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Soap operas are dramatic fiction shows that typically take on the serialized format on television or radio. The open-ended nature of the endings of each episode serves as a cliff-hanger that more or less ensures audience viewing for the whole run of the show itself.  Many Hollywood stars trace their roots from TV soap operas, taking advantage of the great recall of actors and actresses who form part of a long-running hit show. 

Names that easily come to mind include Demi Moore, Meg Ryan, Julianne Moore, Calista Flockhart, and Brad Pitt.  Many actors and actresses who have set their sights on hitting the big time took the soap opera route and succeeded.  Asian celebrities have likewise recognized the success formula that is mainly comprised of clinching a crucial role in a day-time or prime time telenovela that enjoys a large fan base. 

Japan and Korea have their respective versions, and so does Thailand.  The Thais refer to it as lakoms.  But unlike its Western counterparts which provide cliffhanger episodes, lakoms are provided as finished stories which would run for about three months.  Episodes are prepared two to three times a week.  Lakoms follow a specific formula that includes a happy ending, two main lovers, and one bad female character.  A lot of Thai celebrities have established their status as bankable lakom actors and actresses.  Like their Hollywood counterparts, many lakom stars became full-fledged movie stars. 

One of the more successful is Woranut Bhirombhakdi whose most popular lakoms include Pob Pee Fa, Rarknakara, and Mae ai sa eun where she won an acting award.  Her film debut was Midnight My Love.  The list of Asian celebrities in Hollywood has yet to include a Thai.

This post has been provided by a guest blogger.

Claire is a foreign exchange student currently based in Thailand.  She is brushing up on her Thai through Language Express School Thai Language School.

The issue between the Screen Actors Guild and Hollywood studios has been going on for months now and it seems that another roadblock has been met. Negotiations were due to begin today, Tuesday. However, late yesterday Alan Rosenberg (current president of the SAG) and Anne-Marie Johnson (vice-president of the SAG) informed the guild that they would be challenging the ouster of Doug Allen, the now ex-chief contract negotiator.

Their plan of action was to file a lawsuit which aims to put Doug Allen back in his “rightful” place. A restraining order was also requested that would have resulted in stalling the negotiations until their lawsuit was settled. However, Judge Chalfant denied their request on a technicality. Still, the result of this motion is that the talks have been delayed and as of this writing, no new date for the start of the talks has been determined.

The SAG contracts expired on June 30 of last year and since then, members of the guild have had no contracts in film and TV. On the part of the studios, they have given what they call their best and final offer. However, the SAG deems this offer as inadequate, labeling it as “not the best” that they can give. Talks about a strike have been looming for months now but there has not been a vote as of yet and the SAG is looking to the Los Angeles court for intervention.

As usual, it is some sort of waiting game that is being played. For us viewers, we can only sit back and watch the drama unfold.

It is always heartwarming to see a good cause succeed. We all recently heard about the passing away of Hollywood icon Paul Newman. I am sure that if he had any way of knowing what is happening after his passing away, he would be quite happy. An annual fundraiser for a children’s camp for those with life-threatening diseases was held on Monday and the support that it received from the who’s who of Hollywood was overwhelming. More than actually turning up to help raise money for a good cause, the people also turned up to pay their own tribute to Paul Newman. The Associate Press has this report:

The lineup for a dramatic reading of “The World of Nick Adams” on Monday night at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall already was set when the acting legend died of cancer Sept. 26 at the age of 83. The event benefited The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, that was started by Newman in 1999.

“We expected Paul to be with us and so this kind of turned into kind of a tribute,” said Danny Glover, who joined Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Warren Beatty, Sean Penn and other big names in the reading. “This is the first time we are doing this without Paul — there is a void there, without a doubt.”

Some 2,500 people attended the star-studded benefit, which began with a video in which Newman discussed his work with the Association of Hole in The Wall Camps, which runs 11 camps around the world including The Painted Turtle.

Just take note of those names mentioned above and you will understand how big the event turned up to be. I am sure that the children involved – and Paul Newman, if he were alive – would deeply appreciate the gesture.

Plan on joining American Idol to get rich? Unless you’re going to be among the top contestants you can forget about it. My recent research to find the answer to the question of how much the idol contestants actually make while on the show lead me to these findings:

1. No one is paid anything until they’re on the top 24.
2. The top 24 contestants get paid about $30 a day for food and an additional $500 a week for clothing. They are not allowed to spend the $500 on anything else.
3. They go home empty handed if they don’t make it to the top 12.
4. The longer the contestant stays the bigger the check they get when they are eliminated (this makes sense of course). The top two contestants get a car on top of the money.
5. Contestants get a cut from the compilation album.
6. Contestants are paid a nice enough amount for going on the AI tour. For each appearance they rack up $5000 (per show) and they also get a cut from the all the merchandise sold during the tour.
7. Of course we all know the AI winner goes home rich.

Lesson learned? If you plan on joining AI just for the money you’d better make sure you make it to the top 12!

I love watching American Idol and I especially love Idol Gives Back but this year I did cringe when they sent home Michael Johns. It wasn’t that I am a big fan of Michaels Johns (although I did love his last performance) but Ryan Seacrest’s callous remark after announcing who was going home really is cringe-worthy. Hearing Ryan say, “Last year on Idol Gives Back week, we didn’t eliminate anyone. Not so this week.”, somehow soured the goody goody feeling Idol Gives Back inspires. That was a cruel thing to do. No one should be left with negative memories of an Idol Gives Back night and Michael Johns sure would. A pat on the back him though since he took it all in stride and even said about his song “Dream On” that, “If there’s a song to go out on, that’s not a bad one.”

On the bright side though the show had some really good moments with the highlight being the amount of money raised, which is more than what they raised last year. They are still accepting donations via the Idol Gives Back website as well as their Idol Gives Back MySpace page.

If you want to see all the stars and the performances head on to itunes to download all the Idol performances (regular shows and Idol Gives Back).

American Idol and iTunes have signed a new contract. Fans can download performances from the hit show. Proceeds will go to the “Idol Gives Back” — a charity television event that aims to help poverty-stricken children in Africa and the United States.

Watch Jay Z. and Beyonce welcome visitors to Hollywood. Very catchy music and video editing — worthy of the entertainment capital of the world.

It’s official. The writer’s strike is over!

“The strike has been extraordinarily difficult for all of us, but the hardest hit of all have been the many thousands of businesses, workers and families that are economically dependent on our industry. We hope now to focus our collective efforts on what this industry does best — writers, directors, actors, production crews, and entertainment companies working together to deliver great content to our worldwide audiences,” said union honchos in a joint statement.

Some experts are predicting the end of the Golden Age of Television, namely how “intelligent” shows have gotten the axe while stations aim for sad trend towards cheap, ad-driven programs.

Do you agree? And do you think that this is mostly just a problem caused by the writer’s strike or a scary trend that Hollywood is dumbing down and selling out?

A star studded and absolutely glamorous affair, the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards had everyone who is anyone in Hollywood seated at the tables. It was the first major award show to be held for the year and honored some fine shows indeed.

The guests arrived wearing mainly black and white, plus a few metallic ones. Some of the best dressed celebrities for the night include Jennifer Love Hewitt, Penelope Cruz, Renee Zellweger, Eva Langoria and Reese Witherspoon. Hilary Swank had a really eye catching jeweled flower hair accessory that did wonders to make up for her simple black dress.

Hugh Laurie’s wish for a Dolce & Gabana acceptance speech brought some laughs as did Clint Eastwood’s repeating part of Jennifer Hudson’s acceptance speech. As expected Jennifer Hudson took home the best supporting actress award for her part in Dreamgirls. Best Supporting Actor went to Eddie Murphy, also for Dreamgirls. This was a first for both of them. Meryl Streep took home the Best Actress award for her role as the boss from hell in The Devil Wears Prada. Best Motion Picture went to Babel.

Looks like Hollywood is indeed off to a good start in 2007.

[tags] Golden Globe Awards,Red carpet,best dressed, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Meryl Streep, Babel, Hugh Laurie [/tags]