Cherie Gil: Hard to have a long-distance marriage

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Dream Factory

Cherie Gil is so slim she looks like much younger than her real age. She turned 45 last June but looks more like someone who’s only in her late 20s. She usually plays glamorouscontravida (Remember her as Lavinia Arguelles in "Bituing Walang Ningning" and as the ice queen villain in "Lastikman"?), but she’s now totally deglamorized as Amanda, the grieving mother of a wayward son (Ryan Agoncillo) who gives her so many heartaches in the remake of Carlo J. Caparas’ "Pieta."

"Making ‘Pieta’ is meaningful for me as I’m doing the role originally played by Tita Chato (the late Charito Solis)," she says. "She was my mentor when I was starting in showbiz in such films as ‘Beerhouse’ and ‘Sugar Daddy.’ I really learned so much from her. I’m also happy to be doing another novel of Direk Carlo Caparas as it’s also in a novel of his, ‘God, Save Me,’ that I won a best supporting actress award when he turned it into a movie."

Since "Pieta" is now a teleserye, directors Toto Natividad and Don Cuaresma expanded it and gave a back story to the character played by Cherie, Amanda. She’s shown as a young woman (Alessandra de Rossi) who had sad experiences with two men, Miguel (Baron Geisler) and Delfin (Joross Gamboa). One of them could be the father of her son Rigor (Paul Salas as a boy, Ryan A. as a man). Later on, when Amanda becomes Cherie, Miguel and Delfin are played by John Regala and Jestoni Alarcon, respectively.

Cherie sat at our table to have lunch and she admits she and violinist husband Roni Rogoff have separated after 14 years. They were married in 1994. "I tried my best to be a dutiful wife and I lived with him wherever he was working, like New York and Venice," she says. "He also tried to live here in Manila for a while, but we have drifted apart and we were moving into different directions since I can’t leave my work here as an actress. It’s hard to have a long-distance marriage. There’s no third party involved. We parted amicably. Our children, Bianca (12) and Raphael (10) are currently staying with him in Israel where they study in an American school. I can visit them anytime I wish to and they can also come here as they please. My son, Jamie (21), is with me here. May kumukuha sa kanya sa showbiz but he doesn’t like it. He’s more inclined to music."

Cherie says their petition for divorce has been officially granted by the courts abroad last August. It will be recalled that Cherie and Roni had a harrowing experience when they were caught by the killer tsunami in December, 2006 in Thailand, which they mercifully survived with their kids.

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Did Gerald Anderson really try to court Pauleen Luna?

"Nagkita lang kami sa birthday party ni John James Uy and we were introduced to each other, tapos nabalitang nililigawan ko na siya," he says. "It was just blown out of proportion."

How come it’s reported he even goes to the set of her taping to bring her food?

"Kung sarili ko nga, hindi ko na maasikaso, how can I find the time to do for others, what with me taping for ‘My Only Hope’ and also shooting ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll X’?"

Not all guys look good with facial hair, but the writers who visited the pictorial of Gerald’s episode in "Shake X," "Class Picture," agree that his moustache and beard become him, making him ruggedly handsome. "Bata lang kasi siya noon," says Dinno Erece. "Mama na siya ngayon."

Gerald, of course, is flattered by the complement. "But I’m just waiting for us to finish the taping of ‘My Only Hope’ and then I will shave this off kasi kailangan clean cut ako in ‘Shake X’."

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Is it true Kim Chiu got jealous when it was reported that Gerald was wooing Pauleen Luna? No," she says with a shake of her head. "Bakit ako magseselos? Hindi naman kami on ni Gerald. But I asked him about it at sinabi niyang hindi naman daw totoo. Nagkita lang sila sa isang party. Kinuwento pa nga niya sa akin after he went to that party at nabanggit nga niyang maraming ibang artista."

She says it’s ironic that she’s making a horror movie like "Shake X" when she herself doesn’t watch horror movies.

"Kasi madali akong matakot," she laughs. "After watching a scary movie, ayokong mag-isa sa kuwarto. Ni hindi ako makapunta saCR nang mag-isa. This is our first horror movie ni Gerald but we’ve done a horror show before on TV, ‘yung ‘Maligno.’ Ang kaibhan lang, in ‘Maligno,’ demons ang kalaban namin. This time, it’s a ghost, the bad spirit of an old nun played by Jean Garcia. We’re shooting this in three different schools na luma talaga ang ambiance for the spooky atmosphere. Nakakatakot talaga ang setting. I’m sure those who love horror films will enjoy this one when it opens on Christmas Day."

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Jake Cuenca denies there was a fight between him and Roxanne Guinoo in Guam. He also denies that he’s now going steady with Bea Alonzo, the reason Roxanne reportedly got jealous. At the recent birthday party of movie writer Rose Garcia, he said he and Bea are just the best of friends. "I admit,nanligaw ako sa kanya, pero hindi kami natuloy namaging magkarelasyon," he says. "Mahirap kasi we’re both so busy with work. May ‘Betty La Fea’ siya, tapos she’s gonna start a new movie. Ako naman, may tine-tapingding new show with Shaina Magdayao. Also, Bea made it clear to me nabreadwinner siya at mas priority niyang tulungan ang family niya kaya she’d much rather just focus on her work now. So, sa ngayon, kontento muna kami sa pagiging friends lang. If we’re the ones naman who are really meant for each other in the future, hindi na kailangang pilitin ‘yun at kami rin ang magkakatuluyan. So let’s just leave it at that. "

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Ynez Veneracion is happy to play an important role in ABS-CBN’s "Pieta" as the loyal friend of Cherie Gil who knows all her secrets and is later murdered by John Regala. "Nagpapasalamat talaga ko sa ABS at kinuha nila ko kasi ‘yung last teleserye ko sa kabila, matagal na," she says. "Iba ‘yung may regular show kang ganito. Hindi ka nakakalimutan ng tao. Nakagawa rin ako ng dalawang indie films, ‘yung ‘Retaso’ at ‘Binyag’."

We ask her about her love life and she admits she has reconciled with boyfriend Mon Confiado and they now live in his house. This is why she is selling her own house in Pasig for P9 million.

"Our plan ni Mon is to use the money in building apartments para maparentahan namin as our business," she says.

It’s common knowledge that Mon had an affair with Juliana Palermo while they were off. How about her? Did she have another boyfriend?

"Wala. Siya lang talaga. Noon na lang nalaman kong onna sila ni Julia saka ako nakipag-boyfriend sa isang afam, a French guy na based sa California. Pero one month lang kami kasi eventually, nakipagbalikan na nga ako kay Mon. Umiyak ‘yung guy na ‘yun. But I told him wala akong magagawa kasi si Mon talaga ang mas mahal ko. Actually, may isa pang afam na nanligaw sa’kin, Japanese naman. Niregaluhan ako ng SUV. Pero binalik ko kasi ang mahal-mahal ng gasolina nun, ano? Isa pa, pilitin ko man ang sarili ko, hindi ko siya magawang mahalin alang-alang lang sa SUV.

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Eda Nolan, a balikbayan from Australia who’s with ABS-CBN, was only 19 when she gave birth to her love child last February. The dad is a Kapuso teen, Gian Carlos, who was a runner up in "Star Struck 2." So how’s their baby? "Eight months old na po," she says. "His full name is Gian Andrei Ho, kasi Ho talaga ang family name nina Gian."

She’s now making a comeback in the "Class Picture" episode of "Shake, Rattle & Roll X," playing one of the haunted classmates of Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson. Eda was discovered when she joined the ABS-CBN acting workshops and was told to join Star Circle Quest. Star Magic’s Johnny Manahan got her and she was cast in the gag show, "Let’s Go." She was paired with Victor Basa in "Walang Kapalit" and was a regular in "That’s My Doc" when she got pregnant. Any regrets?

"Wala po. Mabait naman kasi si Gian and we both love our baby. Alam ko po mali ang ginawa namin kasi pareho kaming napakabata. Pero ngayon, nilalagay naman namin sa tama."

Any plans of getting married?

"Yes, but later. We have to prepare for it. Sa ngayon, nag-iipon muna kami. Nagpapasalamat nga ako sa Regal at nakuha ako for this movie. I’m also back acting in ABS. Kasama ako sa ‘Pieta’ as the young Ynez Veneracion and I’m also in ‘Dragona’ playing the best friend of Shaina Magdayao."

How did she meet Gian?

"Even before I joined showbiz, na-meet ko na siyawhen I watched ‘Starstruck.’ He got my number at nagtext-text na kami. Dun nag-start."

But she’s not Gian’s first girlfriend. It’s Megan Young who was also a "Starstruck" graduate but is now with ABS.

"Yes, naikuwento po niya ‘yun sa akin. Now, friends kami ni Megan. Nakita ko siya sa ‘ASAP’ and I was the one na lumapit sa kanya. Wala naman po sa’kin kahit ex siya ni Gian."

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Rhian Ramos says she now believes in the adage "na mapapalad ang inaapi." She has become controversial because of the negative things being sent via email and text by her detractors, but this obviously only worked to her advantage. The evidence is the consistently above 30% ratings of her primetime TV series, "La Lola." But her detractors continue to denigrate her and we just got email the show’s rating is actually declining because Rhian is not a good actress, she’s not convincing in the lead role, everything she does is scripted and she should just have been replaced by Iza Calzado. What can she say to this?

"Wala," Rhian shrugs. "Even then naman, neverakong sumagot sa kanila. They can say what they want but as long as viewers watch ‘La Lola’ and GMA-7 continues to trust me, bahala na sila sa gusto nilang isipin at sabihin."

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Diana Zubiri is lucky enough to have not just one but two Metro Manila Film Festival entries. She’s now shooting "One Night Only" with Valerie Concepcion and Jon Avila in her episode for Canary Films. For Regal, she’s also shooting the "Nieves" episode of "Shake, Rattle & Roll X" with Marian Rivera, Luis ALandy, Marco Alcaraz and Jennica Garcia.

"Nakakatuwa nga kasi ngayon lang ako nagka-filmfest entry, nagkasabay pa," she beams. "I don’t know yet kung saang float ako sasakay during the Parade of Stars. Lilipat na lang siguro ako halfway during the parade para masamahan ko pareho."

She’s excited with "Shake X" as she plays the role of the "Reyna ng mga Engkanto." "Si Marian ang magiging kalaban ko rito as she’s the engkanto slayer. First movie ko rin ito with Regal kaya I’m giving it my best para matuwa naman sila sa akin at kunin uli ako in their other projects."

Her afternoon TV drama, "Gaano Kadalas Ang Minsan," is ending soon on November 7 after 20 weeks, making it the longest running series in GMA’s "Dramarama sa Hapon." "Nakakalungkot nga, pero talagang ganyan. I’m really happy with my role there, kasi drama to death ako roon as the wife of Marvin Agustin. Abangan nyo ang ending ng show namin at talagang ibinuhos ko na ang lahat sa aking breakdown scene."

Source: Malaya

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