Charlene trusts Aga won’t play around

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Dream Factory

CHARLENE Gonzales left last Friday for the US after she and husband Aga Muhlach attended the piano recital of their daughter Atasha. With them was Atasha’s twin brother, Andres. Charlene will be going back to school for an intensive one-month course on business management entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"I will have to be back on May 1 in time for my birthday and to bring Atasha to her first day of school at the Brent International School," she said before she left. "Si Andres naman studies at the International School. In Harvard, I will be following a rigid schedule. Classes start at 7 in the morning up to about 10 p.m. This is everyday, mind you. Mabuti na lang, I will be staying in a dorm inside the campus mismo so it’ll be easier for me. Right now, malamig pa rin kahit spring na so I’m bringing thick coats with me."

Was it easy to get into Harvard Business School?

"No. Ang daming requirements that needed to be submitted to them even if it’s just a short course. It helped that I took up a one-on-one mentorship program in business management at the AIM (Asian Institute of Management). Also the fact na tapos ako ng college."

Charlene holds a degree in B.S. Psychology from UST. She earlier wanted to go to medical school but then she got married and had kids. This is not the first time she’s studying in the US. She finished elementary and high school at the Bishop Amat School in California. It is good Aga allowed her to go the US for her studies.

"I really want to thank my husband for being so supportive. He was even the one who encouraged me to go on with my studies while he takes care of our two kids and our home while I’m away. Just like me, he knows the importance of having a good education. He himself took special courses in business at the UP. Up to now, he goes on educating himself by reading a lot of books and magazines. Ngayon, our kids are asking me if their papa would allow them to also study in the States later."

Isn’t she worried Aga might play around while she’s away?

"No, I trust Aga completely. He’s a responsible husband and father."

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Maricel Soriano sees herself in her child co-star in director Chito Rono’s "T2," Mica de la Cruz. "Naalala ko noong child star din ako," she says. "Even if she’s so young, you can see her dedication in her work. Parang ako, kahit abutin ako nun ng madaling araw sa shooting, wala rin akong reklamo. Mataas pa rin ang energy kahit mahihirap ang mga eksena. At ang mga mata niya, very expressive. Ibang klase."

Mica herself is very thankful to be given the chance to work with Maria, who plays her guardian in "T2." "Alam ko po, masuwerte ako dahil ako ang nakuha sa audition na makatrabaho niya rito. Talagang parang nanay ko po siya sa set na lagi akong inaasikaso."

Maria plays Claire, an NGO worker. She’s assigned to transport the orphaned Mica from Samar to her new foster parents in Manila. In their journey, they encounter strange happenings and mysterious people who want to get Mica from her. "It’s a combination of horror and fantasy na ginastusan nang husto ng Star Cinema dahil ang last 15 minutes nito, which is the climax, will show a totally different parallel world kunsaan kami dadalhin ni Mica ng entities na gustong kumuha sa kanya. It’s all computer generated images to show something that’s absolutely new to local viewers kaya madugo ang budget pero tiyak na mamamangha ang viewers. Ako mismo, nang makita ko, ano ito? Talagang kakaiba siya, huh!"

Chito Rono says "T2," which opens on Black Saturday, is a totally different take on engkanto. "Kasi dito sa atin, when you say engkanto, akala agad, fantasy about fairies o mga lamanlupa. Our engkanto is based on research conducted sa provinces on people who claim they have actual experience or encounter with paranormal entities. And that’s what we show in the movie, kung ano ‘yung mundo nila dahil nakarating dun sina Maricel at Mica."

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Richard Gomez turned 42 on April 7 and his 11th wedding anniversary is on April 28. He’ll have a special birthday edition in "Family Feud" with his family and close friends playing for him. His wish is for him and wife Lucy Torres to have another baby soon. Right now, Goma is happy as he has proven that he can be an effective game show host, with "Family Feud," which is ending this week, rating so well. It will be replaced by "Hole in the Wall" with Ogie Alcasid and Michael V.

"But it will return on air after them," he says. "Masaya ako sa ‘Family Feud’ dahil nailapit ako nito sa tao. Before, people thought suplado ako at mayabang, but with ‘Family Feud,’ they saw I’m warm and caring to our contestants."

He’s playing a father role in "All About Eve," but he doesn’t mind. "It’s a good role at puro magagaling lahat ng kasama ko, from Jean Garcia and Eula Valdez to Sunshine Dizon, Iza Calzado and Mark Anthony Fernandez kaya masaya ko sa show na ito."

For their wedding anniversary, he and Lucy will fly to the US for a vacation and to watch the fight of Manny Pacquiao with Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas. Richard has tried various sports, including carting, motocross, rowing, car racing, and fencing. He’s now into baseball.

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How did Dingdong Dantes feel when it was reported that the author of "Zuma" who’s now based in the US, Jim Fernandez, will sue him if he’d do the remake of the komiks novel turned movie?

"I was surprised dahil wala naman akong kinalaman sa remake na ‘yun," he says on the set of "Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang." "Sabi, I’m being considered daw for the role, but nothing is final. Nagugulat nga ako sa mga balita sa’kin. Kesyo may gagawin daw akong movie sa Hollywod. Wala pa namang formal offer. But if ever it’s true, sino naman ako para tumanggi, lalo na kung maganda talaga ang project."

Dingdong is happy that the ratings of "Babaeng Hinugot…" has picked up and he’s sure it will go higher in the next few days as the story becomes more engrossing. His character, Homer, is shot by Rado (Paolo Contis) and goes into coma, hovering between life and death. Proserfina (Marian Rivera) prays hard to save his life but Homer’s mom, Hera (Carmi Martin), blames her for what happened. Homer finally regains consciousness and proposes to Proserfina in front of so many people in the hospital, but she says no. Instead, it’s Proserfina who proposes to him. Meantime, Aris (Prince Stefan) realizes that Jason (Kevin Santos) also has designs for Athena (Lovi Poe) and they figure in a fight.

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The ratings of "Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin?" on an afternoon slot is almost equal to the ratings of a show on primetime. Last Wednesday at AGB Nielsen for MegaManila, it rated almost 30% at 29.9, which was the ratings then of "Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang" and "All About Eve" when they were starting. It also topped the record of "Saan Darating ang Umaga?" which it replaced on air and was the previous record holder at 28.1%. Credit should go to director Maryo de los Reyes (who also directed "Saan Darating") and to its stars, Aljur Abrenica and Kris Bernal.

"Dapat Ka" also topped the ratings in TNS surveys. We won’t be surprised if the Aljur-Kris Bernal love team would be given a primetime show next time. Also rating very high is another afternoon soap, "Paano Ba Ang Mangarap?," which registered 27.3% also last Wednesday. This augurs well for its stars Mark Herras and Jennylyn Mercado.

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GMA-7 is taking advantage of Glaiza de Castro’s being linked to Patrick Garcia so they are now paired in the new episode, "Igorota," of "Dear Friend" to replace the Katrina Halili episode. Expect them to be linked further even if Glaiza insists that Patrick is not at all courting her and they just went out on group dates. Polo Ravales will also be featured in the said episode.

Patrick, last seen in "Babangon Ako’t Dudurugin Kita" on primetime, previously declared that he’d go back to acting again only after he has seen his son, Alex Jazz, with Jennylyn Mercado. After "Babangon," he went to Canada and took a film course at Montreal Film School. He’s now also taking a photography school at the College of St. Benilde. He also plans to study cinematography at the Mowelfund workshops.

***

When Viva hosted a party for Anne Curtis’ birthday recently, she told us she has a big movie project coming up but she can’t divulge anything about it yet as it’s all still under wraps. Now, it’s been revealed that the said project will her pair her for the first time with ex-boyfriend Richard Gutierrez.

Shooting is expected to start next month. Start expecting also that Richard and Anne will be linked to each other again. There will be reports that their romance has been rekindled, etc., etc. This after Richard was linked to KC Concepcion when they did two movies and Rhian Ramos because of "Zorro." But it’s rumored that his real girlfriend, although it’s supposed to be a secret that they are not supposed to admit in public, is KC lookalike, Jewel Mische. As for Anne, she’s very much available now after her breakup with Sam Milby.

Source: Malaya

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