Entertainment
11 reasons fans can’t stop swooning over Park Seo Jun
The Itaewon Class lead actor took the centerstage!
It’s been almost a month and Filipino fans are still over the moon that South Korean actor Park Seo Jun took the centerstage at the Smart Hallyu Hangouts, a virtual meet where they got to watch the interview with the Itaewon Class lead actor.
During the hangout, Park Seo Jun shared how he misses being with his Filipino fans since his last fan meeting in the Philippines in September 2019, but he still feels happy to be with his fans even just virtually for now due to the pandemic.
Some most searched questions by the audience about his career and personal life were thrown to the Fight For My Way lead actor that he willingly answered, a few fan messages were read by the actor himself while 2 lucky supporters were given the chance to even have a video call with him.
Grateful for technology, fans were still able to get to know more about Park Seo Jun, and here are some of the things they discovered about their favorite oppa during the event.
He treats his Bichon Frise dog as his friend
We often see Park Seo Jun’s dog, Simba, on his social media posts so he was naturally asked about him. He said that he treats Simba more like his friend than his pet. He even joked that probably in dog years, they are of the same age. Further, he shared that he doesn’t train Simba to do tricks since he doesn’t want him to be stressed but he definitely loves spending time with him. This really shows his affection for Simba.
He thinks action on TV shows and in real life are very different
When he was asked what was his secret as an actor, he said that action in real life and on TV differs in a way that the latter is more like choreography so he has to practice really well. And his secret was he quickly picks up on choreography and he actually enjoys the physical activity. This is also the reason why he played a lot of characters like Fight For my Way that involves a lot of action.
He’d prefer to visit a vacation spot if given the chance soon
During the hangout, Park Seo Jun reminisced about his visit to Boracay. So he was asked if he does want to be in a scenic vacation spot or a city when traveling for vacation. He said that it really depends from time to time but if given the chance now, he’d prefer to be in a vacation spot so he can relax. Fans would probably be looking forward to seeing his beach photos if that would really happen especially because of his physique. *wink wink*
His personal goal
In a segment where Park Seo Jun was asked a question for each letter of his initials, he was asked about his personal goal in life. He said he has many goals but it all sums up to being a good person. They followed that up with a question on what his idea of a good person is.
Park Seo Jun said it’s someone who is a good influence, one who works well and also when it comes to family matters, someone who is a good son or daughter. He shared that he’s not blind to the fact that his fans are influenced by him so he lives up to the role of being a good influencer.
He likes hanging out with his family
On the same segment, he was asked where he stays the most at home and he said he likes staying in the living room. He currently lives with his parents so he likes staying there so he gets to see them and spend time with them while eating or watching TV. He makes up for lost time through that since he barely gets to see them when he’s filming a new project. Now doesn’t that show he’s really a good and sweet son?
He found his role in What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim so exciting
During one part of the hangout, he was shown an excerpt of his role in What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim and he got so embarrassed. He said that his narcissistic role on the show is the total opposite of his personality. Nevertheless, he found the role very exciting and fun to portray since he was able to try a lot of things and had fun with his character.
He likes to keep a fun and enjoyable environment on set
Park Seo Jun was also asked about his romantic comedy Kdrama She Was Pretty and he shared that there were a lot of scenes where they were laughing and goofing around. So he was asked if he’s the kind of person who is laughing all the time or someone who makes others laugh.
He shared that he doesn’t make others laugh because he figured out that when he tries to do so, it doesn’t really come off as funny. But he insisted that he’s still someone who makes sure that the environment on set is fun and enjoyable for the people he’s working with.
His fans’ love and support gets him going
Some fans gave really heartwarming messages for Park Seo Jun that he was so moved by all of it. He said that everything that’s been happening to him and he’s been blessed with was made possible because of his fans and that their love and support is what really motivates him and keeps him going.
He had always wanted to be an actor
Park Seo Jun was asked in one of the segments what job he would have if he were not an actor. He really pondered about it and wasn’t able to give an answer because he admitted that he wanted to be an actor ever since he was young. But he also said that he’s not closing his doors to doing something else other than acting.
He considers a few things before saying yes to an acting role
During the hangout, Park Seo Jun’s different acting roles were discussed so he was asked what he considers when choosing a project. He shared that before, it was just character-related but now, he considers if it is entertaining and fun for the viewers and he also thinks it’s important to think about the message it’s trying to convey to the viewers.
He has two upcoming films
Fans are definitely elated to see Park Seo Jun back on Kdramas or better yet on the big screen so he was asked about his upcoming projects. One he has on the pipeline is his movie “Dream” which they still need to finish filming in England and will be coming out soon. He also has another movie “Concrete Utopia” which he filmed in Korea. He has also shot to global fame having been cast in the upcoming Marvel movie.
Smart Hallyu Hangouts on GigaPlay App is powered by Smart, the country’s fastest and most reliable 5G mobile network as reported by Ookla, the global leader in broadband network intelligence. To date, Smart has already fired up over 4,500 sites around the country making it the country’s first, fastest, and widest 5G network.
Entertainment
Linkin Park: Unshatter is the band’s kintsugi
Raw, visceral, honest approach on grief, starting again, and moving forward
When Linkin Park understandably went on an immediate hiatus in 2017 following the tragic death of its frontman Chester Bennington, it felt to millions of fans as though an important part of their lives had been taken away.
For the longest time, the one thing the rock band did exceptionally well was to put into their songs all the untold, unexpressed feelings, emotions, and thoughts of several generations.
That deep resonance made the music stick. When 2017 happened, many felt that connection was gone for good.
Linkin Park: Unshatter magnifies what handling grief looks like from the inside out. It starts with the band members themselves and radiates outward to the community that carried them.
It goes without saying that grief has no single roadmap. And for band co-founder and co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda, moving forward began with a simple and almost accidental question put out into the open: “What if Linkin Park didn’t have to end?”
Starting again
The documentary-concert film opens with a cinematic rush: a sweeping shot of the Allianz Parque (now Nubank Parque) in São Paulo, Brazil, where Linkin Park is set to perform as part of their From Zero World Tour.
A quick montage follows, capturing the concert day feel as it commences. Viewers get thrown straight onto the stage as “Somewhere I Belong” ignites the crowd.
Then, the mood then shifts abruptly, pulling everyone backward to late 2022 inside Shinoda’s studio.
Here, alongside original members Joe Hahn and Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, the cinematic scale melts away into an unscripted, intimate creative slate. This is where the true documentary tone takes over.
If you have been preoccupied with everyday undertakings, Unshatter acts as an essential catch-up material for the behind-the-scenes evolution that transpired from 2022 to 2024.
It delivers a wealth of candid footage rarely seen outside of close circles, offering fans a fresh perspective right in the eye of the storm. It’s been billed as such, and it does not disappoint.
Part of what makes it grounded and emotionally connecting is the chronological storytelling. As with starting again, you don’t know what is about to happen yet.
The progression, which includes moving from Shinoda’s private quarters to EastWest Studios, the rehearsals and promotional photoshoot, and everything in between, takes you to the build-up and makes every step feel real before the 2024 breakthrough.
Raw, visceral, honest
You can feel the complete absence of a script in these early studio sessions. Shinoda spent the latter half of the previous decade performing on his own, and speaks candidly about how exhausting it was to constantly look backward or perform for “tributes.”
There was no sudden lightbulb moment either. Three veterans simply chose to gather and think things through with a level of organic randomness.
This mirrors how processing grief unfolds in the real world. For Shinoda, much like how he would later describe new new vocalist Emily Armstrong’s voice and personality, the core approach was about being raw, visceral, and honest.
All three knew grief was there. It had been enveloping them all these years and they thought moving away from what defined their lives would do good.
At some point, survival meant acknowledging reality first and then carrying on from there.
Triple lenses
The documentary’s narrative spine relies on three distinct lenses: the OG holdovers, the new members and the uniqueness of Brad Delson’s dynamic with this new iteration.
After the opening third of the film heavily focuses on the OG trio, the arrival of Armstrong and Brittain in the middle act expands the horizon.
Brittain, particularly, initially stepped in as a guitarist to complement Shinoda’s structural ideas. He bares his lifelong fandom on camera, and even offers a striking thought which Shinoda mentions towards the end: that the music industry and the world in general is simply better with Linkin Park in it.
Much like newcomers finding their footing in a sports franchise, Emily and Colin quickly worked together often to hasten the integration process.
Later, Delson is introduced as someone initially reluctant to the thought of restarting Linkin Park. Such resistance was acknowledged though he warms up to the idea and rejoins the fold in the latter stages.
His role changes to an anchor, as if a coaching consultant helping run a franchise at the highest level without necessarily being on the sidelines every single night.
Shinoda was open about the tension this could have caused, weighing whether a non-touring lead guitarist might disrupt the momentum and progress of the comeback build-up.
Yet the film consistently highlights how mature, open, and thoughtful those internal conversations were.
Delson’s eventual return made Colin slide into the drummer role. The transition was handled with surprising economy on screen, much like the brief, respectful nod given to former drummer Rob Bourdon’s departure.
Emily rises From Zero
Armstrong shares the middle act with Brittain, but her journey demands its own lens. And the documentary captures this duality of carrying the inherent weight of stepping into the shoes left by an icon and her energetic personality in the studio as she dances, vocalizes, and throws her soul into the process.
Much has been chronicled about Armstrong’s electrifying voice and the shoes she has had to fill, but the documentary chose to present her entry in a more natural manner.
Rather than being angled towards succession, the documentary spends a huge chunk showing her fit with her new bandmates. There is also a side to it where she is driven to prove herself coming from Dead Sara as a relative “unknown” before the 2024 surprise comeback.
A particular solemn moment captures this stripped down feel, as with the movie in general, even further: Emily singing a radically different rendition of “Heavy Is The Crown” with Shinoda playing the piano.
It’s far different from the high energy final version that has been out for years now, showing the fragile baby steps the band took.
Mike asking Emily at one point if she is open to touring also forces you to reflect on how differently the comeback could have unfolded.
This lens tackles the setlist realities. Songs from One More Light were basically untouchable. The meticulous work required to adjust keys and match Armstrong’s skill set were also shown.
Unshatter is the band’s kintsugi
One neat inclusion features blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, listening to a freshly completed mix of “Unshatter.” Having an industry contemporary validate in real-time that something special has clicked adds massive weight to the proceedings.
You can visibly see how genuinely flattered Shinoda gets when Hoppus tells him he got goosebumps.
The moment acts as the emotional bridge to the film’s ultimate metaphor, as expounded on by Delson towards the end: Linkin Park’s comeback is the band’s kintsugi.
This is, of course, the Japanese pottery tradition of putting broken pieces back together using a gold filling.
Though “Unshatter” wasn’t officially released until 2025, it served as the blueprint for the secret work Linkin Park poured years into.
In one of its most artfully executed transition moments, the film cuts right at the chorus of “The Emptiness Machine” from the high-stakes, breathless tension of their 2024 comeback launch event at Warner Studios, throwing viewers right back into the roaring Allianz Parque.
This was preceded of course by one of the final resonant glimpses of unsuspecting long-time fans transported to Warner Studios in anticipation of what was then only billed as a private gathering.
Proper documentary-concert film
Linkin Park: Unshatter strikes a wonderful balance between candid moments and electrifying concert sequence.
The live performance scenes were woven in seamlessly. Cinematography looked sharp: quick cuts, drone shots, sheer fan emotion. Towards the end, Hahn has his own immersive on-stage camera angles of his teammates.
Yet it never stretches too thin. You wouldn’t want to watch just a live concert. Make no mistake, in a large screen format and with accompanying cinematic audio, the energy just reverberates harder.
The film ends with the aftermath of the live performance of “Bleed it Out” as fireworks erupt across the stadium sky, before it fades into a final line to cap the comeback journey.
An old archival clip of Chester and Mike performing “Esaul”, the earlier version of “A Place For My Head” with lyrics still different also plays as a final touch.
That clip encapsulates the beginnings of one of the century’s most successful rock bands. Decades after, a restart happened.
It was about moving forward, acknowledging grief, but realizing you can make something beautiful while carrying that history with you. The only way to “unshatter” was to be raw, visceral, and honest about what’s going on.
Computers
Lenovo tech behind DreamWorks Animation hit ‘Forgotten Island’
Partnership powers modern demands of animation production
DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island has definitely become a big screen hit, debuting with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and being well received particularly by a large Filipino fanbase.
And behind the movie is DreamWorks Animation’s partnership with tech giant, Lenovo. The collaboration is helping power the former’s production slate, including the studio’s animated feature inspired by Filipino culture, mythology, and experiences.
In 2025, DreamWorks expanded its relationship with Lenovo by naming the company its preferred compute services, workstation, and solutions provider.
Such partnership brings together Lenovo workstations, high-performance infrastructure, data center technology, and services to support the demanding needs of modern animation production.
It is a collaboration that builds on years of work between the two companies. DreamWorks has used Lenovo workstations as part of workflows across the studio.
Lenovo infrastructure has also supported the large-scale computing requirements involved in creating animated worlds and characters.
Still in cinemas, Forgotten Island follows lifelong best friends Jo and Raissa, voiced by Grammy and Academy Award winner H.E.R. and Filipino actress Liza Soberano.
As the two prepare to take different paths after high school, they unexpectedly find themselves transported to Nakali, a fantastical island populated by magical and mythological creatures rooted in stories from their Filipino families.
The film is written and directed by Academy Award nominee Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado and produced by Academy Award nominee Mark Swift, the filmmaking team behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Its voice cast also includes Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, and Lea Salonga.
Entertainment
SEGA, Netflix announce Crazy Taxi film adaptation
1st in planned slate of film adaptations, including Sonic and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN
SEGA and Netflix have announced a new Crazy Taxi film adaptation. This will usher in a new collaboration era with the parties also developing adaptations for Sonic and STRANGER THAN HEAVEN.
Such a slate of future adaptations reflects the range of SEGA’s library as it draws on Netflix’s experience bringing beloved game worlds to new audiences.
The first project features Crazy Taxi, which will be written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. The beloved writing duo was behind the 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun.
Also on board to help helm the production are the same visionaries behind the Sonic franchise: Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, and Toru Nakahara.
Crazy Taxi has been an arcade hit since 1999, putting players behind the wheel of a fearless cabbie racing the clock through chaotic city streets.
There’s flying off ramps, dodging traffic, and chasing tips with punk-rock energy that has become the series’ signature.
The latest title in the franchise, Crazy Taxi: World Tour, is set for a 2027 release. You can watch its trailer below:
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