The presscon was to officially announce that the entire Gutierrez Family will have a reality show special, “It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez”, to be shown in two one-hour episodes come 2014 on a network that is yet to be disclosed. It’ll be shot while they’re travelling in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Three generations will join it: parents Eddie Gutierrez and Annabelle Rama; children Ruffa, Raymond, Richard, Rocky, Elvis and Richie Paul, and grandchildren Venice and Lorin. How about the rumored latest apo from Sarah L? “Abangan nyo na lang kung may bago nga akong apong ipapakita rito,” says Annabelle.
“Sarah is a part of my life, so yes, there’s a possibility lalabas siya rito,” adds Richard.
The executive producers are Ruffa, Raymond and Richard, co-presented with One Mega Group’s TV100, Inside Showbiz Magazine and Royale Era Entertainment. This will be directed by Mike Carandang who has wide experience in Hollywood TV shows like “The Jerry Springer Show”, “Tyra Banks” and “America’s Next Top Model”.
“This will be no-holds barred, where the cameras will follow them all to chronicle everything they’ll do,” says Mike. “It’s not scripted. I’m just asking them to be honest. We’ll show things that they do behind closed doors. At di puedeng pag ayaw nila, they’ll tell us to edit it, wag isama yan. Kung ganun din lang, wag na nating gawin.”
What’s the limitation? “Siempre, no shower scenes and bedscenes,” says Richard. “Truth to tell, I was sceptical about the whole thing because I’m a very private person. Matagal namin itong pinag-usapan sa bahay as a family and the consensus is: why not try it? Wala naman kaming itinatago sa aming family, so why not show our family as is. We hope that with this, we can clear up some misconceptions about us. It’s something that will be fun for all of us.”
“We’re excited as it’ll be a free-flowing show where we don’t know what’s going to happen,” adds Ruffa. “It’ll show the kind of relationships we have as a family.”
How will they compare their family to the Barrettos? “Worse naman sila,” says Annabelle. “Nababasa ko yung mga intriga about them at na-shocked ako. Never naman akong inaway ng mga anak ko, lalo na tungkol sa datung. E, kami naman kasi ni Eddie, naghahanapbuhay pa rin. Hindi kami basta umaasa sa mga anak namin. At mag-away man kami ni Ruffa, hindi grabe or seryoso. Di nagtatagal, bati na kami agad. And my kids never say anything bad against me, ako lang ang daldal nang daldal. Sa kanila, nanay at tatay, kalaban ng mga anak. Sa amin, ako pa rin ang nananalo.”
“At the end of the day, nagmamahalan at nagtutulungan pa rin ang family namin,” says Eddie. “Ako, I joined Sampaguita Pictures in 1958 and signed a 10-year contract with them. Then I went free lancing. I’ve been acting all my life. First time ko to appear as myself with my family. Walang acting dito. It’s something different for me, for all of us. I’m proud of my children. They’re all hardworking. Lahat kami, nagtatrabaho in an honest way. Walang nagnanakaw sa amin. We can look anybody in the eye kasi kung anong kinikita namin, yun lang ang ginagastos namin.”
Doing a reality show like this, they will open themselves up to bashers. “In this age of social media, that’s to be expected,” says Raymond. “Ako, sanay na sa haters. I eat them for breakfast. So mga bashing, mga tira, sige, bring it on. But in the end, what they’ll see is that our family will remain one and united throughout all the intrigues and bashing that they’ll throw our way.”
