Vincent Anthony Garcia brings you all the gossip from the Philippines.
If TV viewers are unanimous in hating Mylene Dizon for her role as a villain in the top-rating Dyesebel, critics and movie lovers are heaping praises on her for her superb performance in the indie movie 100, which chronicles the story of a cancer victim who only has 100 days to live.
Produced by Unitel and directed by the award-winning Mark Meily, the indie movie is one of the films currently showing at the Cinemalaya Film Festival at the Cultural Centre of the Philippines.
The Dizon's performance got a rousing ovation at the premiere of the actress's solo starrer, while the performances of her co-stars Tessie Tomas and Eugene Domingo were also hailed.
One of the highlights of the short flick is the nude scene featuring the characters of Dizon, Tomas and Domingo running in wild abandon towards the beach, apparently one of the things the lead character had on her to-do list before dying.
"It took a while for Tita Tessie to do the scene. When an actress like Tita Tessie agrees to do something like that — which she has never done before — it motivated me to give this movie everything I had. And I am happy it showed," said Dizon.
Many critics are already saying Dizon is a shoo-in for the filmfest's Best Actress award.
A return to teen stardom
Erstwhile teen tandem Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal are back together as advisors on soon-to-be-aired teen programme Dear Friends. Their last team-up was in the highly successful soap I Luv NY. This time, however, many people are questioning whether the new programme is the right vehicle for the screen tandem.
Are they mature enought to handle new issues? Do they have the credibility? These are just some of the questions thrown at Magdangal at a press conference organised for the programme recently. To which the young multi-media star retorted, "Marvin and I have grown past our teeny bopper ways. First of all, we're no longer teenagers. Second, we have been through that stage and have done so quite successfully, if I may say. Anyway, ours is just an opinion that the teen viewers can follow or not. Sometimes it helps if they hear someone else threshing out the problem for them, so they can make a much better decision for themselves and that's what we're after in this programme."
What's up his sleeve?
Paolo Bediones has left the Philippines for an undisclosed South Asian island to begin hosting duties for Survivor Philippines, one of the most highly anticipated programmes of the year following the re-launch of another reality franchise, Pinoy Idol, early this year.
As it is a franchise, the Philippine edition of Survivor will follow the known international format. However, there are quite a few surprises that, according to Bediones, local audiences will find "familiar". The popular TV host's statement has led to speculation that a celebrity could be one of the six castaways. With his sheepish smile, Bediones refused to budge when prompted by our Manila mole.
As a concession, Bediones revealed he and girlfriend Abigail Cruz are seriously shopping around for ideas and advice on possibly getting married, although he admitted he has not proposed. "It will come, and it will be another surprise," he quipped.
