Entertainment NOW

TV Media Weekly | January 10 - 16, 2015 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: In "Empire of the Sun," Christian Bale's character sings "Suo Gân." Was it really him singing, or if not, who was dub- bing his voice? A: Though he was trained for the stage as well as the screen, even at the young age of 13 when he starred in 1987's "Empire of the Sun," he only lip-synched the choir solo. A look at the official soundtrack album shows that "Suo Gân," the film's theme, was performed by The Ambrosian Junior Choir, with the solo performed by James Rainbird. Rainbird, who is a year younger than Bale, has a pretty accom- plished film career as a behind-the- scenes singer. As a member of the King's House School Choir, he sang in the background of Tina Turner's hit "We Don't Need Another Hero" from the "Mad Max Beyond Thun- derdome" soundtrack, which was released two years before "Empire of the Sun." He also performed a solo in another 1987 film, "The Magic Toyshop." Though the coach (in this case director Steven Spielberg) sat him out, so to speak, for "Empire of the Sun," that's not to say Christian Bale can't sing. A few years later, he was singing, alone and with the ensemble, in another of his child- actor hits, 1992's "Newsies." In adulthood, Bale's career took a distinctly darker turn. His break- out role as a grown-up star was 2000's "American Psycho," in which he plays the deranged, and oddly superficial, killer referenced in the film's title. He is now, of course, best known to many as Batman — the most consistently bleak of the big- screen superheroes — in "Bat- man Begins" (2005) and its two sequels. Not a lot of call for sing- ing there. "Empire of the Sun" was Bale's first big-screen role, but he had previously appeared in the telefilm epic "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna" in 1986. The star of that film was Amy Irving, Spielberg's wife at the time, who reportedly recom- mended the mostly unknown Bale for the lead in her husband's film. It was a big jump for the young actor, but he earned it; despite the recommendation, he still had to audition against thousands of others. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Per- sonal replies will not be provided. Hollywood Q&A By Andrew Warren TV Media S ometimes, you can have the greatest, the most orig- inal and the most exciting business idea in the world. The trick, though, is finding the cold, hard cash to turn that idea into reality. That's the premise behind ABC's huge hit "Shark Tank," in which small business owners and entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of wealthy investors, hop- ing to secure enough cash to take their dreams up to the big leagues. It's also the premise behind "Restaurant Startup." Its first sea- son was a refreshing change in the culinary TV landscape, and with its second season premiering Tuesday, Jan. 13, on CNBC, a lot more restaurant entrepreneurs are about to become very happy. Each episode of "Restaurant Startup" finds two teams pitching their restaurant concepts to a pair of investors, hoping to score the cash to start up their businesses. These investors aren't just two wealthy guys with money to blow, though; they know the restaurant business inside and out, and they're sure not going to be giving their moolah to businesses that they don't believe in. And just who are these inves- tors? Well, Joe Bastianich proba- bly won't need much of an intro- duction. The successful restaura- teur has been a fixture in "Mas- terChef" and "MasterChef Ju- nior" from the very beginning, and fans of those shows know that he's a tough critic to please. At his side in "Restaurant Start- up" is Texas chef Tim Love. The owner of several restaurants, he's no stranger to the TV spotlight, ei- ther: he's been a frequent guest on ABC's "Good Morning Ameri- ca" and NBC's "Today Show." With a pair of teams each pitching their restaurant concept in each episode, Bastianich and Love need a way to determine which idea is truly worth their in- vestment. What better way to find that out than with a proof of con- cept? Following their pitch, each business team is handed $7,500 and given 36 hours to launch a pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles. They won't just be cooking up food during this test period. They'll need to come up with a full busi- ness plan and a branding cam- paign before finally opening their doors and serving hungry diners who are always more than happy to give feedback — both good and bad. In the end, though, it's up to the wealthy investors to decide who has the better concept for a res- taurant. Like any investors, they're ultimately in it for profit, which means that only one of the teams will win the cash infusion it needs to make its dream a reality. Season 2 of "Restaurant Start- up" premieres Tuesday, Jan. 13, on CNBC. Tim Love and Joe Bastianich as seen in "Restaurant Startup" A second 'Startup' Restaurant investors return for a second season 10 | Cooking this week Kokomo Honda 2 x 2" Martin Bros. 2 x 2" Henderson Insurance 2 x 3" Martin Brothers TV & Appliance 175 E Main St Russiaville 765.883.5551 Monday - Friday 9am - 6 pm Saturday 9am - 5pm Simple to Use, Dependable, Commercial-grade Construction Free delivery & Hook-up (see store for details) Free Delivery & Hook-Up (see store for details) m.kokomotribune.com k t k t k t

• Cover