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Netflix teases ‘fitting end’ to defining series House of Cards

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — A Netflix Inc. executive promised on Sunday a “fitting end” to the streaming service’s acclaimed political drama House of Cards but did not divulge how the series wrote out scandal-tainted star Kevin Spacey.
House of Cards put Netflix on the map as a home for original entertainment when the series debuted in 2013 starring Spacey as conniving politician Frank Underwood. The show’s coming send-off centers on Robin Wright, who plays Frank’s devious wife, Claire.
“We’re really proud of the show, and it’s a fitting end,” Cindy Holland, vice-president of original series at Netflix, said in response to questions at a Television Critics Association event where networks promoted upcoming shows.
“We always planned for season six to be the final season, and we are proud of the work of Robin” and the rest of the cast and crew, she added. The company has not yet set a release date.
House of Cards upended television when Netflix released the first season’s episodes all at once to encourage online “binge viewing.” The show earned widespread critical praise.
In November 2017, Netflix quickly cut ties with Spacey after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. Spacey has been accused by more than 20 men and has said nothing publicly about the allegations since an apology to the first accuser in October 2017.
Five years after Netflix’s gamble with House of Cards, the company plans to release about 700 original TV series, movies and other types of programming around the world this year. The sheer volume has led to questions about whether Netflix can keep churning out programming with a high level of quality.
“Quality and quantity are not mutually exclusive,” Holland said. “We are maintaining quality as we grow by hiring brilliant talent who are passionate about the stories they want to tell and giving them creative space.”
She also addressed complaints from some producers that their work can get lost in the flood of Netflix programming. Netflix devises a marketing plan for each show and is one of the biggest online advertisers in the world, Holland said.
She added that the best way to reach viewers was by Netflix’s promotion of the shows when people turn on the service. The company reported it had 130 million subscribers at the end of June.
“That is by far the most powerful promotional vehicle we have,” she said. “I’m confident we are doing justice to our programming.” — Reuters

Next Star Wars to use old footage of late Carrie Fisher

LOS ANGELES — Carrie Fisher will be featured in the next Star Wars movie, using previously unseen footage she recorded before her death, Walt Disney Co. studio said on Friday.
Actor Mark Hamill, whose Luke Skywalker character appeared to die in last year’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, will also appear in the next movie, which will start filming in London on Aug. 1, Disney said in a statement.
Fisher, who played Princess Leia, died suddenly in December 2016 at age 60 after suffering a heart attack just as she was enjoying a career revival with the re-invigorated Star Wars movie franchise that reunited her with original cast members Hamill and Harrison Ford in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
She had just finished shooting The Last Jedi and Leia was to have been the central character in the ninth film in the sci-fi franchise, Star Wars: Episode IX.
“We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” director J.J. Abrams, who will direct Episode IX, said in a statement.
“Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG (computer-generated) character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII,” he added, referring to Force Awakens.
Disney said after Fisher’s death that the script for the ninth movie was being reworked.
Billy Dee Williams will reprise his role as scoundrel Lando Calrissian, who was first seen in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return of the Jedi, the Disney statement added.
Williams will join returning cast members Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong’o, and Kelly Marie Tran, the studio said.
Episode IX, which has yet to get a formal title, is due to arrive in movie theaters worldwide in December 2019.
Disney and Lucas film announced last year that the release date for Episode IX had been pushed back six months to December 2019 and that Abrams had been hired to write and direct after the departure of original director Colin Trevorrow.
The Star Wars franchise is among the most valuable film properties in the world. The Force Awakens took in more than $2 billion at the global box office while The Last Jedi raked in $1.3 billion. — Reuters

Instituto Cervantes’ new branch to screen Latin American films in August


INSTITUTO CERVANTES will feature “Four Gems of Latin American Cinema,” a series of critically acclaimed and award-winning films directed by Latin American filmmakers, every Saturday of August at the new Intramuros branch of the Spanish cultural center.
The film cycle, which serves as an invitation to appreciate Latin American cinematography, will kickoff on Aug. 4, 6 p.m., with the screening of Azul y no tan rosa (My Straight Son), a plea for respect and non-discrimination due to sexual orientation. It won the 2013 LGBT Montreal Film Festival Best Feature and the 2014 Goya Award for Best Latin American Film.
Directed by Miguel Ferrari, the film tells the story of Diego, a successful Venezuelan fashion photographer, who decides to formalize his relationship with his boyfriend by moving in with him. A tragic accident leaves his partner in a coma, and he is obliged to take care of his own son who lives in Spain and with whom he has not seen in years. Now, both of them have to adapt to each other — the son to the unknown, homosexual world of his father, and the father to the closed attitude of his teenage son.
Next to be shown as part of the film series is El método (The Method) on Aug. 11, 6 p.m. Based on a play by Jordi Galcerán and directed by Argentine filmmaker Marcelo Piñeyro, El método explores the dark inner mechanisms of the corporate world.
Seven candidates are put together in a meeting room as part of final selection process for a single high-level position in a multinational corporation. Then, they are informed that one of them is not a candidate but an employee from HR analyzing their attitudes. What follows is a series of fierce tests which will question their priorities, ethics, and loyalty under stress.
On Aug. 18, 6 p.m., the thriller El secreto de sus ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes) will be shown. Benjamin Esposito, a legal counselor who is about to retire, starts writing a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior — both of which still haunt him decades later.
Writing the book leads Benjamin to investigate his own past and a period of Argentina’s history marked by violence and death. Arguably the best work by Argentinean filmmaker Juan José Campanella, it has received more than 50 international awards, among them the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film, and the Goya Award for Best Latin American Film.
The comedy Lista de espera (Waiting List) concludes the film cycle on Aug. 25, 8 p.m. Directed by Juan Carlos Tabío, it tells the story of a group of passengers who wait for their transportation at a Cuban bus station. However, all buses that pass are full. They decide to stay and repair an old bus as a strange and tender story is woven among them.
This film series is presented by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain, and the Film Archives of AECID, with the support of Intramuros Administration and Accenture.
Instituto Cervantes Intramuros is located at Casa Azul at the Plaza San Luis Complex, next to San Agustin Church.
All the films are in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit http://manila.cervantes.es or www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

Cruise’s latest Impossible tops US box office

LOS ANGELES — Improbable? Maybe, but Mission Impossible — Fallout, the sixth and latest stunt-filled edition of the Tom Cruise action franchise has topped the weekend box office in North America, outperforming the five earlier Impossibles.
The Paramount/Skydance production took in an estimated $61.5 million for the three-day weekend, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations, more than quadrupling the $15 million earned by second-place Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Impossible has 56-year-old Cruise, who famously still does his own cliff-hanging, car-rolling stunts, ordered to track down some missing plutonium and find a terror-minded villain. Critics seem to like the film despite its evident weaknesses: Though “often ridiculous,” the Washington Post wrote, the film “works amazingly well.”
Universal’s Mamma Mia clung to the second spot for a second straight weekend, though its take was nearly 60% below its opening. With a star-studded cast including Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, and Pierce Brosnan, the film uses plentiful flashbacks to fill in the story of Streep’s carefree character on the only Greek island with a built-in ABBA soundtrack.
In third was Sony’s The Equalizer 2, with Denzel Washington again playing a former black-ops agent — and now low-profile Lyft driver — drawn into action to avenge a friend’s death. It took in $14 million.
Fourth spot went to another Sony film, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, at $12.3 million. In fifth was a new release, Warner Bros.’ family-friendly Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, at $10.5 million, which Variety called slightly disappointing given the film’s 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rounding out the top 10 were: Ant-Man and the Wasp ($8.4 million); Incredibles 2 ($7.2 million); Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($6.8 million); Skyscraper ($5.4 million); The First Purge ($2.2 million). — AFP

HK buskers take a bow

HONG KONG — The rumbustious street performers who have long claimed one of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping districts as their informal stage took their final bow Sunday night after local authorities caved to noise complaints over their legendary cacophony. Under the glow of Mong Kok’s famous neon signs, buskers have been entertaining crowds — and irking neighbors — for nearly two decades in Sai Yeung Choi Street South, an area which has been regularly closed to traffic to make way for pedestrians and performers since 2000. Over the years, a motley line-up including an acrobat in his sixties performing stunts to Michael Jackson and karaoke bands surrounded by fans clapping along on plastic stools gave ear-splitting shows to tinny music blasted from amplifiers. Drawing cheers and consternation equally, the street performers have received 320 noise complaints in just the first half of the year, according to police, with local media reporting 1,200 complaints last year. The pedestrian zone will be fully abolished and reopen to traffic starting on Aug. 4. But while some will be relieved that the plug is being pulled, others fear authorities are killing off the city’s vibrant street culture with over-regulation. — AFP

Meralco core profit up 7% on energy sales rise

MERALCO electricians maintain a secondary transmission line. — AFP

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) said core profit was P5.93 billion in the second quarter, up 7.4% year-on-year, as the country’s biggest power distribution utility posted higher energy sales during the period.
Including one-time items, net profit was P6.66 billion, up 17%, after revenue rose 7% to P79.74 billion, the bulk of which came from electricity sales.
“The higher revenue is the result of the combined effect of the 7% increase in volume of energy sold, and increase generation charge brought about by higher fuel prices, the weakening of the peso versus the US dollar, higher prices at the wholesale electricity spot market, as well as higher local consumer price index,” said Betty C. Siy-Yap, Meralco senior vice-president and chief finance officer, during a briefing at its headquarters on Ortigas Ave., Pasig City.
“The average distribution rate of Meralco was at P1.42 per kilowatt-hour, 1 centavo lower than that of 2017 as the sales mix reflected a slightly higher share of industrial over residential volumes,” she added.
In the first half, consolidated core profit rose 7% to P10.9 billion, while consolidated net profit rose 14% to P12 billion. Revenue was P150.5 billion, up 7%, while volume of energy sold was at 21,665 gigawatt-hours, up 7%.
“2018 is going to be a better year than 2017,” said Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan during the same briefing.
But he said he is “cautious” about the second half because of a number of issues, including inflation that could dampen consumer demand at a time when the temperatures are cooler compared with the previous year.
Mr. Pangilinan said that the company should have a better idea of the full-year picture when the utility reports its third quarter results.
Oscar S. Reyes, Meralco’s president and chief executive officer, said customer count at mid-June grew 4.8% to 6.47 million consumers.
“In summary, you will see that the focus on the distribution utility side is for us in Meralco to deliver excellent customer service and operational excellence in fulfilling our franchise mandate,” he said. “That has helped drive our sales and financial results.”
In the first half, electricity sales rose 7% to P146.9 billion amid little change in non-electricity revenue.
Meralco’s non-electric revenue consists mainly of business generated by foreign attachments to the utility’s poles, and revenue from subsidiaries, which include Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corp. and its subsidiaries from its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and operations and maintenance works involving various substations and transmission or telecommunications lines.
In a statement issued during the briefing, Mr. Pangilinan said the company’s board on Monday approved a cash dividend of P5.311 per share to all shareholders of record as of Aug. 29.
“We continue to focus on the operation of a highly efficient and reliable distribution utility, as well as unparalleled customer service,” he said.
The cash dividend is payable on Sept. 24, representing the interim regular cash dividend for 2018.
“One of the few underwhelming numbers was that the cash dividend though fell a little below expectations at just P5.311/[share], representing a payout of 55% of core earnings. Analysts are/were hoping a sudden announcement of a special cash dividend may be announced,” said Luis A. Limlingan, business development head at Regina Capital Development Corp.
On Monday, shares in Meralco rose 0.53% or P2 to P380.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon

Roseanne says tweet ‘cost me everything’

LOS ANGELES — Comedian Roseanne Barr apologized on Thursday for her controversial Twitter comment that caused the cancellation of her US comedy show Roseanne, but insisted she had been misunderstood and said the mistake “cost me everything.” Barr said in an hour-long television interview, her first since comparing a black former Obama administration official to an ape, that her May tweet was political in nature, not racist. “I was so sad that people thought it was racist,” Barr told Fox News host Sean Hannity. She said the tweet referencing former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett — “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj” — was a bid to seek accountability for the 2015 international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program. She did not clarify what she believed was Jarrett’s involvement in the agreement. “I made a mistake obviously. It cost me everything, my life’s work. And I paid the price for it. But no, I did not know she (Jarrett) was black,” she said. Jarrett was born in Iran to parents of European and African-American descent. She said on Wednesday she did not intend to watch Barr’s interview.— Reuters

URC profit hit by sharp drop in forex gains

UNIVERSAL Robina Corp. (URC)’s attributable profit dropped by more than a third during the second quarter, taking a hit from the weaker peso, with currency depreciation also affecting its international subsidiaries, as well as setbacks at its domestic coffee business.
In a regulatory filing, the food and beverage company reported a net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent of P1.86 billion, down 35% from a year earlier.
In the six months to June, URC’s attributable profit fell 23% to P4.81 billion.
The listed firm said operating income and foreign exchange gains declined. URC said net foreign exchange gains declined by 77% “due to the combined effects of depreciation of international subsidiaries’ local currencies and Philippine peso vis-a-vis the US dollar.”
URC also noted a decrease in coffee volumes, coupled with higher selling and distribution expenses.
Revenue meanwhile rose 10% to P33.18 billion during the second quarter. In the first six months they rose 5.89% to P64.37 billion.
“We are pleased with our overall sales growth momentum, and are working hard to address the short-term challenges to profitability brought about by peso devaluation and inflationary pressures,” URC President and Chief Executive Officer Irwin C. Lee said in a statement.
The company has three core businesses — branded consumer foods (BCF), agro-industrial products, and commodity food products.
The BCF segment saw a 2% increase in sales from the domestic and international business to P50.4 billion. Revenue posted by the domestic business fell 2%, weighed down by coffee.
Meanwhile, revenue posted by the international business rose 8% to P21 billion, following the recovery of its Vietnam operations alongside growth in Indonesia and Australia.
The agro-industrial products and commodity food products generated combined sales of P13.2 billion, up 22% year-on-year, after higher volumes in sugar, flour and feeds, and better selling prices for hogs.
URC is planning to make P8 billion in capital expenditures this year, to support the expansion of capacity and to improve handling and distribution.
The company is also banking on a number of improvements to transform its business.
“These include developing a people and planet friendly culture that will in turn enable product supply chain transformations, preferred partnerships with customers and suppliers, and a portfolio of innovations to deliver products and brands that consumers love,” Mr. Lee said.
URC rose 3.82% or P5 to P136 on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Michelle Williams marries after Heath Ledger death

LOS ANGELES — Actress Michelle Williams has quietly married, telling Vanity Fair magazine she never gave up on love after the death of her partner Heath Ledger 10 years ago. Williams, 37, the fiercely private Oscar-nominated star of Brokeback Mountain, told the magazine in an interview published on Thursday that she married American indie musician Phil Elverum at a private ceremony earlier this month in the rural Adirondacks region of upstate New York. She described her relationship with Elverum, whose first wife died of pancreatic cancer, as “very sacred, very special.” Williams had a daughter, Matilda, with Ledger but the couple ended their three-year romance a few months before his 2008 death at age 28 of an accidental prescription drugs overdose. “I never gave up on love,” she said. “I always say to Matilda, ‘Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes.’ Obviously I’ve never once in my life talked about a relationship but Phil isn’t anyone else.” The interview appears in the September edition of Vanity Fair, on newsstands on Aug. 7. — Reuters

8990 Holdings Q2 revenue up 142% on strong mass housing demand

MASS HOUSING developer 8990 Holdings, Inc. said revenue rose 142% to P3.5 billion during the second quarter, amid pent-up demand for affordable housing.
The listed firm, in a statement, did not report second quarter profit figures. However, it said its first half revenue of P6 billion grew 98% and exceeded the company’s internal target.
“There is pent-up demand. This must have been one reason why we have this unexpected surge… also (buyers) look at pricing. We tried to maintain our prices as best as we can, and this boded well for us,” 8990 Holdings Chief Executive Officer Willibaldo J. Uy told reporters at a briefing after the company’s shareholder meeting in Makati City yesterday.
Mr. Uy said that the second quarter is typically a slow period for property developers. 8990 Holdings’s revenue fell 36% in the first half of 2017.
The company said its net profit margin was 40% for the first half, while net profit for the period was P2.4 billion, doubling from a year earlier.
“We’re confident that we’ll meet our targets. We’re quite lucky we were able to reach this level. Normally third quarter is good,” Mr. Uy said.
8990 Holdings said earlier that it hopes to book a P4.31-billion profit in 2018, amid projected revenue of P11.5 billion.
The company is banking on its P35-billion Ortigas Extension project to be one of the growth drivers for this year. The residential condominium complex consists of 22 buildings with 13 to 15 floors each, offering a total of 18,993 units.
While the company has yet to secure a license to sell the Ortigas Extension project, Mr. Uy said it is confident of obtaining the permit and start selling before the year ends.
Meanwhile, 8990 Holdings is planning to issue P3 billion worth of securities in the third quarter. These include the sale of the firm’s contract-to-sell receivables, consisting of loans averaging P950,000 each at a maximum period of 20 years.
The company has been selling its receivables to banks in previous years to boost cash.
8990 Holdings fell 10 centavos or 1.32% to P7.50 on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

The Bay Area emerges as the fastest-growing business district

By Mark Louis F. Ferrolino, Special Features Writer
THE BAY AREA, a business hub straddling Pasay City and Parañaque City, has regained its position as the fastest-growing office district in Metro Manila, recording a 10% growth in stock during the second quarter of the year.
Monique Cornelio-Pronove, chief executive officer of Pronove Tai International Property Consultants, said in a recent media briefing that the Bay Area had an additional office supply of 77,000 square meters (sq. m.) from April to June, bringing the district’s total stock to 830,000 sq.m., which accounts for 8% of the total 10.2 million sq.m. office stock in Metro Manila.
“[The] Bay Area did not have any supply last quarter, and it was at the bottom… but for this quarter, Bay Area went up again as the fastest-growing district,” Ms. Cornelio-Pronove said.
Muntinlupa City also posted a notable growth of 8% or 39,000 sq.m., expanding its total office stock to 551,000 sq.m. The district emerged as the second fastest-growing district in the same period.
Even though Makati City posted only a 1% growth in stock, it remained the largest office district in Metro Manila with a total stock of 3.3 million sq.m. or 33% of the total office stock in the region.
Approximately 194,000 sq.m. of office completions were recorded by Pronove Tai in the second quarter, a decrease of 22% quarter on quarter (QoQ). While this marked a 100% delivery rate as projected for the quarter, the decrease in supply resulted in vacancy rates dropping from 5% to 4% QoQ.
“What happens if you have lower supply and yet you still have strong demand or strong take-up, your vacancy will go down,” Ms. Cornelio-Pronove said. “Our vacancy last quarter was 5%, we’ve actually gone down to 4%. And I’ve always been saying that 5% would be a healthy level already to provide space for those (companies) that growing.”
Mandaluyong City and Quezon City recorded the highest vacancy rates at 12% and 10%, respectively, while all the other districts recorded unhealthy levels below 5%. Muntinlupa City was at the lowest at 1%, Makati City remained tight at 2%, and Bay Area logged in 3%.
Meanwhile, Pronove Tai also reported that the actual take-up of office spaces in Metro Manila in the second quarter slowed down by 18% to 214,000 sq.m. from the 262,000 sq.m. in the previous quarter.
Of the actual take-up, traditional offices accounted for the biggest share at 43% or 92,000 sq.m., while the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) sector and Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) trailed at 32% (69,000 sq.m.) and 24% (51,000 sq.m.), respectively.
Ms. Cornelio-Pronove noted that POGOs are a huge market, and their preferred locations are the Bay Area and Makati City.
“We currently have 446,000 sq.m. existing office spaces taken up by POGOs in Metro Manila. The Bay Area and the Makati area continue to be the favorite destinations of the POGOs. If they have their choice they want to be in Makati. But because the supply in Makati is limited, then Bay Area has opened up to them as well,” she said.

Calmar Land launches P1-B Lucena residential project

CALMAR LAND Development Corp. is introducing more affordable housing choices for starting families with the launch of its second project under its economic brand, Promesa.
The Southern Luzon property developer unveiled over the weekend Promesa Isabang, a 4.9-hectare residential development at Barangay Isabang, Lucena City. It sits next to Calmar Land’s Citta Grande project, which is its biggest residential community so far.
The development has a projected sales value of around P1 billion, and seeks to cater to the lower income market.
“It’s the promise of delivering quality homes to our buyers at a very affordable price for starting families. We are doing this to help address the housing backlog of around 6 million,” Calmar Land Chief Operating Officer Raymond Alonso told BusinessWorld in a phone interview last Friday.
Promesa Isabang offers a total of 551 units, consisting of duplex units covering up to 77 square meters (sq.m.) and townhouse structures spanning 45.5 sq.m., in terms of floor area. It will feature amenities such as a multipurpose pavilion, a basketball court, a children’s play area, a jogging path, and gazebos.
Mr. Alonso said a key difference of Promesa Isabang is its family starter series, where they will turn over a basic unit with no partitions, allowing young couples to decide what they want to do with the property.
“We have our family starter series which allows the family to design their own interior and paint the colors to their liking. As compared to other developers’ family starter series, ours has a ceiling. That is our main difference from others,” Mr. Alonso explained.
Monthly amortization can go as low as P8,000 per month if paid for over 30 years through Pag-IBIG financing.
The Isabang development is Calmar Land’s second project carrying the Promesa brand, with the first located in Pila, Laguna. Prior to its entry into economic housing, Calmar Land’s primary targets were the middle to upper income markets. Mr. Alonso said they currently have seven projects in Lucena and four in Mega Lucena catering to these markets.
Asked how the demand for housing projects is in Lucena, Mr. Alonso said it continues to be strong, with around 40% of their sales coming from overseas Filipino workers.
“Demand it is very strong especially for the overseas, our sales abroad… It just shows that for the hard-earned work they do abroad, they look forward to use that for having their own home here,” he said.
Moving forward, Calmar Land is planning to launch at least three to four developments in provincial areas every year. Mr. Alonso said their current land bank spans 400 to 500 hectares across Batangas and Laguna. The company is also looking to develop a project in Bulacan in the next two years. — Arra B. Francia

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