Heart to star opposite Dingdong in Koreanovela remake?

According to Heart Evangelista, she’s happy with the way GMA 7 is handling her career. The Kapuso network is able to fulfill its obligations as per the contract that Heart signed with them, although there some slight changes.  

Heart is doing the afternoon drama “Sine Novela” presents “Ngayon at Kailanman” opposite JC De Vera. There was an issue that was raised by Ms. Annabelle Rama regarding Heart doing an afternoon drama; that her ward is not supposed to do a show for the afternoon slot. This became a bone of contention that led to Heart not doing an initial assignment for the GMA afternoon block. But after Ms. Rama was told of the parameters of the contract that Heart signed with the Kapuso network, the manager obliged that Heart is committed to do a show for the afternoon series of GMA 7.

On the part of Heart, it’s fine with her to do a show on the afternoon slot. It’s not a big deal even if her most recent assignment on GMA was the primetime series Luna Mystica. Heart’s new show titled “Sine Novela” presents “Ngayon at Kailanman” premiered on Monday, with JC De Vera as her partner. Curiously, JC was also part of another controversy that led him to be yanked out of the series SRO Sineserye presents “Ganti” which ended two weeks ago on GMA 7.

“As long as I have a job and I am able to do roles that I want, it’s okay for me to appear on a afternoon drama,” said Heart at the presscon of her newest TV assignment. After the issue involving her manager and some GMA 7 executives, Heart still feels fine being a Kapuso star.

She’s set to do another primetime show for the Kapuso network, but she still doesn’t know if it’s going to be the localized version of the hit Koreanovela Stairway To Heaven. She said the said show has yet to be offered to her. The network bosses have yet to inform her if Stairway to Heaven would indeed be her new primetime series for the Kapuso channel. Dingdong Dantes was earlier confirmed as portraying the male lead role.

Heart had a two-month’s rest after Luna Mystica ended its run on GMA 7 and she considered it a welcome break as she was able to recharge her energy. She had time to relax and to take some dance lessons while waiting to start work for Ngayon at Kailanman. After having a hectic schedule when she joined the GMA network, the respite she got after Luna Mystica was very much welcome.

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Also feeling happy with his career at the GMA network is John “Sweet” Lapus, who had been getting good breaks since he joined the Kapuso channel. His latest show is “Adik Sa ‘Yo” where he plays the gay friend of Dennis Trillo, who plays a magtutuba who falls for the charming Jennica Garcia. Naturally, the gay John is secretly in love with Dennis in the story. But in real life, John doesn’t hide the fact that he admires Dennis a lot and is doing his best not to fall for him, lest this would affect his scenes with him.

When Sweet celebrated her 16th year in the business via a special comedy show, he mentioned in his spiels that he realized that are more people who like him than who dislike him. And he believes that his detractors don’t like him because he’s more beautiful compared to them.  

“Marahil mas maganda kasi ako Marahil hindi ako nagkamali ng piniling trabaho at istasyon for that matter. At marahil nagiging matagumpay kasi ako sa aking career,” said Sweet in our interview at the  presscon of “Adik Sa ‘Yo.”  

Sweet also mentioned that in showbiz, you can’t help but meet people who wouldn’t want to see their fellow stars rise up and be recognized for their talent. Jealousy makes other people feel this way towards their fellowmen. “I really made it a point to know who my detractors are and I found out that most of them are really not that pretty and are not good natured. I don’t think I have a detractor who can be said as more beautiful than me,” said Sweet with a chuckle.  

But kidding aside, these detractors make Sweet aspire to be even better in his craft. He’s also more determined to work harder as he’s setting his eyes on buying his dream house. Right now, Sweet is renting a condo owned by his good friend, Direk Wenn Deramas.  

“I am so happy to be with GMA 7. I just finished Luna Mystica, and now I have Adik Sa ‘Yo. It’s only the second quarter of the year, but I’ve already done two primetime shows. I hope to do another one before the year is over,” said the comedian.  

Sweet is also one of the hosts of “Showbiz Central” which is celebrating its third anniversary very, very soon. According to Sweet, there would be new segments on the show that the regular viewers of Showbiz Central should watch out for.

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Opening today on several SM Cinema houses is the movie “Kamoteng Kahoy,” directed by award-winning director Maryo J. delos Reyes from the script of Ricky Lee.

This is based on a true story which happened in a small barrio in Bohol in 2005. Twenty one pupils died and almost a hundred were hospitalized after eating cassava cakes sold by an old woman, who might have accidentally used pesticide in her ingredients. She has been selling cassava cakes in that school and has a loving relationship with the children.  

The film follows a town’s journey from the painful trauma towards healing through the inter-cutting points of view of two of the child survivors, and the old woman vendor. The two child survivors, in their own beguiling yet perceptive ways, slowly learn the issues of crime, prejudice, and compassion as they develop friendship and accept their loss. The old woman, who is ostracized and condemned by the entire town, even by her own family, finally makes sense of the whole tragic thing and takes matters into her own hands.

Answers don’t come easy, but in the end redemption arrives for every soul in this town in the form of a final climactic event.

“Kamoteng Kahoy,” which is part of the Sine Direk project of APT Entertainment and DGPI, stars Nash Aguas and Robert Villar, Jr. It also stars Yul Servo, Ana Capri, Meryl Soriano, Marissa Sanchez, Anton Bernardo, Gerald Madrid, Irma Adlawan, Sharlene San Pedro, Say Alonzo, Caloy Alde, Julio Pisk and Ms. Gloria Romero as Lola Idang.

Also featured are Luz Valdez, Lloyd Samartino, Julio Diaz, Neil Ryan Sese, Froilan Sales, and Lui Manansala.