Ara says no time for tryst
with Pacquiao

This afternoon in "Startalk," she will be a co-host of Lolit Solis so she can personally thank all the people who watched "Kulam." This is the first time she’ll do a co-hosting job.

We’re happy for Judy Ann Santos for coming up with another hit, all by herself and without Piolo Pascual or Ryan Agoncillo. Dennis Trillo is her leading man in the movie and Dennis wasn’t of much help to Jolina Magdangal when they were paired in "Italy." "Kulam" is also the first hit of writer-director Jun Lana, who previously directed "Gigil" with Katrina Halili and the badly directed "Roxanne" with Sheree. We also watched the Hollywood horror flick that opened simultaneously with it, "Mirrors," starring Kiefer Sutherland of "24" and it’s very anemic and boring compared to the scare factor in "Kulam."

***

The fans of Marian Rivera are up in arms against what they perceive is Ara Mina’s intentional act of violence against their idol at the 48th anniversary presentation of Regal in "SOP" last Sunday. We got several letters denouncing Ara for being a bully. They say she shouldn’t even be there since she has transferred to ABS-CBN and is no longer a Kapuso but a Kapamilya. To quote Fe Lynn Dacoscos: "Halatang sinadyang tabigin ni Ara si Marian habang kina-kantahan nila si Mother Lily. In bad taste ang ginawa niya makantahan lang niya ang producer. O baka naiinggit lang siya dahil mas sikat si Marian sa kanya ngayon."

In line with this, some folks say Marian cried at the dressing room after what Ara did to her. "Napahiya kasi siya sa harap ng maraming tao at sa mga nanonood sa TV," says one writer.

But Ara says she has no intention at all of harming anyone. "Nagmamadali lang ako kasi papasok na ‘yung part ko sa pagkanta. And before I went there, sinabihan ko muna ang mga taga-’SOP’ kung okay ba sa kanila kasi invited nga ako ni Mother Lily. They said okay naman, so I went."

Ara is really quite controversial these days as it’s also rumored she had a secret tryst with Manny Pacquiao in the US. Manny’s wife, Jinkee, allegedly learned about this and got mad, and this is the reason Pacman had to come home from his training.

"How can that be when I tape three times a week for ‘Ligaw na Bulaklak’ sa ABS, then may singing engagements pa ako for Pagcor’s Casino Filipino? So tantanan na nila ako dahil imposible kaming magkita sa US at wala ako roon."

***

As coach of UAAP basketball champ Ateneo, Norman Black is still in Cloud 9. On the day we interviewed him, he was on his way to their bonfire celebration at the Loyola campus.

Norman Black first played as a PBA import for San Miguel in 1981. He fell in love with a Pinay, Carmen, married her in 1984, and they have three kids. Christopher is now working while Dominique is taking up law in La Salle. His youngest, Aaron, is only 11 and is in grade 6 at the Ateneo.

Norman grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and now considers the Philippines his second home. "My own mom has visited us here nine times," he says.

Coach Norman is now seen on TV 5 every Sunday night, 6 to 7 p.m., as the camp director in the reality show about basketball star wannabes, "My MVP (Most Valuable Pinoy)," with Jason Webb and Bayani Agbayani as hosts. "When we announced our search for players who want to be given a second chance to play basketball, 2,000 applicants from nine cities nationwide came. We trimmed it down to 400 then screened them again and chose 50. We took them to our Clark training camp and now, they’re down to 18 contestant players. I can really relate to these guys who have a passion for basketball. Most of them have played before but for various reasons, they stopped playing, mainly to earn a living for their families. They’re also mostly poor and I myself came from a very poor family before I got into basketball, which was my way out of poverty. There were times when I got emotional because I was affected by their personal stories. By now, I already know who the best players are based on their skills and ability to follow instructions. We’ve already taped seven weeks and the remaining weeks will be even more exciting."

It’s good he’s able to do "My MVP" and at the same time lead Ateneo to championship. "The producers worked around my schedule at Ateneo so there was no conflict at all. Now that Ateneo is champion, I can devote more time on ‘My MVP’ and continue to train and drill the remaining players until the final elimination round."

***

Is it true that Joyce Jimenez and Gwen Garci were both hexed after they taped an episode of TV-5’s Philippines’ Scariest Challenge" in a haunted place in Baguio? After Joyce’s accident, Gwen encountered a similar incident, but Gwen was not in her car. It’s her driver who hit a kid on the road after taking her to the same location. "Hindi siguro nagustuhan ng mga espiritung nagambala nila ang pagte-taping doon kaya pareho silang inabot ng kamalasan," says a paranormal expert. "Kapag hindi nila tinigilan yan, marami pang artistang guest nila ang aabutin ng kapahamakan."

So let this be a warning to all stars invited to guest in the same show. Be sure you say a prayer before and after taping the program to combat any bad vibes that might be inflicted on you for taping in supposedly haunted locations.

***

One of the most innovative shows on TV today is "Rakista," produced, co-written and co-directed by Quark Henares and shown Thursday at 7 p.m. on TV-5, with catch up on Sunday at 1 p.m. It’s about the wacky struggles of a rock band called The Love Team composed of five students: Caloy (Carlo Aquino), the vocalist-songwriter; Ted (Charles Christianson), the lovelorn guitarist who thinks being in a band will make him more attractive to chicks; Nix (Alchris Galura), the gifted musician who thinks he’s superior to everybody else; Sven (Wincy Ong), the weirdo whose changes in getups is as about as varied as his multiple identities; and Bebe (Rhea Nakpil), the only girl who’s so emo (emotional) but refuses to be known as such.

Quark is very happy with the positive feedback "Rakista" is getting. "It now has a loyal following and people blog about it," he says. "We’re getting the market for whom the show is intended, which is the teen and yuppie audience. There are even viewers who upload each episode on youtube so those who missed it can watch it. Writers of other networks tell me that they watch it kasi ‘yung mga hindi nila nagagawa sa shows nila, nagagawa namin, so I’d like to thank TV 5 for giving us the artistic freedom to do show the way we envision it. Just like TV shows in the US, I’m the creator of the series and we’re tapping other directors to do each episode. Ang dami kasi tayong promising directors na hindi nabibigyan ng break and I’d like to give them a chance in ‘Rakista,’ basta they maintain the show’s style na medyo raw and we use handheld cameras."

It’s obvious that Quark is in love with rock music as he has his own rock band, Us 2, with designer-singer Mich Dulce. They are now recording their first album. He’s also directing a movie about a rock band starring Glaiza de Castro and Jason Abalos, "Rakenrol," now on its last two days of shooting. Doesn’t he want to direct something more mainstream, like a regular TV show? "I am directing one right now for ABS-CBN, ‘Parekoy,’ with Randy Santiago. Bilib nga ako sa ABS-CBN, super systematic ang pagka-organized nila roon."

He seems to be spreading himself too thin with so many fields of endeavor. "He’s a Renaissance Man," says his executive producer Madz Arias. "He can do a lot of things."

But what’s this we hear that he has a tiff with Rico Blanco after he directed the music video of Rico’s new song, "Yugto," and Rico rejected it?

"I’ve done 40 music videos in my entire life and I only have problems when it’s with him. This is my third with him after ‘Balisong’ and ‘A Love to Share,’ and even in those, lagi siyang may reklamo. I never have a problem with other artists I’ve directed. I just did a music video with Ely Buendia and there’s no complaint at all. I really didn’t want to do ‘Yugto’ and I told him baka magkaproblema na naman, but he even told me ‘Bahala ka na.’ You know, directing music videos now is something you do just for the love of it kasi madalas, abonado ka pa dahil paliit nang paliit ang budgets. So after this one with him, ayoko na munang gumawa ng music video. It’s not worth it."

Quark also has photo studio called Blow Up Babies and he teaches short films at the Ateneo once a week. But what does he really love doing the most? "Love ko pa rin talaga ang movies," he beams.

***

We are glad that former Sen. Ramon Revilla, Sr., now 81 years old, is responding well to treatment at St. Luke’s after his stroke. But we’re told he still has to undergo surgery to remove some blockage in his arteries. At that time, his son Sen. Bong Jr. was also at the Asian Hospital due to severe migraine with fever while Bong’s eldest daughter, Inah, gave birth at the Makati Medical to her daughter, Alexa Daniela, weighing 6.13 lbs. by caesarean section. We’re praying for their continued recovery.

***

Someone says that there’s a more serious reason why Janina San Miguel had to be replaced by Danielle Castano as our country’s representative to the 58th Miss World pageant to be held on December 13 in South Africa. The official reason given is that Janina was depressed by the death of her grandfather, but an insider with Bb. Pilipinas Charities says they are really having a hard time in training her as she’s not very docile.

"In other words, pasaway siya," says source. "Worried na nga lahat dahil baka magkalat siya like what happened sa Bb.Pilipinas coronation night na mali-mali ang English niya, tapos ayaw pa siyang makipag-cooperate nang husto. She’s always complaining na hirap na hirap siya sa training. So, palitan na lang. She didn’t resign voluntarily. She was made to resign."

Someone close to Janina says the Bb. Pilipinas people should have been more understanding. "She’s very young at 17, kaya dapat mas pinagtiyagaan nila. What happened was na-culture shock sa kanila ang bata."