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Friday 1 September 2006

y
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Hollywood executive producers Dean Devlin and


Bryan Singer, together with a strong cast, unravel
the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. > 2-3

Beneath
The T r i a n g l e

Friday 1 September 2006

T2 TV
STARTWO

Dream come true

Tel> 03 7967 1388 Fax> 03 7955 4039


E-mail> startwo@thestar.com.my

music

A style of
his own

NIKI CHEONG meets up with The


Triangle executive producers Dean
Devlin and Bryan Singer to gain
some insight into the miniseries.

Jazz is synonymous
with Jeremy
Monteiro and he
has finally made an
album featuring
cuts to call his own.

T WOULD appear that childhood


dreams do come true. At least this
was the case for Dean Devlin,
executive producer of The Triangle.
Devlin had, while in high school, written
a scene about the Bermuda Triangle and
didnt know what to do with it. Many
years later, after producing blockbusters
such as Independence Day, The Patriot and
Godzilla, he was able to use that scene in
the new miniseries, aptly called The
Triangle.
A couple of years ago, Bryan Singer was
in my office and I pitched the scene to
him, Devlin said. Bryan had a brilliant,
quick mind ... and within that few
seconds, he had the whole story in his
head. Singer, of course is the notable
director behind the first two X-Men
movies and more recently, Superman
Returns.
I watched him, and I was like, We have
to do this, Devlin added.
Singer, as a kid, had a similar interest in
the Bermuda Triangle. In
retrospect, one
cant help but
wonder why
these two
never got
together
earlier to
produce
something
like this.
After all,
both have
been friends
for a long time,
and more
importantly,
they
have
great

entertainment

Simple pleasures 6
Paul Stewart, the drummer for British band
The Feeling, has wonderful people skills. Its
great for the band, really, since The Feeling
is barely a year old.

entertainment

Selling Bruce

Linda Cadwell, Bruce


Lees widow, and their
daughter Shannon,
carefully control the
use of his name,
likeness and works.
They wont license
tobacco products,
alcohol or weapons
with his image.

music

A real gem

By combining lyric soprano and indie rock,


Shara Worden, or better known as My
Brightest Diamond, is an artiste taking
a singular style for a spin.

books

Unbiased
war report

EDITOR: Alistair Tan


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(03) 7966-8224

19

Eric Stoltz plays Howard Thomas,


a down-and-out journalist hired to
investigate the mysterious disappearance
of ships in the Bermuda Triangle.

Bryan Singer
(left) and Dean
Devlin finally
found a project
they could
work on
together in The
Triangle.
respect for one another.
This was obvious when Singer was told
about the compliment Devlin gave him
about how fast his mind works.
He replied: Ill have to pay him a
compliment in return. He creates a certain
kind of energy in the room ... hes one of
those people that when youre around
him, ideas just kind of flow.
Indeed, Devlin and Singer may have
known each other for many years, but
they have never worked together until
this project.
Wed always wanted to work together,
Devlin explained. When I first met him
(Singer), I was working with Roland
Emerich.
The wonder pair of Devlin and Emerich,
his co-producer/director for Stargate,
Independence Day and Godzilla, was busy
making headlines, and when Devlin
branched out on his own, Singer was
caught up with the X-Men franchise.
I think it was a matter of finding the
right project and at a time we could do
it together, Devlin said.
For Singer, it all started almost on
a whim.
It began as just a casual
suggestion, almost a humorous
suggestion on what we could do
together, he explained. Sort
of a way to start working
together that might not be a
full feature but something
more tangible.
This project would be
The Triangle, a US$22mil
(RM81mil) six-hour miniseries. The premise of The
Triangle revolves around
billionaire Eric Benirall
(played by Sam Neill) who
keeps losing his cargo ships
and crew at a frightening
place. Wanting answers, the
tycoon brings together a
team of experts from
various fields to solve the
mystery.
While the miniseries was
spawned out of Devlin and Singers
imagination, they relied on a lot of
facts and research to pull the story
through.

We had someone do an extensive


research portfolio of the last 500 years
history of the Triangle, back to the days of
Columbus to modern time disappearances
at least all the recorded disappearances.
You have to imagine that in the
Triangle theres a lot illegal shipping,
refugees and drug trafficking that theres
probably a great deal of disappearances
that go unrecorded.
So we basically began with looking at
the facts related to the disappearances
and then the theories, explained Singer.
Devlin said: Because The Triangle was
enormously ambitious, it cost twice as
much as it would to make a six-hour
movie and we said, lets see if we can do
it.
And succeed they did. Not only was The
Triangle a hit when it aired on the SCI FI
Channel in the United States, the two
managed to even surprise themselves.
When the channel wanted to do the
premiere of the show in the cinema,
Singer was worried that the effects
wouldnt translate well onto the big
screen.
By the end of the screening, the answer
was clear.
It wasnt just the effects that surprised
the executive producers though; it was
the whole process of making a show for
TV as opposed to the big screen,
something that they have little experience
in.
The show has also built up a pretty
strong fan base, leading to the executive
producers contemplating a possible
continuation of the miniseries.
If the fans keep asking for it, then it
makes sense to continue the story, Devlin
said.
Putting big budget and special effects
aside, Devlin feels that it is the characters
that viewers will most relate to.
While (the show) has 800 digital effect
shots and truly spectacular imagery that
viewers would not normally see on
television ... the biggest surprise and the
biggest gift are the characters.
Catch the making of The Triangle on Star
Movies (Astro Channel 42) today at 9.30pm.
The first part will be aired tomorrow (10pm)
and subsequently on Saturdays at 10pm.

1 September 2006 Friday

TV T3
STARTWO

WHETHER we believe in it or not, many of us


have had, at some point of our lives,
discussed the Bermuda Triangle. Perhaps the
average layman may not have debated it as
intensely as the experts; nevertheless, this
location has been a point of interest to many
people since it was first discovered.
The question that begs to be asked,
however, is if it was discovered in the first
place.
Yes, people have been talking about it for
years and most agree that it is located in the
Atlantic Ocean, roughly bounded by Miami,
Bermuda and Puerto Rico.
The Bermuda Triangle was first cited by
Christopher Columbus who mentioned the
sighting of dancing lights on the horizon
where most people agree lies the Bermuda
Triangle. This cannot be taken as fact because
until today, studies of the Triangle indicate a
variation in terms of its size from 500,000
square miles (1.3 million sqkm) to three
times that.
There is only one fact when it comes to the
Bermuda Triangle and that is nobody really
knows what to make of it.

The Triangle mystery


Because most of the disappearances of ships
or planes in that area have been labelled as
mysterious, there is little evidence of its
exact existence.
Co-producer of The Triangle Dean Devlin
was a sceptic at first.
But after hearing stories about things
happening there ... Im not sure what is
causing this, but obviously something is
happening there, he said. There is enough
happening in a confined area that has to open
your mind to the possibility that there might
be something beyond your imagination.
Of course, Devlin is also quick to attribute it
to nature, stating that it could also be as
simple an answer as rocky seas and big rocks.
Devlins co-producer on the miniseries
Bryan Singer shared this opinion, but thinks
that there might be something to the myth.
Personally, I think that the more you

Lou Diamond Phillips (centre) plays Meeno Paloma, an environmental activist who survives an
experience in the Bermuda Triangle and returns a different man. Lisa Brenner (left) is Helena Paloma
while Mitchell Obermeyer plays Ruben.

Offering one explanation


By ELIZABETH TAI
WHEN shipping tycoon Eric Benirall starts
losing ships in the Bermuda Triangle, hes
determined to get to the bottom of things.
Not only is he losing a lot of money because
his ships have disappeared, his companys
reputation is affected as well.
When one of his ships is found, they
discover all the crewmen dead and mutilated.
Benirall acts by assembling a team to uncover
the truth about the Bermuda Triangle and
hopefully, save his shipping empire.
Most of these experts are in trouble one
way or another, and Benirall probably chose
them just because they are desperate. Who
else will agree to Beniralls insane plan to risk
their lives and head towards the Bermuda
Triangle, an area of sea where many ships
have mysteriously disappeared?
The de facto leader of this group is Howard
Thomas (Eric Stoltz), a journalist in the
doldrums of his career. Forced to write for
supermarket tabloids, the days where he can
aim for a Pulitzer Prize are long gone. And if
thats not bad enough, his family life is in
shambles.
Emily Patterson (Catherine Bell of JAG fame)
has just been fired from her job with an offshore drilling company. The tough, risktaking ocean resource engineer would have
pooh-poohed Beniralls offer if she hadnt
been so desperate for money.
Meanwhile, Stan Lathem is a genuine
psychic who peddles self-promotional tapes
at New Age fairs to earn a living. He is there
in case the Bermuda Triangle has a
supernatural explanation.

Only Bruce Geller (Michael Rodgers) seems


to be in it for the adventure. The Australian
professor of meteorology first joined the team
for the US$5mil pay cheque, but soon grows
enthusiastic about unravelling the mystery
that is the triangle.
Although the list of characters assembled
here is downright stereotypical, one would
immediately be swept away by the bizarre
events from the get go.
Indeed, it is not difficult to be awed by the
opening sequence of The Triangle where
Christopher Columbus is awakened on a
stormy night to see something out of this
world sailing next to his ship!
The team is initially sceptical about
Beniralls intentions and believe that the
Bermuda Triangle is nothing but an elaborate
hoax. But nevertheless they are enticed by the
US$5mil (RM18.5mil) ... things really change,
however, when every one of them starts to
experience strange events while in the
Bermuda Triangle.
However, unlike them, environmental
activist Meeno Paloma (Lou Diamond Phillips)
is alone when he encounters his spate of
weird events. He survived a Triangle event
which killed the crew members of two ships,
but is now paying for it with his sanity. He
returns to his family, but they seem different
and a little off. He doesnt recall events that
supposedly happened, and worse he doesnt
remember the son that he supposedly has.
This slick miniseries has lots of special
effects to please the sci fi fan, but will the
explanation it offers for the mystery of the
Bermuda Triangle please conspiracy
theorists? Tune in and find out.

investigate these things, there often is a


tangible explanation. But when it comes to
the ocean, theres so much going on, in that
unruly and unexplored part of our planet,
that anything could happen, said Singer.
Since the Bermuda Triangle was
popularised by author Charles Berlitz in his
book The Bermuda Triangle, which chronicles
numerous mysterious disappearances, many
people have come up with different answers.
One of the more prominent theories is that
of the Lost City of Atlantis. It indicates that
the mythological city sank where the
Bermuda Triangle now lies, and that
whatever is left of Atlantis is causing these
disappearances. Two people have been noted
to make these claims.
Dr Ray Brown claimed to have found a huge
pyramid of a mysterious jewel held by two
metallic hands while diving in the Bermuda
Triangle.
Then psychic Edgar Cayce, who became the
United States most prominent advocate of a
factual Atlantis, claimed to be able to look
into the future and identify hundreds of
people who are reincarnated as Atlanteans.
His most interesting claim was that Atlantis
was situated near the Bermuda island of
Bimini, and that the city had fire-crystals
that Atlanteans harnessed for energy.
Interestingly, Cayce once prophesised that
elements of Atlantis would rise in 1968 and
1969. The Bimimi wall was discovered off the
coast of Bimimi in 1968.
There have been other such extraordinary
claims, including that of time travel portals
and aliens. But for every theory that sounds
like science fiction, there are equally as many
theories, which experts claim explain the

mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.


It must be noted that despite all these
theories, the mystery remains unsolved. This
has paved the way for many sceptics.
Then there is also the fact that another
author, Kusche, revealed numerous
inconsistencies and inaccuracies in Berlitzs
book.
In Kusches The Bermuda Triangle Mystery
Solved, he also made several conclusions such
as how the number of ships and aircrafts
reported missing in the area was not
significantly greater, in proportion, than any
other part of the ocean.
In Devlin and Singers The Triangle, which
they co-produce with screenwriter/director
Rockne S. OBannon, there is some sort of a
conclusion to the phenomenon of
disappearance at the Bermuda Triangle.
We basically began with looking at the
facts related to the disappearances and then
the previous theories that had to do with the
Bermuda Triangle, Singer explained.
Devlin said: So we came up with an
answer that fit our story but left the
possibility that there might be more than that
... Its not fair to take them (the viewers) on a
six-hour journey without a fulfilling
conclusion.
Singer, though, was quick to mention that
the miniseries does not intend on giving the
final answer to what causes the Bermuda
Triangle.
They (the viewers) get an answer to that
particular phenomenon (in the show) but
whats also set up is the notion that this is a
continual dilemma and that the threat of that
area still exist after the resolution. By Niki
Cheong

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