HOUSTON. Topbills remake of “Ben-Hur.”
JACK HOUSTON, who will be seen this August as the title character in the remake of “Ben-Hur,” was cited as rising star of the year at the recent CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards, held by the National Association of Theater Owners. The much-awaited historical action-drama also stars Toby Kebbell as Messala, Nazanin Boniadi and Morgan Freeman.
New world record
The new “Ghostbusters” film’s fans have set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as ghosts in a single venue. A total of 263 spooky-looking fans showed up at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and pulled off the fun feat.
The new fantasy film topbills Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Chris Hemsworth.
‘Ku’te’
The World Premieres Film Festival-Philippines will be held from June 29 to July 16 at some SM Mall cinemas. One of the participating movies is “Ku’te,” written and directed by Ronaldo Bertubin. Its protagonists are Lenlen, a girl with Down Syndrome, and her brother Emong.
Tara mobile app
Galileo Software Service Inc.’s Tara is a Filipino-developed mobile app that prevents mobile phone theft with its kill-switch feature. It works even without wi-fi access, Internet date or cell-phone load.
Download the app from Google Play and register the basic information. Visit www.tara.com.ph for details.
Entrance exam
The University of Asia and the Pacific will hold an entrance exam for Grade 11 applicants tomorrow, June 19. Contact Jenny at 637-0912 loc. 342.
Time for a little whimsy
In Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter.
Opening locally on July 6, the sequel topbills Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and Helena Bonham-Carter.
Economic briefing
The University of Asia and the Pacific will hold an economic briefing from 1 to 5 p.m. on June 22 at the Li Seng Giap Auditorium. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. will also speak on Philippine-US relations. Call Kellai at 637-0912 loc. 335.
Celestial Movies Pinoy
On the growing pay-TV landscape, there is more and more demand for movie channels, particularly those that have been localized or subtitled. The acceptance of movies from different countries brings down barriers like culture and language.
To address this, Viva Communications Inc., in partnership with Celestial Tiger Entertainment, has launched Celestial Movies Pinoy, a 24-hour pay TV channel featuring Chinese films dubbed in Tagalog.
This month’s lineup includes “Somewhere Only We Know,” with Kris Wu; “Blind Detective,” with Andy Lau; “My Lucky Star,” with Zhang Zi Yi, and “White-Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom,” with Fan Bing Bing.