ALDEN Richards is confident his new drama show, “The Gift,” is a fitting follow-up project to his highly successful recent blockbuster movie, “Hello Love Goodbye.”
“GMA-7 made sure this project will touch the heart of viewers, like the way our movie did,” he says.
“They left no stone unturned in coming up with a crowd pleaser. I play a role I’ve never played before, that of young man who goes blind and gains the gift of being able to see into a person’s past and also his future. Sa story, kapag nahawakan ko ang isang tao, nakikita ko ang nangyari sa nakaraan niya at ang maaaring mangyari sa kinabukasan niya. Grabe rin ang budget ng GMA sa crowd scenes dito. Ginastusan nila ang crowd scenes sa palengke where we use up to 250 extras.”
The show’s director, Lord Alvin or LA Madridejos, attests to this.
“Alden as Sep here is a fruit vendor in Divisoria,” he says. “We want to be authentic so we tried to shoot in Divisoria, but the success of his movie made him so popular with the masses today. We know there will be a crowd to watch the shooting but we didn’t expect na ganun karami ang taong darating. We had 20 policemen with us, 20 barangay tanods plus security men pa ng GMA, lahat sila, walang nagawa sa tao kasi nilalabanan sila. Tinatanong sila, ‘Bakit, anong gagawin nyo sa amin?’ Ito namang si Alden, napaka-friendly sa fans, kahit binabawalan mo na, ayaw makinig.
Mabait talaga at siya pa ang lumalapit. After several tries, we decided to quit. Tatlong beses kaming nag-attempt mag-shoot sa Divisoria, laging nauuwi sa pack up dahil inuulan pa kami. So we just put up a set sa isang warehouse sa Murphy. Ayaw sana naming dayain, but we have no choice but just get establishing shots of Divisoria sa drones then ibang scenes, sa set na lang where we use hundreds of extras as the vendors and as the people na namimili sa palengke.”
“The Gift” starts airing September 16.
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Lea Salonga sings “We Win as One,” the official theme song for the South East Asian (SEA) Games 2019, with music by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab and lyrics by Palanca awardee Floy Quinto.
Our country is the host of the biennial sporting event, which is now on its 30th year in the ASEAN region. It will take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, with 11 countries competing: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. It will involve 11,000 athletes, 9,000 volunteers, 530 events, 56 sports and 44 venues from Metro Manila, Laguna, Batangas to Clark, Subic and La Union. The last time we hosted the games was in 2005.
Lea just finished her “Perfect 10” concert at Resorts World and is now a coach in “The Voice Kids.”
She’s also in the cast of Atlantis Theatrical’s production of “Sweeney Todd” to be staged in October then it goes to Singapore. She quickly agreed to sing the SEA Games theme for our country and our athletes.
“I love the song with its message of unity and being a good sport, written by two wonderful, multi-awarded artists who are both good friends of mine,” she says.
This is the second time she sings for a sporting event. The first time was when she performed at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. “But this time, it’s special as our country is going to host the games. That’s when I really have to make sure that every note I sing dapat walang mali, dapat hindi pumapalya, dapat hindi sintunado It’s not just ‘Oh, it’s Lea Salonga singing it,’ but it’s ‘Lea Salonga from the Philippines who is singing it.’ There’s a difference in the mindset, there’s a difference in the execution, even in my mind. So, for me, when I know I’m like, consciously representing the country, there’s a whole different mode of thinking that I kind of just launch into. We all have to represent the country as well and as best as we can. It’s always an honor to do it.”
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Gabay Guro is a commendable flagship advocacy program of the PLDT-Smart Foundation with Chaye Cabal Revilla as the chair person. Their aim is building the nation one teacher at a time and their mission is to provide programs that are anchored on their 7 Core Pillars designed to hone and improve the welfare of Filipino teachers nationwide.
It now celebrates its 12th anniversary with their annual Grand Gathering at the MOA Arena on September 22. Twenty thousand teachers from all over the country are expected to attend this special tribute to them where top celebrities will perform to entertain them in a special show. This includes Aegis, Angeline Quinto, Christian Bautista, Eat Bulaga’s BakClash Divas and Broadway Boys, Edward Barbers, Gabby Concepcion, Erik Santos, Ian Veneracion, Jaya, Jay-R, Jason Dy,
Jed Madela, Jona, K Brosas, Klarisse de Guzman, Kuh Ledesma, Kyla, Martin Nievera, Maymay Entrata, Moira de la Torres, Piolo Pascual, Pops Fernandez, Regine Velasquez, Zsa Zsa Padilla and Zephanie Dimaranan, as hosted by Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola and Dimples Romana.
Teachers will also get the chance to win big prizes from Gabay Guro’s partners. Admission is free, just get your tickets from your local DepEd unit. You can also visit their official Facebook page, Twitter and INstagram accounts @PLDTGabayGuro for updates.
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Joey Marquez and Sylvia Sanchez play husband and wife in “Pamilya Ko.” Joey admits that when they were paired in their younger days, he tried to woo her.
“Ilang beses kaming nagkasama noon at batambata siya, ang ganda, ang puti, ang sexy,” he says.
“Siyempre, [dahil] marupok na tao, nagkakaroon ako ng konting imahinasyon, maraming beses na kapag naiiwan kami sa kuwarto, dressing room, alam mo na, bilang pilyo, magtatangka at dahan-dahan akong lumalapit sa kanya. Tapos bigla siyang sisigaw, ‘Si Nes, andiyan si Alma (Moreno).’
Tatakbo na ako paatras. So, sa dami-daming experiences namin, naging mas close kami as friends at saka nawala ‘yung malisya. Kaya ginagamit namin ito sa ‘Pamilya Ko.’ Pinalalabas namin na natural talaga.”
Joey has one of the best PRs in local showbiz, just like his late dad, director Temyong Marquez.
They’re also ladies’ men. Joey says he has 15 children with different women. “Marami akong nagawang pagkakamali sa buhay when I was younger, pero nabago na lahat ‘yun ngayong 61 na ako. Maloko noon, pero nagpakatino, which is better kaysa kung dati kang matino tapos nung tumanda ka, dun ka pa nagluko. Sinasabi ko naman sa mga anak kong lalaki na huwag nila akong tularan.”
