Hawaii’s Grammy-winning Bruno Mars will lend his voice to the animated film "Rio 2," a sequel to the 2011 bird flick. Yep, he’ll sing the part of a yet-unnamed bird.
The "Locked Out of Heaven" and "When I Was Your Man" singer-composer joins a flock that includes Jamie Foxx, Janelle Monae, will.i.am, Andy Garcia and Kristin Chenoweth.
The franchise focuses on a blue macaw named Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and his mate, Jewell (Anne Hathaway), who migrate to the Amazon. The sequel will land in theaters April 14, 2014.
Movie music is not new for Mars, who provided the end-title tune "It Will Rain" in the "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part I" film. …
SIGHT ‘EMS:Look for local boy Blaze Mancillas, a Chaminade alum, in Friday’s episode of CBS’ latest cop drama, "Golden Boy." Mancillas appears as Arroyo Jr., a somewhat cocky rookie NYPD officer who is the son of veteran officer Tony Arroyo (Kevin Alejandro of "True Blood"), in the new show, which premiered Tuesday but moves to Friday this week. Theo James, who was the ill-fated Mr. Pamuk in "Downton Abbey," plays Walter William Clark Jr., the young and green police commissioner, in flash-forward storytelling that is challenging to watch. Chi McBride is the senior detective tasked with helping Walter learn the ropes. Local theater-goers may recall Mancillas in such Chaminade shows as "Pippin," "Amadeus" and "Waiting for Godot," or as a Po‘okela Award-winning actor in The Actors’ Group’s "Mass Appeal." …
When Rihanna was on an island holiday with Chris Brown, she wanted a slice of Polynesian entertainment and enlisted the folks at Tihati Productions to stage a revue at a Kahala home. So next-generation Thompson entrepreneurs Afatia Thompson and Misty Tufono (brother and sister, whose parents are Jack and Cha Thompson) packaged the special show. …
CINEMASCOOP: With Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence reportedly in the isle for additional shooting for "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," one wonders if she’s traveling with her best-actress Oscar. Not! But don’t look for a light-haired Lawrence; following the Academy Awards she had her tresses dyed darker for her role as Katniss Everdeen. …
ONE DAY MORE: Did you catch last weekend’s Lea Salonga concert at Blaisdell Concert Hall?
The Tony Award-winner ("Miss Saigon") and Broadway insider was stunning, singing everything from Bruno Mars‘ "Grenade" to her dual Disney princess anthems "A Whole New World" (as Jasmine from "Aladdin") and "Reflections" (as the lead character from "Mulan") — even the Mars-co-written Cee Lo Green hit, "Forget You." But the tunes resonating with the audience were "On My Own," which she has performed as Eponine in "Les Misérables," and "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," the haunting Marius melody also from "Les Miz," the latter punctuating a brief comment about the shooting tragedy in Newtown, Conn.
Salonga previously portrayed two roles in the stage "Les Miz," Fantine and Eponine, and while she didn’t mention a planned March 2014 return of the Cameron Mackintosh-produced epic on Broadway, she’d be a valuable asset and a great commercial choice if she were recruited for the relaunch. After all, there’s a whole generation of show-goers who know only the movie version, plus a legion of die-hards who live by the stage rendering. Oh, the newbie won’t include the iconic barricades, Mackintosh has said in a statement. Still, something to anticipate. …
HEROES: "American Heroes," a Congressional Gold Medal exhibit opening Saturday at Castle Memorial Building at Bishop Museum, honors World War II nisei soldiers from the famed 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service.A panel at 11:15 a.m. assemblesformer Govs. George Ariyoshi and Ben Cayetano, retired Chief Judge James Burns and his son, Aina Haina Elementary School Principal Brendan Burns. …
And that’s "Show Biz." …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at www.staradvertiser.com.
