#SHOWBIZ: Ekin Cheng won't reprise 'Young And Dangerous' role, not even for RM4 million
HONG KONG: Hong Kong actor Ekin Cheng is best known for his iconic role as Chan Ho Nam in the cult triad series, Young And Dangerous.
The first film began in 1996 and wrapped up with its sixth instalment in 2000.
Despite the franchise's popularity, Cheng, 57, has repeatedly turned down offers to return – even when directors and producers were willing to meet all his conditions.
According to entertainment portal 8days, Cheng has been approached numerous times over the years by different film companies eager to revive the franchise.
But the star remained firm in his decision, citing issues with the plot as the reason.
Still, producers tried to sweeten the deal by offering him creative control and inviting his favourite Chinese badminton player, Lin Dan, to make a cameo.
Cheng was even offered RM3.83million for just one day of filming.
HK film producer Manfred Wong said: "No matter what was offered, Ekin just would not do it."
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The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Who is Megan Skiendiel? Katseye's half-Singaporean teen member in the limelight for being bisexual but she also loves her laksa
American teenager Megan Skiendiel is in the limelight for saying that she is actually a bisexual. It is in the news and making big rounds in all the social media sites. But she makes it a point makes it a point to connect with her Singapore roots, just like how her Singaporean-Chinese mother, known only as Sylvia. This is a report on her background that had appeared in The Straits Times several months ago. SINGAPORE: Her name is Megan and she is from the booming global band Katseye. She also loves local food like laksa and chicken rice, and speaks to her Singaporean maternal grandmother every day even though they live on opposite sides of the world. American teenager Megan Skiendiel makes it a point to connect with her Singapore roots, just like how her Singaporean-Chinese mother – who is known only as Sylvia – remains close to her family here even after living in Honolulu, Hawaii, for almost two decades. Skiendiel, 18, is part of Katseye, the new global girl group formed via a high-profile partnership between South Korean music conglomerate Hybe, the label behind K-pop juggernaut BTS, and American record label Geffen Records under Universal Music Group. The other five members of the multiracial Los Angeles-based pop act are South Korean Jeong Yoon-chae, 16; Indian-American Lara Rajagopalan, 18; Cuban-American Daniela Avanzini, 20; Filipina Sophia Laforteza, 21; and Manon Bannerman, 22, a Swiss of Italian-Ghanaian descent. The sextet beat more than 120,000 young women from around the world who participated in online and offline auditions that started in November 2021. Out of these aspiring auditionees, 20 were selected to be put through a rigorous, year-long K-pop trainee system involving gruelling dance and vocal lessons. They were ranked according to their abilities, with the lowest-scoring candidate eliminated from the programme. Their progress was streamed on YouTube for 12 weeks beginning Sept 1, 2023, where viewers could select their favourite trainees. The final members of Katseye were revealed in the live finale on Nov 18 via YouTube and fan platform Weverse. Chinese-American Megan Skiendiel from global girl group Katseye is very close to her Singapore family, especially with her maternal grandmother. -- PHOTO: UNIVERSAL MUSIC via The Straits Times/ANN In a Zoom interview with The Straits Times on Aug 23, Skiendiel says she enjoys hanging out with her Singaporean family members and visiting Universal Studios Singapore. 'I love laksa and Hainanese chicken rice. They are my favourite,' she says. 'My mum took me to Singapore when I was about three months old,' says Skiendiel, adding they would make it a point to return to Singapore every year and stay with her maternal grandmother. While she has not been back to Singapore in about three years, she still keeps in touch with her relatives daily via their family WhatsApp group chat. 'My po po (grandmother) is always sending me things she reads about Katseye. My uncles, aunties and cousins too. It's so amazing that they are on the other side of the world yet can still follow what we do,' says Skiendiel, who is now based in Los Angeles and has an American-Swedish father. 'We have a close connection even though they are so far away.' The Eurasian teen, who has an elder brother, credits her 'tiger and dragon mum' for pushing her to chase her dreams of becoming an entertainer. 'Being an Asian mum, she practises tough love on her kids, but I love her for that,' says Skiendiel, who started taking dance lessons when she was four and singing classes at six. At that young age, she would fly to Los Angeles from Honolulu every weekend to hone her craft. On the second episode of Pop Star Academy: Katseye, she revealed she would attend dance class on Friday, fly home on Sunday night and attend school on Monday. Sylvia then explained that children growing up in Hawaii are introduced to the arts at a very young age. In another episode, the older woman broke down in tears as her daughter prepared for the final stage of the audition. Skiendiel is seen hugging and comforting her mother, and thanking her for being her biggest pillar of support. Now sporting long red hair, the former brunette – whose idol is Jennie of South Korean girl group Blackpink – says: 'My mum always pushes me to be the greatest version of myself, even though it's hard sometimes. That's how she shows her love for me, and I love her so much for that.' Katseye have been receiving much love since they released their first single, aptly titled Debut, on June 28. It has clocked more than eight million streams on Spotify. The rookie group's second single, a catchy pop track called Touch which dropped on July 26, has chalked up 23 million streams on Spotify. The music video garnered over 10 million views on YouTube. Katseye staged their first live performance at KCON in Los Angeles on July 28, a popular K-culture festival celebrating South Korean pop culture and music. On Aug 16, their first mini-album SIS (Soft Is Strong) was released, and the group now have over 4.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify. The sextet say their multiracial background helped them amass a global fan base and are thankful that Pop Star Academy: Katseye is giving them 'a lot of new exposure'. The group's name also reflects their diversity. Katseye alludes to the gemstone cat's-eye, which displays a spectrum of colours depending on the direction of the light. 'Our goal is to have Eyekons (their fandom name) all over the world. Since we're such a diverse group, fans can see themselves in us,' says Bannerman. Laforteza, Rajagopalan and Jeong hope their Asian background will connect them to fans outside the US. Katseye leader Laforteza has already received great support from her native country Philippines as seen in the Netflix show, when the audition added a voting criteria in which fans could decide who they wanted to be part of the final line-up. Meanwhile, the unwavering support from their families is pushing the Gen Z artistes to reach for the stars. 'My parents have always nurtured my love for singing and dancing... what's important to them is that I'm fully committed to my dream,' says Laforteza. Her mother is Filipina actress Carla Guevara Laforteza, 48, who had faced disapproval from her family when she wanted to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. 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While there has not been any new prominent international girl group in the market in the past decade, Katseye face stiff competition from a slew of K-pop girl groups such as NewJeans, Illit, BabyMonster, Le Sserafim and IVE. Laforteza says: 'We are doing our best. Our goal is to make a name for ourselves, push boundaries and create our own sound as Katseye.' Rajagopalan adds: 'Our music has a nostalgic feeling. A great way to describe it is that it is fresh, but it is also reminiscent of other girl groups we're so inspired by.' 'All of us came into this with our strengths,' says Laforteza. 'We have dancers in Megan, Daniela and Yoon-chae, while the rest of us are singers. We balance one another out really well.' -- Report from The Straits Times/Asia News Network as appeared on August 28, 2024
The Star
15 hours ago
- The Star
Megan, half-Singaporean member of global girl group Katseye, comes out as bisexual
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New Straits Times
19 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Staging the afterlife: A play that dares to talk about death
THE cast of If There Is an Afterlife, I Hope It's Your Version Instead of Mine will insist they're not particularly close. They'll laugh it off with jokes and playful teasing if you suggest otherwise, but spend five minutes in their company, and the truth reveals itself. There's an unspoken intimacy in the way they move around each other, finish each other's sentences and share easy, knowing laughter. It's the kind of bond forged by people who've walked through fire and recognised the same burn marks on others. The play, which returned to the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre recently, follows Sofia, a skeptical Malay woman wrestling with her faith while caring for her devout, cancer-stricken mother. Three years after her mother's death, grief resurfaces when childhood friends are confronted with a family crisis of their own. Writer-director Asyraf Syahir, better known as Acap, drew from his own experience of losing his mother three years ago. Clad in all black with the quiet intensity of someone well-acquainted with life, death, and the occasional black metal lyric, he speaks with clarity and conviction about his casting choices. "I find people with real experiences," begins the 33-year-old, adding: "Technical stuff can be taught. Real emotions have to come from within." That philosophy drives every choice. Myrra Baity Khan, 31, who plays Sofia, knows grief intimately. Her father died when she was five, followed by her grandparents. "I didn't cry for 18 years," she shares. Of mixed Pakistani, Arab, Malay and Chinese heritage, she spent her youth "shape-shifting to fit in" and her hunger for connection drives her performance. "When I was 17, I wrote a monologue that made this girl cry. We're still friends today. That's exactly what I want — connection," she adds, expression earnest. Leon Khoo, 27, known as LeonieTunez, recalls his first time reading the script. "It got me in tears," he admits, adding: "I was transitioning from who I was before to who I am now." Hailing from a conservative background, the stage became a form of liberation. "On stage, I get to play. Maybe one day, that'll manifest in real life," he says, voice low. For Alya Amani, a 27-year-old public relations executive and model, identity has always been complicated. Half Chinese, half Malay, she grew up feeling like she was never enough of either. "I fit everywhere but belonged nowhere," she shares. It was on stage that she finally found a place to call her own. Inspired by Glee and High School Musical, Alya has grown from chasing validation to chasing impact. "If they laugh, cry or get angry — as long as they feel something, I've done my job." Errie Woo, a clinical hypnotherapist and aerial yoga instructor, takes on the role of the mother. She first discovered theatre through workshops, and her experience working with cancer patients gave her a deeper connection to the story. "My first performance felt like a calling," confides the 47-year-old, adding: "Audiences tell us this is their story too." What sets this production apart is its willingness to confront questions of faith openly — and from a place of uncertainty. These are people who have wrestled with their own beliefs, not to dismiss them, but out of genuine curiosity and a need to understand. "There are so few safe spaces in Malaysia to talk about faith through doubt," says Myrra, adding: "When I saw a project with this kind of bravery, I was like, 'hell yeah!'" For Acap, he knew that he had to approach the subject with care, choosing to explore faith broadly rather than focus on a specific religion. "It would've been a problem narrowing it to just one, so we have two running in parallel," he explains. And asked what was his biggest hurdle? He doesn't miss a beat. "Money," he confides, before adding wryly: "It's all self-funded." SHARED HEALING Through this play, healing has taken on a new meaning for its cast. Leon describes it as "returning to your truest self, becoming better in every way." For Alya, it's about "learning to accept both the good and the bad." Myrra adds: "Most Malaysian families don't talk about someone once they're gone. And that silence keeps us from grieving, from healing." For audiences carrying their own losses, the production offers no easy comfort. "We want to show nuance," they say, continuing: "That it's okay to feel angry, to feel unhinged. Grief is messy — it doesn't follow a straight line." The cast hold different beliefs about what comes next. Errie believes in reunion. Acap quietly admits he thinks we simply cease to exist. Leon is more matter-of-fact: "I'd rather not think about it. I just want to live now." Yet within this work, they've built a space where those conflicting truths can sit side by side. Because when someone you love is gone, and they believed in peace beyond this life, maybe it's enough to hope they were right. That their version of the afterlife exists, even if it isn't yours. And sometimes, that fragile, imagined possibility is its own kind of peace. This isn't sugar-coated reassurance. It's an embrace. A quiet, unflinching reminder: we get it. It hurts. But you don't have to carry it alone.
