FREEHAND by Mario E. Bautista
WE'RE in Cebu as we type this column to cover the Star Factor auditions of TV5. We're having lunch Sunday noon at the Marriott when one of the judges, Annabelle Rama, got a call from Ricky Davao informing her that his dad, veteran character actor Charlie Davao, has passed away ue to colon cancer at the PGH. Saturday morning we were with Annabelle and husband Eddie Gutierrez at the PAL Mabuhay Lounge on our way to Cebu when Ricky Davao sat beside us. The night before, a mass said for his dad at the PGH and Annabelle and Ricky were there, along with other veteran stars like Susan Roces, Anita LInda, Perla Bautista, Delia Razon, Marita Zobel, Ramil and Pepito Rodriguez. Charlie was so happy to see them all. "He was first diagnosed to have the big C in December and was given three months to leave, but malakas ang fighting spirit niya kaya tumagal siya," says Ricky, who was on the way to Tacloban that morning to visit a balikbayan friend. He's supposed to join us in Cebu today (Sunday) and has just landed when he got word that his dad had passed away. Soinstead of joining our group, he decided to just take the next flight to Manila. Our condolences.
About Annabelle Rama, she took us to the Asilo de Medalla Milagrosa where she and her five siblings were left by their mom. "Kaya lumaki akong madasalin dahil sa mga madre diyan," she says. The fifth of six kids, Annabelle is the only one who joined showbiz. Only her brother George is left in Cebu while the others are in the U.S. and Australia. The Rama family is a huge clan as Annabelle's dad comes from a brood of 12 kids plus 8 more stepbrothers and sisters. "Kaya pag nag-reunion ang mga Rama, magulo, maingay," she says.
The current Cebu Mayor, Michael Rama, is her first cousin. He joined us for dinner at the Pino Filipino Cuisine, a restaurant owned by another cousin, Joel Rama del Prado and wife Carla. The food is just fabulous and it has branches in other parts of Cebu City and also in Tacloban and Davao. More about the auditions for Sta Factor inour next columns.
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HEART EVANGELISTA is so busy now that it took its toll on her lovelife. She and non-showbiz boyfriend Ian Dy have broken up. It started with them agreeing to cool off for a while but they eventually agreed to split up. Heart is not the only one who’s busy but also her ex-BF who’s a vice mayor in the town of Alicia in Isabela. Ian has to be there most of the time so the distance is also a problem and they have no time to nurture their relationship. “Okay na yung ganito,” she says. “I’m young, let me enjoy life. Mas masarap maging single. I want to meet other people and have fun. We really need space kasi parehong mahirap ang trabaho namin. Sa ngayon, ‘Langit sa Piling Mo’ muna ang focus ko.
What about the rumoured tiff between her and Bianca King? They’re both part of Glam Girls in Party Pilipinas. Rhian Ramos in the presscon of “ILumina” admitted it’s true. “Siguro ayaw magsinungaling ni Rhian. But yes, dedmahan kami sa Party Pilipinas. What started it, wag na lang natin pag-usapan. Wala naman akong balak na patulan siya o maging kaibigan siya.”
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JC DE VERA’s stint in “5 Star Specials” Wednesdays at 8:30 PM established that he’s really a versatile actor. The roles he played required him to be tough street fighter, a cold-blooded killer for hire, a magician vampire, and a superhero who’s an expert in arnis. No wonder he’s now called TV5’s Primetime Prince. Because of the very positive feedback he generated as well as the good ratings, his stint is extended to another four weeks and this time, he’ll do drama, fantasy and comedy episodes to show how well rounded he really is. He plays one of the wacky members of conjoined twins. He also becomes the foster father of a naughty boy who turns out to be his lucky charm in achieving his dream promotion in their company. On August 18, he tries romantic comedy in the episode ‘Ang Pulis at ang Prinsesa’. He plays Asiong, a good cop who crosses paths with a runaway princess from the fictitious country of Megalusia. On August 25, the episode “Return to Me”, is about body switch where he someone else’s soul occupies JC’s body after a fatal car accident, with Ruffa Gutierrez as the special guest.
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RICHARD GUTIERREZ to an island off Thailand for “Survivor Philippines” without being able to complete dubbing all his lines for “In Your Eyes”. To make sure the film would be finished on time for its showing on August 18, all his scenes that still needed dubbing were sent to a studio in Thailand and Chard dubbed all his remaining dialogue there. They could have asked a professional dubber to do this for him but Chard doesn’t want to cheat the viewers. This entailed added expense but GMA and Viva Films decided it’s all worth it. His fans are all eager to watch this romantic drama as the last movie he did was a horror flick and was shown last year yet. Chard would be back in Manila right on the day of the film’s opening, so he won’t be present at its premiere night at SM Megamall on August 15, which happens to be the telecast date at 10:30 PM of the environmental series he is doing, “Anatomy of a Disaster”. Do you know that for these environmental docus, Chard agreed to cut his talent fee and he’s receiving much less than he used to? He says it’s worth it as this is for a good cause, which is to help inform viewers about the needs to take better care of our ecology.
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PIA GUANIO already clarified in “Showbiz Central” that she and Vic Sotto haven’t broken up and that their relationship is “under construction” or a work in progress. But rumors continue to circulate in the internet that they’ve already broken up as they appear to act distant from each other while hosting “Eat Bulaga”. Another sign is that Pia no longer posts any messages in her Twitter account when she used to be very diligent about this. Their co-hosts in the show, though, say they don’t see any problem between the two as their job as hosts are not at all affected by what viewers perceive as their distance from each other. “Wala kaming nakikitang problema at okay pa rin sila sa isa’t isa,” says one co-host. “The truth is magkasama pa rin sila sa dressing room ng ‘Eat Bulaga’ and they’ll be together when the EB Dabarkads leave for the U.S. together to do a show in Anaheim, California on September 18.”
WE'RE in Cebu as we type this column to cover the Star Factor auditions of TV5. We're having lunch Sunday noon at the Marriott when one of the judges, Annabelle Rama, got a call from Ricky Davao informing her that his dad, veteran character actor Charlie Davao, has passed away ue to colon cancer at the PGH. Saturday morning we were with Annabelle and husband Eddie Gutierrez at the PAL Mabuhay Lounge on our way to Cebu when Ricky Davao sat beside us. The night before, a mass said for his dad at the PGH and Annabelle and Ricky were there, along with other veteran stars like Susan Roces, Anita LInda, Perla Bautista, Delia Razon, Marita Zobel, Ramil and Pepito Rodriguez. Charlie was so happy to see them all. "He was first diagnosed to have the big C in December and was given three months to leave, but malakas ang fighting spirit niya kaya tumagal siya," says Ricky, who was on the way to Tacloban that morning to visit a balikbayan friend. He's supposed to join us in Cebu today (Sunday) and has just landed when he got word that his dad had passed away. Soinstead of joining our group, he decided to just take the next flight to Manila. Our condolences.
About Annabelle Rama, she took us to the Asilo de Medalla Milagrosa where she and her five siblings were left by their mom. "Kaya lumaki akong madasalin dahil sa mga madre diyan," she says. The fifth of six kids, Annabelle is the only one who joined showbiz. Only her brother George is left in Cebu while the others are in the U.S. and Australia. The Rama family is a huge clan as Annabelle's dad comes from a brood of 12 kids plus 8 more stepbrothers and sisters. "Kaya pag nag-reunion ang mga Rama, magulo, maingay," she says.
The current Cebu Mayor, Michael Rama, is her first cousin. He joined us for dinner at the Pino Filipino Cuisine, a restaurant owned by another cousin, Joel Rama del Prado and wife Carla. The food is just fabulous and it has branches in other parts of Cebu City and also in Tacloban and Davao. More about the auditions for Sta Factor inour next columns.
**********
HEART EVANGELISTA is so busy now that it took its toll on her lovelife. She and non-showbiz boyfriend Ian Dy have broken up. It started with them agreeing to cool off for a while but they eventually agreed to split up. Heart is not the only one who’s busy but also her ex-BF who’s a vice mayor in the town of Alicia in Isabela. Ian has to be there most of the time so the distance is also a problem and they have no time to nurture their relationship. “Okay na yung ganito,” she says. “I’m young, let me enjoy life. Mas masarap maging single. I want to meet other people and have fun. We really need space kasi parehong mahirap ang trabaho namin. Sa ngayon, ‘Langit sa Piling Mo’ muna ang focus ko.
What about the rumoured tiff between her and Bianca King? They’re both part of Glam Girls in Party Pilipinas. Rhian Ramos in the presscon of “ILumina” admitted it’s true. “Siguro ayaw magsinungaling ni Rhian. But yes, dedmahan kami sa Party Pilipinas. What started it, wag na lang natin pag-usapan. Wala naman akong balak na patulan siya o maging kaibigan siya.”
**********
JC DE VERA’s stint in “5 Star Specials” Wednesdays at 8:30 PM established that he’s really a versatile actor. The roles he played required him to be tough street fighter, a cold-blooded killer for hire, a magician vampire, and a superhero who’s an expert in arnis. No wonder he’s now called TV5’s Primetime Prince. Because of the very positive feedback he generated as well as the good ratings, his stint is extended to another four weeks and this time, he’ll do drama, fantasy and comedy episodes to show how well rounded he really is. He plays one of the wacky members of conjoined twins. He also becomes the foster father of a naughty boy who turns out to be his lucky charm in achieving his dream promotion in their company. On August 18, he tries romantic comedy in the episode ‘Ang Pulis at ang Prinsesa’. He plays Asiong, a good cop who crosses paths with a runaway princess from the fictitious country of Megalusia. On August 25, the episode “Return to Me”, is about body switch where he someone else’s soul occupies JC’s body after a fatal car accident, with Ruffa Gutierrez as the special guest.
**********
RICHARD GUTIERREZ to an island off Thailand for “Survivor Philippines” without being able to complete dubbing all his lines for “In Your Eyes”. To make sure the film would be finished on time for its showing on August 18, all his scenes that still needed dubbing were sent to a studio in Thailand and Chard dubbed all his remaining dialogue there. They could have asked a professional dubber to do this for him but Chard doesn’t want to cheat the viewers. This entailed added expense but GMA and Viva Films decided it’s all worth it. His fans are all eager to watch this romantic drama as the last movie he did was a horror flick and was shown last year yet. Chard would be back in Manila right on the day of the film’s opening, so he won’t be present at its premiere night at SM Megamall on August 15, which happens to be the telecast date at 10:30 PM of the environmental series he is doing, “Anatomy of a Disaster”. Do you know that for these environmental docus, Chard agreed to cut his talent fee and he’s receiving much less than he used to? He says it’s worth it as this is for a good cause, which is to help inform viewers about the needs to take better care of our ecology.
**********
PIA GUANIO already clarified in “Showbiz Central” that she and Vic Sotto haven’t broken up and that their relationship is “under construction” or a work in progress. But rumors continue to circulate in the internet that they’ve already broken up as they appear to act distant from each other while hosting “Eat Bulaga”. Another sign is that Pia no longer posts any messages in her Twitter account when she used to be very diligent about this. Their co-hosts in the show, though, say they don’t see any problem between the two as their job as hosts are not at all affected by what viewers perceive as their distance from each other. “Wala kaming nakikitang problema at okay pa rin sila sa isa’t isa,” says one co-host. “The truth is magkasama pa rin sila sa dressing room ng ‘Eat Bulaga’ and they’ll be together when the EB Dabarkads leave for the U.S. together to do a show in Anaheim, California on September 18.”
