Marian denies romance with Dingdong

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

Marian Rivera is on the cover of Cosmo for March and it's the first time she posed in a revealing swimsuit. What's the feedback so far?

"Positive naman," she beams. "My fans said, 'Puwede ka naman palang mag-two piece sa cover'. But where we were shooting it, I was so nervous, kasi outdoors pa ang location. "

We thought she'd first pose for FHM, where she was number one in their poll of sexiest women? "I don't know sa manager ko (Popoy Caritativo). He's the one who arranged that. But I attended the FHM affair naman. "

How come someone wrote that she's "mataray" again and refused to pose for photos with fans during taping? "That's not true kasi we shoot 'Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang' in private locations na walang ibang tao. Sa album signing ko nga for Universal, I posed with everyone and I didn't leave hanggang hindi tapos lahat ng autograph signing. Wala na lang sigurong ibang maisulat sa akin. "

So is she and Dingdong Dantes ready to admit that they're on? "Wala naman kaming aaminin. We're close friends, lumalabas kami, we enjoy each other's company at masaya kami roon. Tama na muna 'yun. "

She's excited with two new TV specials: "Walang Pera?" and "Sugat ng Puso. " "'Walang Pera' is made by GMA News and Public Affairs, hosted by Mike Enriquez and is about the impact and effects of the global financial crisis on our country with so many people jobless. I play various roles here to portray how the economic meltdown is affecting ordinary people. Shiela Ramirez is a factory worker in Taiwan who was sent back home to Manila. Darlyn Alcoriza is a call center agent who has to change her lifestyle because of the recession. Meron din akong papel na isang plain housewife at isang estudyante. Very enlightening ang show at kasama rin namin ang economist na si Winnie Monsod, told with state of the art animation nina Ellen Ramos, Lara Agulto, Rod Aguila and Fahrenheit Inc. This is will be shown on March 22, Sunday, at 10:45 p. m. "

And what is "Sugat ng Puso"? "It's a special Lenten presentation to be shown on April 11, Black Saturday, 7 to 9 p. m. on GMA7. I play the battered wife of Gardo Versoza. Sa paglipat namin sa isang bagong community, nakilala ko ang isang lola, si Perla Bautista, at ang apo niyang retarded, si Dennis Trillo. Tumulong ako in taking care of Dennis na napalapit sa akin. When his lola died, dinala siya sa isang facility for retardates pero tumakas at bumalik sa akin. Nagselos naman si Gardo and accused me of having an affair with Dennis and this leads a tragic ending. This is a drama about a woman who realizes her self worth with the help of a retarded man. Nakakaiyak, written by Jun Lana and directed by Mac Alejandre. "

About her current soap, "Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang", is she disappointed with its rating that's lower than those of "Marimar" and "Dyesebel"? "Kinakabahan nga ako noon pero more or less, ine-expect ko nang lower ang ratings kasi the material is more mature at hindi pambata. Tapos, late pa'ng time slot namin. Parang experiment kasi ng GMA-7 na bigyan ako ng ibang klaseng story for a change. But next time, they'll give me something na pambata raw, like 'Darna Meets Capt. Barbell'. Pero no regrets sa 'Babaeng Hinugot' kasi napatunayan ko naman na kaya ko ng ibang klase ng acting. "

This week in "Babaeng Hinugot", Homer (Dingdong Dantes) and Rado (Paolo Contis) have become good friends and Rado even asked Homer to find out who's the secret man in Proserfina's (Marian) life without knowing that it's actually Homer himself. In Rado's mansion, Homer discovers that Selena (Jackielou Blanco), the supposed mother of Proserfina, is actually just an impostor. Homer takes Proserfina to escape with him and he cooperates with the NBI to bring down Rado. As for Heleen (Angelu de Leon), she becomes so poor as she has so many loans that she cannot even pay.
MONEY NO ISSUE FOR WALLY, JOSE

COMEDIANS Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola of "Eat Bulaga" are given their chance to host a magazine show, "Wow Hayop," that replaces Ariel and Maverick's "Masquerade" starting this Wednesday in GMA-7's Bilib Ka Ba Nights, just after "Fated to Love You" and before "Saksi". When they were first informed about it, they couldn't believe that GMA will be giving them this break. At the presscon, they both look sleep-deprived as they came from the last night of the late Francis Magalona's wake. They're both still grieving as Francis was very close to them.

It was Wally's father, a doctor based in the U. S. , who first noticed Francis looking so pale. "That was when the 'Eat Bulaga' group went to Las Vegas in July last year," says Wally. "Napansin ng father ko na matamlay siya and said 'You look sick'. When we returned to Manila, he had a checkup and it was discovered that he had leukemia. "

"Marami kaming good memories about Francis kasi nauna siya sa amin sa 'Eat Bulaga'," says Jose. "Mabait talaga siya, pero maloko. Mahilig siya sa photography kaya siya rin ang photographer namin tuwing may show kami sa abroad. Pagbalik dito, binibigyan niya kami ng CD na kopya ng mga pictures namin. Kaya talagang lahat kami, naapektuhan sa pagkawala niya. It'll not be easy for us to forget him. "

In "Wow Hayop", they show footage of various animals doing all sorts of interesting activities, taken from "Animals Are People Too". There's a penguin that goes shopping to buy fish, a cheetah and elephant that can paint, a pig that can do plumbing jobs, a monkey who writes, and many more.

"The videos of animals we feature are funny, bizarre, and even touching dahil ipinapakitang may emosyon din sila," adds Jose. "Para rin silang mga tao na marunong magpakita ng affection at nai-stress out kapag may dangerous situatons. Nai-in love din sila, tulad ng isang bibe na na-in love but not with a real swan kundi sa image ng isang swan na nasa isang boat. Later on, magkakaroon din kami ng footage ng local stories showing animals dito sa atin na may kakatwa ring mga kuwento. "

Both Jose and Wally play various personas in the show. They sometimes dress up as women and sometimes as little boys. So who gets a bigger paycheck? "Wala," says Wally. "Pareho lang ang talent fee namin at never naming pag-aawayan ang tungkol sa pera. "
NO BAD BLOOD WITH ABS

Geoff Eigenmann formally signed an exclusive contract with GMA-7 last Wednesday. He's now managed by Perry Lansigan who's also managing Dingdong Dantes. This is a homecoming for him since he actually started with GMA. His last show with them was "Love to Love" with Sunshine Dizon, just before he moved to ABS-CBN to do "Hiram" with Heart Evangelista more than four years ago. He says he has nothing against ABS.

"Nagpaalam ako sa kanila nang maayos kasi magaganda rin naman ang naging projects ko sa kanila and I even did a movie with them," he says. "Kaya lang, matagal na akong nakatengga. May ginagawa akong soap with Maja Salvador, pero na-shelve. Maririnig kong may bagong show for me, pero bigla akong mapapalitan. Siguro dahil mas marami silang stars doon. "

Geoff lives with his mom Gina Alajar in their Parañaque home. His elder brother Ryan now has his own house with his girlfriend while younger brother AJ is studying in the U. S. He confirmed that his dad Michael de Mesa is migrating to the U. S. for good. We just don't know why Mike chose to do that at this time when there's a recession and the U. S. economy is doing so bad that so many people are jobless there now.

MOVIE REVIEW: 'REVOLUTIO-NARY ROAD'

THE fans of "Titanic" (the highest grossing film of all time) who've long been wanting to see Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet team up again will be glad to see them playing husband and wife this time in "Revolutionary Road," directed by Winslet's own husband, Sam Mendes. Based on the acclaimed 1962 novel by Richard Yates, the film is another treatise about life in suburbia, just like Mendez' Oscar winning film, "American Beauty," which is so overrated for us. But unfortunately for Leo-Kate fans, this is not a feel-good movie as it paints a sad and depressing portrait of a marriage that is about to break down and end in disaster.

Set in 1955 in Connecticut, it starts with Frank (Leo) meeting April (Kate), an aspiring theatre actress, in a party. The next time we see them, they're already married and with two kids. They move to a new house in the suburbs on a street called Revolutionary Road. Frank is bored and cheats on April when he has an affair with an officemate (Zoe Kazan). He has a high-paying job but he's not happy. He only stays on to support his family.

April is also not satisfied with her life as a housewife and also has a one-night stand with a neigHBOr. She's also frustrated with her life and proposes a plan to Frank on his birthday. They will all move to Paris while Frank rests and tries to discover what he really wants to do in life. April is willing to work as a secretary to support their family. Frank initially agrees to the idea but soon, there is reality check. Frank is given a major promotion while April discovers that she is pregnant again.

This kind of movie will appeal more to Americans, especially the cynical ones like Director Mendes and also David Lynch who has also made films about dismal life in the suburbs. For them, the American Dream of having one's own family and one's own house can only be achieved by forgetting about your own creative dreams and aspirations. Frank and April's marriage doesn't work because they feel trapped by it, so they have communication problems and even resort to infidelity. Most Filipinos who believe in the traditional values of settling down to start your own family will find this very off-putting.

The novel on which the film is based is considered a respected icon in American culture. But it now appears dated. It's understandable for people in the 50s to feel more confined by their marriage. These days, Americans who are no longer satisfied with their marriage and feel disconnected with their respective spouses can easily resort to divorce, which is the reason why stats show that the divorce rate is much higher now than in the 50s or 60s.

In the Philippines, we like to think that most couples, in general, still have a deeper sense of commitment to their marital relationship (maybe except those in showbiz). Most Pinoys would be willing to work on their marriage and find ways to stay together, especially now that marital counseling can be resorted to, which is also the reason why there are more dysfunctional families in the U. S. than in here. There, most of those who go to schools and offices and start shooting people at random come from broken families. Thank God we don't have those kind of sickos here. .. yet.

The roles played by Leo and Kate here are indeed so different from their star-crossed lovers roles in "Titanic. " For Jack and Rose, their hearts will go on. But for Frank and April, both flawed people, their fractured marriage has reached a deadend. We don't pity their angst-filled lives, but we pity their children for having parents like them who think only of themselves.

Granted that Leo and Kate give superb performances as a couple in crisis, still, we cannot sympathize with Frank and April. Two actors give great support. David Harbour is splendid as Shep, a former soldier who has learned to accept his life with his boring wife, and Michael Shannon as John, the sociopathic son of Kathy Bates (the realtor from whom Frank bought their house) who stays in a mental institution but, ironically, sees Frank and April as they truly are.

Technical credits are also great, particularly the sunshiny cinematography of Roger Deakins that aims to contrast the subject at hand which is dark and grim, the appropriately melancholy musical score buy Thomas Newman, and the production design by Kristi Zea tha recaptures the 50s perfectly. Now, if only the script was better and with more sympathetically written characters.

Source: People's Journal