Jolo could be Lovi's first

Column: Freehand
Author: Mario E. Bautista

MOST people are under the impression that Lovi Poe and Jolo Revilla are now going steady since they seem so sweet whenever in public, always holding hands and seeming to be so close to each other. But at the thanksgiving party of "Zaido, Pulis Pangkalawakan," Lovi insisted they're not yet on.

"Jolo has cleared that he's still courting me and I'm not yet sure kung sasagutin ko siya," she says. "He's nice. He has introduced me to his family at sina Tito Bong and Tita Lani are also very nice.

"Okay rin siya sa mommy ko. But I'm not sure yet kung ready na akong mag-commit kasi I'm working and also going to college. I might not have the time for a serious relationship yet. Pero kung sakali, kung sakali lang, ha, he'll be my first boyfriend. "

Has she met Jolo's love child? How does she feel about this? "Yes, once pa lang. About that, I don't judge him. Kasi kung jina-judge ko siya, I won't entertain him anymore. "

What happened to her and Prince Stefan who's also very vocal about liking her? Some folks say she didn't entertain him because Prince is not the son of a senator. "I'm not like that naman. Okay naman kami ni Prince, but we seldom see each other. "

Is it true when she turns 19 on February 11, she'd be ready to pose for FHM? "No, not true. If I did that, magagalit ang papa ko (FPJ). Baka bumangon 'yun. "

Her first movie, "Shake Rattle & Roll 9" is a big hit. Mother Lily says it earned P80 million during its entire run. "Nakakatuwa nga to be part of a blockbuster movie. Mother said may follow-up movie raw ako. I'll be in 'Ultraelectromagnetic Love', based on three hit songs of the Eraserheads. I'll be in the 'Magasin' episode. Sana nga matuloy. I'm also supposed to do a new album and I'm excited as it will include my own compositions. "

She'll miss their "Zaido" tapings. "I enjoyed my role as Mona, a female reporter, at nag-bonding kami talaga nang husto rito nina Diana Zubiri, Kris Bernal and even our male-co-stars kaya mami-miss ko sila. Now that it's on its last week, watch out for the final episodes that are more exciting and suspenseful than ever before because of surprising twists in the story. "

ISABEL, GERYK STILL TOGETHER
ISABEL Granada is also glad that GMA7 got her to play a role in "Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan," where she played Luna. "Dahil sa kanila, nagka-regular exposure uli ako sa TV," she says. "And I'm sad now that the show is about to end. I'm just hoping masundan ito ng bagong assignment. "

Is it true she has separated from husband Geryk Genasky? "No, we're still together with our baby. We even did a sci-fi movie together last year, 'Xenoa', shown in SM Theaters. "

After "Zaido," she's all set to do a movie that will be shot in Oman in the Middle East. "The producer is also a Pinoy and he's the one who gets us to do shows sa iba't ibang cities in the Middle East. This time, pelikula naman ang ipo-produce niya. "

YASMIEN POSES AS MCR FAN
YASMIEN Kurdi was on vacation from January 13 to 24 in Dubai (where she spent her childhood) after her afternoon soap, "Pasan Ko ang Daigdig," ended. "I was supposed to see my dad there but it turned out he's in Lebanon kaya hindi kami nagkita," she says. "I just talked to him on the phone and he said he'll visit me here in Manila. But I met my old friends and they took me sightseeing, pati sa desert safari which is exciting. They're happy for me for my success in showbiz here. "

She turned 19 on January 25. "Tamang-tama nga, nakauwi na ako rito on my birthday. Nanood ako ng concert ng My Chemical Romance as a treat to myself. I wore a photographer's pass kaya I was allowed to get near sa singers nilang idols ko, sina Michael at Gerald. Para akong fan na nagpapirma ng autograph and had picture taking with them. "

So how's her partner, JC de Vera? "I don't know. Ni wala pa ngang birthday gift sa'kin yun. But I'll see him when we start taping our primetime soap, 'Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita', soon. This weekend naman, February 1 to 2, I'll be in Singapore for the premiere night there ng Regal movie naming 'Bahay Kubo'. Then from February 19 to 25, fly naman akong U. S. for a concert with Jolina Magdangal. "

THREE STAR MAGIC KIDS CELEBRATE
THREE Star Magic kid stars just celebrated their birthdays.

Celine Lim is one of their busiest child actresses. She played the little Kim Chiu in "Sana Maulit Muli" and the daughter of Jodi Sta. Maria in "Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara" whose doll, Chelsea, is evil. "Dahil po doon, laging hinahanap sa akin ng mga tao si Chelsea," she says.

"Scary siya talaga at lagi kong napapanaginipan kaya nagdarasal na lang ako sa gabi bago matulog. " A third grader in Taytay United Methodist School, Celine is not only good in drama but also does comedy in "That's My Doc" as Butching. She turned 8 on January 10.

Fraz Yap was seen in "Prinsesa ng Banyera" as the young Rafael Rosell. He has also appeared in "Maalaala Mo Kaya," "Palos" and "Astigs. " A 6th grader at OB Montessori, he turned 13 on January 12. EJ Jallorina was a regular in "Mga Anghel na Walang Langit" and "Goin' Bulilit. " Now a teener and a third year high school student at Nazarene Catholic School, he gave an impressive performance in "Goin' Bulilit" as the impersonator Boy Abunda and in the acclaimed indie film, "Pisay," as the alter ego of Director Aureaus Solito. He's going to France this week to represent the movie in the International Indie Festival and is also doing Dinno Erece's "Manay Po 2" as Jiro Manio's gay best friend. He turned 15 on January 21.

CONNIE WANTS LIFE FILMED
CONNIE Francis, America's Sweetheart of Songs in the 60s, will have a Valentine concert at the Araneta Coliseum on February 14. She popularized songs like "Where the Boys Are" (it became a hit movie,) "Al Di La," "Wishing it Was You," "Who's Sorry Now," "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," "Mama," "High Noon," "Where is Your Heart," etc. Connie had a horrible experience in 1974 when she was raped by a black man in Long Island who was never caught. Because of that, she had a breakdown and had to seek therapy until 1981.

She wrote about it in her autobiography, "Who's Sorry Now", that became a bestseller. She now wants to turn it into a movie starring Gloria Estefan.

"I wasn't able to sing for nine years and it's the most terrible period in my life," she says. "My life was never normal after that. I was all alone in my hotel room and he threatened me with a knife. "

She's excited to perform in Manila. "I've been to Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong but never in the Philippines. And I just love Filipinos. I meet a lot of Filipinos working in hotels and hospitals and they're the nicest people in the world, so I'd love to sing for Filipinos. "

Her show is entitled "The Connie Francis Greatest Hits Show" with the Philippine Orchestra accompanying her. Get your tickets from Ticketnet (911-5555) and SM Mall ticketrons.

'LOBO' NUMBER ONE AMONG THREE NEW ABS-CBN SHOWS
THE whole cast, staff and management team of "Lobo" are ecstatic with the overwhelming response of the whole country to the show that features the first television team-up of Piolo Pascual and Angel Locsin. It's the number one show among the three new programs that just started on ABS-CBN. Even on the eve of the widely-anticipated teleserye, the show's stars, promotion group, and top honchos of Star Television already got hundreds of emails, comments and text messages from friends and viewers expressing their excitement for the program.
And to their amazement, more congratulatory messages came right after the program. The performances of Sheryl Cruz, Agot Isidro, Diether Ocampo, Irma Adlawan and other stars in the initial episodes that establishes the story proper all got positive feedback, making viewers eagerly anticipate the appearance of Piolo and Angel. "It means so much to us that a lot of people are sharing our excitement for 'Lobo' and we promise to make all future episodes even more thrilling to watch," say "Lobo" directors Cathy Molina and FM Reyes.

SO MUCH TO LEARN FROM 'IMBESTIGADOR'
THE edition of Mike Enriquez's "Imbestigador" tonight will be full of stories with social relevance.

First it will tackle the existence of syndicates taking advantage of free medicines. Members use fake medical prescriptions and ask for free medicines from charitable institutions. Afterwards, they sell the medicines to various drug stores.

Another story is about fake documents from the National Irrigation Association and the last is about an opportunistic kababayan who pretends to be an employee of the US Embassy to deceive people who hope to migrate abroad and pay him big amounts. Don't miss the show and learn much from it tonight at 10 p. m.

A FILM ABOUT SEXUAL POLITICS
DIRECTORS Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos initially gained acclaim for their first effort, "Ilusyon. " The two are partners even off cam and they now come up with their sophomore work, "Selda", which is a love triangle among Ara Mina, Emilio Garcia and Sid Lucero.

"As filmmakers, Ellen and I want to explore various themes and forms of love," says Paolo. "Part na rin ito ng exploration ko of my own sexuality in the past. But we don't want to label it as a gay film. Hindi ito kabaklaan lang.

We want to focus on the more substantial aspect of two straight men who make a connection, maybe not love but emotional affinity. It's about sexual politics. "

The film won the best actor award for Sid Lucero and the best supporting actor award (tie) for Emilio Garcia and Michael de Mesa (as the abusive jail warden) in the Gawad Tanglaw, an award-giving body partial to gays as they gave the same awards to Rustom Padilla and Chokoleit last year for "Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah".

How did Emilio feel when he did the kissing scene with Sid? "I was so tense kasi first time ko gagawa ng ganun sa kapwa ko lalaki," he says. "Tinutukso nga nila ako ni Ara kasi hindi ako makakain. They told me mag-imagine na lang akong si Ara ang hinahalikan ko. Maganda naman ang execution at hindi malaswa. "

Source: People's Journal