Actress takes role as almost-perfect ‘Gold Miss’ in ‘Midsummer’ There was definitely something “Gold Missy” about her, just like her usual image on TV. Her elaborate dress ― yellow leather jacket, long, chocolate-colored skirt with floral print, with matching fedora and long pearl necklaces ― along with her high-toned singing voice and confident manner all fit the typical image of a Gold Miss, ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Not so long ago, Cristian Gheorghiu roamed the streets of Los Angeles at all hours, black marker in his pocket, hunting for walls and street signs where he could scrawl his graffiti moniker, “Smear.’’ These days, the Romanian-born Gheorghiu is working in his garage, splashed in paint and surrounded by canvases, paint cans, markers and odds and ends he uses to fashion abstract ...

CHICAGO (AP) ― After being heckled and booed in Detroit, Charlie Sheen made some changes to his road show Sunday night ― and this time, it ended with a standing ovation. Sheen used a talk show-style format at his Chicago show, with a master of ceremonies asking the actor questions. The interviewer, who didn’t identify himself, kept Sheen on track and gave the actor a chance to make some snarky c...

Actress Kim Hye-soo has broken up with her boyfriend Yu Hae-jin, their agencies confirmed Monday. The romantic relationship between the 41-year-old stars was revealed last January when they were spotted on a secret date at night. The agencies said the two actors are no longer in a relationship, but didn’t elaborate on when and why they ended it. (Kim Hye-soo and Yu Hae-jin) “As news reports o...

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) ― Just feet from a methadone clinic at a grimy crossroads in Portland, transit officials and police are hoping a touch of class will chase off vagrants, vandals and ne’er-do-wells that loiter near a busy transit stop. Since November, the regional transit department has approved the playing of classical music in an effort to ward off the kind of crimes that happen when peopl...

South Korean actress Yun Jung-hee will be honored with a “Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et Lettres” by the French government on Tuesday, according to the French Ministry of Culture and Communication on Saturday. Established in 1957, the order of France is given to cultural figures who have made significant contributions to the arts or literature or the propagation of these fields. Actress Yun...

South Korean artist Lee Kye-song, known as the “painter of light,” is showcasing around 50 oil paintings at his solo exhibition at Insa Art Center in Gwanhun-dong, central Seoul. Lee uses “obangsaek,” or the five traditional Korean colors of white, black, red, blue and yellow, in a very modern way which resembles splashes of LED light. “The paintings on show are very bright, like LED lights. As...

Slower lifestyle can mean healthier, happier life and help protect nature People like it when things are convenient and efficient in the city. We are busy, not willing to wait too long and always have too much going on in our lives. But environmental specialist Park Gyeong-hwa asks, “Does our lifestyle really make us happy?” As more of us are relying on machines and fast food, we are also expo...

Alfred Hitchcock had a celebrated recipe for suspense: a time bomb planted under a table, people sitting at the table and only the audience being aware that something is ticking. It’s a formula for tension that’s more or less thrown out the train window by “Source Code,” the psychological thriller opening Friday and starring Jake Gyllenhaal: The movie has about eight explosions. Characters and a...

Exhibitions “The Exhibition of the Great Portraitist’s Work ― KARSH”: About 100 photographs by the great photographer Yousuf Karsh is on display at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. Among its three sections ― “Landscape,” “Portraits,” “Hands” ― the “Portraits” division is notable. Visitors can meet many portrait photos of the famous people from the 20th century, including Audrey Hepburn, Ch...

Pool (Japan) Opened March 31 Drama. Directed by Omori Mika. Kyoko (Satomi Kobayashi), a middle-aged woman who had left her family to work for a guest house in Chiang Mai, Thailand, receives a visit from her daughter, Sayo (Kana). To Sayo’s surprise, Kyoko is more than happy to be in the guest house, living with kindhearted employee Ichio (Ryo Kase), young Thai boy Bie (Sittichai Kongpila), and ...

Black undies? Or white? It was a choice that confronted writer-director Zack Snyder while making “Sucker Punch,” a mostly female action-fantasy starring Emily Browning as a gun-toting, sword-swinging killer deceptively named Babydoll. She dispatches zombies and robots with the kind of brutality that made Snyder’s mostly male “300” a hit in 2007, but she also wears a thigh-high skirt that, as vie...