Marian expected low rating of ‘Tadyang’

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Dream Factory

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 say, ‘Puede 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 No. 1 its 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 leavehanggang hindi tapos lahat ng autograph signing. Wala na lang sigurong ibang maisulat sa akin."

So are 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 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, 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 GMA-7. 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 dies, dinala siya sa isang facility for retardates pero tumakas at bumalik sa akin. Nagselos naman siGardo and accused me of having an affair with Dennis and this leads into 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-expectkong lower ang ratings kasi the material is more matureat hindi pambata. Tapos, late pang time slot namin. Parangexperiment 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 asks 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 Helene (Angelu de Leon), she becomes so poor as she has so many loans that she cannot even pay.

***

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 had come from the last night of Francis Magalona’s wake and the inurnment of his ashes at Loyola Memorial Park. They’re both still grieving as Francis was very close to them.

It was Wally’s father, a doctor based in the US, 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 of 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 pinapakitang may emosyon din sila," adds Jose. "Para rin silang mga tao na marunong magpakita ng affection at nai-stress out kapag may dangerous situations. 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, magkaka-roon din kami ng footage ng local stories showing animalsdito 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."

***

Eugene Domingo feels blessed. Her sitcom on TV 5, "Everybody Hapi," has ended after a season’s run but here she is now doing another show, "Cool Center," for GMA-7 aside from the nightly soap "Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang" where she plays the trusted factotum in the household of Dingdong Dantes.

"At least, nawalan man ako ng isang show, may kapalit naman agad," she adds. "But I still have another show on TV 5, ‘yung ‘Ha-ha-ha Hayop’ na magazine show naman every Monday night."

It’s obvious her career is doing well, but how about her love life?

"Wala, zero. Hindi mo yata talaga basta mapagsasabay. Ang tagal ko na ring celibate. Sabi nga ni Long Mejia, ginagahasa ko na lang ang sarili ko," she laughs.

How did she feel when her co-host Anjo Yllana said he doesn’t really know her?

"Well, he’s just being honest. Wala namang masama dun. Wala rin naman akong ilusyong kilala na ko ng lahat ng tao. Pero after talking to him during our pictorial, feeling ko, madali kaming magkakasundo dahil pareho kaming comedian."

Someone asked: What kung magka-developan kayo ni Anjo while doing the show?

"Huwag naman. Kahit irresistible ako sa mga lalaki, may asawa’t mga anak na si Anjo at hindi ko pinangarap na matawag na homewrecker, ano?"

She’s optimistic that "Cool Center" will click with viewers. "Interactive kasi ito. They can participate. It’s going to be fun and we promise ni Anjo it’s the perfect nightcap on Saturday nights. Masaya silang matutulog after the show."

Eugene says her character, Madel, in "Babaeng Hinugot" will also have her own back story, just like Marian Rivera as Proserfina. "Maraming masosorpresa kapag nakilala na nila ang tunay na si Madel."

***

Ryza Cenon and Mike Tan were the top winners in "Starstruck 2." Unfortunately for them, they’ve been overtaken by stars of Batch 4 like Aljur Abrenica and Kris Bernal who now star in their own drama series, "Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin."

"Kasama pa rin naman ako sa ‘SOP,’ so at least may exposure pa rin ako," says Ryza. "But I really miss acting. I just keep on waiting now kung kailan uli ako mabibigyan ng isang drama show. Kaya nga I welcome working in theater para hindi naman ako kalawangin sa pag-arte."

Mike is happy to be part of the "Dapat Ka Bang Mahalin" cast, where he plays support to Aljur and Kris. "Limang buwan din akong bakante before I got another show," he says. "Kaya naman I give my role as Kris Bernal’s older brother my best para mapansin naman na kaya ko ng serious acting. At habang wala akong ginagawa, I took several workshops para mas mapaganda ko ang craft ko since acting is a continuing learning process."

***

OJ Mariano, dubbed as the "Soulful Balladeer," won the Awit Awards Best new male recording artist award in 2006 for his debut album. His new album, "Ballads," has a premium edition that highlights the hit song "Sana’y Malaman Mo," the theme song of the hit "Mexicanovela" "El Cuerpo del Deseo" shown on ABS-CBN. It also has three original songs: "Tayo Na Nga" (which OJ himself composed), "Hanggang Dito Na Lang" (composed by actress Rita Avila), and the carrier single, "Pangako Ko," now enjoying airplay on various radio stations nationwide as a most requested song.

OJ was just runner-up to Frenchie in "Star In A Million" but he now has two albums while Frenchie has yet to record one. "It’s really a blessing for me pero napaka-powerful singer ni Frenchie and I’m sure she’d be given the chance to cut her own album soon. Magkasama kamias resident singers in Cesar Montano’s ‘The Singing Bee’ shown on ABS-CBN Saturday and Sunday nights."

OJ has just returned from two post-Valentine shows he did in Papua New Guinea with Apple Chiu, another singer in "The Singing Bee," and the reception by fellow Filipinos and foreigners there was quite overwhelming. "There are 8,000 Pinoys working there and they now request me to go back there in June for the Philippine Independence Day celebration. Lahat sila, they tell me it’s one of the best shows staged there by a Pinoy singer. Inasikaso nila ako and invited me to their own homes. May requestdin ang Pinoys in Brisbane, Australia na doon ako tumuloy after the show in New Guinea."

OJ is now also in Pagcor’s new musical dance extravaganza, "Flow," their next offering after the hit show "Wanders." "Nag-apply ako noon sa ‘Wanders’ pero hindi ako nakuha as I don’t dance. So I took the workshop of Ms. Isay Alvarez and kasama roon ang jazz and ballet dancing. When I auditioned for ‘Flow,’ nakuha na ako. I will be doing Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra numbers like ‘Steppin’ Up with My Baby.’ ‘Flow’ will run at the Pagcor theatre near the airport on March 18, 28 and 31."

To promote his "Ballads" premium edition album, OJ will also do a series of mall shows. He’ll be at SM Bicutan on March 22, SM Sucat on March 29. Show starts at 4 p.m. OJ will be singing the other songs from his album: George Benson’s "In Your Eyes," "Love Will Keep Us Alive," "Sukiyaki," Luther Van Dross’ "Dance with My Father," "If Ever You’re In My Arms Again," and many more. For bookings, call his manager Dennis G. Arce at 927-0611 or cellfone 0917-6262381.

Is OJ satisfied with the way his career is going?

"Oo naman. I don’t dream naman of being a big, big star. Nakakatakot ‘yun as it’s a long way down. Gusto ko na yung nandiyan ka lang and I’m given the chance to do what I love most, which is singing, in various gigs and shows here and abroad. Okay na ko run."

Source: Malaya

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