KC nervous about Piolo

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

AT the victory party for "When I Met U," KC Concepcion said she's nervous about the teleserye, "Lovers in Paris," that she'll be doing with Piolo Pascual based on a Koreanovela for ABS-CBN.

"Siyempre, first teleserye ko ito kaya nakakatensiyon," she says. "Sana panoorin din ng tao like the two movies I did with Richard Gutierrez. Ang maganda dito, it will bring me back to Paris as we will be taping there on location. "

Will she miss Richard? "Of course, hindi lang naman siya kundi pati yung ibang mga taong nakatrabaho ko sa movie. It's like I'm having separation anxiety kasi ang ganda na ng bonding naming lahat, pati si Direk Joel Lamangan, they've become part of my family for me. Tapos ngayon, biglang hindi na kami magkikita kasi back to ABS na ako. Siyempre, mahirap for me, lalo si Richard na lagi kong kasama. I'm asking nga tips from him about doing teleseryes kasi marami na siyang nagawa. Ako, first time pa lang. "

Her mom wasn't able to watch "When I Met U" on its premiere night as she was abroad. Did she finally get to see it? "Yes, sila ng dad ko, si Sen. Francis Pangilinan. Habang nanonood nga, tine-text sa'kin ang comments niya. Sabi nila, they like that it's lighter and makes the viewers smile. It reminded her nga raw of the old movies she did in the 1980s. "

Now that her own movies are hits, she has come into her own and will no longer be referred to as Sharon Cuneta's daughter. "Well, I'm thankful kung ganun na nga ang status ko kasi, let's face it, ang hirap if you have a very successful mom and people expect you na mapantayan siya o malampasan, even if wala naman akong ganung intention.

"Para ngang sobrang laki ng expectations nila but, siyempre, it should be considered that my mom and I, we belong to different generations at hindi naman ako pumasok dito to compete with anyone, especially with my mom whom I love so much and I'm very proud of. Buti nga hindi ako nabaliw sa pressure and I'm glad now that tinanggap din ako ng tao who showed na may puwang din ako sa mga puso nila at naa-appreciate din nila ako on my own. "

GMA7 BUILDING UP RICHARD'S 'ENEMY'

GMA7 is serious in building up the career of Aljur Abrenica as their next leading man since everyone is saying he has great potential to be a top heartthrob-matinee idol. "He has wholesome Pinoy good looks na naiiba sa usual mestizos na lead actors natin," says one writer. "Kailangan talagang mag-build up ng GMA ng bagong stars lalo na kapag grumabe ang away between GMA and Annabelle Rama at lumipat bigla sina Richard Gutierrez at JC de Vera sa ABS-CBN. Sina Dingdong Dantes at Dennis Trillo lang ang maiiwan sa kanila. "

At the presscon of "Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin", Aljur was asked what's the real score of his relationship with Kris Bernal and his reply was: "What you see is what you get". This prompted one kibitzer to remark: "Looks like he really wants to follow in the footsteps of Richard. Di ba 'yan din mismo ang sagot ni Richard when asked what's the real score bteween him and KC Concepcion? No wonder nagkaenkwentro sila noon ni Richard nang personal sa Fiamma Bar. "

A GMA exec tells us they like Aljur as he's not "pasaway" like other young stars. "He's very serious with his craft at mabait na bata. Tipong hindi basta lalaki ang ulo," adds our source.

ARA PROMISES TO BE GENTLE WITH NEW ACTOR

MORE senior actresses like Rufa Mae Quinto and Angelu de Leon has also chosen Aljur as one young actor who has piqued their interest. But Ara Mina says she's very lucky as she'll be the first one to have a bed scene with Aljur in her role as a rich widow who has an affair with him in "Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin?" that starts airing tomorrow afternoon. "Ako'ng magbibinyag sa kanya," says Ara who also feels happy to be back with GMA-7 doing "Totoy Bato" and "Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin. " "Hindi ko naman siya bibiglain. Dadahan-dahanin ko siya," she jokes.

Would she also care to go back to "Bubble Gang"? "Why not? Ten years ako doon at talagang nami-miss ko ang show at lahat ng mga kasama ko roon. Wala namang naging problema sa pagbabalik ko sa GMA kasi when I did shows with ABS, nagpaalam naman ako nang maayos so I didn't burn any bridges with them. "

DIREK CHITO REFUSES TO BE COMPARED

AFTER directing Kris Aquino in "Sukob" (2007) and Sharon Cuneta in "Caregiver" (2008), Chito Roño is now reunited with Maricel Soriano (they did "Separada" and "Dahas") in Star Cinema's horror flick, "T2".

No, it doesn't mean Terminator 2. It stands for Tenement 2 at the FTI tenements in Taguig, where much of the story happens. We got to watch its trailer and we tell Chito that it seems to be like Topel Lee's "Sundo" about dead people fetching their loved ones as they die.

"Ay hindi, malayo dun," he says. "Hindi ito sinusundo para mamatay. I started with 'Feng Shui', which is very Chinese, followed by 'Sukob' about Filipino superstitious beliefs. 'T2' is based on what we call in Samar as Biringan, an enchanted world parallel to ours. The concept of the other world here is not death but 'yung sinasabihan ng tabi-tabi po ng mga tao o iniiwasang mga puno dahil may nakatira. I bought a lot in Samar and the 82-year old caretaker told me to keep quiet at 12 noon kasi dumaraan sila. I asked: Sinong sila? And he said, 'yung mga hindi katulad natin. In the province, it's believed that they blend with us in our world kaya lang hindi natin sila napapansin kasi mukhang tao rin sila. "

What's the role of Maricel? "She plays a volunteer worker in an NGO for orphans. She's married to Derek Ramsay. She is assigned to take Mica (younger sister of Angelika de la Cruz in real life) to some living relatives and it's this girl who sees 'yung mga hindi katulad natin around her. They want to take her and Maricel is introduced into this world in T2, which is a portal to their world. Also in the cast are Tetchie Agbayani, Camille Prats and Kai Brosas as their neigHBOrs in the tenement, and Eric Fructuoso as the driver of Maricel sa NGO. 'T2' is my most expensive horror film kasi it's full of special effects. The last 11 minutes are all CGI set in the other world. I don't like it like 'Okay Ka Fairy Ko' set. This is created totally by computers and I want it to have a sense of dread, parang mausoleum ng mga papa sa Roma na kay ganda-ganda but you know you don't belong there. "

How's it working with Maricel again? "It's always a joy working with her kasi she always comes to the set prepared, hindi mo na poproblemahin. Magugulat din kayo rito dun sa bata, si Mica. About 30 children auditioned for the part but I chose her as I haven't worked with a kid like this since Serena Dalrymple in 'Bata, Bata'. Magaling siyang mag-internalize and even her eyes act. "

"T2" is slated to be shown in April.

NO MORE HANKY PANKY

Paolo Paraiso attended the victory party of "When I Met U" and we asked him how Mylene Dizon and their second baby are doing. "Wala na si Mylene at lumipad na going to the U. S. ," he says. "Just like our first child, si Tomas, she wants the new baby to be born there also. She's staying with her folks in Chicago. "

So while Mylene is away, will he be dating other girls? "No naman. Parang respeto lang kay Mylene even if we're not married. We remain to be the best of friends naman. Isa pa, busy rin ako. Panay-panay ang taping namin ng 'Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang' so puro trabaho lang and no time to do hanky panky. "

DIREK JOEL SATISFIED WITH RATINGS

DIRECTOR Joel Lamangan was also at the victory party and he told us he's starting to shoot a new movie for Manny Valera's DMV Entertainment this week. They will be introducing two new actors who will co-star with Gwen Garci. He's also very happy that his new afternoon soap, "Paano Ba ang Mangarap," is rating very high on GMA-7's Dramarama sa Hapon. "Nakakatuwa kasi 24 to 25% ang rating namin," he beams. "Ibig sabihin, marami pa talagang fans ang love team nina Mark Herras and Jennylyn Mercado. We expect it to rate even higher in the coming weeks kasi mas paganda nang paganda ang kuwento nito. "

NEW ACTION COMEDY

STEPHEN Chow is the talented Chinese actor-writer-director whose action comedies, "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle", are worldwide hits. He now comes up with an action-adventure, "Shaolin Girl", a collaboration with Japanese producer Chihiro Kameyama who made the hit action flick "Odoru Daisosasen". Playing the title role in "Shaolin Girl" is Ko Shibasaki as Rin. Forced to take over her late grandfather's kung-fu dojo, Rin endures 3,000 days of brutal training at the Shaolin Martial Arts School in China before returning to her native Japan. But what awaits her is a dojo that lies in tatters and students who have abandoned the true discipline of Shaolin kung-fu. While struggling to restore her grandfather's school to its former glory and spread true Shaolin philosophy, Rin attends university where she becomes the star member of the lacrosse team. While Rin's exceptional physical abilities bring a string of victories to the team, her teammates in turn come to her aid by helping her reestablish the dojo. Just as fortune seems to smile upon her, a dark incident from a past Rin knew nothing about rears its ugly head and throws her into a fatalistic showdown with terrifying evil forces. Rin shows that she's up to the challenge.

"'Shaolin Girl' is a completely new film made by a Japanese crew based on my original story," says Stephen Chow. "I've been working on this project with Mr. Kameyama for four years. It's really a great experience having a chance to work with Japanese actors and crew on this film. Ko, our lead actress, trained in Shaolin for one year just to prepare for her role here. "

Producer Kameyama says he met Stephen when he made a film in Japan and they became friends. "I was interested in making a Japanese version of Shaolin Soccer, but in the end I decided on a story about a girl who tries to introduce Shaolin Kung Fu in Japan and we came up with 'Shaolin Girl' that also stars Toru Nakamura, Takashi Okamura, Yosuke Eguchi, Kai Man Tin from Hong Kong , as well as Lam Tze Chung, the memorable co-star of Shaolin Soccer. "

Stephen hopes this will be just the start of more co-productions between them. Born in Hong Kong in 1962, he was recently chosen as most beloved Asian entertainer by Times Asia. He starred in more than 50 films like The God of Cookery (1996), King of Comedy (1999), Shaolin Soccer (2001), Kung Fu Hustle (2004, which earned $100 million), CJ7, and the international production of Dragonball Z set for release this year. "Shaolin Girl" is really martial arts at its best, combined with humor and woman empowerment. It opens in local theatres on March 4.

ANIME ON '5'

THOSE WHO love anime shows will be pleased to know that TV 5 will be showing exciting multi-awarded anime programs on primetime. To be shown weekdays at 7 p. m. starting March 4 is "Cowboy Bebop", a sci-fi action anime that won numerous prestigious awards and was ranked number one in the 50 best anime in the American magazine 'Anime Insider' in 2007. It has also been adapted into a live-action movie starring Keanu Reeves.

To start on March 12 are more new shows in their Primetime Animega slot. 6 p. m. , it's "Masked Rider Hibiki" and at 6:30 p. m. , it's "Special A", based on a manga about teen students in a super elite school' at 7 p. m. , it's "Mythic Sleuth Loki" which is inspired by Norse mythology. All these shows will be special treats for avid anime fans.

Source: People's Journal