Network war, expanded!

Author: Billy Balbastro
Column: Take Billy

THE network war which is still very much evident seems to have expanded the sphere of things and perspective of television series for appreciative and sicerning televiewers.

If last year, GMA gave us a taste of the Big Apple with its I Luv New York with Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras, Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal, ABS-CBN came up with a funny-tragic soap like Barcelona with Toni Gonzaga, Luis Manzano, John Prats and Pokwang taped entirely in the Spanish city where there are many Filipinos.

Later this year, the cast of Walang Kapalit of Piolo Pascual and Claudine Barretto went to Australia to tape a few episodes there. It�s a pity that because of the availability of stars, the taping � probably the airing too � is behind schedule.

From GMA, here comes a travelogue of an action-adventure series with historical touches, Asian Treasures.

From Basta�t Kasama Kita, an action-soap with Judy Ann Santos more than a year ago at ABS-CBN, Robin Padilla moves to GMA to be the leading man of his �dream partner of the moment�, Angel Locsin.

Together they will come up with big action and chase scenes � going through �the whole Asia�, � Mongolia, China and Thailand. Not Vietnam, since Maricel Soriano and Direk Joel Lamangan had gone there before for Vietnam Rose.

With this multi-country setting for Asian Treasures, we expect similar series will follow suit.

It seems that a one-country setting has become out of style all of a sudden.

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TROIKA: Correction please. With apologies to Daven Productions, we are straightening the issue that even if Ihman Esturco�s directorial debut Troika started as a digital movie, it will be released in regular commercial theatres later this month.

The movie which stars Andre Soriano, Mara Altierra and Jamil Basa with Criselda Volks, Raven Villanueva and Lauren Novero in supporting roles, was transferred to 35 mm.

Troika has its post-production processing done in Hong Kong, says Direk Ihman himself, during the holidays. Now the film on the love triangle set in a mining camp in Benguet will have its premiere presentation on January 30.

Other fashion ramp and commercial modeling � oriented boys compose part of the cast. Playing miners are John Ron Tanada (Mr. Globe Philippines 2005), models Josh Ivan Morales and Will Sandejas.

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NOTES: Mel Gibson after The Passion of the Christ and Braveheart makes more ripples in the international movie scene with Apocalypto, an action-adventure set in the ancient times of the Mayan civilization.

Relentless motion and starkly visual storytelling makes this movie from 20th Century Fox, distributed by Warner Bros., another conversation piece hot item in the first quarter of 2007.

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ONE-LINER: Gratitude embraces the simplicity of word spoken with a smile. It states that more is not always better and less most often is.

Source: Abante