Mula sa Norte, she finally takes home the crown! All hail for the new Drag Supreme—ang Sexy Rockstar ng Baguio, DEJA! 👑 @thedejaa #DragDenPHonPrime #DragDenPH#DragDenS2_TheFinale pic.twitter.com/WMxWJV8fkx

— Drag Den Philippines (@dragdenph) March 7, 2024

Deja competed against her fellow finalists, Laguna’s Mrs. Tan and Bacolod’s Moi, for the crown. Each of the drag queens’ coronations were filmed in advance, but they, along with all the show’s viewers, only found out their actual rankings when the finale aired on Prime Video.

Their rankings were determined by the show’s Drag Cartel, consisting of host and “Drag Lord” Manila Luzon, beauty queen Nicole Cordoves, and social media personality Sassa Gurl.

Their final performance was judged based on the following criteria: 20% for national costume, 25% for dragdagulan, 15% for the long gown presentation, 10% for the question-and-answer portion, and 30% for their overall performance for the entire season.

“For me, being drag supreme, it’s a big responsibility. Kailangan mo maging (you need to be a) voice to others, and you need to represent hindi lang ‘yung sarili mo pero (not just yourself but) the Drag Den brand talaga. I want to represent baby drag queens out there na wala masyadong (who don’t have much of a) spotlight,” Deja shared before the final performances.

The Baguio and Pangasinan-based drag queen succeeds Drag Den Philippines season 1 drag supreme NAIA Black, who crowned her during the finale. Deja will receive over P1 million worth of prizes.

“This is it! I’m a drag supreme! I would like to thank all my supporters, ‘yung family ko, ‘yung mom ko na laging andyan sa akin (my mom who is always there for me), all my drag sisters, lahat ng nasa norte, para sa inyo ‘to (everyone in the north, this is for all of you)…. I will promise you that I will do my hardest best to represent the Drag Den brand,” Deja said at the end of the episode.

Mrs. Tan took home the title of first-runner up, while Moi finished as second runner-up.

The ultimate misis! Drag Den Season 2's first runner up is the Visionary Moonstar of Laguna, MRS. TAN! ✨ @heymrstan #DragDenPHonPrime #DragDenPH #DragDenS2_TheFinale pic.twitter.com/dJPzWXTFzi

— Drag Den Philippines (@dragdenph) March 7, 2024

She has the wit, the tits, and oh so fit! Drag Den Season 2's second runner up goes to the Comical Dreamer of Bacolod, MOI! ✨ @MOITAURA #DragDenPHonPrime #DragDenPH #DragDenS2_TheFinale pic.twitter.com/VZdYeMIfcT

— Drag Den Philippines (@dragdenph) March 7, 2024

Drag Den Philippines is directed by Rod Singh. The show is available to stream on Prime Video. – Rappler.com

That’s Lulu Wang, creator and director of Expats, the series now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, answering my question about how she cast Filipina actress, Ruby, via her Zoom audition and the self-tape the latter sent.

As the nanny in the Woo family (headed by Nicole Kidman and Brian Tee), Ruby is truly affecting as the series’ “heart and soul,” with her tender, subtle yet moving portrayal.

The actress, whose credits include films like Iska and Ma’Rosa and teleserye projects, auditioned for the Triangle of Sadness role that went to Dolly de Leon. Ruby has reportedly landed international roles as a result of the buzz about her performance in Expats.

Ruby and another Pinay actress, Amelyn Pardenilla, and the main cast of Expats – Nicole (Margaret), who is also one of the miniseries’ producers, Saraya Blue (Hilary), Ji-young Soo, Brian, Tiana Gowen, Bodhi del Rosario (Filipino-Puerto Rican), and Jack Huston – are earning praise in the six-episode drama limited series which is also getting good reviews.

I asked Lulu about Ruby and Amelyn during the Q&A in the recent Lulu Wang and Expats: Storytelling on a Large Canvas, part of Film Independent’s filmmaker conversation series, Directors Close-Up.

Held at the Directors Guild of America, the panel, moderated by filmmaker Karyn Kusama (Yellowjackets, Girlfight) also featured Expats producer Dani Melia and production designer Yong Ok Lee.

Set in 2014, as the Umbrella Movement protests rage in Hong Kong, Expats is based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s 2016 novel, The Expatriates. While it tackles the lives of several affluent expatriates in HK, Lulu made it a point to go deeper into the other perspective, that of the domestic workers, as reflected by the characters, Essie (Ruby) and Puri (Amelyn).

Lulu, who directed The Farewell (her sophomore feature), for which Awkwafina won the 2020 Golden Globe best actress-comedy or musical trophy, continued recounting how she cast Amelyn, a Cebuana singer who has been performing in HK’s top hotel bars for over two decades.

“Amelyn was in Hong Kong. She auditioned in person. We said, we need to really be open and we’re not only looking for actors, let’s look at singers, let’s do like an open casting call to anybody who might be interested as a Filipina in Hong Kong because at that time, we only had the budget to cast locally and didn’t want to fly in another person internationally.”

“So Amelyn came in and sang and she’s like, ‘Well, I’ve never acted.’ [I said,] ‘I don’t care, we’ll figure that out. Like your voice is so amazing.’”

Lulu made excellent choices in Ruby and Amelyn, who are being cited by critics along with Nicole, Sarayu, and the rest of the cast.

The Wrap raved, “By the end of the episode, Margaret and Hilary each find themselves in deeply vulnerable moments with Essie and Puri, respectively. ‘You’re a good friend,’ Hilary tells Puri. ‘You’re family,’ Margaret tells Essie.”

“But what the devastating ending to the episode (five) — which is elevated by the subtle heartbreak in Pardenilla and Ruiz’s magnificent performances — reveals is this pseudo-bond that people like Margaret and Hilary create for themselves: to see their help as family, not only out of a sense of class guilt, but also because of the convenience that it brings them.”

Chicago Sun-Times, which also hailed Ruby’s performance as “magnificent,” wrote: “Expats contains some stunning twists and turns, but this is much more of a character study than a mystery.”

“Nicole Kidman delivers searing work as Margaret, who is consumed with pain that is taking her to a place from where she might never return, and her work is matched by the performances of Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Ruby Ruiz, Brian Tee, and Jack Huston.”

“Each of these actors is given showcase moments in which their stories are front and center, and there’s never a false note in their respective performances. Expats is a richly layered, beautifully photographed, and profoundly affecting work.”

Lulu explained how she worked with a cast with varying degrees of experience and yet elicited uniformly compelling performances.

“We had a range of different types of actors,” she began. “We had like obviously Nicole and then we had Amelyn who plays Puri. She is a singer in Hong Kong, never acted before, and she was incredibly nervous.”

“Ruby is from Manila and she’s well-known in the Philippines. She’s incredible and everything she does is immediately real and lived in.”

“And then Sarayu and Brian have been around – veteran actors – but have never done roles of this size and this centered. Sarayu, in particular, does a lot of network comedy, and so she was like, ‘Oh, it’s a drama, like how big, what’s the size?’”

“That was the biggest challenge – making sure everybody felt like they were in the same movie.”

Asked specifically how she made the cast comfortable despite their different backgrounds, Lulu answered, “I tried as much as I could to make them feel as valued as possible and tried to take the Hollywood-ness of it out and make them feel like equals as much as possible. Obviously, there was a lot of nerves.”

“But we were all so close because we were there for so many months and so we would go to dinners together. We all spent a lot of time together and I think that helped.”

“No, we didn’t have time to rehearse but I just told which characters, which people to spend time with, and then which ones not to,” Lulu replied about rehearsals before the filming in HK and then LA.

“Like I kept Ji-young Yoo, who plays Mercy, and Nicole separate from each other because when they were shooting their scene, they were strangers. They meet a couple of times and that’s it, in the story, and yet they’re connected by this huge incident.”

Episode five, which highlights Ruby and Amelyn’s characters, is the series’ arc. Lulu said, “The episode flips the perspective from the expats to the locals, the side characters, and people who are domestic workers because Hong Kong has this society of live-in help.”

“And a lot of the women are from different parts of Southeast Asia and so the helpers in this series are from the Philippines. So I said, we can’t do a show about women without this other perspective. And then it puts into perspective and context these expats, and you get a different perspective of them.”

“And so, I thought, there’s no way Amazon and Nicole are going to let me do a 90-something-minute episode where Nicole doesn’t even show up until halfway in.”

Lulu added about this fifth episode which was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival: “And I said, I want to go to festivals with this. I want this to be the first thing that people see, at least, a certain audience.”

“So, all of these things, I just thought, okay, I’m just going to tell her these impossible things, and she’ll say, ‘In the future, we’ll work together.’ But instead, she called me back, like, 24 hours later, and said, ‘Ok, it’s yours.’”

On expanding Janice’s novel and opening it beyond the lives of the expats, a world of luxury and entitlement, Lulu explained, “There was some level of that, for sure, in the novel. One of my requirements was that Janice Y.K. Lee, who wrote the novel, had to be in the writers’ room with us.”

“And so, with her blessing, we expanded on that because I wanted to even more…for example, Essie and Puri are characters in the book. They’re domestic workers, known as helpers in Asia, who live with them (expats).”

“I wanted to really go deeper into their perspective, just to challenge this balance between both emphasizing…take Nicole’s character, Margaret, she’s the character who is the greatest victim because she’s the one who has the tragedy happen to her.”

“So, here’s a person, the worst thing in the world happens to this mother but she’s also the most entitled and privileged. And being able to have that polarity in this one character was what grounded us.”

“And then we would try to look for that polarity with every character. Not as extreme. I think Margaret’s the most extreme and challenging audiences to see if she can hold both empathy and disdain.”

As for giving full humanity to Essie and Puri’s stories, and the dichotomy between the upper and working classes living in HK, as the small yet rich nation is rocked by protests, Lulu shared, “There were no politics in the book. And that was important to me. That was another thing I said to Nicole – I can’t make this series without touching on politics.”

“As somebody who is Chinese-American, who left Beijing as a child, my silence would be incredibly loud. And I thought about that.”

“A Western filmmaker might be able to make something in Hong Kong and not touch on politics. And they might get some criticism or somebody might point that out. But to some degree, it’s not their world, right? So, it’s like, all right.”

It could have been the other filmmakers’ excuse, Karyn commented.

“Exactly, they themselves are expats,” Lula responded. “And of course, I am an expat in Hong Kong but I’m also not. I’m also an immigrant from China.”

“And the parallel of my experience leaving Beijing and what’s happening in Hong Kong – so I can’t not address this. And that was a tricky thing because I didn’t want it to be a backdrop. But it’s also, we’re not making a political show.”

Expats, which prides itself in having women in front of and behind the camera, also boasted of an all-female writers’ room.

“I had never even been in a writers’ room so I think in some ways that was good because I didn’t know how it’s supposed to be done,” Lulu admitted. “And I’ve also never collaborated with other writers before.”

With a laugh, she quipped, “So, my instinct was just like, we all get in a room and they order us lunch. That was the best part. Plenty of food around.”

“It’s just a magical time really because we were just like, okay, what do you love about the book? What are the elements? I love this line; I love this character.”

“So, we just talked a lot from there and then I provided the structure. I went in knowing it was going to be six episodes, the fifth was penultimate. Let’s put another bottle episode in there somewhere.” (Vulture’s Kathryn VanArendonk described a bottle episode this way: “In the purest, earliest definition, a bottle episode is a TV money-saving strategy, an attempt to make an episode with the least amount of budget required.”)

“I also knew that the first episode should start a year later because that’s how the book is structured. You come in not knowing. It’s not linear like something has happened.”

Lulu agreed with Karyn’s remark that the episode plays like a mystery. “Exactly and I like the intrigue of that, as opposed to coming in and just going right into a narrative. And then the second episode is a year earlier, and we, in a very linear way, tell you exactly what happened then.”

“So those two are kind of companion pieces, like here’s the question, and then here’s the answer. So, we had that structure and then we brought in Gursimran Sandhu (writer) because I knew that Hilary is written as white – I think British – in the book.”

“And I wanted to tackle themes of colorism in Asia, in East Asia. Gursimran is Sikh American and was writing very specifically for that character. So, a lot of times it was like therapy.”

“We would just talk about our own lives and stories and see what would stick. And it wasn’t necessarily always like, we have to keep going, we have to break story. It was a very loose structure.” The other writers, aside from Lulu, Janice, and Gursimran, are Alice Bell and Vera Miao.

“Some days we would come in and we would just talk about events in the world and how we were feeling and somehow that would shape and color what went in. And that’s what I’m most proud of.”

“I think it’s very much like a series about the inner lives, the emotional lives of women in a way we don’t get to see very often.”

Lulu, who asked my wife Janet and me after the panel if the Tagalog dialogue was accurate (yes, it’s realistic), volunteered that the Expats production sought the advice of consultants to ensure authenticity.

“We were working with local crew in Hong Kong, like as much as possible, especially because a lot of the material, or some of the material, especially in the fifth episode, deals with local politics,” she said. “So, both within the Filipino community, having advisors helping to make sure that that was all completely authentic was important to us.”

Dani recounted how she and Lulu collaborated again on Expats. “Lulu and I had worked together on The Farewell. At that time, I was working as an employee at a producing and financing company. So that was how we met.”

“I was working for the financiers and we hadn’t officially started our company together. We had dreams of starting a company together, Lulu and me. And this was something that she was able to identify as, I think I want this to be my next thing.”

Turning to Lulu, Dani continued, “I’m putting a writers’ room together. I’m going to develop the scripts and read the book. As the scripts come in, I’d love your feedback, and then we’re going to figure out how to bring you on the project as a producer.”

“That was one of the things Lulu mentioned – that she had a list of requirements to take the project on, and one thing that Lulu was able to do and fought hard for was to bring on Anna (Franquesa-Solano), our cinematographer, and Yong, our production designer, and me, and one of our editors.”

“We had a lot of the same team that we had done The Farewell with – the composer and music supervisor, a few others.”

“We talked a lot about the transition from a small feature to a big series like this, and how a lot of directors are plucked from the festival world and put onto huge projects without the support of the people who work with them to make the thing that is what the studio executive identified. So, that was important to us, to be able to preserve that as much as possible.”

Lulu described the hurdles: “I think that we were able to largely execute it despite a lot of production challenges. The time that we were shooting in during the pandemic and being an international production.”

“So, despite those challenges, I feel like we all love the scripts so much and Amazon loved the scripts. That was our North Star. We would come back and just say this is how it has to be done.”

“And of course, there are moments in which it’s like, well, this is so challenging, can we cut this? Can we do that? And that is so much of the process – to make sure that you hold on to what’s important.”

I learned in the conversation that many of the key sets had to be built from the ground up. And get this, some of the sets were built twice – for the filming first in HK and then LA.

Lulu explained, “We have only done mostly practical locations, and there is a real loyalty to that, and since we were coming from independent film because there’s just nothing more real than the real thing.”

“You don’t want to be that Western production that comes in and builds everything and then there’s an artificiality. So, we were really resistant to building.”

“We started off by doing a lot of scouting and then found that, in particular for the expat community, the apartment complexes, everything that we looked at, even though they were luxury apartments in real life, don’t necessarily read that way.”

“And you have all of these restrictions because you’re in a building where people are actually living. So, you can’t really move them out. And then a lot of stuff, even though it’s luxury, it’s because it’s by the beach but it’s not as polished, so it wouldn’t necessarily read as lux.”

“And so that’s when we said, okay, well, the idea of the expats’ world is that it’s a bubble. And there is an artificiality to it. So maybe the fact that we make that the only build, the only set, will actually work for us.”

“But of course, we have to make sure that it looks as realistic as possible. So, we ended up doing a ton of research, and Yong and Anna thought a lot about this set build because they both wanted it to look real. We looked at a lot of references and so often you can see the artificiality.”

“I also want to say it’s incredible because Yong had to build this set twice. We built the Star apartment first in Hong Kong and the Woo apartment on a stage in LA and it’s all the same.”

“A lot of it has to look the same because it’s in the same complex. And so, there was also a lot of conversation about you don’t want two identical apartments and build it because from a line producer perspective to save money, you’d be like, just use the same apartment and put in different furniture.”

“But that’s not how those things work. Depending on where you are in the building, the layout is slightly different. And so, we were like, okay, it has the look of the same building but this one has a dining room when you enter, this one has a living room, and then having to tear it down and build it again.”

Yong added, “Originally, we wanted to build an apartment in Hong Kong. So, we started Hilary’s apartment. When my team and I designed it, we considered, are we going to recycle this set for the Woos’ apartment?”

“So we needed to transform it easily, even though the Woos’ apartment and the hallway set in Hong Kong, we decided to build the Woos’ apartment and hallway set in LA. And there are lots of challenges because it’s not just a different layout but also the material.”

“Because when we were in Hong Kong, I was able to use all real materials, like luxury marble, wood, and everything because it’s easy to import from China at a very cheap cost. But when we are back in LA, there’s no way we can get the same material but it should be the same.”

“So, every element I have to match. And so, it was really hard to recreate this.”

Asked what this team learned, Dani answered, “We did learn a lot. It was such a big scale compared to anything we’ve worked on before, and longer, and more people involved. That’s one thing I learned a lot like I said, 10 times.”

“The one thing that was amazing to me with a production of this size, and then therefore a cast that was so big from so many different places around the world. We brought people in from the Philippines and Australia, and then from Hong Kong, and then we shot some here (Los Angeles).”

“And also, crews from around the world, like a super international crew. So many people from different walks of life coming together.”

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“What I learned is the importance of creating an environment where everyone cares and loves each other and hangs out outside of work.”

“It was a really special moment in time because we were in Hong Kong in a time when, because we all had to quarantine for three weeks, we were able to sort of be out in the world in the middle of COVID because they didn’t have a big COVID issue.”

“So, we were in a little safety bubble ourselves. And I think that bonding and having real relationships with everyone in your project and fostering that community is really important.”

For her part, Lulu said, “We learned a lot. I’ve never worked on something of this size and the length of time. So, to keep the stamina was challenging. And then having so many external factors threatened.”

“The instinct I had was at the end of this, it doesn’t matter what happened. If I’m not proud of the work, if the final result doesn’t reflect my vision, it’s not going to matter. It’s still my name.”

“And so, the most important thing to me, like, I didn’t care about (but) I had to negotiate politics and relationships. That’s always challenging in this industry but I just kept saying to them, this is my name, and I can’t put out something that I don’t believe in.”

“And so, when we finished, that was the thing that I was the proudest of, that we were all proud of the work; it reflected our vision and it didn’t get diverted.”

Expats certainly has Lulu’s stamp and name on it and it’s a great follow-up to her acclaimed The Farewell. Season 2, please. – Rappler.com

The “very small part” turned out to be an opportunity for her to go from singing on local stages to acting on the global screen.

“I was shocked,” Pardenilla recalls. “When Lulu Wang called to announce the news, she had to repeat it several times on the phone before it sank in.”

Wang is a Hollywood filmmaker, and she called to offer Pardenilla a role in an American TV series starring none other than Nicole Kidman. The character would have speaking parts and a story. And the icing on the cake? The role comes with a soulful solo song number where Pardenilla showcases her singing talent.

Privileged expats and the women who make their lives easier

Expats is a six-episode limited series on Amazon Prime Video. A Time magazine review touted it as “the first must-see show of 2024.”

The series follows the story of three privileged American expats in Hong Kong. Two of them, Margaret (Nicole Kidman) and Hilary (Sarayu Blue) are wealthy women living in sprawling apartments in Hong Kong’s richest neighborhood. Pardenilla plays Puri, Hilary’s helper. Award-winning Filipina actress Ruby Ruiz plays Essie, the cherished yaya of Margaret’s family. 

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The beautifully shot series starts as a whodunnit, slow-burn thriller, set against the pulsing backdrop of Hong Kong. But stay on for the whole ride and you’ll see how Wang uses the show as a platform for much-needed conversations on privilege, the choices (or lack thereof) that modern women have to make, and Hong Kong’s struggle for independence.

Episode 5, titled ”Central,” is an hour and a half long – the length of a feature film. Wang designed “Central” as a standalone episode, and the narrative completely shifts away from the troubles of the American women and into the new land they call home, and to the people who make their daily lives easier: the domestic helpers.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Blue says of episode 5: “That episode is the actual show, in my opinion. You can’t tell the story of Expats without having Essie’s and Puri’s experience,” she said.

Episode 5 opens with the sound of women laughing and speaking Tagalog. The outdoor grounds of Hong Kong’s central business district transform into “Little Manila.” The helpers, on their precious day off, lay out cardboard boxes that serve as makeshift areas for everything from manicures to games and meals. Puri’s voice floats above the joyful din as she sings the opening bars to the pop battle hymn “Roar” by Katy Perry. The voices of other Filipina singers blend in, creating a choir version of the song that is both heartfelt and hopeful.

We know that being a helper abroad isn’t easy. But in Expats, Wang goes even deeper and zeroes in on something that isn’t always talked about: what about the dreams of these women?

How an acting newbie scored a juicy Hollywood role

Pardenilla has been living and working in Hong Kong for the last 22 years as a professional singer in 5-star luxury hotels like The Peninsula. But in 2021, Hong Kong’s live entertainment industry suffered the aftermath of the pandemic.

“My husband is also a musician, so our incomes were hit. We offered private music lessons, but it wasn’t a stable and reliable source,” she said.

Fortunately, the dry spell didn’t last long. “In May 2021, I heard about the audition from a friend. I didn’t know what the project was about, all I knew was that it was for an acting part. The production was looking for a Filipina in her 40s who knew how to sing,” she recounted.

That she had no prior professional acting experience didn’t stop Pardenilla. “I just thought it would be great exposure for me as a singer,” she said. She sent an audition tape and not long after, she got a callback to do a live audition with a certain Lulu, whom she didn’t realize at the time was the director.

“The audition lasted only around 10 minutes, but Lulu and I ended up talking for a long time after. I was really at ease with her. I never thought the director would handle auditions for bit parts, so I thought she was an assistant,” she recalled laughing.

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Not just a maid

Pardenilla’s experience as a real-life overseas Filipino worker (OFW) helped her slip into Puri’s skin easily. According to the Philippine Statistics Office’s latest data, there are 1.96 million OFWs.

The same survey says that 44.4% of these workers are involved in elementary occupations, which includes domestic work. Pardenilla is proud to represent this group of modern heroes. Sadly, there are still people who belittle the job of a helper, but Pardenilla is quick to defend the community. 

She reacts to a negative comment she read online. “Katulong na naman daw yung role ng Pinoy (They said the Filipino plays the help yet again). That person also said we only had small parts in the series, so why make a big deal?” she said with disappointment. She added, “But there are no small roles, and there are no small jobs. I have many domestic helper friends here. A job is a job. We all work hard and sacrifice.”

Working with Hollywood stars

Pardenilla’s enthusiasm for her first acting job was still palpable during the interview. “Some days I barely slept because I still had singing gigs at night, then had to be on set early the next day. But I was always alert and excited as soon as I was in front of the camera,” she said.

When it comes to working with Hollywood stars, Pardenilla admits she got starstruck around her fellow cast members. “There was Brian Tee from The Fast and The Furious. There was also Ate Ruby, a veteran actress. Initially, I wasn’t mingling too much with our American co-actors. But Ate Ruby would ask me to sing on set, and that drew their attention,” she laughs. “It boosted my confidence and helped me relax around them.”

Pardenilla has nothing but praise for the cast and crew. “Lulu was incredibly supportive, especially for a first-timer like me. She was also open to suggestions. Puri was supposed to speak in broken English, but I explained that many Filipino helpers are college-educated. They may not speak with an American accent, but the heavily accented, bad English is a stereotype. She ultimately abandoned the idea,” she said.

And for the question in everyone’s mind: what was it like working with Nicole Kidman? “I never had any scenes with her, and she had a busy schedule, so she wasn’t always on set. I only met her in January at the cast party in New York before the premiere! She is so nice and down to earth. She told me that I did a really good job, and coming from her, that meant a lot,” she said proudly.

Pardenilla is a registered nurse but chose to make music her life’s work. Now, she plans to continue acting as well. As someone who carved a long and fruitful career in entertainment, Pardenilla has some advice for those looking to succeed in a creative industry: “Work hard on your dreams. Do what it takes to get just one foot in the door first, then work as hard as you can. Don’t give up when things get hard. I had many ups and downs too. But I love singing and music, and God has always found a way to provide, even during the hard times,” she said. – Rappler.com

Expats is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

For fans of the Avatar franchise, the Netflix adaptation can only have two outcomes: it can be as good as the original series or as bad or even worse than the 2010 movie. By watching the first episode, I can honestly say that they successfully landed themselves in the middle of that spectrum.

The first episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender is both a somewhat faithful adaptation of the original show and a reasonable live action take on the series. The effects are stunning, the bending choreography is more fluid than ever, and the production and sets have stayed faithful to, and captured the essence of, the diverse world of Avatar. My only complaint about the latter is the lighting and color grading in some of the night and indoor scenes: they’re just too dark and reminded me of THAT episode of Game of Thrones.

The writing aspect of this first episode left me a bit disappointed. As an avid viewer of the original show, I feel like there are some important plot points the Netflix series neglected to include, especially with Aang’s character. It failed to showcase the complexity of Aang, a 12-year-old fun-loving boy who also has the weight of the world on his shoulders. There were a lot of scenes that could’ve been used from the source material to show Aang’s initial resentment of his powers and responsibilities.

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In the original show, Aang resented the role of Avatar as it ostracized him from everything he knew, and the responsibilities that came with the title was about to rob him of a childhood. This is why he ran away and got himself trapped in an iceberg. On the other hand, Netflix Aang was scared of his powers and responsibility but leaned towards acceptance. In the scene depicting his departure from the Southern Air Temple, Netflix Aang seems to have accepted his fate as the Avatar after talking to Appa, but needed to take a breather and decided to take a night stroll in the skies, getting himself caught in a storm.

The standout characters in the Netflix adaptation were Zuko and Sokka. Dallas Liu’s performance as Zuko felt like it was ripped straight out of Nickelodeon. Liu was able to capture the angst, anxiety, and obsession that Zuko had, perfectly displayed in the scene where he frantically drew a sketch of Aang immediately after the latter escaped.

Meanwhile, this current take on Sokka is a more modern version of a character whose traits had always been a bit outdated. People online were upset that Sokka’s sexism was going to be toned down in this adaptation, as if that was a bad thing. Netflix Sokka is still a bit sexist towards his sister, but it’s more of an effect of the responsibility that was on his shoulders as chief and head protector of his village. Netflix Sokka manages to be modern while carrying the same whimsy and depth that Cartoon Sokka possessed.

The letdowns were Katara and Uncle Iroh. These are two characters whose bonds to Zuko and Aang were vital to the story, but they failed to show that in the first episode. In the original show, you could clearly tell that Aang and Katara had a connection, but it seems that the connection between Sokka and Aang was established better in the Netflix version. So when Aang activated his Avatar State and was calmed down by Katara, it felt so flat because they didn’t have enough scenes to establish their budding friendship.

Uncle Iroh, meanwhile, was the wise uncle he was supposed to be, but he lacked the relaxed nature of the cartoon version, which was a perfect foil to the moody Zuko. It seems like the writers noticed this and tried to sprinkle some Iroh-ness over him by spamming jasmine tea references towards the end of the episode.

All in all, the writing seems like it was trying to fit as many plot points as it could in the entire one hour and three minutes of run time, and did a subpar job at that. It felt like all the events that transpired happened in just 24 hours. They tried to lay down the foundations of all the world-building within the first episode and neglected to fully develop the characters that would inhabit this world, which is a bit of a weird decision considering how they already had access to the source material.

Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is still worthy of your viewership, but I advise going into it with low expectations and an open mind. It’s best not to compare it to the original show or the 2010 movie, but if you had to, it is the perfect middle ground between the two. – Rappler.com

Avatar: The Last Airbender is now streaming on Netflix.

The awards were voted on by members of the SAG-AFTRA actors union, and winners and attendees reflected on their early days trying to make it in show business.

“I am so honored to be in this community,” White said as he accepted the award for best actor in a television comedy. “I wanted to be part of this my whole life. I had no backup plan.”

His co-star, Edebiri, won best actress in a TV comedy for the show about a gourmet chef trying to turn around his family’s Chicago sandwich shop.

Ali Wong was named best actress in a limited series for road rage drama Beef. She thanked her 83-year-old mother who was in the audience. 

“I know it was really hard when I told you I wanted to do standup comedy, and I hope you feel like it all worked out,” she said. 

Blockbuster movies Barbie and Oppenheimer were facing off again for the night’s top award of best motion picture cast. Others in the running are The Color Purple, Killers of the Flower Moon and American Fiction.

The ceremony took place after SAG-AFTRA staged a four-month strike against Hollywood studios last year to fight for higher pay and protections around artificial intelligence.

“It is especially meaningful to be here with us all together again, for this occasion, after going though a very difficult time with the strike,” actor Idris Elba said in opening remarks.

The ceremony was streaming live on Netflix for the first time, part of the streaming service’s efforts to expand its live programming.

SAG-AFTRA’s film choices are closely watched because actors form the largest group of voters for next month’s Academy Awards, the film industry’s top prizes. 

A win for director Christopher Nolan’s historical drama Oppenheimer would bolster its frontrunner status for best picture at the Oscars. The movie about the race to build the first atomic bomb has picked up top prizes at the Golden Globes, the British Academy Film Awards and other ceremonies.

If feminist doll adventure Barbie or another competitor prevails, it would upend the race to the Oscars on March 10. 

In SAG’s acting contests, Emma Stone will vie for best actress for her role as a woman revived from the dead in dark comedy Poor Things. Her competition includes Barbie lead actress Margot Robbie and Lily Gladstone, star of Killers of the Flower Moon, a drama about the murders of members of the Osage Native American community in 1920s Oklahoma.

Cillian Murphy, who played physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, is nominated for best actor, against Bradley Cooper of Maestro, The Holdovers star Paul Giamatti and others.

SAG-AFTRA also will hand out a lifetime achievement honor to Barbra Streisand, the award-winning actor, producer, director, singer and writer. – Rappler.com

“I cried a lot,” Siffredi, 59, said as he premiered the show, which is inspired by his childhood and career, at the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday, February 22.

Supersex begins with Siffredi’s public housing boyhood in the coastal city of Ortona, where his beloved older half-brother helps him discover his nascent superpower, sex, eventually leading him to become one of the world’s most famous porn stars.

The seven-episode Italian-language series, created by Francesca Manieri, stars Alessandro Borghi in the role of Siffredi, known as the “Italian Stallion”. Jasmine Trinca, a member of this year’s Berlinale jury, also appears in the series due to be released next month.

“The actors were fantastic, they put their hearts into this story, without judging, without criticism, with heart, passion and a lot of love, to tell the life story of someone who has loved his job very much and who loves women very much,” said Siffredi, who was joined by his wife and two sons on the red carpet.

According to Siffredi he has made over a thousand porn films since the mid-1980s. – Rappler.com

The American adventure-fantasy series, which arrives on the streaming service on Thursday, February 22, is a live-action adaptation of the highly acclaimed animated television series of the same name created by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko in 2005. 

While he loves the original series, Sun-Hyung Lee feels it is important to bring something different to the fan-favorite character he portrays, Uncle Iroh. 

“You want to do your job and fulfill that responsibility of staying true to that character, but at the same time, not mimic a character,” he said in an interview.

“I’m not brought on to be a mimic, I’m brought on as an artist,” added the actor, who has also starred in Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience and Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian. 

Like the original series, the live-action is set in a world inspired by Asian and Indigenous American cultures, in which some people have the power to manipulate water, earth, fire or air. 

The Avatar is a being who protects the world by using all the elements, but when the Fire Nation wages war on the other nations, is nowhere to be found. The current Avatar – an airbender named Aang – is located by two Water Tribe kids that help him master all the elements. 

Dallas Liu, who plays Prince Zuko of the Fire nation, believes the live-action series is a chance to explore fresh aspects of the story. 

“Obviously it felt like there were big shoes to fill. But I also understand that we were trying to give this show its own identity,” Liu said, adding that he sought to bring new complexity to his character.

Gordon Cormier, who plays Aang, felt instantly comfortable with the adaptation’s vision for his character. 

“I didn’t even really have to become him. I kind of just was born that way,” said the 14-year-old.

He feels that he and Aang have the same hyper energy – although he only started watching the animated series once he won the role. 

The remake was originally expected to involve DiMartino and Konietzko, but they left due to creative differences. The world they created has also spawned a movie, comic books and video games.

In 2021, the production company Avatar Studios was launched by Nickelodeon with the co-creators serving as co-chief creative officers for a slate of animated films. – Rappler.com

Mabuhay! Let the battle commence ⚔️ @marinaxsummers

Watch #DragRaceUK vs The World TOMORROW at 9pm on #iPlayer 🇵🇭 pic.twitter.com/wXAySyEfXe

— RuPaul's Drag Race UK (@dragraceukbbc) February 8, 2024

Beyond this, however, Marina’s overall performance in the first episode has shown that she definitely came to win. As Marina brings the charm of Filipino drag to the international stage in the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs. The World, let’s look back on her performance thus far ahead of episode 2.

Behind Marina’s entrance look

Marina paid homage to her Filipinoness during her entrance, donning a golden Katipunera-inspired dress while wielding a bolo in one hand.

“It’s time to give these colonizers the chop,” she declared when she strutted down the runway.

Marina had visibly left a lasting impression on her fellow competitors, as she received an outpouring of compliments from the other drag queens present.

“She’s a powerhouse and definitely one to watch out for,” UK drag queen Choriza May said.

Marina’s designer Jude Macasinag also shared the backstory behind her iconic opening look.

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A post shared by JUDE MACASINAG (@jude.macasinag)

“Marina [wore] a custom off-balance’ tightly corseted draped dress in bronze sequins with asymmetrical crushed butterfly sleeves and ‘work in progress’ details, styled with a gold chainmail hood,” Macasinag wrote on Instagram.

The designer added that he and Marina had started working on the dress in late 2022, just when he had begun to venture into historical corsetry.

Sa manlulupig, di ka pasisiil 🇵🇭
As I step into foreign land, this is my battlecry — where I plant my flag, my pride, and my joy. The battle has just begun, are you with me?

PILIPINAS, ASIA, THIS FIGHT IS FOR US! ✊🏽

Catch the first episode of @dragraceukbbc on the BBC Three and… pic.twitter.com/RAzbkcppVp

— Marina Summers (@marinaxsummers) February 9, 2024

Talent show segment

In the first season of Drag Race Philippines, Marina was known for her powerful performances and elaborate looks, and it’s apparent that she is carrying this over to her stint at RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs. The World as she landed herself in the Top 2 alongside France’s lone representative, La Grande Dame.

During the talent show segment, Marina wowed the judges with her own rendition of Maymay Entrata’s “Amakabogera,” switching up the lyrics to produce a new version of the song, fittingly titled “Amafilipina.”

MARINA’S TALENT SHOW OH MY GOD!!!!! SO GOOD!!!!!! 😭#DragRaceUK pic.twitter.com/waOPO68Xla

— arlene way (@arlenewaysted) February 9, 2024

She took the opportunity yet again to raise the Philippine flag high as she performed “Amafilipina,” confidently singing about her morena skin and growing up in an island and being raised by the seas.

Marina took it up a notch by showing off her poi dance moves during the song’s chorus, truly setting the stage on fire.

“Marina makes me nervous because this is the best goddamn performance I’ve ever seen on the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Tia Kofi, one of the UK’s four competitors, said about Marina’s performance.

Marina had also received praise from Maymay Entrata herself, with the actress-singer congratulating her for her win.

Good morning Pelepens. WE WON @maymayentrata07 pic.twitter.com/gWhRl2Zaw4

— Marina Summers (@marinaxsummers) February 11, 2024

‘From the farm to the runway’: Marina’s international runway look

Having grown up in Cagayan Valley, Marina then tapped into her roots during the international runway looks portion, sporting an ensemble inspired by the Banaue Rice Terraces. Her outfit, made by fashion designer Roman Sebastian, made use of indigenous textiles from the Cordilleras. She had also carried a basket containing palay throughout her walk. To finish off the look, she donned a palayok-inspired hairstyle created by wig stylist Margaux Bertrand.

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A post shared by Marina Summers (@marinaxsummers)

“Bringing my Filipina heritage and culture to the main stage, I feel very, very proud…I grew up surrounded by farmers and to be wearing this in front of the whole world gives me so much joy and pride,” Marina said.

Marina received nothing but praises from the judges, with RuPaul herself telling the Filipina that she represented the country beautifully.

“Not only are you beautiful, you are also educational,” judge Alan Carr told Marina when she finished explaining the story behind her look.

Lip sync face-off

Having earlier secured a Top 2 spot after her high-powered talent show segment, Marina and La Grande Dame went head to head during the lip sync battle. Whoever wins is tasked with the tough responsibility eliminating one of the two queens who ended up in the bottom: the UK’s Gothy Kendoll and the US’ Mayhem Miller.

Marina and La Grande Dame shared the stage to lip sync Livin’ Joy’s “Dreamer.” The Filipina drag queen had taken advantage of the sheer size of the stage, seamlessly moving around the big space while executing fierce and prominent dance movements to go with her flawless lip syncing.

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Marina emerged victorious and even brought home the very first gold RuPeter badge in the process.

With this, the elimination of one of the bottom two queens then lied in Marina’s hands – with her ultimately deciding to send Mayhem Miller home.

Following Mayhem Miller’s elimination, Marina is now up against four drag queens from the UK, one from the US, one from Spain, one from Australia, one from France, and one from the Netherlands.

Viewers can watch the show for free on WOW Presents Plus. Episode 2 airs on February 17 at 5 am (Manila time).

What are you looking forward to seeing Marina achieve in the next episode? – Rappler.com

Characters and longtime friends Penelope Featherington, played by Nicola Coughlan, and Colin Bridgerton, portrayed by Luke Newton, take center stage in the new season of the show, which is set in Regency-era London.

The period drama is based on the books by Julia Quinn, with each focusing on a sibling of the Bridgerton family. The third season of the show skips the third book in Quinn’s series about Benedict Bridgerton to focus on Colin and Penelope, who are already well known to fans of the television show.

“This time we know the people falling in love, we’re already rooting for them,” executive producer Shonda Rhimes told a question-and-answer panel in London, where a scene of the new series was shared.

Bridgerton became a global phenomenon when it was released in 2020 and won praise for its diverse cast. 

The new season sees fan favorites Adjoa Andoh and Golda Rosheuvel reprise their roles as Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte respectively. Since season two of Bridgerton aired, the latter character has had her own spin-off origins story.

“It’s a great support for the characters now going forwards, the fans have caught up,” Rosheuvel told Reuters of the spin-off.

Bridgerton season 3, which is made up of eight episodes, will launch in two parts, the first being released on May 16 and the second on June 13. – Rappler.com

BLACKPINK singer Lisa will appear in season 3 of the popular US television series The White Lotus, making her acting debut and becoming the second member of the popular South Korean K-pop girl group to appear on HBO, Variety reported on Monday, February 12.

Lisa will be credited in the show under her full name, Lalisa Manobal, when it airs, Variety said. Her role on the show, which focuses on intrigue at exotic resorts, was not disclosed.

Season 3 of White Lotus will begin production in Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand, in February, Variety reported.

All four members of BLACKPINK have renewed their contracts with South Korea’s YG Entertainment Inc (122870) KQ, the label said in December, sending shares of the company up by nearly a third. 

Lisa’s bandmate Jennie appeared in the HBO drama The Idol in 2023, credited under the moniker Jennie Ruby Jane.

BLACKPINK set a Guinness record earlier this year for having the most-viewed music channel on YouTube, which now boasts over 90 million subscribers. – Rappler.com