Precious 'fired' or 'eased out' of Wowowee?

Author: Ricardo F. Lo
Column: Funfare

Should love and career be mixed?
That has been a showbiz dilemma since time immemorial. Some know how to keep a happy balance between the two, but only if the lovers involved are both in showbiz. It's an entirely different altogether if one of the partners is non-showbiz and therefore isn't familiar with the ins and outs of the profession (such as irregular working schedule and, yes, being thrown into The Company of equally attractive people who can generate, maybe unwittingly, irresistible temptations).

Should love and career be mixed?

That has been a showbiz dilemma since time immemorial. Some know how to keep a happy balance between the two, but only if the lovers involved are both in showbiz. It's an entirely different altogether if one of the partners is non-showbiz and therefore isn't familiar with the ins and outs of the profession (such as irregular working schedule and, yes, being thrown into The Company of equally attractive people who can generate, maybe unwittingly, irresistible temptations).

This dilemma is brought into focus by the recent Wowowee incident that resulted in (2005 Miss International) Precious Lara Quigaman as casualty.

We haven't seen Precious as Willie Revillame's co-host (with Mariel Rodriguez, Valerie Concepcion and Pokwang) these past few days, have we? This was after Wowowee was mounted "live" in Honolulu two weeks ago. When the Wowowee entourage came back, Precious was still on the show and it was only because those few episodes had been taped in advance. And then, she was gone. Just like that. Naglahong parang bula.

Was Precious, as per the rumors, "fired"? Or was she merely, ehem, "eased out"? If so, why?

Cory Vidanes, head of the ABS-CBN TV production, said in a text message to Funfare, "No, she wasn't fired. Will update you on further developments."

But here's what really happened, according to an unimpeachable source (who was with the Wowowee Honolulu entourage):

"Company rule discourages any host, male or female, from bringing along his/her girlfriend/boyfriend to the studio, not especially on out-of-town trip, so as not to be distracted from work. Rules are rules.

"Anyway, Mariel and Valerie obeyed the rule. Mariel could have brought along her boyfriend Zanjoe Marudo but she did not. Neither did Valerie (whoever her boyfriend is). But Precious 'violated' the rule and brought her boyfriend (said to be a rich Chinese who is 'possessive' daw) along anyway. Before the group left Manila, Precious' attention was called and she said, 'You can cancel my ticket if you want to.' She was defiant. Usually, back home she would bring along the guy to the studio and make him wait at the dressing room, that's why Precious couldn't concentrate on her work and she's always in a hurry, parating nagmamadali, always trying to find out if the guy is okay or not.

"That's what happened in Honolulu. Instead of 'bonding' with the group after the show, Precious kept to the guy's company. Sa airport pa lang, sweet na sweet na sila; mas lalo pa doon sa Honolulu.

"Precious has developed an 'attitude.' Even during her reign as (2005) Bb. Pilipinas-International, she was said to have an 'attitude' already and she gave the Bb. Pilipinas people headaches. She has a lot of do's and don't's even in the sitcom That's My Doc! (with Aga Muhlach) - bawal makipag-holding hands sa leading man, walang kissing, maraming bawal."

Asked if it was Willie who laid down that "rule," the Funfare source said no. "It's company rule. Besides, hindi type ni Willie si Precious."

And that's how the "precious" cookie crumbled.

Asked for comment, Rowell Octavio, Precious' manager, said also in a text message to Funfare, "We'll give our side within this week. You will be among the first to know. Definitely, we will answer all the questions."

Now, was Precious "fired," or was she "eased out?"

You draw your own conclusion. How is Serbis faring in Cannes?
Described by Agence France Presse (AFP) as "a hard-hitting Filipino film about a family living in a porn movie theater," Brillante Mendoza's Serbis is in competition at the ongoing Cannes Filmfest, the first Filipino film to do so after Lino Brocka's Bayan Ko (My Country) in 1984.

Also in the same filmfest are two other Filipino films, Raya Martin's five-hour movie Now Showing in the Directors' Fortnight, a non-competition category, and Yam Laranas' The Echo (the Hollywood remake of the Regal Films suspense-thriller Sigaw) in the Film Market.

So how is Serbis faring in the filmfest, against entries from Turkey, Italy, Belgium, France, Argentina, Brazil., etc.?

According to a Yahoo! News story, "majority of the reviews judged Philippine drama Serbis (Service) a dud."

Here are excerpts from other papers:

• The Hollywood Reporter, by Maggie Lee: Taking place mostly in a porn movie theater ironically, yet fittingly, named Family, Serbis is part homage to cinema, part intimate domestic drama that vividly details the tangled relations and all-to-human frailties of an extended family running a theater in the provincial Philippines. Director Brillante Mendoza continues the neo-realist vein of Foster Child and Sling Shot in Serbis, but displays marked improvement both the grunge aesthetic and film language now bear his personal handwriting. To this, he adds some bristling sexuality, both gay and straight.

• The Screen Daily, by Howard Feinstein: Since he shifted from production design to directing with The Masseur (2005), a static misfire about a gay massage parlor in the provinces of his native Philippines, Mendoza has made up for lost time by cranking out four films since (including one documentary), all low-budget, showing mastery in a variety of genres...

• Variety, by Jay Weissberg: Explicit fellatio, blocked toilets and a crudely-exploded ass-cheek boil form some of the more unsavory elements of Service, Brillante Mendoza's latest opus that revels in shock value. Moving into pseudo-Tsai Ming-liang territory is unlikely to win the prolific helmer further converts.... (Tsai Ming-liang is the Taiwanese director did a film called Goodbye, Dragon Inn which is about the last days of a movie house. - RFL)

As I've been saying, having qualified for the Cannes competition is a big honor enough for Brillante - and the Philippines.

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E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com

Source: ABS-CBN News