Looks like a crime thriller

As one of the top news anchors of ABS-CBN, Ted Failon has become a certified media celebrity. So it was no surprise that the death by a gunshot wound of his wife, Trinidad Etong, was bannered by practically all the newspapers and broadcast networks last week.

The story had all the ingredients of a crime thriller. Did the wife commit suicide or was there foul play? If she did take her life, what drove her to do it? Why were there glaring inconsistencies in the testimonies of Failon and the other members of the household? Why was the police quick to consider Failon, the maids, the driver as suspects?

Add to the mix a note which the victim supposedly wrote, a Walther PPK pistol, and insinuations that the crime scene had been “sterilized.”

As expected, ABS-CBN went to town with the story, devoting more than half of its nightly news programs to it and posting news correspondents at Camp Karingal, where the broadcaster was taken for questioning and paraffin testing, the Failon residence and the New Era Hospital where Trinidad was rushed after she was found slumped in her bathroom with a bullet wound in her temple. There were extensive interviews with the household members and relatives of the deceased.

To the network’s credit, it treated the story fairly, presenting all sides and never trying to defend Ted just because he is a Kapamilya. What it did was make an appeal to everyone “to please respect the privacy of Ted Failon and his family.”

The story is far from concluded and I expect it to hog the headlines for a few more days.

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I am told that Star Cinema hasn’t approved the movie that ex-president Joseph Estrada is supposed to star in along with Ai Ai dela Alas. It’s supposed to be titled “Ang Tanging Ama Nyong Lahat,” and it is to be Erap’s comeback movie.

A source revealed to me that the movie had long been offered to Erap, but that he had initially rejected it.

I suspect that Star Cinema is reluctant to proceed with the project because of its timing. Next year is presidential election year, and Erap had broadly hinted that if the opposition can’t come up with a strong presidential candidate he might just join the race himself. A movie would be the perfect campaign boost for him.

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Until several weeks ago, Susan Boyle was a nondescript, 48-year-old Scottish woman. Then she joined Britain’s Got Talent, and now she’s become the world’s newest singing sensation. She looked unimpressive when she first stepped onstage in the talent-search show. Simon Cowell, who sits as one of the show’s judges, rolled his eyes in apparent disbelief when he saw her . Shots of the crowd showed they were not a bit impressed either. But when Boyle began to sing the opening lines of I Dreamed a Dream, from the musical Les Miserables, Simon’s jaw dropped. Boyle’s rendition was powerful and simply awe-inspiring. Later he was all praises for her, something untypical of the usually acerbic Simon.

The clip of Boyle’s performance was a smash hit on YouTube and she is the biggest subject on Twitter, assuring her of fame and a recording contract. Already, bookmakers are making her the top pick to win the reality show.

Half-Filipino-half-British Charlie Greene also got his first big break on Britain’s Got Talent, wowing the judges and the audience when he sang Summer Wind. He didn’t become champion, but that started him off toward a singing career.