Essilor launches Bolon eyewear to the Philippines

Italian-designed leading affordable luxury eyewear is now in the Philippines! Introduced by Essilor, the world’s leading ophthalmic optics company, Bolon premium eyewear, known for its elegance, high quality and functionality, has been launched in Metro Manila and is now available in select optical shops.

Bolon is recognized for its unique and stylish designs as well as its ingenuity in protecting the eyes against harmful rays of the sun. The Bolon brand redefines the modern aesthetic to meet the standards of today’s chic consumers, at the same time maintaining its functionality and elegance.

“We are pleased and enthusiastic to launch Bolon in the Philippines,” remarks Dr. Emelita Roleda, Essilor Philippines general manager. “With Bolon®, Filipinos now have access to premium, affordable luxury sunglasses and eyewear.”

Combining both science and art in each eyewear, Bolon is not only a fashion statement because of its exquisite designs. Its high-definition polarized lenses have E-SPF technology to ensure the highest level of comfort and protection. It is also made from Italian “Mazzucchelli” acetate, renowned for its outstanding colors and textures, as well as from Swiss-made memory resin, well-known for supreme resistance and lightness.

Bolon is indeed a top-notch eyewear that captivates even Oscar and Emmy award winner, Anne Hathaway, who is its brand ambassador. Epitomizing youth, style, and glamor, the Interstellar actress perfectly embodies the high quality of Bolon sunglasses and prescription frames.

With 85% brand recognition level and 30% market share in Asia, Bolon already has a strong presence across the region. It has also been massively distributed to major global hubs and airports, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo. Recently, the brand made a successful move to expand to the Middle East and UK markets.

Learn more about Bolon by visiting your preferred eye care professional or leading optical shop nationwide.

Anne Hathaway is back as a fashion mogul in "The Intern"

It has been a long time since an Anne Hathaway movie, I will always love Anne who plays Andrea Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada because of her fashion taste,  now comes "The Intern" stars with no less than Robert De Niro.

Anne Hathaway stars opposite De Niro as Jules Ostin, the founder of an e-commerce site, About the Fit, in Warner Bros. Pictures' new drama comedy “The Intern.”

In the film directed Nancy Meyers (“It's Complicated,” “The Holiday”), seventy-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site that's growing at hyper speed. When owner and founder Jules agreed to have senior interns join the company, however, she assumed that meant seniors in college.

“Jules isn’t so great with older people,” Meyers acknowledges. “She has a bit of a bumpy relationship with her mom, so she feels she might not be the best candidate to be assigned a senior intern.”
Hathaway adds, “She resists initially because she knows the speed at which her business and her life run, and she imagines somebody older might slow her down. But the senior intern program may be just what she needs.

“Jules is a type A; she very much has the ‘lean in’ mentality,” the actress continues. “She’s incredibly smart and another thing I really like about her is she’s got an amazing heart. The reason her company is doing so well is not just because she’s so brilliant, but also because everything she does is from a genuine place of passion and vision…and that’s also a reflection of Nancy,” she smiles.

Meyers says Hathaway’s work ethic is not far removed from her character’s. “Annie has tremendous substance. She has great drive and energy on screen and is one of those rare actresses who can do it all. She’s funny when we need her to be, and so vulnerable and truthful in the more dramatic moments. She’s also not straight down the middle, she’s got a quirkiness to her, which I love.”

What begins as resistance on Jules’s part soon gives way to respect and appreciation. Hathaway attests, “In a company full of young techies with maybe not so many people skills, Ben is the person who inspires us to look up from our computers and really engage. Jules is the product of a generation that makes snap decisions: click on it, tweet it, post it, trash it; so I think she puts a lot of pressure on herself. Ben shows up and he just listens to her. He doesn’t judge, he just accepts her and brings a level of calm. She knows she’s not easy and he thinks that’s great about her. All the things that she’s afraid other people find off-putting, he sees as indicators of someone of value. He may have wanted to be needed but it turns out she needed him too.”

De Niro offers, “Jules is very ambitious and smart and has been fortunate to fill a niche with this business that she’s created. I think anytime you start something, you have to treat it with a lot of love and attention; you really have to invest yourself in it. Jules does. She is very hands-on. She extends herself and puts caring into every detail to make sure that it’s all done right.”
“The friendship that gradually forms between Ben and Jules is what kept me writing,” states Meyers. “It’s their personal connection that drives this story.”



The director also observes that De Niro and Hathaway’s chemistry established a powerful dynamic between their characters. “It’s this magical thing that happens if you’re lucky,” says Meyers. “It can’t be forced, it just happens. There’s just something special between Ben and Jules, and also Bob and Annie. And I believe it’s very palpable on screen.”

“I was so fortunate to have had Bob by my side,” Hathaway declares. “He is such a terrific guy and, it goes without saying, was wonderful as Ben. He makes these razor sharp turns in a scene and you feel chills go through your soul because that power is so strong and so focused and you’re right next to it. But he’s so modest and so laid back and easy going, you forget for a moment that he’s one of the greatest actors who have ever lived.”

Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, September 24, “The Intern” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Anne Hathaway reunites with Director Nolan for "Interstellar"

Anne Hathaway (“The Dark Knight Rises,” “Les Miserables”) reunites with director Christopher Nolan in Warner Bros. Pictures' futuristic thriller “Interstellar.”

In the film, with our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history: traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

Hathaway is mindful of Nolan’s focus on the human stakes in even the most heroic endeavor. “From the beginning of time, the reach to expand our world or move our civilization forward has always involved great sacrifice by a handful of individuals, who put the greater good over any risk to themselves. This film really celebrates those who are brave enough to do that.”

“I got so emotional reading it,” continues Hathaway who plays biologist Amelia Brand, part of the team of astronauts that also includes Matthew McConaughey as Cooper, Wes Bentley as Doyle and David Gyasi as Romilly.

“The family dynamics for all the characters, the stakes for all the characters, are enormous,” Hathaway continues. “I think just about everybody has to make some kind of major sacrifice in order to go on this journey. I think this film really celebrates those that are brave enough to do that. I’m so floored by humanity’s capacity to put others before ourselves.”

“Anne is an extraordinary talent who can really lose herself in a character,” Nolan observes. “She has cerebral qualities and an interest in science, so it was natural to see her as Brand, a character who views the world through a scientific lens. But, at the same time, Anne’s underlying warmth and the layered performance she brought to the role reveal this character to be a whole person beyond just being a scientist.”

Hathaway admits that she was “blown away” by the film’s evocation of space, but was primarily drawn in by the emotional journey the characters take. “The concepts behind this film can keep you awake at night, but the story is also a beautiful meditation on love,” she says. “If you look at the human race from an evolutionary standpoint, you have to factor in love as a key part of the equation, and how this idea is woven into Brand’s experience of this mission felt very moving and truthful to me. I think it’s a brave and extraordinary thing that Chris has done in weaving the persistence of love into the DNA of this big adventure in space.”

Anne Hathaway most recently reprised the voice of Jewel, an independent, high-flying blue macaw in Carlos Saldanha’s animated film “Rio 2,” which also features voices from Jamie Foxx and Jesse Eisenberg.

In 2012, she starred as “Fantine” in Tom Hooper’s screen adaptation of musical phenomenon “Les Misérables,” opposite Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried. Hathaway’s performance garnered Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA awards for lead actress. Earlier that year, Hathaway starred as the ultimate femme fatale “Catwoman” alongside Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” The film was Nolan’s third and final chapter in the franchise and was both a critical triumph and a smash box office hit.

In 2008, Hathaway starred in Jonathan Demme’s critically acclaimed “Rachel Getting Married,” for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, an Independent Spirit Award, and a SAG Award in the “Best Actress” category. The National Board of Review, the Chicago Film Critics Association, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association all named Hathaway “Best Actress” for her performance in the film.

Opening across the Philippines on Nov. 6, “Interstellar” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. “Interstellar” is available in four formats: IMAX 70mm Film (at IMAX SM Mall of Asia), 35mm Film (at Glorietta 4, Sta. Lucia East and Trinoma), IMAX Digital (at SM Aura Premiere, SM Cebu, SM Clark, SM Lanang, SM Megamall, SM North EDSA and SM Southmall) and Digital 2D (most theatres nationwide).

Bruno Mars As "Roberto" Lends Voice to "Rio 2"

BRUNO MARS’ JUNGLE ADVENTURE IN “RIO 2”

There’s something that Jewel (Anne Hathaway) did not talk about with Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) in the first “Rio” family adventure outing – that is her childhood friend named Roberto (Bruno Mars).  In the upcoming adventure 3D movie “Rio 2,” Blu is suddenly pitted against Jewel’s childhood friend, Roberto who is the epitome of a Blue Macaw - a perfect specimen of a wild bird who charms everyone around him and makes Blu self-conscious.

Bruno Mars joins the vividly delightful and upbeat musical world of Blu and Jewel in “Rio 2” where director Carlos Saldanha brings the adventure into the wild thick forest of the Amazon.  With the success of “Rio” the call for a sequel came quickly.  Having already teased a new life together for Blu and Jewel – and their three new arrivals – in the film’s finale, Saldanha pitched his idea for a new story.  What if Blu and his family aren’t the last Blue Macaws, he posited.  What would happen to the family dynamic?

Saldanha decided to set his new story in the mammoth Brazilian wilderness.  “I wanted a setting very different from the one we explored in ‘Rio,’ he explains.  “I thought we should move away from the city.”   So, in “Rio 2,” it’s on…in the Amazon, not only visually, but musically.  “We wanted to look at different musical ‘flavors,’ sounds and exciting new beats that make the soundtrack for “Rio 2” even bigger than the first film’s,” says the director.

If meeting a critical father-in-law, Eduardo (Andy Garcia) weren’t enough, Blu must also contend with Jewel’s childhood friend Roberto, played by Bruno Mars. “Roberto is pretty much the opposite of Blu – all charm and suaveness – and he can sing like an angel,” says Hathaway.  Eisenberg notes that, “Roberto and Jewel have a history and an almost secret language.  So Blu feels not only threatened by Roberto, but is frustrated because Roberto seems like the perfect guy.  Everything he does is heroic – and he’s a great singer!”

Roberto owes his vocal prowess to the music icon who voices him: Bruno Mars. The Grammy winner, who has sold over 115 million records worldwide and has a catalog of 22 Hot 100 hits as a singer, producer and songwriter, enjoyed his first foray into feature animation.  “I like that Roberto has a good heart,” Mars explains. “He’s a genuine dude and he really has love for Jewel – genuine love.  They grew up together, so they have a bond that’s pretty special.”

The filmmakers considered a long list of candidates for the role, but a Mars appearance on “Saturday Night Live” helped sealed the deal.  “I saw a clip of Bruno acting on SNL, and I thought he was really funny,” Saldanha remembers.  Producer John C. Donkin notes that casting Mars “transformed our thinking about the character.   He added a unique quality we initially hadn’t envisioned for Roberto, which we came to embrace, and the character really blossomed.”

If Roberto’s looks, talent and friendship with Jewel weren’t intimidating enough for Blu, the songbird hosts the clan in his magnificent mansion, located in one of the Amazon’s most impressive trees.  Interweaving roots create open pockets, perfect for rooms housing Blu and his family.  As the family settles into this exciting new world, Blu finds his learning curve to be a steep one.

Bruno Mars lends his signature vocal stylings to the track “Welcome Back,” in which his character Roberto expresses his joy in reuniting with Jewel.  The song was written by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and John Powell, and produced by Bruno Mars and John Powell.

“Rio 2” (in 2D and 3D) will open April 9 (Saturday) nationwide in cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.