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For the past 21 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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MANILA -- POPS Fernandez and Jomari Yllana have plans of tying the knot. But this will happen when Andrei, Jomari’s only son by former wife, Aiko Melendez, turns 18.
"Ipinangako niya raw kasi kay Andrei," said Pops.
Andrei just turned nine on his birthday last September 7.
In the next nine years, when Andrei finally turns 18, Pops would be exactly 50 years old. She’s marking her 41st birthday on December 12.
Pops and Jomari have been sweethearts for almost a year now. Pops described their relationship as more than okay. She ís happy with Jomari. And vice versa.
Although Jomari is not a participant in Pops’ forthcoming concert, "Divalicious," at the Araneta Coliseum on Dec. 8, his presence is important as Pops needs his moral support.
Her special guests are Gary Valenciano, Kuh Ledesma, Jay-R, Kris Lawrence and Sharon Cuneta. Pops and Martin Nievera’s elder son, Robin, will do a special number.
It’s a pity that Martin, her ex-husband is not in her list of special guests. As the concert is a celebration of her 25 years in showbiz, it will not be complete without Martin, members of the movie press at the presscon of "Divalicious" told Pops.
"Yes, I know. But if Martin decides to come, he will be welcomed," said Pops.
According to Pops, she and Martin have not seen each other since her ‘confession’ to Yes Magazine about the ups and downs of her life with her ex. That article, Martin revealed in "The Buzz," caused him to "lose face."
Although she is more confident as a person and as a performer now, Pops said that after 25 years, she wants a new beginning.
She fondly recalls the highlights of her colorful and illustrious career. Said she: "I don’t think I’ll ever forget my concert at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. I remember that we had a full crowd of 100,000. But it rained. So we had to postpone it to another date.
"When it finally pushed through, we had to cut it short. Ang daming nawalan ng malay. They had to be carried out. Sa dami kasi ng tao, ang init init." Then there’s her participation in "Penthouse Live,” where she discovered another talent of hers, hosting.
"Linlang" was her comeback movie after an absence of several years in showbiz. It was directed by Maryo de los Reyes and earned her her first acting nomination.
"ASAP,” yes, ABS CBN’s Sunday musical show, is another project which she holds dear in her 25 years in showbiz. She was host of the show for a decade. The program, she stated, changed the weekly Sunday habit of the TV viewers. Likewise, it won her several awards as best female host. (MNS
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MANILA - Actors Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby have filed libel charges against talk show host and talent manager Lolit Solis and a newspaper editor for publishing an allegedly malicious article against them.
The hunk actors, accompanied by their lawyers, filed the charges at the Makati Prosecutor's Office before noon Friday.
The actors included Veronica Samio, entertainment editor of Pilipino Star Ngayon in the charge sheet.
The lawsuit stems from a column by Solis and published by Pilipino Star Ngayon on October 15, 2007. In the column, Solis claimed she saw Milby and Pascual in a romantic tryst at the poolside cafe of the Hotel Sofitel last October 12.
The actors said that the story of Solis is a complete fabrication and a mere figment of her imagination.
Pascual and Milby lawsuit are seeking P5 million each for moral damages.
Solis' most controversial brush with the law was right after the 1994 Manila Film Festival Scam, where she and actress Ruffa Gutierrez were embroiled in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to rig the results of the film festival in the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress.
Solis later admitted to switching the names of the real winners for Best Actor and Best Actress (Edu Manzano and Aiko Melendez) for her talent, Gabby Concepcion and Ruffa Gutierrez. (MNS)
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MANILA -- IF KC Concepcion would make her first movie with Richard Gutierrez, it’d be a big hit.
But this is a pipe dream since they’re with rival networks.
Since Richard is being linked to KC, many reporters asked him at the presscon of “Kamandag” if it’s true that KC’s rumored beau, Lino Cayetano, really got jealous and called him up to inquire about his closeness with KC.
“Why ask me? Siya na lang ang tanungin níyo,” he says evasively.
To which movie writers conclude: “Totoo nga, kasi it’s so easy to say no kundi nga siya tinawagan.”
Lino was surprised when he found out that Richard and KC saw each other in Paris when Richard visited the City of Lights early this year.
“Bakit kasi ini-lihim pa nila, nagselos tuloy si Direk Lino?” asks one wag.
Richard quickly clarified that when he went to Paris, he was with then girlfriend Georgina Wilson, so Lino really has nothing to worry about. “Kaya huwag nyo na kaming intrigahin dahil friendly meeting lang ‘yun,” he adds.
Has he recovered from his breakup with Georgina? “Yes. Two years din kami kaya somehow, I still miss her. She’s still in Australia studying and we decided to give each other some space.”
Richard remains to be the signature actor of GMA Films. He now stars in their Valentine presentation with the current toast of GMA, Marian Rivera whose stock was boosted by “Marimar”.
They topbill a love story directed by Mark Reyes to be titled either “A Very Special Love” or “My Best Friend’s Girlfriend,” also starring JC de Vera and Ehra Madrigal, both wards of Richardís mom, Annabelle Rama. Wonder how Dingdong Dantes feels about this when he’s Marianís partner in Marimar?
About his other new leading lady in “Kamandag,” Richard says Jewel Mische is just misunderstood by some people. “She has no attitude problem like what some people say. Actually, she’s shy at napagkakamalan lang na suplada dahil sa pagiging mahiyain niya lalo sa press.”
Richard is confident that “Kamandag” will be as a big hit as his past shows like “Captain Barbell” and “Lupin.” “I play a taong ahas with superpowers that I use para sa kabutihan. And mind you, we used real live snakes from various countries for the show. Lagi ko ngang nilalaro ang ahas ko dito.” (MNS)
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MANILA -- Sweet and seductive Cristine Reyes bares all finally, in her launching movie “Green Paradise.”
In fact, everyone is talking about this young lady who once entered showbiz and was introduced as Ara Mina’s sister. She then charmed people with her naughty and sweet ways.
Little did we know that this young lady would also dare to bare. She posed for FHM and apparently, the copies sold well, with her fresh face but really sexy body on the cover.
Now, Cristine is up to show more of her. In "Green Paradise," she portrays a typical probinsyana who fell in love with a man whom she just met in their province to visit. In the film, the guy resides in Manila. Andrew Schimmer is Cristine’s love interest in the movie.
Bold and sensitive scenes shared by Andrew and Cristine make us wonder what made her approve of it? Is there something romantic between them?
This is a career move for Cristine. Apart from the sexy scenes she did, her role was the most challenging she portrayed, so far.
In the movie, Cristine also proves that she is a sensitive actress and she has the depth in acting.
“Siguro ‘yon ang namana ko sa ate (Ara Mina) ko. I’m happy to follow her footsteps. She’s an award-winning actress and I want to be like her soon," reveals Cristine.
We were told that the movie was given a big budget, a whopping 10 million! "A quality film, indeed,”says Lorenzo Kho, the man behind New City Entertaiment.
Starring Joel Torre, Rio Locsin, Kris Martinez, Charee Pineda, Jiro Manio and Juan Rodrigo, "Green Paradise" opens November 21. The film is written by Dinno Erece and directed by Bing Santos and Kant Leung. (MNS)
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Cristine Reyes's fight is also Ara Mina's battle.
Speaking once more in behalf of her “aggrieved" sister, Ara Mina spoke to Showbiz Central in a taped interview with John “Sweet" Lapus yesterday, November 18, and aired her opinion about the entire Cristine Reyes vs. Carlene Aguilar brouhaha over matinee idol Dennis Trillo.
Last November 7, Carlene reportedly taunted Cristine during the taping of All Star K in Broadway Centrum. Reports said that aside from the short verbal assault, Carlene also got physical with her supposed tormentor by twisting her hand. The former Bb. Pilipinas-World 2005 and Ms. Internet World 2006 was reportedly alarmed by the budding romance between Dennis and Carlene, triggering her to throw jealous fits.
Last November 13, Cristine formally filed a legal complaint against Carlene before Quezon City Assistant Prosecutor Wilfredo Andres. Accompanied by her sister Ara, Cristine cited grave scandal and oral defamation in the lawsuit as Carlene's offense.
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING Shedding light on the real status of Cristine and Dennis before the incident, Ara said: “Alam ko, gustong-gusto ni Dennis si Cristine, and si Cristine parang si Dennis lang ang inientertain [sa mga suitor niya]."
When the former beauty queen found herself pregnant courtesy of Dennis, Ara revealed that her sister even advised the young actor to fix the relationship owing to Carlene's delicate condition.
“In fairness kay Cristine, binigyan niya ng time si Dennis," defended the sexy actress, "na try n'yo, try ninyong ayusin ni Carlene kung ano pa ang puwedeng maayos, di ba? Kasi nagkakausap si Carlene and Cristine sa phone before nangyari yung incident."
A few hours after the infamous All Star K confrontation, Cristine immediately holed herself in a restaurant and called her ate to solicit emotional support.
According to Ara, Dennis also showed up although he seemed daze to even say a word that would appease the building tension.
"Sumunod din si Dennis, e, parang tulala siya," Ara wryly laughed before adding, "tapos text siya sa akin after that, naming magkita, nag-text siya na hindi na raw mauulit 'yon, pasensiya na."
BABY BLUES Many attributed Carlene's action as a symptom of post-partum depression. Postpartum is also commonly called as the baby blues wherein new mothers experience an emotional letdown or depression due to hormone changes after giving birth.
"Naiintindihan ko," said Ara about Carlene's present condition. But she also thinks that Carlene should have been more responsible in dealing with her emotions especially with the status she have as a celebrity.
"Kahit papaano, public figure siya. Sana ni-reserve niya muna or kinausap na lang muna niya ‘yong mga kaibigan niya, ilabas niya 'yong sama ng loob. Kumbaga, sa kanya din magri-reflect. Hindi ko inaaway si Carlene, naiintindihan ko siya na gusto niyang ipaglaban... pero hindi sa ganoong paraan," explained Ara.
As of the moment, Cristine rejects all of Dennis's efforts to reach out.
Showbiz Central cohost John Lapus asked Ara about her reaction with the tag "homewrecker" currently being associated with Cristine.
"Hindi mo matatawag si Cristine na homewrecker dahil hindi nga sila [Dennis and Carlene] kasal," Ara protested.
Ara also asked Dennis to face the music and issue a statement to keep the problem from growing out of hand.
"Hindi matatapos ‘to kung tatahimik lang, e. Para kasing nakikita ko, wala, hindi niya napanindigan si Cristine. Kumbaga, feeling ko lang sa kapatid ko, naiwan siya sa ere, di ba? Hindi ko sinisiraan si Dennis, kaibigan ko si Dennis, boto nga ako sa kanya, e," she fumed.
“Sorry to say, pero 'yong mga tinext mo sa akin parang hindi ko nakikita. Na hindi mo hahayaan na ma-ganoon na lang si Cristine. Pero wala pa akong nakikitang effort. But open pa rin kami na, we're still waiting for your explanation kasi ikaw lang makaka-explain nito sa publiko."
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Filmmaker Jowee Morel is genuinely puzzled at the R-18 rating given to his film "When A Gay Man Loves" by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.
According to Morel, his latest film contains no explicit, graphic nor gratuitous sex scenes. In fact, he pointed out that the film is even a semidocumentary that is grounded more on intellectual discourse rather than titillation.
“What’s wrong with presenting a documentary on gays with sincerity and intelligence? It’s not the usual gay film. It has educational values. I wonder where I went wrong?” asked Morel, who grew up in London.
Morel's film, which stars erstwhile teen idol Romano Vasquez, is an experimental probe into the attitudes of Filipinos regarding the moral excursion of gayness in the Third World context.
“It was a big leap from my two earlier gay films, ‘EC2LUV’ and ‘Paru-Parong Rosas.’ In ‘When A Gay Man Loves,’ there might even be too much discourse. It includes interviews with religious authorities like Fr. Richard Mickley and some representatives from Ellinwood Church.
"There are soundbites on gay celebrities like John Lapuz and make-up artist Jun Inocencio. To top it all, there is a short film incorporated in it and glossy shots of impersonators of gay icons like Marilyn Monroe, Paloma Picasso, Jonathan and David, Anthony and Cleopatra and so on,” explained Morel.
The director stressed the importance of his table discussion on homosexuality. “Gusto kong mapanood ng mas maraming tao ang ‘When A Gay Man Loves.’ Sana, ‘yong mga bagets ay mapanood ito pero paano pa kung R-18? Hindi rin siya maipapalabas sa SM cinemas para may wider audience. Sayang ang vision ng pelikula. Hindi naman ito kababuyan. Wala namang explicit sex scenes," he said.
Well maybe the censors, ahem, that is, the reviewers found a few other elements in the film unsuitable for younger audiences.
These might include scenes recreating the Biblical catasptrophe that befell Sodom and Gomorrah. There's also a gay rape scene (totally within context and not gratuitous, according to Morel).
"I don’t know what criteria were used in classifying the movie,” Morel said, clearly befuddled. (By BOY VILLASANTA, abs-cbnNEWS.com)
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