Latest news with #audition
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
After Katseye, Hybe and Geffen launch global search for next girl group with Japan audition tour
TOKYO, Aug 8 — K-pop entertainment juggernaut Hybe is once again partnering with Geffen Records, a label under Universal Music Group, to launch a new global girl group next year. In an announcement yesterday, they launched the new project, titled 'World Scout: The Final Piece,' will begin with a large-scale audition tour across Japan. On its audition website, it said the chance is open to females and non-binary candidates between 15 and 24 years old. Those who pass the audition will undergo specialised 'K-pop-style training', adapted for the US market, from October to December. Selected trainees will then move on to an advanced training camp in the US, where they will compete for a spot in the final debut line-up. The debut is slated for 2026. The entire journey from auditions to the group's formation will be exclusively broadcast in the spring of 2026 via Japanese streaming platform Abema. In 2023, the two companies launched the audition programme 'The Debut: Dream Academy', which led to the formation of the multinational girl group Katseye.
Khaleej Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
BTS label Hybe announces global auditions for new girl group project
Have you ever watched a K-pop group wow an audience and felt like you wanted to get on the stage too? Hybe, the music label behind K-pop superstars BTS, has announced a new global girl group project, 'World Scout: The Final Piece." The group formed from this project will be set for debut in 2026. It will start with an audition in Japan, where one applicant will be selected for the final lineup - implying further audition calls in the future. The website does not specify nationality under the eligibility criteria, cementing the group's position as an international one. Televised programme The Korea Herald reported that the project will be televised in spring 2026, showing the entire process of forming a girl group - right from the audition process all the way till the group's conception. According to the official website, the selected applicants will undergo a training camp in the US, all of which will be filmed. The "K-pop style training" will be geared towards global audiences, the report quotes Hybe's statement as saying. The Japan audition is open to applicants from ages 18 to 24. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. International audiences This move is part of a larger shift of the K-pop industry, and Hybe in particular, towards international audiences. Hybe, in collaboration with Geffen, debuted the hit global girl group Katseye in 2023, with six members from all over the world. Hybe Latin America has announced a boy group called Santos Bravos, set to be formed this year through a similar reality/training show with the same name. Other K-pop labels such as JYP have introduced global groups as well. JYP's Girlset (recently rebranded from their old name, 'VCHA') consists of four members from the US. Recently, Hybe announced that it would open a new office in India between September and October 2025, hoping to tap into another huge market. This would be the fifth subsidiary, after US, Latin America, Japan, and Beijing.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oscar-Winner Botched Audition for Lead ‘Titanic' Role
Despite his many acting accolades, Matthew McConaughey dropped the ball when he auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic in 1996. McConaughey was, if not a shoo-in, a strong contender for the role: he was a rising Hollywood star thanks to his supporting role in Dazed and Confused in 1993. He also had undeniable chemistry when he performed his scene with lead actress Kate Winslet. 'Kate was taken with Matthew, his presence and charm,' producer Jon Landau wrote in a memoir excerpt obtained by Puck. But when McConaughey read his lines with his characteristic Texas drawl, James Cameron asked him to do the scene without a Southern accent. 'That's great,' Landau remembers Cameron saying after the screen test, 'Now let's try it a different way.' 'No. That was pretty good. Thanks,' McConaughey reportedly replied. Luckily for Leonardo DiCaprio, McConaughey did not receive a call back from Cameron. Cameron's iconic 1997 movie went on to win 11 Oscars and became the highest-grossing film until Cameron's next film, Avatar, surpassed it. McConaughey went on to have a prolific career despite missing his chance with Titanic. In 2013, he won an Oscar for his lead performance in Dallas Buyers Club. McConaughey has also been allowed to maintain his signature accent in his various roles, including in films set outside the South, such as Interstellar and The Wolf of Wall Street. The Daily Beast has reached out to a representative for McConaughey for a comment request. The rest of Landau's memoir, The Bigger Picture: My Blockbuster Life & Lessons Learned Along The Way, will be released posthumously on November 4. The Titanic producer died last July at 63 after a battle with cancer. Solve the daily Crossword
Khaleej Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Why actor Matthew McConaughey did not star in 'Titanic'
Actor Matthew McConaughey allegedly lost out on the role of Jack Dawson in 'Titanic' because he wouldn't let go of his Southern accent, according to a memoir written by the film's producer, Jon Landau, reported People. McConaughey's accent did not resonate with the film's director, James Cameron, who told the actor, "That's great, now let's try it a different way," according to Landau's book. But McConaughey felt otherwise, telling Cameron, "No. That was pretty good. Thanks," writes the producer. "Let's just say, that was it for McConaughey," Landau wrote. Finally, Jack was played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and it turned out to be an iconic role; however, McConaughey's career was not affected. 'Titanic' is a 1997 epic romantic tragedy film written and directed by James Cameron. Incorporating both historical and fictionalised aspects, it is based on accounts of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It also features an ensemble cast of Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Nucci, David Warner, and Bill Paxton. The Oscar winner has spoken about his audition for the iconic role in the past, saying on Rob Lowe's podcast 'Literally! with Rob Lowe' in 2021, "So I went and read with Kate Winslet, and it was not one of the auditions. They filmed it so it was like an on-screen test time," he said, as quoted by People. "After we left, you know, it was one of those ones where they followed me, and when we got outside, they were like, 'That went great.' I mean, kind of, like, hugs. I really thought it was going to happen. It did not," he added. McConaughey also confirmed at the time that he was never offered the role, despite rumours that circulated afterwards. "I asked director James Cameron about this, because the gossip over the years that I heard and would see written about me was that I had the role in Titanic and turned it down," McConaughey recalled. "Not factual. I did not get offered that role." "For a while, I was saying, 'I gotta find that agent. They're in trouble,' " the actor shared, as quoted by People. "I never got the offer."
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Alyson Stoner reveals secret ordeal after missing out on ‘Hunger Games' role to Jennifer Lawrence
A former child star has detailed their secret health struggle attempting to land the lead role in action blockbuster The Hunger Games. US actor Alyson Stoner, who shot to fame as a child star on Disney Channel, auditioned for the character of Katniss Everdeen for the debut 2012 film – a part which later went to Oscar winning actress Jennifer Lawrence. Losing out on the role was particularly crushing for the now 31-year-old, who goes by they/them pronouns, as the star reveals for the first time their extreme preparation during the casting process, all while battling an eating disorder. 'Katniss was the ultimate role and the ultimate strong female lead: purpose-driven, sharp, athletic, and, thankfully, a heroine whose capacities were more important than physical beauty. But the role was playing with fire for me,' Stoner writes in their upcoming memoir, which was obtained by Vanity Fair. 'Katniss was characteristically thin — not starving, but small enough to reflect growing up in an underfed district — and muscular from hunting and archery. 'If I was going to devote myself to checking every box of the character description, I had to commit to strenuous training without fully succumbing to my eating disorder.' Stoner writes, then aged 17, they attended a 'world-renowned medical weight loss camp' to ready themselves for The Hunger Games auditions, where they went through 'two weeks of seven hours of daily exercise on a calorie deficit', despite already being considered underweight. 'I didn't recognise the irrational exceptions that doctors (and society) made for Hollywood, because it was all I knew,' Stoner writes. 'Even at 10 years old, I had to get a medical physical before flying to film Cheaper by the Dozen, and an industry-referred doctor discovered a heart murmur. Upon sharing that I had dizzy spells and blackouts, he didn't mark anything on my file because it 'might stop the production company from letting you work.' I followed the doctor's orders and ignored the murmur like he did, deducing that Hollywood must exist above medicine, above the law, and even above common sense. 'Doctors and trainers should've never permitted an underweight minor to do seven hours of fourteen-mile hikes, heavy lifting, and high-intensity cardio. 'But all I had to say was that I was training for an acting role. They assessed me as mentally stable and opened the door. Then, on off days, I took myself (and all my mental stability) bouldering in a nearby forest to build tactical prowess like Katniss.' After filming three tapes, Stoner found out weeks later they didn't get the job. 'I sat on my bed with vacant eyes and a distant mind. I didn't know what to do with myself,' Stoner writes. Several other actors were also vying for the role in the franchise, which was adapted from Suzanne Collins' popular books, including Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, Saoirse Ronan and Hailee Steinfeld. Lawrence, now 34, ultimately landed the part as a relative newcomer to Hollywood. Director Gary Ross previously said it was the 'easiest casting decision I ever made in my life.' 'I absolutely cast the right person for the role and in my view there wasn't even a question who the best Katniss was,' he said to Entertainment Weekly. Stoner's memoir Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything hits shelves August 12.
