Earth Hour Singapore - Spider-Man at the Float@Marina Bay

For F*** Magazine

EARTH HOUR SINGAPORE – SPIDER-MAN AT THE FLOAT@MARINA BAY 

The Spider-Man musical was named Turn off the Dark but on the evening of 29 March, the cast and crew of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 helped turn off the lights on the Singapore skyline. In the culmination of a three-day tour of Singapore, stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx as well as director Marc Webb and producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach helped commemorate Earth Hour, observed from 8:30 to 9:30 pm. Organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore, this year sees Spider-Man become the first superhero ambassador for the environmental event, a costumed Spidey himself also making an appearance. Radio deejays including Maddy Barber, John Klass, Charmaine Yee and Rich Herrera hosted.

Words and photos by Jedd Jong

“This is cool!” Emma Stone enthused. “It is amazing to be in Singapore, I think we’re all having a really really great time. We’ve been at the food stalls, I went on the Singapore flyer, it’s been pretty special. Thank you for having us and for giving us such a warm welcome.”

“I think it is a great honour for us,” Marc Webb said on Spider-Man being chosen as superhero ambassador for Earth Hour. “It’s about one person making a difference, it’s about a kid who everybody underestimates who brings change in the world…it’s a great way to start off a global event…it’s a really fantastic opportunity for all of us.”

“Wow!” Andrew Garfield exclaimed. “To be here right now with everyone here is steady lah!” Garfield said to wild screams from fans in the audience, using a colloquial exhortation. “Singapore lah is cool lah.” That’s not quite how you do it, but points for trying, Spidey. “We went to the Commonwealth School with Jamie and they were showing how much hard work they were doing with sustainability and to protect the earth…they’re doing really beautiful work and the Commonwealth School are an inspiration to all of us.” Garfield and Foxx made a surprise visit to the school on Friday, much to the delight of its students.

Foxx was accompanied on stage by his five year old daughter Annalise. “We got fans from two years old to 90 years old because of these guys and I’m just happy to be here in Singapore,” he said to more cheers.

Before and after the cast made their appearance, the crowd at the Float was entertained by a myriad of home-grown acts, including Masia One and Inverse Proportions, the Superfly Monkey Dragons parkour troupe, singer Roze Kasmani, the Invincible Cheerleading squad, the LuMen Dancers with their light-up suits, percussion group Samba Masala and soul funk group What Is Hip? The event was also graced by ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Chief Negotiator for Climate Change, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elaine Tan, CEO of WWF-Singapore, Andy Ridley, CEO and co-founder of Earth Hour and Dr. Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International.

Now, DANCE!

Chilling out and signing off.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Singapore Red Carpet and Press Conference

For F*** Magazine

The stars, director and producers of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 swept into Singapore on 27th March, greeting a throng of excited webheads at the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (MBS). Actors Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx were joined by director Marc Webb and producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach. Bringing a little slice of Hollywood hype and glamour to our shores, the celebrities will participate in the Earth Hour "lights out" ceremony to be held this Saturday.

By Jedd Jong
Photos by Tedd and Jedd Jong

At MBS, they graciously posed for photographs, signed autographs and took lots and lots of selfies with some lucky fans. There was also an appearance made by Spider-Man himself, leaping through the red carpet area, in addition to some fans who turned up in costume as Spider-Man, Electro and Gwen Stacy as radio deejays Justin Ang and Vernon A hosted the proceedings.

Speaking briefly to F*** on the red carpet, producer Avi Arad promised a big action film that will also include Spider-Man's trademark wise-cracking humour.

Director Webb described building a replica of Times Square on Long Island to stage the film's central set-piece in which the villainous Electro, played by Foxx, causes a violent power outage in the middle of New York City.

Emma Stone revealed that she enjoyed performing the high-flying wire work stunts for when Gwen Stacy gets to swing on Spider-Man's arm.

Andrew Garfield said that the group was taken to Maxwell Food Centre (he called it "Maxwell Courtyard") to partake in some famous chicken rice, and that they had been chilling in the Infinity Pool atop the MBS hotel earlier that day.

Jamie Foxx also entertained the crowd with a spot of beatboxing.

Once in the MasterCard theatre for the press conference, we were treated to a small, sweet display of affection when Garfield playfully stroked Stone's cheek.

When asked by a reporter about playing a character who is white in the comics, Jamie Foxx emphasized the craft of acting and how today's world should look beyond race as a boundary. Garfield jokingly added that in his next project, he will play Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

F***'s coverage of Spidey's trip to the Lion City will continue, so stay tuned. Enjoy a bunch of photos from the red carpet and the press conference (showcasing many adorable Emma Stone expressions) below!

Shout-out to my brother Tedd, who was the photographer for the day. Off to do some heavy-duty interview transcription and will be headed to the Floating Platform tonight!