LIFESTYLE36 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2014 Music & Movies Weight loss and exercise, according to

ick Ross had two seizures in a just went to Prime 112 (in Miami) the Every day he’s hustling completes a series of exercises single day, sending him to the other night, and I had some fried Ross credits a CrossFit program within a 20-minute span, including Rhospital three years ago. Oreos and fried velvet cake,” he said. “I introduced to him by Reebok last pushups, sit-ups, boxing, squat Health didn’t concern the 300- treated myself. You wake up in the year - calling it “Ross Fit” with help- jumps and Olympic-style pound rapper then, but he’s shed morning, you might regret it. But you ing him lose weight. It’s a highly weightlifting. “CrossFit overall is nearly 100 pounds in the last seven got to get back to work.” active workout plan where Ross more of an intense workout,” he months by eating healthier foods said. “So instead of doing 20 min- and embracing a high-intensity utes on the treadmill, you’ll (do) a workout plan. Ross, 37, says he con- 20-minute CrossFit workout and to play tinues to work long hours creating you’ll be not only building your music, including his seventh , endurance, but also muscle simul- “Hood Billionaire,” released Monday. taneously.” Ross said the number of It’s the second album Ross has put people who work out with him has Armenia to mark 1915 out this year after the March release grown from four to 20, including of “Mastermind,” which debuted at hitmaker DJ Khaled and producer E No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Class. Enduring a tough workout S rockers System of a Down will play running after them for 100 years for them chart. isn’t foreign to Ross, who played a free show next year in Armenia to to turn around and say, ‘Sorry,’ what does But in the middle of making offensive line at Albany State Uraise awareness on the centennial of that mean?” Tankian said in a video mes- music and running his Maybach University in Georgia. the World War I-era mass killings. The sage released Monday. Music Group , Ross has California hard rock band, whose four Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their made his health a main priority. And Winning with wings members are of Armenian heritage, ancestors were killed in a 1915-1916 geno- now, he believes if he can drop Ross stopped eating certain announced a performance in ’s cide by Turkey’s former Ottoman Empire. pounds, you can, too. In an inter- foods such as bread, white rice and Republic Square on April 23, a day ahead of Turkey categorically rejects the term geno- view with The Associated Press, the fish fillets, and began drinking less the country’s main commemorations. cide and argues that 300,000 to 500,000 Grammy-nominated rap star offered alcohol. But he hasn’t eliminated System of a Down has long campaigned for Armenians and at least as many Turks died tips on how to lose weight. one of his favorite foods: lemon recognition of the 1915 killings as geno- in civil strife when Armenians rose up pepper wings. The rapper, who cide, but the performance will be the against their Ottoman rulers and sided with No soda on the side owns nine Wingstop franchises band’s first in Armenia. invading Russian troops. System of a Down Ross has given up a few things around the country, said he stops Lead singer said that the have had a series of successful albums over since changing his lifestyle. First, the by the restaurant at least twice a band hoped to raise public consciousness the past decade and has often had a politi- rapper stopped drinking soda, unless week when he’s in town. He’s try- through the performance and previous cal edge, with the song “B.Y.O.B.” notable for it’s diet. He also said it’s better to eat ing to keep a good balance, European dates, on what he called the its criticism of the Iraq war. The Beirut-born heavier meals earlier in the day. As a though, by eating foods like “Wake Up the Souls Tour.” “The important Tankian recently also wrote a symphonic result, he said he’s able to burn calo- Branzino and fruits such as pears. thing is also justice. If someone killed my piece to mark the 1915 killings with New ries faster. “I used to eat big meals at 2 “I’m not under no stress of what family and burned my house down and I’m Zealand composer John Psathas. —AFP am and base it on my schedule,” he I’m eating,” he said. “There are no said. “But I don’t do that no more.” This Nov 11, 2014 photo shows rapper Rick Ross posing for a restrictions. I’m not trying to make Ross said you should drink water a particular weight. I’m just work- throughout the day. He also said to portrait at Def Jam In New York in promotion of his album ing out and doing what’s best for Cuba to stage ‘Rent’ - first treat yourself when you work hard. “I “Hood Billionaire,” released on Monday. —AP Rozay.” —AP Broadway musical in more than 50 yrs Bollywood women soar but uba will stage its first Broadway musical in more than 50 years when “Rent” starts a three-month run on Dec 24, producers said on Monday. The CNederlander entertainment group finally succeeded after trying for several years to produce a Broadway musical in Cuba, a spokesman for Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment said. US-produced musicals were disallowed in Cuba after the1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power. Although a workshop produc- ask: Where’s the money? tion of “Carmen Jones” was staged in Cuba in June, this Spanish-language production of “Rent” will be the first Broadway musical with a full cast, musicians and production his is Bollywood’s year of the woman. Some of elements in Cuba in over 50 years, spokesman Keith Sherman said. the biggest hits in India’s prolific movie indus- In 2011, Nederlander produced a concert based on Broadwayshow tunes in Cuba. Ttry this year have female leads in female-ori- Then, Cuba’s Culture Ministry invited Nederlander to stage a full Broadway musical. ented stories. In this summer’s surprise hit, “Queen,” Sherman called it an “arts-based” production rather than a profit-making venture, say- Kangana Ranaut is the spunky heroine who ing low-priced tickets would fail to cover costs. Nederlander, one of the biggest the- embarks on her honeymoon alone after she is jilted ater and music venue operators and producers in the United States, is producing the day before her big fat Indian wedding. In “Mary “Rent” in conjunction with Cuba’s National Council of Performing Arts at Havana’s Kom,” Priyanka Chopra plays a female Olympic Bertolt Brecht Theater with a company of 15 Cuban actors. bronze medal-winning boxer. Previously, women It will be directed by Andy SeÒor Jr, a Cuban-American who starred in the show on were relegated to playing the male lead’s girlfriend, Broadway, playing the role of Angel. He later served as a protege of original “Rent” sister or mother in subservient roles reflecting the director Michael Greif and directed several traveling productions of the show around traditional dominance of men in Indian society. the world. —Reuters But for all their box-office success and newfound prominence, Bollywood actresses are asking: Where is the money? Top male stars, such as the three Khans - Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir - and action star Akshay Kumar, earn around 400 million rupees ($6.7 million) per film on average, apart from a share of the profits, according to industry experts. A-list actresses such as Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif get paid a tenth of that per film. When Padukone recently signed a movie deal for 70 mil- lion rupees ($1.1 million), it generated a buzz since it was one of the highest amounts paid to a female lead. Actresses are beginning to speak out about that enormous disparity. “I don’t really understand In this Aug 23, 2014 file photo, Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra speaks during a promo- why we are paid less than the male actors because tional event for her film “Mary Kom” in Ahmadabad, India. —AP photos we put in equal effort and the recent past has shown that actresses can deliver a hit film. We less fiancÈ to woo her back and walks away, which Increasingly, they are demanding a share of a film’s deserve better pay, equal to what actors get,” up- prompted Indian audiences in some theaters to clap profits and distribution rights, while female stars and-coming star Aditi Rao Hydari told Press Trust of and applaud an act that would have been unthink- prefer the safer option of one-time payment, said India. able in Indian cinema - or Indian society - less than a Taran Adarsh, film analyst. “The actress may think, Courtney Barnett The momentum started last year, when women decade ago. ‘What if the movie bombs at the box-office?’ Then featured prominently in several successful movies. Pay disparities between male and female stars is she may end up not getting even her regular market That forced directors and producers to rethink roles a global phenomenon, experts say. In Hollywood, rate,” he said. for actresses. Given the success of this emerging age does play a significant factor, and actresses in Adarsh believes actresses’ demands for better Courtney Barnett, slacker genre, studios appear to be more confident about their 20s generally earn more than their same-age pay is justified, but that other factors such as popu- producing female-oriented movies where the main male counterparts. But overall, the highest-paid larity and track record also figure into the contract. character is played by a woman, not a man. male actors in American movies earn more than “If the actress is doing very well, and she carries the twice as much as female stars. Women also get few- film on her shoulders, if her popularity is high, and if rocker, eyes heavier sound Typical action er parts in movies. A recent United Nations study on she has many hits to her credit, she is able to Over the past couple of years, several such films the portrayal of women in popular cinema in 11 of demand better terms,” he said. The pay gap in India starring actresses Kaif, Padukone and Ranaut as well the world’s largest film markets including India said will narrow as movies about women become more less than a quarter of all speaking roles were played popular, said Chopra, a top-billed actress who plays ourtney Barnett quit her job as a bartender to verse the word “pseudoephedrine.” as Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan have crossed by women. the lead in the boxing movie “Mary Kom.” “When in Melbourne in February. With a schedule the 1 billion rupee ($17 million) earnings mark that Because Indian male actors are better paid and women-centered films become hits,” she said, “then that includes performances at some of the Growing as a band is generally considered a hit in Bollywood, which C more established, they also can take on greater risks. the disparity will end.” —AP world’s leading music festivals, it became increas- Barnett has often been described as a “slacker gets its name from Bombay, the old name for ingly difficult to put in hours at the pub. In a mat- rocker,” taking inspiration from Nirvana and other Mumbai, where most studios are based. Part of the ter of months, the singer and guitarist has won a artists from the ‘90s Seattle grunge scene-even if change reflects the greater spending power of growing audience for her songs-droll observations her attitude is more ironic than gloomy. But Indian women, who are joining the work force, earn- on daily life delivered with rapid-fire but unaffect- Barnett said that the material on her upcoming ing more money and want to see movies starring ed wit-before she has had time to release a full album will take a somewhat darker direction. women in stories they can relate to - not typical album. Barnett finished recording the album, which will action or fantasy fare, where women are merely eye “It’s amazing how things work-you get in a few come out in 2015, before returning to the road in candy for male movie-goers. magazines and then people like you,” Barnett October. “Some of it is more, kind of, heavy as And while female-oriented movies have been deadpanned before a show at New York’s 1,500- we’ve grown as a band a bit more,” said Barnett, doing extremely well at the box office, conventional capacity Webster Hall ballroom. “But on a positive who speaks much in the same way as she sings, films with top male stars in the lead are still the note, it’s nice that so many people feel something conversationally but with a certain monotone. biggest earners. But the changing audience has also they connect with,” she told AFP. Barnett, who had “There were songs I wrote in a room and then helped grow India’s film industry, one of the world’s been playing small shows in Australia, emerged as taught people who to play them. These ones, I biggest, cranking out around 1,000 movies annually. a favorite on US college radio stations and at last kind of wrote and took to the band,” she said. As Revenues have risen more than 10 percent over the year’s CMJ Music Marathon, the annual New York for the lyrics, “It’s pretty similar, that kind of talking past decade to more than $3.5 billion in 2012. event where hundreds of emerging artists vie for about stuff that happens,” she said with a laugh. Hollywood’s revenue that same year was about recognition. “Some of it may be a tiny bit darker in some parts.” $10.8 billion. The lyrics are at once self-deprecating and She hinted that the work may also be more politi- “It’s only going to get better from here as audi- plainspoken. The song “Lance Jr” begins with cal. In March, she toured Australia with leftist ences are changing. We are moving toward a society Barnett’s declaration, “I masturbated to the songs English singer and guitarist Billy Bragg. As crowd where we have more educated and working class you wrote / Resuscitated all of my hopes.” On sizes shot up at her performances and she played women,” said Ranaut. “They’d like to see stronger “Avant Gardener,” Barnett plays a dreamy slide gui- major festivals including Coachella and Primavera, women on screen.” tar as she contemplates whether to take to gar- Barnett put her two EPs together and sold them dening after waking up late on a hot summer under the title, “A Sea of Split Peas.” Her upcoming Indian society Monday. “Should have stayed in bed today / I release will technically be her debut album. In the low-budget “Queen,” Ranaut plays Rani, a young woman who goes on her honeymoon solo In this July 16, 2014 file photo, Indian actor In this Sept 17, 2014 file photo, Bollywood much prefer the mundane,” she sings with her She releases her albums independently on the Kangana Ranaut displays a dress created by voice’s slight rasp reinforcing the idea she just Milk! Records label which she runs with her part- after her fiancÈ ditches her. With her supportive fam- actors Hrithik Roshan, right, and Katrina woke up. “I take a hit from an asthma puffer / I do it ner-and occasional song topic-Jen Cloher. “I guess ily cheering her on over Skype, the film focuses on Indian designer Anju Modi at the India Kaif pose for the media during the music wrong / I was never good at smoking bongs,” she that old record label blueprint doesn’t really exist her adventures in Europe. In the final scenes of the Couture Week, held by Fashion Design launch of their film “Bang Bang” in Mumbai, concludes in a song in which she manages to put in the same way,” Barnett said. —AFP film, a confident Rani rejects attempts by her feck- Council of India, in New Delhi, India. India.