Wilma files P7M suit vs. Annabelle

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Dream Factory

Jennylyn Mercado was rushed to the hospital last week when the scar of the cut on her tummy where she delivered her son Alex Jazz by caesarean section opened up. "I admit its partly my own fault," she says. "A keloid formed on the scar and its sometimes itchy. Without my noticing it, kinakamot ko na pala, lalo na when Im stressed out from work. So ayun, nagkaroon ito ng skin infection called folliculitis. Akala ko, its a simple irritation kaya hindi ko pinapansin, kaya tuloy pa rin ako sa pagte-taping. I dont want kasi to be the cause of the disruption in our work. E biglang sumakit at hindi na ako makalakad nang maayos, yun pala, may danger na kumalat ang infection so I had to be taken to the hospital again."

The taping of "Paano Ba ang Mangarap" was affected because of this as they dont have enough advanced episodes to be shown. Its good Jennylyn was able to report back after a few days. Director Joel Lamangan told her the next time she feels any pain, she should inform them right away before it gets worse.

Jen is still not supposed to tax herself so all scenes involving catfights with villain Chynna Ortaleza had to be called off. The scenes where theyre supposed to slap each other were rewritten and they just engaged in a shouting match as Chynna also has an injured foot after she fell off the stage while performing on "SOP."

"I really want to thank Direk Joel and the staff of Paano Ba ang Mangarap dahil talagang I can see their concern for meat inaalagaan nila ako nang husto," she says. "Hindi namin puedeng pabayaan ang show dahil its rating very high. Madalas na 20 to 25 percent ang rating namin kaya naman were all encouraged to make it even better. But I have to recover fully soon as I am also preparing for my two-night birthday concert in Music Museum and the launching of my coffeetable book. Kaya Im taking a lot of antibiotics to make sure di maulit ang infection."

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Wilma Galvante is SVP of GMA Channel 7. She filed a P7 million libel and harassment suit against Annabelle Rama at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court on March 17.

Five million pesos is for moral damages, P1.5 for exemplary damages, and P500,000 for legal fees. In her complaint, she said Annabelle tried to harass her through media interviews and text messages. She asked the court to order Annabelle to stop harassing her and to issue an order that Annabelle cant come near her within 50 meters for her safety. Their feud started with JC de Veras projected transfer to ABS-CBN. As for Annabelle, she says shes long been waiting for this case against her to be filed by Wilma and shes not at all afraid to face her in court. As far as shes concerned, she is just protecting her talent. Their first hearing was supposed to be yesterday, April 2 at QCRTC Branch 95.

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KC Concepcion is back from taping her scenes with Piolo Pascual in "Lovers in Paris." Shes glad to know that her dad Gabby Concepcion will be appearing in the movie that her mom Sharon Cuneta is now shooting with Ai Ai de las Alas for Star Cinema as their Mothers Day presentation next month. Shes not the only one who wants them to make a movie together but the loyal fans of the Sharon-Gabby love team will surely rejoice when they are reunited on the big screen. But sorry, folks, Sharon and Gabby wont be doing a scene together in the movie. Its just a cameo appearance for Gabby and her scenes will be with Ai Ai.

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GMA-7 is all out in building up a new star, Carla Abellana. Before she starts taping for her launching vehicle, the local remake of Thalias "Rosalinda," shes now undergoing an acting workshop with director Joel Lamangan.

"This is quite a big challenge for me kasi first role ko pa lang, title role na agad," says Carla. "Alam kong malaki ang expectations sa akin so I promise to do my best."

And were sure people will compare her with Marian Rivera, who achieved full stardom in another Thalia show, "Marimar." GMA-7 is optimistic that she will be able to make "Rosalinda" as big a hit as "Marimar."

A search is now going on as to who will play the male lead role of Fernando Jose, originally played by the hunky Fernando Carillo who was a big hit with local audiences when he came over to Manila at the peak of the airing of "Rosalinda." An audition will be conducted to find the right Fernando Jose. Our own suggestion is JC Tiuseco. We saw him acting with Jewel Mische and Katrina Halili in "Dear Friend" and he not only has a winning screen presence but also has good acting ability for someone whos so new. Its better to make the stars of "Rosalinda" both fresh and young in the eyes of the viewers, for a change.

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The game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?">Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" was a hit when Viva TV aired it on IBC-13 in 2000. TV5 has just bought the rights to it and theyre hoping that its exposure in the Oscar best picture "Slumdog Millionaire" will help revive the interest of the public in it. It was then hosted by drama actor Christopher de Leon. This time, many male celebrities were considered (like Richard Gomez, Gabby Concepcion, Ryan Agoncillo and Jomari Yllana) but were told TV5 execs prefer to have Vic Sotto as their new host.

TV5 has also just launched it "Shake It Sa Tag-init," their summer campaign, and theyve lined up a number of activities for their viewers.

On May 1, they have their TV 5 Live Caravan at SM Mall of Asia. May 9, theyll have a beach party at White Beach, Puerto Galera. On May 15, they will have a special screening of the controversial new Tom Hanks movie, "Angels and Demons," and on May 27, "Terminator 4: Salvation" starring Christian Bale, both at Greenbelt 3 Makati. To usher this in, they will show its prequels on "5Max Movies": "Da Vinci Code" on May 9 and "Terminator 3" on May 23.

They will also conduct free barangay movie showings and barangay auditions for their hit show, "Talentadong Pinoy," in May. Theyre very pleased with "Talentadong Pinoy," hosted by Ryan Agoncillo and shown on Saturdays, as its now getting a high 24.8% in the ratings. They expect the rating to go even higher in the weeks to come.

We heard theyre also bent on building up their own stable of stars. One newcomer they want to build up is former beauty Janina San Miguel, best known for murdering the English language during the Q&A portion. Is it true the 18-year-old Janina has attracted the interest of Tonyboy Cojuangco, who requested a personal interview with her in his yacht? Wonder what Gretchen Barretto will say about this.

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We want to thank Mother Lily Monteverde for coming to the recent wedding of our son Mario Miguel Bautista to Shirleen Albino at Sacred Heart Church, with reception at Plaza Ibarra. Mother Lily is very happy with her new film project, "OMG (Oh My Girl") that has started shooting last week. It stars Judy Ann Santos and Ogie Alcasid, directed by Judays friend Dante Garcia who was at the helm of "Ploning."

"Its a feel-good love story and I know its a good buena mano for Regal in 2009," says Mother Lily. "Juday and Ogie are childhood friends in an orphanage. Nagkahiwalay sila and when they grow up, they become worlds apart. Juday becomes a superstar at si Ogie, cellphone repairman. How they meet again and how they overcome the hindrances in their way will surely win the hearts of viewers. This is a different kind of romantic-comedy about friendship, love and the crazy things people will do for love."

Ogie just played a woman in "Desperadas 2." At the first shooting day of "OMG," he goes cross-dressing again as an old woman named Frieda just so she can be close to Juday.

"Ang galing ni Ogie. I didnt see him putting on make up so while I was watching the directors monitor sa shooting, sabi ko, sino yung matandang babaeng yan? And it turned out to be Ogie. I didnt recognize him. Hes really good. Tapos, nag-sing pa siya ngSa Kabukiran, parang si Sylvia La Torre noong araw. Its so funny. I told them to finish the shooting of the whole movie in time for the birthday of Juday and her wedding to Ryan Agoncillo in May."

Mother Lily wants to make more films this year. She got back the rights of the cult classic "Temptation Island" from ABS-CBN to remake it for the big screen. The 1980 movie directed by the late Joey Gosiengfiao starred Dina Bonnevie, Bambi Arambulo, Azenith Briones and other as beauty pageant contestants who get stranded in a desert like island. Its considered a perfect example of gay camp. The remake will be directed by screenwriter Chris Martinez ("Bikini Open," "Caregiver") who just debuted as a director in the acclaimed "100."

"Were now casting the movie," says Mother Lily. "Well also make a horror movie, Tarot, with Dennis Trillo, and another horror-comedy for Halloween, Atang Family, to be directed by Joel Lamangan. Its about a family of monsters at puno ng special effects. For the next filmfest, well do a new Mano Po movie and Nieves, an expanded version of the engkanto slayer story in Shake, Rattle & Roll X starring Marian Rivera."

How about co-productions with GMA Films like "When I Met U"? "Were supposed to do one with Dingdong Dantes pero sila ang nagpe-prepareng project doon. What my daughter Roselle and I intend to do is to give breaks to new young directors to do digital films that can gain recognition in international filmfests. We want it to make money pa rin salocal release, but we dont expect that big a return. What we want is to explore international market by making films that will appeal to a broader audience. This is the only way now for the local film industry to grow, by conquering other markets, and I want to try it."

Source: Malaya