Richard: Gun-toting incident a hoax

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

Richard Gutierrez is leaving for the U. S. on April 2 to join the "Eat Bulaga" show at Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 4. He will be leaving with "Zorro" leading lady Rhian Ramos, so they are now taping some episodes of their show in advance on their set in Bagac, Bataan.

Richard is quite excited as it's his first time to visit the East Coast. He intends to stay in New York for a few days to take a cruise around Manhattan, watch shows in Broadway and an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden with his youngest brother Richie Paul. He'll also be meeting some of his high school friends there. He's scheduled to return to Manila on April 10 (Good Friday) and just rest for one day then return to the set in Bagac to resume taping of "Zorro. "

Richard is just laughing off the rumor that he had a big fight with former TGIS actor Mike Flores (now married to Nina Ricci Alagao) at the recent birthday party of Director Mark Reyes. "It's not true," he says. "Ang hilig talagang mag-imbento ng ibang tao. May nangyari pa raw tutukan ng baril. Lahat kami ng mga kasama ko sa 'Zorro' were there at walang anumang away na nangyari. I really don't know kung bakit nagkaroon ng ganyang intriga. Kung sinoman ang naglabas ng ganyang tsismis, I challenge him to face me and I will confront him. "

Even Direk Mark Reyes himself says no such thing happened. "I'm ready to be interviewed just to clear Richard's name," he says. "Nahihiya nga ako sa kanya at nang may nag-invent ng ganyang kuwento, sa party ko pa naman. "

Annabelle Rama suspects whoever cooked up the story is mad with Richard because "Zorro" is rating very well. "Obvious na gustong i-down ang anak ko dahil naiinggit sa kanya. Puwes, sa ginagawa nila, lalong pagpapalain ang anak ko at mas tataas pa ang rating ng 'Zorro,"" says Richard's protective mom.

PAOLO'S MOM STILL RESENTS LIAN

WHEN Paolo Contis turned 25 recently, his mom didn't join his birthday celebration as a sign that she still does not approved of his current girlfriend, EB Babe Lian Paz, and that she continues to be more partial to his ex, Isabel Oli. Paolo says he's confident that in due time, his mom will see that Lian is a good partner for him and will eventually learn to accept her.

He denies, though, the rumor that Lian is already preggy. He said he was just kidding when he said he'd want to join the game show he's hosting, "My Dad is Better than Your Dad," as a contestant with his own kid. "Malayo pa 'yun," he says.

Paolo is now also one of the most hated guys on TV for his role as Rado, Marian Rivera's overbearing boyfriend in "Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang" who's cruel and abusive. "Well, it can only mean na effective ang pagiging contravida ko. Marami talagang nagsasabi sa'king galit sila sa'kin kasi malupit at mayabang ako. Wala ring awa kung sampalin ko't saktan si Marian as Proserfina. "

This week in "Babaeng Hinugot," the story becomes more thrilling when Proserfina and Homer (Dingdong Dantes) succeed in escaping from the clutches of the ruthless Rado who chases them. The cops get to arrest Rado but he manages to shoot Homer and Proserfina becomes distraught as he hovers between life and death.

What can Paolo say about the story that Isabel Oli is now playing beautiful music with cager Wesley Gonzales? "Bakit? Umamin na ba siya?" he says. "Well, kung totoong sila na nga, di okay. Ibig sabihin, naka-move on na rin siya and I'm happy for them. "

Isabel still denies but, as they say, action speaks louder than words. She's constantly seen with Wesley and he even followed her to Boracay when she had a vacation there recently.

MORE STAR MAGIC CELEBRANTS

Gian Sotto is happy over the good feedback his mom Helen Gamboa is getting for her role as the haughty grandma of Jake Cuenca in "Tayong Dalawa". Since he got the chance to act with his dad Tito Sotto in the last "Iskul Bukol" movie at the Metro filmfest, his wish now is for him and his mom to have the opportunity to act together in one show. Gian started as the vocalist of a band called Nerveline as music is his first passion. But now, he has also gone into acting as a Star Magic talent and enjoys it so much. He has played important roles in shows like "Margarita", "Eva Fonda" and "Pie-ta. " He has also done two indie films, "Huling Pasada" and "Iliw. " Gian turned 28 on March 18 and he's hoping he'll be able to get action-packed projects in the future.

Paw Diaz is another Star Magic talent who just celebrated her birthday and turned 22 on March 16. Paw was so busy after Star Circle Quest doing TV work, films, plays and out of town shows so her studies took a backseat. Now, she's determined to finish college at the Asian Institute for Distance Education and will be graduating next year. But she still does acting on the side and will do two plays this summer, "Oedipus the King" and "Streetcar Named Desire. " Last year, she did "A Very Special Love" with Sarah Geronimo. This time, she'll be in the cast of "A Mother's Love" with Vilma Santos and Luis Manzano.

Thou Reyes is a former child actor who's now best known as the gay officemate of Bea Alonzo in "Betty La Fea" who's very mean to her. He was previously seen in "Kapitan Boom" but it's his flamboyant gay role that made the public take notice of him. A good dancer, he has formed a dance group with PBB's Mickey Perz and they perform in "ASAP". He turned 25 on March 28. David Chua is a former model who did well as the funny twin brother of Alex Gonzaga in "My Girl. " He has also acted in "Your Song" with Kim Chiu and is now in "May Bukas Pa" as Brother Simon, caretaker of child actor Santino. He's taking up fine arts at UST and celebrated his birthday on March 26. Enrique Gil is the Cebuano who was launched as member of Star Magic 16. He was seen in "Wowowee" and "ASAP" and is now better known as Quen, the younger brother of Krista Ranillo in "Pieta. " He'll also be in the Judy Ann Santos-Ryan Agoncillo romantic comedy on ABS-CBN, "George and Cecil. " He turned 17 on March 30.
12 ROUNDS: THRILLING ACTION BOUT

THERE have been no real big Hollywood action stars after Arnold and Stallone. The Rock and Vin Diesel tried to follow in their footsteps but were not as consistently successful, which is the reason why new action stars are constantly being developed and one of them is wrestler John Cena. His advantage is that he has movie star good looks compared to other wrestlers who look too fierce and savage on screen.

Cena was first introduced in "The Marine" (2006), panned by critics but which is, for us, a guilty pleasure as it's an unpretentious action flick. He's now back in "12 Rounds," directed by Renny Harlin who megged Bruce Willis in "Die Hard 2," Stallone in "Cliffhanger" and his own wife, Geena Davis, in the 1995 pirate movie that was a big flop, "Cutthroat Island. "

We're sure "12 Rounds" will also be lambasted by critics but again, if you're looking for a slambang action flick, this one is right up your alley. Cena will not win an Oscar award for his performance here (since his role doesn't require much acting ability anyway), but he's very credible enough and certainly fills the bill as an action star. He even convincingly delivers a line that reminds you of Liam Neeson in "Taken": "I'm gonna find you, hunt you down and kill you. "

He plays Danny Fisher, a New Orleans cop. (And his name is the same as that of Elvis Presley in the movie "King Creole" which was also set in New Orleans. ) On the night an international arms dealer, Miles Jackson (Aiden Gillen), successfully pulled a big heist involving stolen diamonds, he happens to be on patrol with his partner (Brian White). They chance upon Miles trying to escape in a car driven by his girlfriend, Erica (Taylor Cole). He manages to push a boat right on the street to block their car. The car turns turtle and Miles is arrested, but his girlfriend accidentally dies in the smash up.

One year later, Miles has escaped from prison and manages to track down Danny for revenge. He kidnaps Danny's girlfriend Molly (Ashley Scott), blows up his house into smithereens, and demands that Danny plays a deadly cat and mouse game with him. He has to complete12 rounds of special tasks designed by Miles so that he can save Molly's life and get her back again.

At this point, the movie becomes something like "Amazing Race", with Danny getting more cryptic clues and nebulous instructions each time he succeeds in accomplishing one dangerous assignment. In his efforts to save his girlfriend, he also gets into conflict with two smug FBI agents (Steve Harris and Gonzalo Menendez) who don't really care whether Molly survives or not.

"12 Rounds" is a big budget action thriller with plenty of action set pieces. This is certainly a bigger break for John Cena than "The Marine. " We just wish they didn't employ too much of a shaky camera work that can give you a headache. Cena makes for a likeable hero, throwing his muscle-packed 6 ft. 1 in. physique with gusto into each death-defying stunt involving speeding cars, a hijacked firetruck to get into a burning building, an elevator that is about to crash, an out of control train that has to be stopped before it kills all its passengers and unsuspecting bystanders, and a helicopter that is about to be blasted by a bomb. Obviously, many of the action ideas were borrowed from other action flicks like "Speed," "Spiderman 2," the James Bond movies, and even Harlin's own take on "Die Hard. " The script has some implausible elements, but if you wouldn't ask too many questions and just savor the action sequences, you'd still enjoy the movie. The most questionable element is how the one-dimensional villain Miles Jackson was able to put up all the elaborate challenges he intended for Danny when he had just bolted out of prison and only had one assistant to help him prepare all of the intricate tasks he required Danny to do. Still, no doubt that hardcore action aficionados will find this movie very entertaining especially the daredevil helicopter finale.

Source: People's Journal