyond previous record-holder “The Conjuring's” P9-million by 118 percent.

REEL DEAL: Youngest Child Abducted By “POLTERGEIST”

Starring Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt and Jared Harris, “Poltergeist” is the story of an ordinary family dealing with extraordinary circumstances. Set in America’s nondescript suburbs, a young family-of-five move into a new home only to find it possessed by angry poltergeists. When these angry spirits abduct their youngest daughter, Madison, they recruit a team of scientists and psychics – including a clairvoyant reality star  to get her back.

This year’s “Poltergeist” and the 1982 original give audiences a rollercoaster ride of thrills and fright with a story about the abduction of a family’s youngest child by supernatural and increasingly hostile forces. The rest of the clan then wages a gruelling battle to get her back safely.  But the new film updates the story’s  perspective, place and characters.