MCM celebrates major launch
at Saks Fifth Avenue TheMoodieReport
INTERNATIONAL. German luxury fashion brand MCM has officially launched its new collection simultaneously in
15 doors of Saks Fifth Avenue, one of America's top upscale department stores.
To celebrate this opening and to showcase
the new MCM NEW YORK Collection, MCM staged a special event yesterday (Tuesday) evening, hosted by the brand owner, Sungjoo
Group Chairperson and CEO Sung-Joo Kim, alongside supermodel Coco Rocha and international entertainer Rain.
Well-known
DJ Harley Newton headlined last night's event, and many famous celebrities and New York business leaders were present at the
headquarters of Saks Fifth Avenue New York. Among them were internationally renowned buyers invited by Saks Fifth Group Senior
Vice President Terron Schaefer.
An after-party followed the launch event at New York's hippest bar, Avenue, where
more than 500 guests gathered to celebrate MCM's success in the global market. Enjoying the festivities were designer Alexis
Phifer, celebrity lifestyle bloggers Tia Walker and Peggie Walker, celebrity stylist Rosemary Ponzo, Joe Delate, American
TV writer and producer Tracey Stern and Women's Leadership Exchange Co-founder Andrea March. |
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Rain Joins F1
Rocks Concert in Singapore The Korea Times
Korean pop star Rain has filmed a segment for the F1 Rocks show, the only officially F1 endorsed concert during the
Grand Prix week in Singapore.
The three-day music festival, which began at Fort Canning, Thursday, will be recorded
and repackaged as two music and entertainment shows that will air to 600 million viewers in about 200 countries, Rain's agency
J. Tune Entertainment said in a statement.
The concert is bringing some of the biggest names in music to the island
city state, with the concert being broadcast on the eve of the "2009 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix" that starts Sunday.
Rain filmed the clip in the Chinese and Japanese Garden, one of the most popular tour sites in Singapore, along with
Mark Webber, the 2008 German Grand Pix winner. They performed as racers fighting for an F1 championship.
Rain's filming
is also designed to promote his upcoming movie "Ninja Assassin," which will hit theaters around the world Nov. 26.
Among
other stars participating in the concert are Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas, DJ Havana Brown and Jacky Cheung.
Rain
returned home Thursday to prepare for his concert scheduled for Oct. 9-10 in Seoul, the first leg of his 2009 Asian Tour.
Idol group MBLAQ
to debut at Rain's concert asiae.co.kr
Korea's new boy band MBLAQ will make their debut at Rain's concert, according to their agency on Tuesday.
MBLAQ,
a five-member group formed by Rain and his agency J. Tune Entertainment, will make their debut performing at the opening of
Rain's Seoul concert next month, J. Tune announced in a press release.
The idol group will introduce their debut single,
which is scheduled for release on October 14, as well as several other songs on their first mini-album produced by Rain.
MBLAQ
and Rain are also set to appear in a fashion editorial in the October issue of Nylon magazine.
Rain's "2009 Asian
Tour - Legend of Rainism", will be held at Seoul's Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium on October 9 and 10.
Pizza
Hut taps Rain to win back Korean market share www.brandrepublic.asia
SEOUL - Pizza Hut has rolled out a campaign to promote the re-launch of its dine-in lunch menu in Korea, as it looks
to increase its appeal among young office workers and college students.
Developed in partnership with Diamond Ogilvy,
the humorous initiative features Korean pop icon Rain as a brand spokesperson. The TV spot shows the singer enjoying a ‘Smart
Lunch’ in the restaurant when a crowd of young women rush in. He prepares to be mobbed by what he assumes are star-struck
fans, only to discover that the women are more interested in the lunch deal.
A source at Diamond Ogilvy explained
that the campaign was aimed at young women with limited time and budget looking for an alternative to “the usual lunch
options”.
The source noted that while Pizza Hut remained Korea’s leading pizza restaurant chain, domestic
competitors such as Mr Pizza were steadily eating into its market share with aggressive marketing tactics incorporating top
celebrities. Mr Pizza has risen significantly in popularity among women through the use of popular female actress Keun-young
Moon as brand ambassador.
“It has been observed that young adults no longer associate with the [Pizza Hut] brand
as they feel it is rather old,” the source added. The new campaign also features online and in-restaurant components.
It is set to run for three months.
Watch Ad
http://www.brandrepublic.asia/Media/searcharticle/2009_04/Pizza-Hut--Smart-Lunch--Korea/35277 |
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Korean star Rain goes
on 'torturous' diet for new film channelnewasia
SEOUL : South Korean superstar Rain had to put himself on a strict diet for his latest role in action flick "Ninja
Assassin" in which he plays an orphan who becomes a ninja warrior.
The new, Joel Silver-produced movie, promises plenty
of stunts, sword fights and of course, the leading man himself, Rain.
Describing the food he took as "terrible", and
just thinking about it makes him shudder. Now that he no longer has to subject himself to a strict regimen, he is glad that
he is able to resume a normal diet, reported Korean media.
For the sake of the movie’s role which required him
to be in perfect and lean condition, the singer-actor said that he underwent intensive training two months before filming
commenced.
Admitting his preference for junk food, French fries and hamburgers, his diet during the eight months of
filming and training was replaced by mainly steamed fish and chicken breast with vegetables. During the process, the 27-year-old
managed to lose 22 pounds (10 kilograms).
When asked if he would undergo another round of intense dieting for another
role in a movie, Rain, whose name is Jung Ji Hoon, shook his head in disapproval.
"It feels scary just thinking about
that period. I don’t think it’s possible for me to go through the process again. It was painful especially for
someone like me who worships food."
Rain made his American movie debut with last year's "Speed Racer" and "Ninja Assassin"
marks his first Hollywood leading role. The movie is scheduled to open in theatres later this year.
Rain's Agency Sued for Breach of Contract Korea Times
The management agency of K-pop singer Rain has been sued for contract violation.
The Seoul Central District
Court said Friday a domestic multimedia content provider filed a suit against Rain's agency, J.Tune Entertainment, demanding
one billion won in compensation.
The plaintiff said in a statement, "The two parties signed a contract to share copyright
of footage of the singer's concert in September. We were supposed to produce a wide range of secondary products based on the
clip." But the business model collapsed as the agency failed to obtain the copyright from MBC, which filmed the event.
Rain's
agency admitted its failure to obtain the copyright but claimed, "Imposing full liability for the damage on us is unacceptable."
"Conflicts among the related parties are to blame for the dispute, meaning we cannot hold full responsibility for
this," J.Tune said. "Due to the possibility of internal conflict, the contract was made with a precondition that it would
become invalid unless the project went smoothly."
This is not the first litigation surrounding the 26-year-old singer,
who made his Hollywood debut this year starring in "Ninja Assassin."
In April, the singer, whose real name is Jung
Ji-hoo, and his former agency, JYP, faced a multi-million dollar lawsuit for the abrupt cancellation of his world tour concerts
between 2006 and 2007.
The legal action in 2007 was taken by Star M, a domestic concert promotion company, which claimed
it sustained more than 4.57 billion won losses due to the cancellations.
In a separate case in March, the singer and
JYP were found guilty by an American court of breaching a contract with Click Entertainment Inc. for the singer's canceled
concert in Honolulu and ordered to pay the Hawaiian promoter some $8 million in punitive charges and compensation. |
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Ninja Assassin’ demo reel featuring Rain kungfucinema.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq1q2EjEiew&eurl=http://www.kungfucinema.com/?p=4226&feature=player_embedded
A new behind-the-scenes look at the fight training for the Wachowskis’ NINJA ASSASSIN has
turned up on Youtube and features impressive moves from the film’s star, Korean pop idol Rain.
It has been previously
noted that Rain was training intensively for this film, both to condition his body in order to look and move appropriately
but also to perform many of his own fighting moves. It appears that Rain has been very hard at work and it could all pay off
with a breakout action performance but not without the help of the stunt team that trained and worked with him.
The
fight coordinators are Chad Stahelski and Jon Valera, who are joined by other members of the 87 Eleven stunt team, previously
responsible for cutting-edge action appearing in many of Hollywood’s top movies from THE MATRIX to 300 and beyond They
have additional work soon to be seen in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, a live-action KING OF FIGHTERS movie and the highly anticipated
WATCHMEN film.
If the moves shown in this demo reel survive the directing, editing and effects process and end up
in the finished film without being weighed down by too many Hollywood gimmicks, this movie actually stands a chance of kicking
some ass.
With the rigorous training that Rain has gone through and its apparent results, he might have a career in
action films if this movie is a commercial success. If so, Rain should stick around. The market for martial arts and action
movies in Korea is small and Hollywood desperately needs some fresh action film stars.
One thing that this demo reel
proves is that the experienced stunt professionals behind this movie are a major asset, as is Rain who is gradually earning
more respect from me than I usually spare for pop idols who try to be martial arts stars but never put in the effort to compete
with the likes of dedicated action talents like Vincent Zhao and Wu Jing. Let’s hope the effort isn’t wasted.
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