Annabelle: Stop crab mentality

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

MOTHER Lily Monteverde and GMA Films hosted a victory-thanksgiving party at Century Imperial for the box-office success of "My Monster Mom. " How does Annabelle Rama feel that her detractors say her comeback movie didn't make money? "Okay lang kasi hindi naman totoo ang sinasabi nila," she says. "Hayan nga, extended ang 'Monster Mom' in several theatres and even the bookers, pinapatunayang kumita ito. Sabi nga nila, may legs sa takilya ang movie kasi maraming nagandahan kaya by word of mouth endorsement, dumarami pang nanonood. I never said namang number one kami, pero kahit number 2 lang ako sa movie ni Will Smith, okay lang sa'kin. Ibig sabihin, ka-level ko na si Will Smith. At saka naniniwala akong kumita kasi ayan nga, tinitira ako, sinisiraan pati acting ko, wala raw akong facial expression at naninigas ako. Sila nga ang umarte after 35 years! Talagang naninigas ako sa nerbiyos sa harap ng kamera, 'no? Pero sa susunod, aarte na talaga ko, maski may drama at paiyakin ako ni direk, iiyak na ako. Nagbunga ang paghihirap ko sa movie. Biro mo, while shooting that, nag-suffer pati ang sex life namin ng asawa ko. Pag-uwi ko ng bahay, pagod na pagod na ako, pero mag-memorize pa ako ng script, kaya sabi ko kay Eduardo, sorry, Dong, diyeta muna tayo kasi nasa pelikula ang buong concentration ko ngayon. Ang kinatutuwa ko lang, sa theater tour, kahit saang mall ako magpunta, pinagkakaguluhan ako ng tao. Sa Gateway nga, na-touch ako, kasi pati mga batang maliit, tinatawag ako at hinabol pa ko para halikan. Yung mga apo ko, sina Lorin at Venice, ayoko ngang papanoorin kasi sigaw ako ng sigaw sa movie. Pero nanood din pala with their yayas sa Glorietta tapos, sabi sa'kin, Lola, we love your movie, we want to watch again, so the next day, nanood kaming lahat kasama mga katulong sa Megamall. Mga P5,000 siguro ang nagastos ko. Tapos gusto pa uling ulitin so nanood naman kami sa Trinoma. Kaya kahit anong paninira ang gawin nila, hindi ako naaapek-tuhan kasi nakikita ko ang reaction ng mga tao sa loob ng sinehan. Tawa sila ng tawa. Sabi nga ng asawa ko, pasalamat na lang ako dahil matanda na ako nang magbalik ako sa pelikula, 55 na ako, pero parang milagro ng Diyos, tinanggap pa rin ako ng tao at kumita pa ang pelikula ko. Ang nakakalungkot lang, mga kasama pa natin sa industriya ang naninira sa amin. Sana, magtulungan na lang at huwag maghilahang pababa. "

"Oo nga," adds Director Joey Reyes. "Naghihikahos na nga ang industriya ng pelikula rito sa atin at kakaunti na lang ang nagpo-produce, pinaiiral pa ang crab mentality. Hindi ba puedeng kapag may ibang pelikulang kumita, matuwa na lang tayo at huwag nang siraan pa?"

"The movie is a success and it exceeded our expectations," says Mother Lily. "I really want to congratulate Annabelle as she has proven with 'My Monster Mom' being a box-office hit, that she has her own following among local moviegoers. She's a natural effortless comedian and her wonderful personality radiates throughout the film, complicated by the similarly classy acting of her daughter Ruffa Gutierrez. "

"Gusto nga ni Mother, gumawa na ko ng bagong movie for Valentine, kami ni Eddie, para maging Valentine Queen daw ako," adds Annabelle. "Pero sabi ko, paano naman ang movie ni Richard (Gutierrez, her son), e siya ang Valentine King? Ayoko namang agawan ko pa ng titulo ang anak ko. "

RICHARD AS FIGHT DIRECTOR

Richard Gutierrez is credited as the fight director of his new show, "Codename: Asero. " "Sa'kin kasi talaga galing most of the ideas for the stunts and action sequences we do in the show," he says. "This is also the reason kung bakit tuloy-tuloy ang pag-aaral ko ng martial arts at ang training ko on how to execute action scenes. I want to be sure na mas ma-aksiyon ang 'Asero' sa ibang shows ko before. This is my biggest show ever in terms of scope, casting and budget and I want to thank GMA sa suporta nila as they gave everything that we requested para mas mapaganda ito. "

Today, Richard will have a big promo for "Asero" in "SOP" with leading lady Heart Evangelista. It so happened that his leading lady in his new movie, KC Concepcion, will also be there to promote her album with Sony BMG. Will they all have an awkward moment when they see each other?

"Hindi naman siguro. Si Heart ang kapareha ko sa TV, si KC naman sa movie. So magkaiba 'yun. "

He and Robin Padilla are now the reigning action superstars on GMA-7. Would he like to work with Robin? "Of course, as I was growing up, siya ang idol ko at pinapanood ko siya noon lagi. Established na siya sa action in both movies and TV. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from him if we'd work together. "

Tonight at 10:30, don't miss the special, "The Making of Codename: Asero," to be shown on GMA-7 right after "Fulhaus. " You'll see how they shot important scenes on location in Dubai and how the special effects that turn Richard into a cyborg (half man-half machine) are executed.

JUDAY AND RYAN: LIVING IN A SUITCASE

Judy Ann Santos and beau Ryan Agoncillo just returned from the Paris Cinema international filmfest and guess who arrived with them on the plane: Piolo Pascual.

"We didn't see each other while we're all in Paris," says Ryan. "Pare-pareho kasing busy. It was in the airport in Dubai on the way back to Manila na nagkita-kita kami. "

"Wala na namang issue between us kaya nagkumustahan kami roon," says Juday. "Ilang beses na rin naman kasi kaming nagkita at nagkausap kaya masaya ang kumustahan namin in Dubai. "

Juday is thankful that her film, "Ploning," was very well received by all those who watched it in Paris. "Maganda ang reception nila at sana nga, magkaroon ng chance na mabenta namin ito for distribution sa ibang bansa. "

So will they now be making arrangements for their wedding? "Ay, wala pang time for that. Aalis uli kasi agad going to Bangkok to do a new commercial there, then may trip pa kami sa America para sa show ng 'Eat Bulaga' sa Los Angeles on July 19 where we're special guests. We're practically living in a suitcase because of these frequent trips abroad. Saka na pag-usapan ang details ng wedding kapag nakabalik na kami rito. There's no need to rush naman dahil sinabi na nga naming it's going to be a long engagement. "

NIÑA IS ONE BAD GIRL
Manny Valera tells us his ward, former PBB Teens housemate Niña Jose, was offered by OctoArts Films to join the cast of their Metro Filmfest entry, "One Night Only," directed by Joey Reyes and also starring Angelica Panganiban, Roxanne Guinoo and Valerie Concepcion.

But Mother Lily Monteverde didn't give her permission for Niña, who's an exclusive Regal contract star, to do the movie. Instead, she will be launched by Regal in the sexy flick "Bad Girls," to be directed by Joel Lamangan.

CES NARRATES OWN KIDNAP STORY

THE whole story about the kidnapping of ABS-CBN news anchor Ces Drilon and cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama will be shown in the special documentary "Kidnap" tonight. Listen to their differing perspectives, three narratives pieced together into one storyline supported by footages shot by Jimmy in captivity�"at great risk to his life. "Kidnap" also lets Angelo narrate what went through his mind while his kidnappers demonstrated to him just how he would be beheaded, lets Jimmy relate how "Ma'am Ces" offered her life in exchange for his, and lets Ces describe just how it feels to realize that no story is worth a life.

"This is the toughest trial I've ever had," said Drilon, who described her life in captivity as "wretched" and "horrible. " Drilon's team and their guide were kidnapped on June 8 in Indanan, Sulu as they were on their way to do an interview. By daybreak the following day, they realized they had been kidnapped. This is a documentary about recklessness and violence, about spirits that will not be broken by the barrel of a gun, about brotherhood, about family, about choices, about fear, and about just what it means�"to have courage. "Kidnap," directed by award-winning Indie film director Paolo Villaluna (Selda, Ilusyon) and produced by Patricia Evangelista, airs at 10:05 p. m. in "Sunday's Best" on ABS-CBN. You can also read Ces' personal accounts on her gripping ordeal in a three-part series exclusive on www. ABS-CBNnews. com and special TV news reports on her experience in "TV Patrol World">TV Patrol World," "Bandila," and ANC.

HANCOCK: FLAWED SUPERHERO

Will Smith is currently the top actor in the U. S. who comes up with hit after hit after hit playing nice guy roles in films like "Independence Day," "Hitch," "Pursuit of Happyness" and "I Am Legend. "

In "Hancock", he sheds his nicey-nicey image to play a mean alcoholic superhero who gets to do very degrading things. But fans need not worry since, expectedly, there will be a turn around before the film ends.

The movie starts with a chase scene in the freeways of Los Angeles, with cops pursuing a group of Asian gangsters armed with big weapons. Our hero, Hancock (Will), is dead drunk on a bench. A little boy tries to wake him up. Still wobbly, he tries to help but comes on more like a wrecking crew that only causes more damage than the bad guys could have. He soars into the sky at supersonic speed but doesn't know how to make a more controlled landing, recklessly ripping up concrete.

In another rescue try, he gets to save the life of a well meaning PR expert, Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), by pulling Embrey's car away from the path of an incoming train. The problem is he also stops the train, resulting in a messy pile up of train cars. People are angry with Hancock but Ray feels indebted to him and sees this as a chance not only to help the superhero but also to boost his own career.

He takes the drunken superhero to his own home for a spaghetti and meatball dinner. There, Hancock meets his beautiful wife Mary (Charlize Theron), who is clearly uncomfortable with Hancock, and their son Aaron (Jae Head), who's thrilled with having a true superhero dining with them. When the public clamors for Hancock to be arrested, Ray tells him to accept the punishment so as to show that he is now a responsible citizen. This will be part of giving his tarnished image a make-over.

In prison, Hancock is immediately ganged up on by the criminals he helped put behind bars. But of course, with Hancock as their unbeatable opponent, it's not necessarily true that there's safety in numbers. When robbers hostage several people inside a bank, the cops call Hancock for help and this is where he gets to boost his image. The people applaud when he gets to rescue all the hostages and the mastermind is arrested. Also, he no longer damages anything else, unlike his past rescue attempts that were sloppy and careless.

Back at Ray's home, Mary tries to convince Hancock to just disappear for good before he hurts her husband in ways that only she can imagine. The movie makes a turnaround at this point when it starts to explain Hancock's origins. Would you believe he's suffering from amnesia? But that's all that we can reveal at this point because the movie has a surprise twist and we don't want to spoil it for you. We do feel that the explanation on the history of Hancock is not as totally satisfactory as the film's first part, but the revelation of a love story where someone makes a supreme sacrifice will no doubt charm hopeless romantics.

What makes the character of Hancock really work is mainly Will Smith. It's quite an accomplishment to make his flawed superhero character multi-dimensional and quite believable. The writers, Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan, should also be commended for creating in Hancock someone rich in complex emotions hidden beneath his alcoholic persona. It's hard to like Hancock at the start but as the film goes on, he also learns and grows and becomes more endearing.

The film becomes quite emotional towards the end and Smith's efforts in drama is as good as his comic timing. He's matched every step of the way by Charlize Theron, who steals some scenes effortlessly and renders an equally heartbreaking portrayal. It's good she accepted this role after playing deglamorized (but acclaimed) roles in "Monster", "Northern Country" and "In the Valley of Ellah. " They're ably supported by Jason Bateman, investing his role as the likeable Ray Embrey with both sensitivity and humor.

The movie is directed by former actor Peter Berg ("Copland," "Collateral" as an actor; "Very Bad Things," "The Rundown" and "The Kingdom" as director). "Hancock" is his biggest assignment so far: a perfect combination of comedy, action and yes, even a bit of melodrama. He shows fine command of his material that he manages to compress into only a little over an hour and a half, compared to other recent big releases that all run for more than two hours. The movie also offers some spectacular visual effects from roads being destroyed to buildings crashing down and other embroidered action sequences. This will no doubt be a big hit and we won't be surprised if there'd be a "Hancock 2" where he will have a more worthy villain that's absent in this introductory flick.

Source: People's Journal