Rachel Weisz awed by Palawan (Philippines)

MANILA, Philippines -- “I can live in Palawan forever!”

These were the words of Hollywood actress Rachel Weisz during the shooting of “The Bourne Legacy” in El Nido, Palawan recently, the movie’s local producer said yesterday.

Jun Juban, of the Philippine Film Studios Inc., told reporters during the weekly news forum at Annabel’s restaurant in Quezon City that Weisz was amazed at Palawan’s beauty.

Image Credit: ph.news.yahoo.com

Juban said the El Nido scene will show the natural beauty of Palawan to millions of viewers across the globe when the movie opens in theaters sometime in August.

“The contingent, including the cast who visited the island, has been very expressive with their awe and amazement,” he said.

Juban said because of the captivating beauty of the islands in Palawan, the end part of the action-packed movie was shot in these places.

Aerial night shots of Manila and Makati will also be seen in the movie, according to Juban.

He said tourism was definitely boosted because of the movie.

“There are close to 200 staff, crew and actors involved in this film. This means 10,000 hotel room nights spread in two major hotels in Manila. This definitely exceeded initial projections,” he said.

The local producer thanked the government for its support, particularly Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the departments of the Interior and Local Government, Finance and Tourism and local officials of the cities of Manila, Pasay, Navotas, Quezon and Marikina where scenes of the movie were shot.

Juban said the producers of the movie are planning to have the premier showing in Manila.

“We have been part of the Filipino film industry for three decades and it’s only now that a top action franchise movie is featuring Manila as Manila. Once we see 'The Bourne Legacy' on the wide screen worldwide, our fellow kababayans will surely be very proud,” Juban said.

source: ABS-CBN News

'Bourne Legacy' teaser trailer released (Philippines)

 Report from ABS-CBN News:

MANILA, Philippines - The teaser trailer for the "The Bourne Legacy," the fourth installment in the Bourne franchise, has just been released.

The film stars Jeremy Renner, Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz who are still in the Philippines to shoot some scenes.

Image Credit: thisisfakediy.co.uk

Directed by Tony Gilroy, "The Bourne Legacy" was partially filmed in several areas in Manila and El Nido in Palawan.

The Bourne franchise, originally starred by Matt Damon, has earned almost $1 billion at the global box office.

It was based on the novels of Robert Ludlum.

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source: ABS-CBN News

Iza Calzado meets 'Bourne Legacy' stars (Philippines)

 ABS-CBN's News Report,

MANILA, Philippines - Actress Iza Calzado has expressed how thrilled she was to personally meet the “Bourne Legacy” stars Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz.

Image Credit:abs-cbnglobal.com

Calzado said she was given a chance to meet Renner and Weisz during the birthday celebration of Tim Yap.
In an interview with Push.com.ph, Calzado admitted that she was so excited that she almost hugged Weisz upon seeing her.

“Gusto ko siyang (Weisz) yakapin eh, nagpigil lang ako baka hindi na niya ako gustong yakapin next time ‘pag nilundag ko siya,” she said.

According to Calzado, she is one of Weisz's avid fans, and that it was really a great opportunity to personally meet her.

Calzado said that the Hollywood actress was very simple. “She looks so simple, and I could feel a certain kind of gentleness about her like, [the meeting] was very brief though. I really, really liked what I saw, what energy she gave off,” she said.

Sharing the short conversation she had with the Hollywood actress, Calzado said, “I just said, ‘Hi I’m an actress in the Philippines and I’d just like to say I’m a big fan of your work and I’m honored to be in your presence.’”

Sadly, Calzado said she wasn’t able to spend more time with the “Bourne Legacy” stars because she had other engagements that time.

source: ABS-CBN News

Are John Arcilla, Lou Veloso and Madeleine Nicolas ‘Bourne Legacy’ cast? (Philippines)

A television report revealed that several Filipino talents were chosen to portray minor roles in the Hollywood movie The Bourne Legacy.


The production team is reportedly imposing strict confidentiality in the shooting. Onlookers were prohibited from taking pictures and videos; no mobile phones and cameras were allowed.

Image Credit: Cool Buster

Citing an unnamed source, the report said Filipino artists John Arcilla, who will play a security guard; Lou Veloso as fisherman; and Madeleine Nicholas as a hotel employee, were among those who were luckily chosen in the final casting.

Jun Juban, the Philippine producer of “The Bourne Legacy,” in an interview on Tuesday said the local actors will have a “dialogue” and “interaction” with the lead stars.

source: CoolBuster

Rachel Weisz in 1st shooting day of 'Bourne Legacy 2012' in Manila (Philippines)

 ABS-CBN's News Report:

MANILA, Philippines – The first shooting day of the big-budget film "Bourne Legacy" here in Manila has wrapped up.

Since 5 a.m. on Wednesday, the set of “Bourne Legacy” in Malate, Manila was very much alive with people excitedly running around for the first day of shooting for the fourth installment of the “Bourne” series.

Image Credit:http://www.push.com.ph

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, the movie's Philippines producer Jun Juban said 34 huge trucks with very expensive movie equipment were lined up in Leveriza Street in Manila. Some of the equipment were also stored at the San Andres Sports Complex.

There were also about 400 members of foreign and local production team who made sure that everything is set for the shoot.

A lot of the scenes shot on Wednesday involved the movie’s lead actress, Rachel Weisz, who arrived in the country on Sunday night.

Weisz was spotted on the set shooting a couple of scenes. She was accompanied by three members of the Manila police.

She also had a couple of scenes with a dog named “Gibo” and she was very friendly with some onlookers.

There were a number of people milling around, hoping to get a glimpse of the actress and what was going on.

While security was very tight as more onlookers came to watch the shoot, the production team allowed some fans to take some cellphone shots of Weisz.

Several local actors were also confirmed to be part of the movie. Among them are theater actors Lou Veloso, who will play a fisherman; Medeleine Nicholas as a hotel employee; and John Arcilla as a security guard. Joel Torre, who appeared in the Hollywood indie film "Amigo" by director John Sayles, was earlier rumored to have been cast in "Bourne Legacy," but the actor denied this in a text message.

Juban said this is could prove to be a huge break for local talents who will have speaking roles and act along side Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner and Weisz.

 source: ABS-CBN News

'Bourne' joins list of Hollywood films shot in Philippines

ABS-CBN's News Report: 

MANILA, Philippines -- When the cameras start rolling on Wednesday, the first shooting day in Manila for the spy drama, “Bourne Legacy,” the fourth installment in the movie series based on the novels of Robert Ludlum, will just be the latest in a not-so-long list of Hollywood movies shot in the Philippines.

“Bourne Legacy” Philippine producer Jun Juban said it was the Filipinos’ hospitality that tipped the scales in bringing the Hollywood movie's production crew to the Philippines.

"Yung slogan na 'It's more fun in the Philippines' ay very apt," said Juban, who has been involved in the production of many of the foreign films that were shot in the country.

Image Credit: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com

"It's never been done before in this scale, especially in this kind of movie," Juban added. "How many times have you seen movies being shot in Vietnam ... and Dubai and minsan titingnan mo kaya naman sa Pilipinas yun, di ba? Now we have that and we have a chance to do that."

Juban said the actors and crew were not particularly bothered by peace and order issues in the country.

"In spite of the perceived problema dito, napapunta namin sila dito. Malaking bagay yun. The government has been very supportive. They felt very safe," he said.

Actors Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz are already in the country, and Juban said the general reaction from the stars is that “we are great.”

“They are very happy with the Filipinos. Alam mo naman tayo, napaka friendly,” Juban said.

Hollywood films shot in PH

Here’s a list of some of the Hollywood movies that have been shot in the Philippines:

•  “The Year of Living Dangerously” (1982). In this movie by Peter Weir, Manila subbed for Indonesia in the mid-1960s during the final days of the Sukarno regime. Mel Gibson plays an Australian journalist who falls in love with a British embassy officer played by Sigourney Weaver. When the Indonesian government rejected the request to film in Jakarta, it was decided to shoot the movie in the Philippines instead. Filipino actor Bembol Roco was cast in the film, as well as singer Kuh Ledesma.

•  “Platoon” (1986). This Oscar-winning war movie written and directed by Oliver Stone had the Philippines subbing for Vietnam. Starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe, it is the first of Stone’s Vietnam trilogy about the experiences of American soldiers during the war. “Platoon” started filming in Luzon in February 1986 at the height of the protests against then President Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted later that month. Filming for the movie, however, went on as scheduled.

•  “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989). For Stone’s next movie, which starred Tom Cruise in an Oscar-nominated performance, the director had wanted to shoot the film on location in Vietnam. But because relations between the U.S. and Vietnam were not yet normalized, the director again chose the Philippines as the location for the Vietnam War sequences, which were shot in Ilocos.
•  “Brokedown Palace” (1999). For this movie, the Philippines subbed for Thailand in this film about two Americans who were imprisoned for drug smuggling. The filming became controversial when lead actress Claire Danes told Vogue magazine that Manila was a “ghastly city.” Danes was later declared persona non grata and had to issue an apology.

•  “Apocalypse Now” (1979). Probably the most popular Hollywood movie shot in the Philippines, director Francis Ford Coppola battled storms and various rewrites during the filming of his Vietnam War opus. Principal photography began in March 1976 but just after a few days of shooting, the director decided to replace his lead actor with Martin Sheen. Then in May that year, a typhoon wrecked a key film set, which sent the production months behind schedule. But the problems didn't end there. The temperamental Marlon Brando was said to have arrived on the set “extremely overweight,” and wanted rewrites to the ending. To top it all, Sheen suffered a heart attack mid-way through the filming. What was supposed to be a five-month shoot stretched to more than a year with principal photography finally completed in May 1977.

  source: ABS-CBN News

CONFIRMED: Salman Khan to host ‘Bigg Boss 6’ (India)

Mumbai: 
According to the report of Zee News, after two consecutive stints as a host in ‘Bigg Boss’ season 4 and 5, Salman Khan is keen to anchor the sixth season of the popular reality show.

According to sources, Salman Khan has agreed to host the sixth season of ‘Bigg Boss’.

Salman Khan was rarely seen in the fifth season- as he was simultaneously shooting for his forthcoming film ‘Ek Tha Tiger’, but he always ensured that whenever he was in Mumbai he gave Sanjay Dutt company on the show.

Image Credit: mknshabeer.blogspot.com

Bigg Boss seems to have caught Salman’s fancy big time. The actor, even though refused to make small screen appearance by hosting ‘Dus Ka Dum’, wants to be a part of Big Boss reportedly because he likes the hungama of BB.

Salman received positive feedback when he first appeared on the show as the anchor of the fourth season. Owing to his popularity, he was roped in for the fifth season as well. Looks like he set for a hattrick!

 source: Zee News

'Bourne Legacy 2012' actress arrives in Manila (Philippines)

ABS-CBN's News Report:

MANILA, Philippines - British actress Rachel Weisz is now in Manila for the shooting of the much-awaited Hollywood film "Bourne Legacy."

The 40-year-old actress was accompanied by 2 companions as she arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. She came from Hong Kong, on board Cathay Pacific Airlines flight CX 903.

Image Credit: funalso.net

Weisz is scheduled to start shooting the "Bourne Legacy," the fourth installment of the "Bourne" film series with new lead actor Jeremy Renner. Renner arrived in Manila a few days earlier.

Weisz refused to give any statement and wore a beanie to avoid being recognized by the media at the airport.

The British actress, who is married to "James Bond" star Daniel Craig, has appeared in Hollywood films such as "About a Boy," "Lovely Bones, "The Mummy," and its sequel "The Mummy Returns."


 source: ABS-CBN News