GMA not earning from hits

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

DO you know what's the most sought-after local TV show in You Tube today on the Net? It's "MariMar. " When it just started, it was getting 50,000 to 70,000 views or hits daily. Now that MariMar is taking her revenge on the people who abused her, it has more than doubled. Someone forwarded to us the highest posting so far. For episode 34: 107,958 views. For episode 38: 104, 804 views.

For episode 53 (Ang Pagbabalik): 180,583 views.

It's too bad GMA-7 is not making any earnings from these exposures as they're just being downloaded on the You Tube for free.

Also, Marian Rivera was the only main cast member who's absent in the grand presscon of Regal's "Bahay Kubo. " It's not because she has become a swellhead but because she's still busy taping "MariMar" on location. "We will just schedule another presscon for her," says Mother Lily. "Otherwise, she's really professional at never kaming binigyan ng sakit ng ulo. Sa pictorial nga ng 'Desperadas', she came from the taping of 'MariMar' then did a dance number sa Star Awards at pagdating dito, parang hindi napagod at very cooperative pa rin. "

THREE FROM REGAL
REGAL Entertainment is fielding three first rate entries in the coming Metro-Manila filmfest: the scary horror trilogy "Shake, Rattle and Roll 9," the sizzling sex comedy "Desperadas," and the endearing Pinoy version of the highly-successful "Mano Po" series, "Bahay Kubo. "

"Ang gaganda ng movies namin this year so I'm confident they'll all be topgrossers," says Mother Lily who has a personal hand in concocting each project to make sure they'll please all moviegoers.

Three directors come up with spine-tingling stories for "Shake 9," definitely the longest-running franchise film in the country. Topel Lee, who made waves last year with the "Yaya" episode of "Shake 8," now comes up with an even more terrifying story in "Engkanto," where city people like Mart Escudero, Jewel Mische, Matt Evans and Melissa Ricks fall into a trap set up by an evil entity, played by the seductive Katrina Halili.

This was shot on location in the wilderness of Ternate, Cavite, and producer Roselle Monteverde says she's amazed with Katrina's professionalism even if she had to shoot for "Engkanto" up to very late at night then go straight directly to the set of "MariMar" in Zambales where she plays the villain, Angelika. "Biro mo, dulo't dulo ang pinupuntahan niya," adds Roselle.

In the "Christmas Tree" episode, this beautiful symbol of Christmas turns into an image of fright for a family consisting of Gina Alajar, Lovi Poe, Nash Aguas, Boots Anson Roa and John Lapus when a man-eating monster happens to be inhabiting the Christmas tree they just bought. This is the directorial debut of film reviewer-scriptwriter Paul Daza (son of Julie Yap Daza. )

In "Bangungot," Dennis Trillo is going steady with Pauleen Luna, but his boss, Roxanne Guinoo, is secretly in love with him and does everything to get his attention, mainly through creepy fatal nightmares that affect the people around him, directed by Mike Tuviera.

The other two entries are both megged by topnotch director Joel Lamangan: "Desperadas" and "Bahay Kubo". Written by Roy Iglesias, "Desperadas" is about the difficulty of maintaining a solid love relationship in these contemporary times when everything seems so temporary, told through the hilarious but touching stories of four sultry half sisters, Ruffa Gutierrez, Rufa Mae Quinto, Iza Calzado and Marian Rivera, and the hunky men in their lives, Wendell Ramos, Jay-R, TJ Trinidad, Luis Alandy and Will Devaughn.

"Bahay Kubo" is an inspirational family drama topbilled by Diamond Star Maricel Soriano as Eden, a strong woman with a passion for flowers and kids. She's just adopted by Gloria Romero who then also adopts a baby for her and grows up to be Marian Rivera. Eden marries Eric Quizon and they have their own child, Shaina Magdayao, but they also get to adopt more kids: Yasmien Kurdi, Jiro Manio, Isabella de Leon, Rita Iringan and Sam Bumatay. Also in the cast are Mark Herras and Rayver Cruz. This is a heartwarming story about family life that will make you laugh and cry.

"We call these films the Magnificent Trio," adds Mother Lily. "They're all designed to give the viewers a perfect Christmas celebration and it's our way of wishing them Happy Holidays!"

SHAINA: I'M CLOSER TO RAYVER
Shaina Magdayao and Rayver Cruz have two entries in the filmfest: "Bahay Kubo" and "Katas ng Saudi. " When asked on which float they will ride come the annual Parade of Stars on Christmas Eve, they quickly reply that they'll choose the "Bahay Kubo" float.

"Kasi po, 'Bahay Kubo' was the first movie offered to us for the filmfest and 'Katas ng Saudi' came later," says Shaina. "But I will also help promote 'Katas' of Maverick Films kasi maganda rin naman ang role ko doon as the daughter of Lorna Tolentino and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. "

And what can Rayver say now that John Prats has admitted he's really trying his best to woo Shaina?

"I guess it can't be helped dahil maganda talaga si Shaina kaya maraming nanliligaw sa kanya," he says. "But I'm confident I'm closer to Shaina now kaysa kay John Prats. "

So who does Shaina think is the better guy? "I don't want to compare them as they are very different from each other. As of now, totoong I'm closer to Rayver. "

We ask Maricel Soriano who plays Shaina's mom in "Bahay Kubo" who does she think is the better guy for Shaina. "Kung ako'ng masusunod, wala muna," she says. "Kasi masyado pa naman siyang bata at 18, so kung puwede, no boyfriend muna. Saka na lang, pag 21 na siya. "

ANGELIKA DOES IT AGAIN
EVEN before her current soap with ABS-CBN, "Prinsesa ng Banyera," has ended, Angelika de la Cruz has decided to end being a Kapamilya to move to GMA-7 once again. This is not the first time she's doing it. ABS-CBN gave her a break but she transferred to GMA in early 2000 where she played lead in her own soaps, like "Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin. " Then she moved back to ABS again and played villain roles in "Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin" and "Bituing Walang Ningning. "

Now, she said she doesn't want to play villain roles so she moved to GMA-7 again. She says she's happy with the role that GMA-7 has assigned to her for her come back vehicle with them. How come? When the role she's playing is the one originally played by Hilda Koronel in "Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita" and that's also a villain role. Hilda played a rich girl who stole Sharon Cuneta's husband, Christopher de Leon.

In GMA-7's remake, the Sharon and Christopher roles go to Yasmien Kurdi and JC de Vera. At ABS, she plays villain to the likes of Claudine Barretto and Kristine Hermosa. Now, she's playing villain to a Starstruck discovery, Yasmien. And this is not the first time she's playing a villain role in a past Sharon movie as she also played the Cherie Gil role of Lavinia in "Bituing Walang Ningning," which is no doubt an even bigger villain role than the one she'll play in "Babangon. "

Source: People's Journal