No sisterly love

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Dream Factory

Francine Prieto was grilled by the five hosts of "Showbiz Central" in the "Intriga Crossfire" portion last Sunday. The stale issue about her rumored romance with writer-businessman Philip Cu-Unjieng, that both of them have repeatedly denied, once again cropped up. Here are the questions to Francine:

Naghihirap ka na raw kaya binebenta mo ng mga ari-arian mo?

"I’m the type na when I want to buy a new cellphone, I sell the old one. E, nagpa-feng shui ako ng bahay ko and hindi raw tama ‘yung location ng door sa entrance ng bahay, so I’m selling a lot of things dahil gusto ko, puro bago ang gamit ko."

What’s the real score between you and Philip?

"Year 2004 pa, good friends na kami. Society siya, showbiz ako. He’s a good person and I have no manager now so he helps me. But there’s no romantic involvement between us."

Has it come to a point that you have an eating disorder?

"Kapag nai-stress ako, talagang napapakain ako, but I have changed that dahil I removed all the causes of my stress. Nagda-diet ako kasi gusto kong maging kasimpayat ni Pepe Smith."

What do you want to share about losing weight?

"I tried all sorts of diet pills, pati ‘yung Chinese, and I’m the type na pag sinabing take two pills, I take four pills kaya nahimatay ako at nagkaroon ako ng fractures. Now, I feel dapat maging confident ka na lang with your body."

Sa Bench show noon, how did you feel when people watching you said ang taba-taba mo?

"Siempre, I was hurt. Hindi naman porke mataba ka, wala ka ng ‘k’ na mag-underwear ng maganda. Alam kong okay pa rin naman ako dahil hindi naman nakalaylay ang tiyan ko."

Do you see yourself ending up with Philip?

"I don’t know. Sa totoo lang, ayokong mag-asawa kasi mahal ang annulment and I saw it sa experiences ng mommy ko atclose friends ko. Pero baka magbago pa rin naman ang isip ko when I’m 40."

***

Glaiza de Castro took the lie detector test in John Lapus’ "Don’t Lie to Me" in "Showbiz Central." As expected, the questioning centered on Glaiza’s much ballyhooed alleged romance with Patrick Garcia that both of them had already repeatedly denied. As one writer puts it: "Gamit na gamit si Patrick kahit wala na sa showbiz."

Here are the questions to Glaiza, who was being addressed as Jennylyn by John Lapus:

Nagkailangan ba kayo noon ni Lovi Poe when you were doing "Kaputol ng Isang Awit"? Glaiza said no and it’s a lie.

Did you feel ba na hindi boto ang parents mo kayPatrick as your future boyfriend? She said no and it’s true.

Nagkailangan ba kayo ni Jennylyn dahil kay Patrick?

She said no and it’s a lie.

Mag-on ba kayo ni Patrick? She said no and again, it’s a lie.

Glaiza insisted that he’s not wooing her at all and we believe her, so please let the issue lie to rest, okay?

***

Ruffa Gutierrez can’t understand why some quarters keep on trying to make her and Kris Aquino fight.

"Lagi nilang ini-insinuate na binabara ako ni Kris when we’re together in ‘The Buzz’ when I don’t feel it naman," she says. "In fairness to Kris, she’s the one who recommended me sa new morning talk show na ‘Ruffa and Ai.’ So may utang na loob ako sa kanya kaya huwag na kaming pag-awayin, please."

We’re sure her kind of hosting and that of Ai Ai de las Alas will be compared to that of Kris Aquino who used to occupy their time slot in "Boy & Kris."

"Naku, please don’t compare us na lang. Kris is already the queen of talk, hands down. Kami ni Ai Ai, we’re not even princesses yet kasi ngayon pa lang namin susubukan to host a morning talk show, so bear with us. Basta we’ll do our best para hindi kami mapahiya."

How is it being up against Janice and Gelli de Belen, and Carmina Villaroel who are hosting their rival show, "Sis"?

"Well, I want to think that what we’ll have is friendly competition. Si Carmina is in my batch as a Regal baby and sweet naman siya kasi she said good luck to me. But honestly, I don’t know what we’re up against ni Ai Ai kasi I’ve never watched their show. Sa’min naman ni Ai Ai, we’re here as a pleasant alternative for the viewers. Kasi baka bored na sila sa kabila, so here we are and we’re giving them a choice."

She says she’ll be wearing simpler clothes in "Ruffa and Ai."

"Sa ‘The Buzz,’ okay lang to wear designer clothes. But here, I want to more accessible kaya simple but elegant ang outfits ko, even accessories."

***

Is it true that Lani Mercado requested that Rufa Mae Quinto, who was once linked to her husband Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., be assigned another role in the new GMA-7 series, "Zorro"?

Originally, they were meant to play sisters, but this will no longer be so. We’re not surprised if Lani would feel afraid that she and Rufa Mae might be uncomfortable with each other on the set.

"In fairness to Lani, it’s not her fault na hindi na sila matutuloy to play sisters," says someone connected with the production. "SiRufa Mae ang hindi puede as she’s leaving for a series of shows in the States. We are already starting to tape their scenes together and we can no longer wait for her dahil about one month daw siyang mawawala, sopapalitan na lang siya ng iba."

Could it be that it’s Rufa Mae herself who requested this to avoid intrigues and prevent tongues from wagging any further? We heard that she said she’d still want to be part of the show and asked that they just assign her another role that she can do when she’s back in town.

***

"Pinor Fear Factor" is ending tomorrow. Seven of the participants were introduced to the press on Monday: Manuel, Janna, Marion, Jommy, Savanah, RJ and LJ. We ask them who’d win as "Ultimo Participante" on Friday and, of course, they won’t reveal it. One thing we can say about them is they’re all articulate and friendly. All of them thought LJ will have an attitude in Argentina as she’s already an artista they’ve on films and TV, but as Savanah puts is: "Hindi pala siya masungit kundi humble and friendly."

They all express their desire to try showbiz.

"If there’d be an opportunity, why not?" says "Super Manuel," who looks so buff on screen but is really very lean in person. We have a feeling this 27-year-old businessman from Cabanatuan is the one who’d win as he was able to break "Fear Factor" world records. He was even able to stop the horse that’s dragging him in the mud in one challenge, the only participant ever who was able to do that.

The top four, aside from Manuel are Jommy, Marion and Janna. Jommy is dubbed the "Scorpion King" as he ate 20 live scorpions on cam and one even bit his lip, making it swell. Marion is the one called "Quentin Tarantahin" as he panics easily. Some folks mistook him for a gay when he acted like one in some episodes, but he proved to be a toughie in the "Tarzan Swing" and "Water Coffin" stunts. He’s also wooing Janna, making Manuel jealous, so it’s a case of a love triangle for the three of them.

Janna is the youngest contestant at 18 and she works as a standup comedienne although she has the looks and sexy body of a bold star.

What was the scariest challenge or stunt they did in Argentina? Savanah: "Nang pinahiga ako sa box na puno ng mga dagang kasinlaki ng pusa."

Marion: "’Yung pinasok kami sa glass coffin na nilagay underwater. May claustrophobia na ako, takot pa ko sa tubig so it was really scary for me."

LJ: "The same stunt. Doon ako na-eliminate, e."

Janna: "’Yung binitin ako sa helicopter at nasabit ang paa ko, twisting my ankle, tapos inilubog ako sa tubig and I nearly drowned."

RJ: "’Yung pinaakyat kami sa tower as I’m afraid of heights."

Jommy: "Nung pinakain ako ng ipis. Diring-diri talaga ako. Mabaho ‘yung ipis kaya ninerbiyos talaga ako’t nanginig ang tuhod ko."

Manuel: "’Yung hinila ako ng horse ang pinakamasakit kasi nakaladkad ako nang husto. I didn’t expect na magiging ganun katindi ang pain."

Don’t miss the thrilling last few episodes of "Pinoy Fear Factor" on ABS-CBN after "Tayong Dalawa," with a special summary this Saturday at 7 p.m. on Studio 23.

***

We were able to talk at length with RJ Calipus, the participant who’s a favorite of a lot of viewers because of his sad personal story. RJ has a Pinay mom and a French dad. As a baby, he was adopted by a couple in Tondo. His mom went abroad and eventually married someone in England with whom she now has three kids. He grew up in poverty and looked for love early, getting a common-law wife at 17 and now, at 21, he’s the father of two girls.

"It’s for them that I want to earn more," he says. "We live in a squatters’ area and I work only as a kargador for container vans that transport goods to the provinces. Ako nagbubuhat ng mga paninda weighing 25 to 60 kgs. When I left for Argentina, P3,000 lang ang naiwan kong pera sa wife ko at may sakit pa ang bunso ko. So habang nandun kami, sila lagi ang naiisip ko. Kung paano mapagkakasya ng wife ko ang perang naiwan ko sa kanya."

Has he met his biological parents?

"Ang mom ko, nakuha ko ang address sa lolo ko. I wrote her at noong December, pinapunta niya ko sa kanila saEngland at na-meet ko ang stepfather ko at mga anak nila. My dad is named Michel Red. I haven’t seen him at hindi ko alam kung nasaan siya. My mom says my real name is Jethro Red. I don’t know how to look for him."

He’s under contract with ABS-CBN for one year and he’s now taking acting workshops with them to see if he could go into acting.

"Sana, may magbukas na pinto alang-alang sa mga anak ko," he prays.

***

Prince Stefan laughs of the rumor that he’s trying to snatch Lovi Poe away from Jolo Revilla now that they’re paired anew in "Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang" while Jolo is cast away from Lovi in "Totoy Bato."

"Trabaho lang ito and Jolo knows that," he says. "Alam naman niyang I respect ang relationship nila ni Lovi. Nag-uusap kami ni Jolo and he knows wala siyang dapat ipagselos. Hindi ko ugaling dumiskarte pa sa isang babaeng karelasyon na ng iba. I admit na nanligaw ako noon kay Lovi, pero hindi ako ang pinili niya kundi si Jolo."

In "Babaeng Hinugot," Prince plays Aristotle, the younger brother of Homer (Dingdong Dantes) who is forced by their controlling mom, Hera (Carmi Martin), to enter the seminary. While he’s there, he meets a beautiful choir girl, Athena (Lovi), and falls in love with her but he finds a tough rival in Jason (Kevin Santos).

Meantime, Hera continues to force Homer to fall in love with Helene (Angelu de Leon) who’s very rich. She doesn’t want Homer to end up like his sister Cassandra (Jackie Rice), who is married to a poor guy. Proserfina (Marian Rivera) competes with Helene in a swimming pool scene where they both don skimpy bikinis.

***

Aloy Adlawan is the scriptwriter of "When I Met U" and the TV remake of "Paano Ba ang Mangarap." At the latter’s presscon, he asked our help to promote a new film he directed, "Padyak," for his Breaking the Box Productions. He has previously directed the acclaimed Cinemalaya entry, "Roomboy," that won the best actress award for Meryll Soriano.

"Padyak" is the story of Noel (Jay Aquitania), a young man who wants to go to college but is hard up so he ends up as a pedicab driver. Everyday, he meets different sorts of people as his passengers. Three characters get entangled with him: a maid who has an affair with her boss’ lover and gets caught, a child who wants to host a birthday party for his dad, and a law graduate who is tempted to do something bad. In his own life, Noel experiences tragedy when his best friend is killed, his mom goes into diabetic coma, and the woman he loves, Nadia, becomes a prostitute. It sets him to question if his life really matters.

The film is titled "Padyak" not only because Noel is a pedicab driver but because man is born kicking his way into this world. The pedicab is used as a visual symbol about the cycle of life and Aloy’s fascination with existential exploration. It uses pure human energy to transport passengers: no gas, no pollution. The screenplay of "Padyak" got a grant of P500,000 from the National Commission for Culture and Arts and also won 3rd place in the 2008 Palanca Awards. Also starring are Rita Avila, Baron Geisler, Irma Adlawan, Bodjie Pascua, Mcoy Fundales, Hazel Ann Mendoza, Katherine Luna, Mercedes Cabral, Angel Jacob, Arnold Reyes and Emilio Garcia.

It will be shown at Robinsons Galleria Indiesine starting March 4.

Source: Malaya

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