Ara won't meddle in Cristine-Dennis affair

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

THE director of "Anak ng Kumander", Kaka J. Balagtas, refuted allegations by Valerie Concepcion and her manager that Manny Pacquiao exploited Valerie with the torrid kissing scene she did with Manny.

"I just want to make it clear na hindi ko niloko si Valerie dahil kinausap ko muna siya kung payag siya to do the kissing scene with Manny," says Direk Kaka. " "Hindi ko nakausap ang manager niya para ipaalam ang gagawing eksena, but Valerie is of age at may sapat nang pag-iisip para magdesisyon on her own.

Kung sinabi niyang ayaw niya, hindi ko siya pipilitin. Pumayag siya. Pinaganda ko pa nga ang role niya. Kaya nagtaka ako nang biglang maging issue ang kissing scene. Maling sabihin na Manny used her. Bakit manggagamit si Manny? Isipin nga ni Valerie at ng manager niya kung sino ang mas sikat sa kanilang dalawa? Para hindi nila masabing ang kissing scene nila ang selling point of the movie, we just deleted it para wala na lang mapag-usapan. Pero si Valerie, mahigit five times hindi sinipot ang shooting. Manny paid 300 extras for each shooting pero wala siyang narinig na nagreklamo ang producer namin. "

Manny says he tries his best to please all the people he works with. "Pinakikisamahan ko silang lahat nang mabuti. Hindi ako galit kay Valerie at sa manager niya. I just realized na hindi lahat ng ipinakikita sa harap ay totoo at maganda kasi iba na ang sinasabi kapag nakatalikod na. "

Ara Mina came late to the presscon and sang "Happy Birthday" for Manny. Some people urged her to kiss Manny but she refused. "Hanggang pelikula lang yun, no? Mamaya, maintriga pa ako uli. "

Aside from "Anak ng Kumander," Ara is also in the cast of "Selda", a sex-drama megged by Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos of the acclaimed "Ilusyon". Ara plays Sita, the quiet wife of Sid Lucero who plays Rommel, a corn farmer who gets imprisoned for the accidental death of a boy. In jail, Sid meets Emilio Garcia as Esteban, who becomes his protector from another inmate who rapes him. His relationship with Emilio will eventually affect his marriage in this daring film about self-discovery.

Ara has also accepted an offer from ABS-CBN to replace Angelika dela Cruz, who's moving to GMA-7, in the afternoon soap "Prinsesa ng Banyera". "But I'm not just a panakip-butas here. Ako raw ang lalabas na original Prinsesa ng Banyera. "

Wonder what Kristine Hermosa will say about this. Obviously, ABS-CBN believes the presence of Ara in the show will help attract more people to watch it now that its ratings are so low.

Asked if her sister Cristine really reconciled with Dennis Trillo, Ara says she doesn't want to meddle with Cristine's lovelife. "I don't ask her. I just wait for her to voluntarily tell me the information. "

NOT ONE, BUT FOUR
INSTEAD of just one, four stars took the lie detector test in the Don't Lie to Me segment in the Christmas presentation of "Showbiz Central" last Sunday where they had a Noche Buena table for guest celebs. Three of them had two correct answers (Francine Prieto, Paolo Contis and Paolo Paraiso) and only one perfected the test (Iza Calzado). Who will take the test among the guests were determined by the drawing of lots. Francine failed in the question: Sobrang strict daw ng mommy mo kaya tinatakasan mo para makipag-date? Francine said no and the truth verifier said she's lying.

Paolo Contis failed in the question: Galit ka pa ba kay Bullet Jalosjos dahil siya ang dahilan ng split up ninyo ni Nancy Castiliogne noon? He answered no and the truth verified said this is a lie. For Paolo Paraiso, his Waterloo was the question: Naging kayo raw ni Alicia Mayer? He said no, and again the truth verifier said he's lying.

As for Iza, the questions for her were very tame. Are you ready to give your lovelife for your career? Her answer: No. Hindi raw kayo close ni Marian Rivera while doing "Desperadas"? Her answer: Yes. May tampuhan daw kayo ng daddy mo (Lito Calzado)? Her answer: No. In all these, the truth verifier said she's telling the truth.

One interesting feature in "Showbiz Central" is their interview with former child actor Dranreb Belleza who came home to Manila on December 6 to spend Christmas here and seek treatment for his ailment: lymphoma. Here's wishing he'd be fully cured while staying here, what with the help of his caring former co-stars who all wish him well.

ERIC'S BIGGEST FRUSTRATION
AFTER directing hit shows on GMA-7 like "Darna" and "Asian Treasures", Eric Quizon goes back to acting in "Hide and Seek" and now has a filmfest entry, "Bahay Kubo, A Pinoy Mano Po", where he is Maricel Soriano's husband. This is a reunion for them as they were together when he was just starting in "Super Inday".

"I enjoy directing, but I've really missed acting so when the offer from Mother Lily came to revive my acting career, I quickly accepted the offer," he says.

It was exactly 20 years ago, in 1987, when he won as Star Awards best new movie actor for his first film, "Bata-Batuta" with his dad, Dolphy. Does he have any regrets?

"Not being able to be a doctor is a big frustration kasi my ambition was really to be a psychiatrist, but I have no regrets going into acting," Eric says. "I have won many acting honors. In 1989, two years after I was named best new actor, I won several best supporting actor awards for Ishmael Bernal's 'Pahiram ng Isang Umaga'. I also won Metro-Manila Filmfest best actor awards for 'Juan Tamad' and 'Crying Ladies'. My last filfmest entry was 'So Happy Together'. "

Will he now win again for "Bahay Kubo"? "This is actually Maricel's movie. She's there from start to finish and she should win as she's very good. We met in the story nang i-blind date ako sa kanya and she doesn't know I'm really blind so I can't see her, but I quickly fell in love with her as I could feel she's a good person. Kahit dalaga pa siya, she adopted a homeless baby.

When we get married, mas dumami ang ampon namin, aside from our own biological child, Shaina Magdayao. Our adopted kids are Marian Rivera, Yasmien Kurdi, Jiro Manio, Isabella de Leon, Rita Iringan and Sam Bumatay. We all live in a bahay kubo in the province and we're very happy there, pero nagkahiwalay kami when we moved to the big city. The story ends on Christmas and it's very touching as we all get reunited. As directed by Joel Lamangan, the film carries very Filipino values about the importance of family and love, perfect for the holiday season. "

MOST SUCCESSFUL 'SSR9' EPISODE
PAUL Daza is the son of veteran journalist Julie Yap Daza. An ex-member of the Manunuri, he branched out to scriptwriting and now directs for the first time, the "Christmas Tree" episode of "Shake Rattle & Roll 9". His episode is the most successful in scaring viewers who were all screaming when the Christmas tree in the title came to life and turned into a monster who eats people. That scene showing the huge tree swallowing John Lapus alive sent shivers down the spine of many viewers.

"This episode is meant for the whole family so I made sure it'll be scary but not that scary to traumatize kid viewers," he says. "We don't want them naman to be scared of all Christmas trees.

This is just fiction that makes a Christmas symbol a terrifying thing. We then got a prosthetic artist, Noel Flores, to make the live monster tree that would be very big but still can move around and eat a whole person. "

Paul is glad to have this episode to be his directorial debut. "At first, I was scared, but having veteran stars like Boots Anson Roa and Gina Alajar made my work easier. They were very helpful even in helping the kid actors, Nash Aguas and Sophia Baars, in the episode. "

With "Christmas Tree" being the scariest episode in "Shake 9", we're sure Paul will be receiving more offers in the future.

GO Pooh
IT'S all systems go for comedian Pooh and his solo concert at the Music Museum, "ASAPooh 08", on Friday, December 28, 8:30 p. m. Watch his riotous impersonations of Manny Pacquiao, Mike Velarde and many more characters. "Maraming makikitang bagong acts, musical numbers and jokes ang viewers nito dahil pinaghandaan ko ito nang husto," he says.

His special guests are Rufa Mae Quinto, Maja Salvador, Candy Pangilinan and Vhong Navarro, directed by Bert de Leon. Tickets range from only P500 to P1000. Call Backroom at 435-1120 or email backroomtalents @pldtdsl. net.

TOP NETWORKS IN THE SUING MOOD
IT'S the season to be jolly, but not for the country's two top networks who are in a suing mood. as the network war rages on, making it all a legal battle.

ABS filmed a P63 million suit against AGB Nielsen Media for alleged manipulation of the ratings.

GMA-7, in turn, filed a libel case against ABS for alleging that GMA-7 was behind the rigging of the ratings as reported in DzMM which said "AGB Nielsen, umamin sa dayaan. GMA Network tahasang itinurong nasa likod ng dayaan. "
Rikki Escudero, head of GMA Regional TV, says: "GMA Network strongly denies the baseless accusation that it is behind the ratings rigging alleged by an unnamed ABS-CBN informant. "

And with that, we want to greet all our loyal readers a Blessed Christmas and may you all have peace of mind and heart.

Source: People's Journal