Now that Kris Aquino is home, will she be true to her word that she will resign from all her ABS-CBN shows? The promise is being awaited by legions, never mind Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations surveys.
I really love the Feb. 26 article “Tears, laughter backstage with the Oscar winners.” I have never been awed watching artists I barely knew or reading articles about them, but after I read the article, I was moved by the quoted answers of some of the artists and directors.
Filipino indie filmmakers have been fighting the good fight against commercial-studio control and Hollywood-blockbuster domination. They have been sharpening their craft and are now standing on the cutting edge of international cinema, screening their stuff and winning awards in film festivals from as far afield as Amsterdam, Berlin, Bogota, Busan, Cannes, Manhattan, Vancouver and Venice. Once sidelined in their own country’s movie theaters, indie filmmakers are slowly being recognized as unsung heroes advancing the Filipino cause through their works, whether full-blown features or shorts, fiction or documentary.
A country’s cinema should encompass the aspirations and experiences of its people. And to be truly representative, a country’s cinema needs to be sufficiently geographically diverse. This is still to be desired in the Philippines, where the theaters, when they aren’t saturated by Hollywood blockbusters, are by and large dominated by the products of monolithic Metro Manila studios. To be sure, independent filmmakers are making a dent, and their works, long or short, fictional or documentary, have reached an impressive level of quality. Still, when one considers the major film events, by CineManila, Cinemalaya, Cinema One Originals, or the tellingly named Metro Manila Film Festival, it becomes obvious that the Philippines’ filmic output remains largely Manila-centric.
To no one’s surprise, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) bought the “insider is best” argument and put five of them in its final list of eight. They are Antonio Carpio, Roberto Abad, Arturo Brion, Ma. Lourdes Sereno, and Teresita de Castro. The “outsiders” are Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, former congressman Ronaldo Zamora, and former Ateneo law dean Cesar Villanueva.
I had written my last column for last week before Dolphy crossed over to the great beyond. The days that followed were devoted to mourning his death and celebrating his life in equal measure. The outpouring of grief and love has been overwhelming and warms the heart. I cannot let his passing go without saying something, if only in passing.
I am disturbed by the article of Totel de Jesus published in INQUIRER.net (7/5/12), which highlighted accusations reportedly leveled at me by Cecile Guidote-Alvarez in Anthony Taberna’s radio program “Dos por Dos.” There was no attempt whatsoever to get my side on these allegations, hence this letter. The accusations made against me by Ms. Alvarez [...]
For decades now, Dolphy’s name has been the most recognizable in the local entertainment scene. There is no other name like it, and its bearer is a charter member, maybe even the chair, of that exclusive club of movie icons—Nora, Vilma, Sharon, the late FPJ—who need no surnames to command immediate recognition, and undying loyalty, from their millions of fans.
I was disappointed that Jessica Sanchez did not win the “American Idol” competition, but hours after the proclamation of the winner, I thought her “defeat” was a godsend. Jessica has talent that is beyond her years but emotionally and physically she is only 16. Michael J., Whitney Houston and Lindsay Lohan did not have normal teenage lives, and look what happened to them. They got into drugs and notorious behavior so detrimental to their lives.
With their bright eyes and precocious bearing, child actors have always been a remarkable part of Philippine show business. From Vilma to Aiza to Zaijan, child actors have tickled the funny bone of, and induced tears from, fans and viewers, ranking these moppets and tykes, these toddlers and prodigies, among the true treasures of Filipino productions. Yet those same children are often left unprotected from the unique dangers of their field. The same talents we love, we actually put to risk because we demand so much from them.
HOLY WEEK would hardly seem the time to urge you to go see a movie about an unmitigated drunk whose only saving grace is that he stands to inherit billions from his humorless mother. But “Arthur” is a morality tale if ever there was one, and the title character’s redemption is as good an Easter [...]
CAN WE really believe, as we are made to believe, that the live TV shows that draw in the poor and feature the poor for entertainment purposes in exchange for easy money were conceived with altruistic motives and not for huge profits? In the wake of the recent furor over the “Willing Willie” TV show [...]
