Eva Fonda finally goes on the air today

Author: Isah V. Red
Column: Life & Entertainment

We nearly forgot how long was it the first time we heard about the televised series adapted from the movie that would launch Cristine Reyes as the newest Kapamilya.

Last Thursday, we were surprised to hear that Eva Fonda would finally unspool today, Monday. For a brief background, Eva Fonda, 16 was screened (as a movie) in 1976. It was one of the most sexually graphic movies in those days, and had been labeled “bomba” by the movie press.

So, how did the Kapamilya network transform the sex-driven movie into a soap opera?

We will see tonight how the guys over at ABS-CBN has transformed Eva Fonda into something the Catholic Women’s League or Gabriela will not take offense.

Cristine Reyes, the ex-StarStruck finalist who was a Kapuso for a couple of years, is Eva Fonda, sliding from her role in another primetime series Kahit Isang Saglit onto this series revolving around a woman who finds herself the object of lust by men in a small fishing village.

Playing able support for her are Rustom Padilla, Sylvia Sanchez, Mark Gil, Al Tantay, Jean Saburit, and Dick Israel.

She will also cavort with some of the handsomest young stars in the network, like Jason Abalos, Baron Geisler, and Joross Gamboa.

Also playing important roles are Hazel Ann Mendoza and Princess Ryan.

Alma Moreno, who played the role of Eva Fonda in the movie, will appear in a couple of episodes.

Short and independent filmmaker John Red is co-directing the series with Frasco Mortiz.

Newly Mint-ed Cristine

Cristine Reyes is new on the ABS-CBN block and Viva Artists Agency (VAA). She is also the face and body of Mint.

Since jumping over to the Kapamilya coop, she has impressed critics and fans alike with her star turn in a Maalaala Mo Kaya episode earlier this year.

Currently, she is VAA’s busiest and most visible talent.

As any actress knows, it’s really important to look good on the job. So it was that Cristine signed an endorsement deal with Mint. “Actually, matagal na akong bumibili sa kanila, kaya I’m very happy na endorser na nila ako ngayon,” she gushes. “I really love all their clothes and accessories.”

According to a Mint insider, they are equally happy to have her on board. “We chose her because we firmly believe that she will be a big star.” Not only is she part of several ABS-CBN shows, she will also do movies for Viva Films and Star Cinema soon.

“She’s a charming 19-year-old girl with an innocent look and a sweet smile. She is also very determined to succeed in showbiz,” continues the insider.

Cristine and Mint are perfect for each other. Mint’s main concern is dressing up the young men and women of today according to their daily needs.

Cristine’s billboards for Mint and Mint Men are already up along Edsa.

LT back to Kapamilya

Lorna Tolentino has returned home. After a couple of years as a Kapuso, the actress is back wearing the badge before her abbreviated foray in another network.

Last Wednesday, Lorna, accompanied by her manager Lolit Solis, renewed ties with the network that created the now-classic teleserye Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay. LT signed a contract that stipulates projects in cinema and television.

After the recent passing of actor Rudy Fernandez, many anticipated her next career move. It became evident, even to her manager, that she will rekindle her career with shows on the Kapamilya network, starting with a tribute to her late husband.

Hope, a music CD she conceptualized and produced with Star Records, has already been launched. It signals her two-year commitment to the network, which her fans will actually start to feel beginning early next year.

P50m on its first week

GMA Films and Regal Entertainment declared One True Love, starring Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera and Iza Calzado, as a big hit, with its massive P50-million gross on its first week.

Fans, friends and supporters of the cast came in full force to lend their support for the movie.

Regal and GMA Films said that the movie bagged some P10 million on its first day, and after seven days grossed a total of P50 million, which is, in fact, a very positive sign for both film outfits that recently experienced losses at the box office.

If what the two companies say is true, the movie further cements the love team of Dingdong and Marian.

Twilight mania

Here’s something that is not being peddled by publicity vultures. Twilight, the movie version of Stephenie Meyer’s debut novel about a girl who falls for a vampire, had a $70-million first-day gross in the US, easing Quantum of Solace off the top spot of the box-office chart.

In the local box office, the movie is kicking competition with ease, including movies that have been super-hyped in tabloids, fan magazines, and local entertainment portals on the Web.

We went to the premiere screening of the movie at the Center Stage at SM Mall of Asia. The theater—the biggest in the malls Cineplex—was nearly SRO (Standing Room Only) during the screening that also saw TV personalities Raymond Gutierrez, Gian Magdangal and wife Sheree, among others.

There was a unanimous swoon among the women in the theater when Robert Pattinson made his first appearance onscreen as Edward, the most beautiful of all the Cullens, at Forks High School in Forks City in Washington state, where Bella is a newly transferred student from a school in Phoenix, Arizona.

Evidently, the young found new heartthrobs in Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, the latest Hollywood couple to hit the screen.

Meyer’s books have been out of stock in the last couple of months, and friends are passing the book around.

Now, everyone who read the book and saw the movie are bracing for the next Meyer book to be brought to the screen.

Weeklong anniversary celebration

Starting today, Unang Hirit, the popular morning show on GMA-7, will start its weeklong celebration, as it turns nine on the air.

In a brief chat with hosts Rhea Santos, Lyn Ching, Suzy Entrata, Regine Tolentino, and lawyer Gaby Concepcion at the network’s executive lounge recently, we learned that everyday until Friday there will be some kind of a surprise to the show’s audience.

We don’t really know what these surprise numbers will be, which only means that we have to watch to see what the non-entertainment guys will do? Sing, dance, acrobatics?

Whatever, they have all the reason to goof around, it’s their anniversary anyway, and going nearly a decade on the air is no mean feat? In fact, I think GMA should have a fabulous special— not on the show’s time—when it turns 10 next year.

Source: Manila Standard Today

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