Ruffa more ravishing than Reese

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

Ruffa Gutierrez looks like a goddess of beauty at her launching as the Style Ambassador for Avon Fashions Accessories & Jewelry. They say her counterpart in the U. S. is Reese Witherspoon and Ruffa definitely is much ravishing than Reese. "Magkaiba naman kami," she demurs. "Blonde siya, e. "

But still, we believe she's the better endorser as her beauty simply dazzles so she fits Avon's Genuine Gem Collection, a series of precious stones made into earrings, bracelets and necklaces like amethyst, citrine, jade, crystal agate and rose quarts, all costing less than usual.

This year is really a memorable one for Ruffa. Although her marriage crumbled, her career is now in full bloom once again. She hosts "The Buzz," starred in the hit TV series, "Kokey," and has just finished her comeback film, "Desperadas," a Regal entry in the Metro Filmfest. Also, she's now a much sought after endorser. "I've always believed that when something bad happens to you, may magandang kapalit yon. And whatever highs I'm now enjoying in my career, it's all the product of hard work. I'm doing this because I'm a single mom who has two daughters to support. "

Why doesn't she ask the help of her ex-husband, Yilmaz Bektas? "I don't feel I have to do that. He has to do it voluntarily. But I want him to know I can raise our two daughters by myself. "

Will Yilmaz be joining them this Christmas? "I don't know. It's all up to him. He's free to visit them anytime. But even without him, my daughters will feel that we're still a whole family, what with all the love and support they get from my parents and brothers. It's not going to be a sad Christmas for us, lalo na ako as I will be busy joining the Parade of Stars and promoting 'Desperadas'. I'm so proud of the movie. While dubbing it, I can't help but laugh as it's really very funny. I wasn't able to finish dubbing all my lines as my voice got hoarse from laughing. "

Ruffa is not only a stylish modern woman, she has become an icon for independent, strong-willed women, a true survivor in love, life and her career.

GLADYS WANTS TO TRANSFER TO ABS-CBN

IT'S eviction night once again in PBB Celebrity Edition 2 and Baron Geisler is once again nominated, this time solo since he and his brother Donnie are no longer on a two in one basis. Receiving 6 votes, his housemates say he has changed for the better so he is now ready to face the outside world. Only a few weeks ago, they nominated him for being the wild child that he is.

Other nominees for the week are Canadian diva Riza Santos, who got 4 votes, and Victor Basa who, besides voted by other housemates, was also automatically nominated by Head of Household Will Devaughn. Even Mariel Rodriguez did not escape nomination from the housemates, although the votes for her were void as she's just a houseguest, a fact the housemates haven't discovered yet.

Who among the three nominees is leaving Big Brother's house tonight? To save the most deserving housemate from leaving, text BB 3 for Riza, BB 5 for Victor, and BB 7 for Baron, then send to 231 for Smart and Talk & Txt subscribers, and 2331 for Globe, TM, Sun Cellular and Bayan Wireless Landline subscribers.

Meantime, after Ethel Booba and Mcoy Fundales suddenly left Pinoy Big Brother last week, Kuya decided to invite Racing Goddess Gaby de la Merced back into his house. Gaby attended an international drivers' seminar in Phoenix, Arizona and she has just stepped out of her plane at the airport when Kuya's staffers welcomed her and asked her if she'd accept Kuya's invitation to return to his house. It didn't take a long time for Gaby to give her nod as she really enjoyed her stay in Kuya's house.

That day, the other housemates were assigned to do other things outside Kuya's house and only Mommy Yayo and Baron Geisler were left inside. They did errands for Kuya, like cleaning the house, particularly the bedrooms, then Kuya asked them to clean his car parked at the garden. They did so without knowing that Gaby was already waiting for them inside. Imagine their surprise when Gaby suddenly sprang out of the car and they all had a happy reunion. But aside from Gaby, another new housemate has joined them, comedian Gladys Guevarra who's just back from the U. S. In her getting-to-know game with the housemates, Gladys proved she has a much more pleasant personality than Ethel Booba, a singer-comedian like her. But we heard her manager, Jun Nardo, is not happy about her decision to join PBB as Gladys did not even consult him about it. Jun thinks Gladys wants to move to ABS after she left "Eat Bulaga".

JOHN LAUNCHES OWN SCENT

John Prats now has his own scent, Motion, from Scent Station of Michelle Dula Asence, president and general manager of Zen Zest that is fast establishing its hold in the local scent industry. Why did they get John as their first celebrity endorser? "We're now on our seventh year and we feel it's time to get a star like him as endorser," says Michelle. "John is perfect for Motion as he's a great dancer who got the right moves and has just released his first dance album, 'Dance Floor Dynamite'. Aside from being so talented, he also has a clean wholesome image and a good family background. "

What does John think of Motion, his signature fragrance? "It smells like imported branded perfumes, but very affordable," he says. "Talagang ginagamit ko siya dahil perfect pati sa lifestyle ko. When they got me, I was very enthusiastic about creating my own scent that I even designed the bottle, the label and the look of the box. Perfect itong pangregalo to your husbands and boyfriends this holiday season and it's now available at various SM, Robinson, Ever, Gaisano and other outlets nationwide. "

John has an entry in the Metro Filmfest, "Shake, Rattle & Roll 9", but he won't be around to join the Parade of Stars. "I'm flying to the U. S. to join my family who'll be there until my sister Camille has delivered her baby in January. I appear in the 'Christmas Tree' episode, the directorial debut of writer Paul Daza. I play the brother of Gina Alajar na father figure for her son, Nash Aguas. Our mom in the movie is Boots Anson Roa and she told us to buy a fresh pine for our Christmas tree. What we don't know is that the pine tree I got is cursed and it turns into a monster that eats people at night. This is my first 'Shake' movie and also my first horror flick and I enjoyed doing it. Nakakatuwang katrabaho si Direk Paul as he's so relaxed on the set. He knows what he's doing kaya mabilis siyang magtrabaho. Our episode will give the audience a real good scare. "

SCARY CHRISTMAS

MOTHER Lily Monteverde agrees with John. For the ninth edition of the most successful horror franchise in the history of local cinema, she made sure "Shake, Rattle & Roll 9" is the most terrifying so far. "Garantisado, all the episodes will make the viewers shiver with fear dahil 999 times more suspenseful ito," she says. "'Christmas Tree' is the first episode and this is the first time that a Christmas symbol is being used to scare people. We got someone who's almost 7 ft. tall to play the role of the Christmas tree when it assumes human qualities and eats other people.

The monster was designed to look like a real tree, complete with prosthetics, and the effect is truly frightening. Nash Aguas stars as the boy who knows their Christmas tree is a killer but no one believes him. Last year, remember he was a hit in the 'Yaya' episode of 'Shake 8' and he even won the best child actor award for his performance. His mom is Gina Alajar, who has appeared in many 'Shake' movies and even won the best actress award
for her role as the manananggal in the episode where Aiko Melendez was the manananggal. I gave Paul Daza the break to direct his first project here and he's very promising. "

For the second episode, "Bangungot", Mother Lily got Paul's brother in law, Mike Tuviera, who's married to Paul's sister. "After watching this episode, matatakot ka ng matulog at baka magpakita sa'yo ang Bangungot dito," adds Mother Lily. "The Bangungot here is a faceless ghost cloaked in red. Sa shooting, everyone got goosebumps on the set when they saw the Bangungot ghost and it haunted them in their sleep for weeks. It's Roxanne Guinoo who utters the chant here that makes the Bangungot haunt the dreams of people. In love kasi siya kay Dennis Trillo, but Dennis is in love with Pauleen Luna kaya she sends the Bangungot to kill people. O, di ba true to life kay Dennis? Pinag-aagawan talaga ng dalawang chicks?"

The third episode is "Engkanto", megged by Topel Lee who did the "Yaya" episode last year. "Si Katrina Halili ang Engkanto rito, a beautiful woman in white who lives in the forest and falls in love with a mortal, si Matt Evans. This is a scary love story. Matt belongs to a band and the rivals of the Engkanto in white are the members of his goth band who are garbed in black from head to foot. Kasama rin dito sina Melissa Rick, Mart Escudero, Jewel Mische, Felix Roco and Sam Concepcion".

To get Shake logos and trivias, Smart and Talk n Text subscribers can text SHAKE to 239.

Cinema One ORIGINALS FILMFEST TODAY

THE Cinema One Originals filmfest is on today and tomorrow. Here's the schedule at Trinoma for today, 11:15 a. m. - Prinsesa (a film about an OFW father, Romnick Sarmenta, and his estrange daughter, Katrina Legaspi). 1:45 p. m. - Tambolista - A drama about a boy who commits a crime to get the drum set he dreams of, starring Jiro Manio in the title role, with Coco Martin and Sid Lucero. 3:30 p. m. - Altar - A horror film starring Zanjoe Marudo and Dimples Romana, directed by Rico Ma. Ilarde. 8 p. m. - Maling Akala - Victor Basa plays a macho gay who pretends to be the husband of unwed mom Jodi Santamaria. 9:45 - Confessional - A docu-drama about politics and corruption. For Sunday, the schedule is Confessional at 11:30 a. m. , Prinsesa at 3:15 p. m. , Tambolista at 5:30 p. m. , Altar at 7:30 p. m. , and Maling Akala at 9:45 p. m. .

At Glorietta 4, Makati, the schedule for today is: Tambolista at 12:15 noon, Prinsesa at 4:30 p. m. , Confessional at 6:45 p. m. , Maling Akala at 8:30 p. m. , Altar at 10:30 p. m. . For Sunday, Altar at 12:05 noon, Confessional at 1:50 p. m. , Tambolista at 3:30 p. m. , Maling Akala at 5:10 p. m. , Prinsesa at 9:45 p. m. Awards night is 8 p. m. tonight at Teatrino Greenhills.

SHAMEFUL AWARD

THIS is an e-mail from Arci Rae Tamayo: "Inamin ni Jobert Sucaldito sa radio program nila ni Cristy Fermin na humingi si Leo Bukas ng P3,000 each para ipamigay sa 12 members ng Philippine Movie Press Club para masiguro ang pananalo ni Jodi Santamaria ng best drama actress sa Star Awards for TV. Pero hindi raw pambibili ng awards 'yun, kundi protection money lang for Jodi para masiguradong maprotektahan ang panalo niya. Kaso, kahit na tumanggap daw ng 3k ang 12 sa members ng PMPC na sapat para magpanalo ng isang nominee, inilaglag pa rin ng mga ito si Jodi dahil may nagbayad ng mas malaki. Susmaryosep, ano ba yan? May bayaran na naman ng awards sa PMPC. Hindi pa sila nadala noong ibulgar ni Allan Diones ang pagbili ng award para kay Piolo Pascual. Heto't naulit na naman. Hindi ko naman maintindihan kung bakit kailangang magbigay si Jobert ng P3,000 each para lang may proteksiyon ang boto ni Jodi sa PMPC. Hindi ba extortion 'yun? Sa totoo lang, sobrang walang kredibilidad na itong Star Awards dahil halata nang marami palang corrupt members ang PMPC. Sino pa kaya ang mga nagbigay sa kanila ng protection money para lang siguradong manalo? Sa totoo lang, nakakahiya sila. Kung kami ang mananalo ng Star Awards, hindi kami magiging proud dahil tainted award ito. "

Source: People's Journal