ENTERTAINMENT
A12
TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2014
SCI-FI AT GALAXY CINEMA
Renowned writer touring with movie The Last Unicorn Renowned science-fiction writer Peter S. Beagle will conduct a question-and-answer session for Central Alberta fans on April 26 at Galaxy Cinemas. Beagle, who is touring with his movie The Last Unicorn, will be at Galaxy Cinema at 4 p.m. He will also be signing copies of his books. It’s an opportunity for local sci-fi book and movie fans to interact with the famous author, who has won multiple awards, including the Hugo and Nebula Awards and a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement. For more information, visit lastunicorntour.com.
The Grandmaster sets record with 12 honours HONG KONG FILM AWARDS BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by THE WASHINGTON POST
Gene Drubetskoy, of Reisterstown, Md., won the casting call to play poker with professional poker players at Maryland Live Casino on March 24 in Hanover, Md. They were filming ‘Poker Night in America,’ a TV show that premiers in April.
Amateur tests skills against pros at Poker Night in America none more notable than the one Greg Merson won in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event, the most significant tournament in the poker world. “It’s my dream to have an opportunity to play with these guys and sit with the best,” Drubetskoy said. “I mean, it’s like if you play a sport, you always wonder if you are good enough to be one of the best and play with the pros.” He didn’t want to become one of them, he added. “My father always said, ‘You need to earn money, not win money.’ “ Drubetskoy simply wanted to measure his skills against the pros and see what would happen when he tangled with the likes of Matt Glantz, Gavin Smith and Merson, who grew up in Columbia, Md., a few minutes from Maryland Live Casino. The game began. Drubetskoy folded more hands than he played. He avoided major confrontations with the other players. He was winning mediumsized pots — enough to add about $4,000 to his starting stack — but wasn’t particularly aggressive. “You can definitely tell he’s played quite a bit of poker and knows what he’s doing,” Merson said of Drubetskoy during a break. “There are certain spots where he’s playing too weak, but playing in a bigger game, that’s not the worst thing. He doesn’t want to put himself in a tough decision for a lot of money.” Tom Schneider noticed. The four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner from Arizona had been studying the unknown amateur since they arrived. “I pick up clues immediately,” Schneider said. “If you come in, like Gene did, and all your bills are 20s, it means you don’t have casino chips and you don’t have 100s. It means you went to the bank and money is probably more important to you. You’ll be a little tighter with it than somebody who comes in with $20,000 in $5,000 casino chips, which means they’re probably a gambler in the pit and money won’t mean as much to them.” J. Freedom du Lac writes for The Washington Post.
BY J. FREEDOM DU LAC ADVOCATE NEWS SERVICE
In the moments before the first hand was dealt, before one amateur and seven pros sat down to play in a made-for-TV poker game, Gene Drubetskoy plopped an enormous brick of cash onto the Poker Night in America table and shrugged. “Sorry, that’s all they had at the bank,” Drubetskoy said as a Maryland Live Casino employee studied the bundle of $20 bills — 500 of them in all, banded and stacked and withdrawn by Drubetskoy on the way to the biggest game he’d ever played. The 33-year-old Reisterstown, Md., mortgage consultant exchanged the cash for $10,000 worth of casino chips and exhaled; he was ready for his highstakes close-up. Drubetskoy had responded to an open casting call for Poker Night in America, a new show that’s bringing cash-game poker back to U.S. television. (Non-tournament poker disappeared from the dial after the Department of Justice squashed Internet poker on April 15, 2011, and the sector’s marketing money dried up.) Producers of the series, who are negotiating a national distribution deal, invited professional players to come in from all over North America for the games at Maryland Live, then added local amateurs to the lineup to provide another potential story line. “We bring the stars, but we want to make new stars, too,” said Nolan Dalla, the show’s creative director. “This is a dream, to play among the best and be seen on television. We’re serious about giving new talent a chance.” Drubetskoy was one of three local amateurs picked to play in the first session on the first of two days of filming in the casino at the Arundel Mills mall in late March. So early one recent afternoon, Drubetskoy was under the TV lights in a game with stakes well beyond anything he’d ever played: $25 and $50, with a minimum $5,000 buy-in. “It’s like just another day at the office,” joked RED DEER LEGION Drubetskoy, who plays Presents recreationally at the STAN FOSTER’S S S Maryland Live poker room several times each week, usually at the $2-$5 and $5-$10 no-limit hold FRIDAY, Y,, A APRIL P 25 ‘em tables. “There isn’t much difEXCITING TRIB T TRIBUTES R TO: ference; it’s just poker.” RAY CHARLES SIR ELTON JOHN Of course, there was FRANK SINATRA NEIL DIAMOND $68,500 in play as the cameras started rolling ROD STEWART JOHNNY CASH at Rams Head Center BILLY JOEL Stage, which was transformed into a single-taDoors Open 6 pm, Dance at 8 pm ble poker room for the shoot late last month. Members $10, Non Members $15 And Drubetskoy was sitting with seven pros with nine World Series of Poker championship bracelets among them — 2810Bremner Ave. Phone 403-342-0035
HONG KONG — Wong Kar Wai’s much lauded kung fu epic The Grandmaster won a record dozen honours at the Hong Kong Film Awards. The story of martial arts legend Ip Man has been praised for raising the martial arts genre to a new level and is one of Wong’s most successful films. It claimed 12 of the 14 awards for which it was nominated, including best film and best director. Accepting his third best-director win, Wong said he was particularly thrilled that the crew and cast were recognized for their hard work. “For the last three years, they really gave so much of themselves for the film,” he said, referring to the time the film was in production. Unbeatable star Nick Cheung, who took his scenes as a boxer so seriously he broke his finger during filming, was named best actor. He thanked everyone from his director to the film crew while on stage accepting his win, but forgot two people dear to him. He remembered them backstage, saying, “Thank you to my daughter who’s brought so much happiness to my life. Thank you to my wife, who’s given me so much bliss in life.” Best-actress winner Zhang Ziyi said at the afterparty she felt some regret that her Grandmaster costar Tony Leung didn’t win. “I really hoped that Tony could have won the award, but I think it’s fine, because without this recognition, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s an outstanding actor,” she said. Zhang, who has won nine best-actress honours across Asia for her performance in The Grandmaster, said she feels this award marks a new beginning. “The Hong Kong Film Awards has given me a new starting line, to start from the beginning and keep working hard. Do a good job with every film and each character, and hard work will eventually be paid off,” she said. Zhang Jin was named best supporting actor for his role in The Grandmaster, and Kara Wai Ying Hung was named best supporting actress for Rigor Mortis. The Grandmaster earned about $51.5 million (HK$400 million) at box offices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It won the top honour at the Asian Film Awards in March and was a best-picture nominee at Asia’s premier film event, the Golden Horse awards in Taiwan, late last year. It had nominations in two technical categories at the Academy Awards. The film’s 12 wins at Sunday’s ceremony is a record sum at the Hong Kong Film Awards, now in their 33rd year. Cold War and Comrades: Almost a Love Story both won nine previously.
RED DEER LEGION
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“STARS TONIGHT”
WESTERNER PARK (PARKING LOT) UNDER THE BIG TOP • MAY 23-25, 2014
The Red Deer Advocate in partnership with the Royal Canadian Circus is giving away One VIP package each day of the Circus May 23 - 25 and you could be a winner! EACH PACKAGE INCLUDES:
Join US for
• Back stage tour for 8 behind the scenes & meet Marie & Shelly the Elephants
Amazing
Daily Lunch Specials
Contest closes Monday, May 5. Winner will be contacted on Tuesday, May 6, 2014
featuring award winning chef
Name _______________________________ Phone # ______________________________ Address ______________________________ _____________________________________ Email ________________________________ No cash value. No facsimiles will be accepted.
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international culinary team.
• Elephant ride for 2 at the intermission
Entries can be mailed or dropped off at the Red Deer Advocate, 2950 Bremner Ave. Red Deer T4R 1M9
(Monday - Saturday)
Emmanuel David and his
• Being part of the Opening & Closing Ceremonies with the ringmaster
www.royalcanadiancircus.ca
46711D8
• 8 VIP Tickets