Ruffa denies threat

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

IS it true Ruffa Gutierrez threatened not to dub her lines in "Desperadas" when she found out that although Marian Rivera, now very popular as "MariMar," is billed last, there is that all-important "and" before her name?

"Hoy, hindi ako 'yun," she says. "Baka ibang Rufa 'yun. Basta ako, I'm happy na ako ang unang-una sa aming lahat dahil ako naman talaga ang pinaka-senior sa amin, di ba?"

How does she feel about the new cast with Rufa Mae Quinto and Iza Calzado in it, compared to the first one with Gretchen Barretto, Dawn Zulueta and Pops Fernandez? "Well, siguro it wasn't really meant to be na magkasama kami nina Gretchen. At least, mas hot ang mga kasama ko ngayon, like Iza who's now a Hollywood star and si Rufa Mae ang daming TV shows.

"Hindi nga sila nakasama sa presscon kasi they're busy with other films. (Iza is still promoting "Batanes," while Rufa Mae, "Pasukob. ") As for Marian, when Mother Lily got her for this project in July, hindi pa alam na magiging ganito ka-hit ang 'MariMar' niya. But I enjoyed working with all of them. Contrary to rumors na hindi kami nagkakasundo sa set, all went well between us during the shooting. "

In "Desperadas," Ruffa plays Isabella, a "sosi" single mom who's hip, stylish, but spends money like there's no tomorrow. "My last movies were made in 1995, 'Halik' with Christopher de Leon and 'Puri' with Illac Diaz.

"I'm glad 'Desperadas' became my comeback film as I enjoyed playing my role here as Isabella, a glamorous woman reeking with self-confidence, kasi ganun ako. The difference is that I don't have an extravagant Imeldific lifestyle like her kasi I'm now a working mom who's very careful with my finances for the sake of my two daughters. "

Does she expect to win best actress for her performance? "I did my best, but more than winning an award, I want the movie to be a topgrosser in the Metro filmfest when it opens on Christmas Day. I'm sure mas matutuwa si Mother Lily kung kikita ang movie. "

Now that "Kokey" has ended, she says ABS-CBN is preparing a new series for her. "Pero panoorin nyo muna ang 'Kamandag' ng kapatid ko sa kabila. Some people chide ba't ko raw pina-plug yun e Kapamilya ako at sa Kapuso 'yon. Well, wala namang network sa family namin and Richard is my brother.

"Happy nga ako pati for my brother Raymond kasi nanalo ng two Star Awards for hosting, natalbugan pa ako. Wala namang masama nasa GMA sila, ako naman at ang father namin (Eddie Gutierrez) nasa ABS kasi daddy is now in 'Anna Liza'. "

STRIKE IN HOLLYWOOD AFFECTS LOCAL TELECAST?

FANS of the Hollywood TV shows on Studio 23, "Desperate Housewives" (Thu, 9:30 PM), "Smallville" (Wed, 9:30 p. m. ), "Grey's Anatomy" (Mon, 8:30 p. m. ), "Ugly Betty" (Tue, 9:30 p. m. ) and Kid Nation (Sun, 6:30 p. m. ) and "The Amazing Race 12" (Mon, 9 a. m. and Tue, 8:30 p. m. ), are asking if their local telecast will be affected by the current writers' strike in Hollywood.

Studio 23 managing director Leo Katigbak said the strike over disputes on extra payments is not going to affect its programming until early next year. He assures viewers that Studio 23 will continue to show fresh U. S. episodes for as long as the American networks continue to do so and some of the programs have completed a full season worth of episodes.

"We will start to feel any effects of the strike if this drags on until February next year. Hopefully, it will be resolved by then," said Katigbak.

Studio 23 launched its Fresh US Episodes campaign or FUSE wherein six popular foreign programs are shown in the Philippines in current with their US seasons. Viewers need not buy pirated DVDs or download from the Net as the episodes are shown about three weeks after their telecast in the U. S.

The Kabarkada network has also started airing the new seasons of America's leading comedy sitcoms namely Two and a Half Men and Rules of Engagement (Tuesday, 8:30 to 9:30). Studio 23 also airs the game show Kabarkada, Break the Bank with Mo Twister on weeknights. Lucky viewer Norjerie Luis of Cagayan de Oro recently won P300,000 from the participation-TV version of the hit game show Deal or No Deal wherein viewers play the game right in the comfort of their homes.

KAYE-CHITO ROMANCE REMAINS STRONG

RUMORS say actress Kaye Abad has broken up with boyfriend Chito Miranda, vocalist of Parokya ni Edgar, but Chito himself says their relationship remains strong. Their band's last release was their compilation album, "Matira Matibay: PG-13," and they will be back on the airwaves with fresh tunes from their soon-to-be-launched 10th album titled "Solid. "

"We finished the final mixing of our recordings recently," says Chito who was a teenager when Parokya was formed and is now 31 years old. "And we're hoping we can release it by the end of the month or before the year ends. "

This newest Universal Records offering from the multi-awarded Pinoy band will have 15 original songs, two commercial songs�" one for Nescafe and another for ABS-CBN's "Lastikman"�" and a cover of the 80s song "Boys Do Fall In Love. "

"Francis M requested us to do this cover," Chito adds. "He is not included in our performance of this song but he was there when we were recording it. "

The band is currently very busy with various gigs and preparing for their latest album, but Chito found time to be the main player and face the group of 100 kids this Saturday in the exciting game show "1 vs 100. "

"Sa totoo lang, mas ninerbiyos ako nang husto in playing in this game show kaysa when I perform in a concert before thousands of OPM fanatics," he says. "Kasi performing in front of a big audience is already natural for me. But joining a game show, having the chance to win P2 million, and playing against a hundred kids, wow, it's just more nerve-wracking. "

Does this mean he will easily concede that his kiddie opponents can beat him up? "No. I will fight the little mob until the end and will feel no mercy for them. I will just beat the crap out of these kids. There's no room for conscience! Hindi ko sila patatawarin," he joked.

Will this aggressive spirit and confident battle- cry usher in Chito's impending victory? Find out this Saturday, Nov 24, in "1 vs 100" with Edu Manzano after "Super Inggo 1. 5: Ang Bagong Bangis" on ABS-CBN.

AWARD-WINNING SHOW CELEBRATES

STAR Magic's Rikka Dylim hosted a special dinner for the first anniversary of their endearing youth show, "Abt Ur Luv (Ur Lyf 2)," that just won in the Star Awards as best youth oriented program.

The teen-oriented show that airs every Saturday at 10 a. m. features today's most promising teen stars Aaron Agassi, AJ Perez, Angelo Patrimonio, Arno Morales, Bryan Homecillo, Carla Humphries, Chris Gutierrez, Daphne Cortez, Dino Imperial, Empress Schuck, Enchong Dee, Erich Gonzales, Isabel Blaesi, Isabelle Abiera, Jessy Mendiola, John Wayne Sace, Krista Valle, Lauren Young, Martin del Rosario, Megan Young, Mikee Lee, Victor Basa and Zia Marquez. The latest additions to the cast were Alfonso Martinez, Be Bench winner Carlo Guevarra and funnyman Empoy.

The show is directed by Erick Salud. The festive anniversary episode this Saturday is entitled Star Magicked". In the tradition of Grease, High School Musical and Hairspray, the show goes musical with Geoff Eigenmann as their special guest.

The whole gang does five big production numbers and goes to ABS-CBN for a studio tour as part of their field trip.

Everyone's excited to see celebrities except Webb (Angelo Patrimonio, we're happy that when we interviewed Angelo, he's not so shy anymore and is more talkative. More about this later. ) He thinks most celebrities, particularly artistas are not worth seeing in person for they are mostly snobs and unapproachable. It turns out, Webb had a bad experience with the actors he once idolized.

Since then, he thinks poorly of artistas until he meets Geoff Eigenmann, a young actor who proves to be admirable despite his popularity. Geoff even joins them in a dance rehearsal which turns into an all out dance number. Meanwhile, Bill (Dino Imperial) and Hillary (Empress Schuck) continues to fight like they always do and in one of Hillary's moments, she imagines them as if they are loveteam quite similar to the Maricel-William tandem, bickering until they fall in love. Too bad Dino was absent at the anniversary part as he was still in school.

As the show turns one, the whole cast is very thankful for all the support and can only wish for more birthdays for the show to come and for it to gain more loyal viewers.

Source: People's Journal