Face-to-face with Hollywood and K-drama stars is so back
As the world is opening up its borders, of course, the Philippines is one of the first in line to get a taste of what feels like a post-lockdown entertainment situation.
From Oppas such as Kim Soo Hyun flying in Manila this week and yours truly flying Down Under to chat with Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo, Sadie Sink and Priah Ferguson, the industry is indeed at the steady pace of returning to how things were prior to the pandemic.
So, how were we prior to the lockdowns? Well, let’s just say an entertainment journalist’s batting average is three to four movie junkets every three months and the numbers could go up, depending on the blockbuster season.
Favorite cities to hold big movie junkets with Asian press were Los Angeles (duh), South Korea, Singapore and Tokyo. Now, studios are looking for countries with friendlier COVID restrictions and a good backdrop for promotion, which led us to Sydney, Australia for Stranger Things 4. It was very nostalgic to be speaking with Gaten, Priah and Sadie, whom I had the chance to cover since season one or their season debut for the show.
It was nice to see how they were also ecstatic to be reunited with the Asian press after 2019’s season three promo in Tokyo, where we also met them. “This feels surreal! It is tiring, but it is so fun to see everybody once again!” The feeling was mutual as we got to catch up with the Netflix Australia and Asian-Pacific team, special shoutout to Vivien Tan of Singapore and Bobby Rahardjo of Indonesia for making the event feel like the lockdowns were just a blip that somewhat never happened.
Thai and Indonesian celebrities, content creators and journalists were also present, like Indonesia’s movie star Luna Maya, who was there with her partner Marianne Rumantir; YouTuber Kristo Immanuel, known for his impersonations; and Jang Hansol, who is a BTS fave interviewer. He interviewed them thrice. Thai superstar Golf Pichaya was there as well with his girlfriend Sleepie Annie. Besides this, it was quite an experience to immerse in the Upside Down Under in Sydney, where Netflix decked out Big Top, which is a portion of Luna Park and brought the crucial scenes to life. From Will’s basement, the spooky grandfather clock, Surfer Boy Pizza van and photo booth immersion, the fans and journalists had an amazing time which could only be experienced and appreciated in person.
According to the Netflix team, this might be the first of many since there are a lot of big titles coming our way in the coming months. Who knows? They said that if Manila opens up a bit more as it dropped the RT-PCR requirements, it is most likely that they will hold big title promos in the Philippines.
Since things are still underway to go back to the norm, many films are still sticking to the online interview format as of the moment. One of which is Jurassic World Dominion that is becoming the family film of the moment. We spoke to director Colin Trevorrow and how he brainstormed with executive producer Steven Spielberg in having not just one or two, but nine lead stars in the latest installment — Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Isabela Sermon, Dewanda Wise and Mamoudou Athie.
“I put them in three different casts. I had our legacy characters, I had Chris and Bryce who (have) now been in two movies and I had Dewanda and Mamoudou, the two new actors, who are equally iconic and I wanted to make sure all were served and balanced all throughout,” he said.
What we did notice was the diversity of the cast. It was also evident in the culmination of the franchise. Dewanda, who gets her first big break in the film, is sure to book many more roles after this one. She credited Chris for helping her achieve the difficult stunts in the film which were entrusted to her character Kayla Watts. “Chris Pratt, he had a way of looking out for all of us, not only in terms of our performance to make sure we were all physiologically ready,” he said.
Jurassic World Dominion also creates a film worth seeing in cinemas with its realistic and backed up by science depiction of dinosaurs, which is truly a fit entertainment for the family. Of all the continued films from Jurassic, this one hits differently in terms of action, adventure and timeless storyline to enjoy.
“I wanted to create a world, where that was possible and some child with dinosaur toys would be able to step in this world, where I had the opportunity to step into it with a whole new level of imagination,” said Trevorrow. Jurassic World Dominion also comes with a lesson about human nature, he added, “It’s our responsibility now that we have to co-exist with one another and other living creatures.”
The film is out now in cinemas.
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