Nora Aunor was mobbed by her fans at Eastwood City last Sunday when she dropped by the area to visit her star in the Walk of Fame project of German "Kuya Germs" Moreno. The superstar arrived at 7 p.m. at Eastwood where she was greeted by a huge crowd made of up her loyal fans whom we heard had been waiting for her for more than an hour.
When Nora arrived, the fans who lined up the cordoned area near her star became restive, each one wanting to get a glimpse or touch Nora as she made her way to where her star was located. The burly security protecting her went overkill because we learned they were pushing away the media who was following Nora and covering the event. We decided not to follow Nora’s group after seeing the security that was waiting for her. There was too much jostling and pushing, prompting one press member to squeeze himself out of the crowd, fearing that he would be crushed (owing to his frail frame).
Nora crouched down to touch her star on Walk of Fame (one said the actress even lay down on her star) as the TV cameras documented the event. The actress also asked that a chair be brought to her so that she could stand to enable her fans at the back to see her. She mounted the stool and waved back at her fans who chanted her name.
After seeing her star at Walk of Fame, Nora walked to the nearby Something Fishy Restaurant to have dinner with her entourage, which included Kuya Germs, Boy Palma, her friend Suzette Ranillo and Ms. Gloria Sevilla. She was joined by her daughter Matet, her husband Mickey Estrada and her two granddaughters.
Before Eastwood City, Nora was in Broadway Centrum where TV5 organized a Fans Day for her. The Superstar was given a warm welcome by her fans that had to be brought to the studio in two batches since not all of them could be accommodated because of their large number. With a heavy heart, the TV5 people had to turn away the others who were left outside.
Nora gamely obliged with request of her fans to be photographed with her. It was another security nightmare as the fans stormed the stage of the Broadway, each wanting to have the chance to have a photo with the superstar who had been missed by her fans.
After her dinner on Sunday, Nora retired to a condo in Eastwood (her temporary home in her stay here in Manila) to prepare for her first shooting day for El Presidente, the period film that she’s doing with Laguna Governor Jeorge "ER" Ejercito Estrada under the direction of Tikoy Aguiluz. Shot on Monday in a church in Cavite is her wedding scene with ER. Nora is playing the role of Maria Agoncillo, the second wife of Emilio Aguinaldo.
Last Saturday, Nora was at Club Filipino in Greenhills for the grand presscon of El Presidente, together with Gov. Er, Direk Tikoy Aguiuz and Ms. Mylene Enriquez of Scenema Concepts who is producing the movie.
The actress rubbed elbows with the members of the movie press and the open forum did not start at once as Nora went table-hopping to greet the members of the media and had her pictures taken with them.
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At the presscon of El Presidente last Saturday, Gov. ER Ejercito said money is not an issue when it comes to the budget of this movie of epic proportions. They said Scenema Concepts is willing to spend up to P100 million (could be more) as long as they would have a quality film. "Whatever it is that needed to be spent just to ensure that we are going to have a project that we could be proud of, we will not scrimp with the budget," says the Governor.
Gov. ER says they are targeting the international market for the distribution of El Presidente. They are also hoping to participate in various international film festivals like Cannes and Berlin, and hopefully be chosen as well as the Philippine entry to the Foreign Film Category of the Oscar Awards.
"It’s a big thing for us that we were able to cast Ms. Nora Aunor in this movie as it gives our film an international flavor. Nora is known not only in the Philippines but in the international film scene as well because of her participation in prestigious film festivals in Cannes, Berlin and Cairo," said the good governor.
With a staggering budget at P100 million, Gov. ER says their intention is not to make money but to make a movie that is of high quality and would, hopefully, merit some attention in the international film scene. He believes that the inclusion of Nora in the project gave it a stamp of class.
"I believe that this is a beautiful and relevant project since it talks about the life of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippine republic. It is also but right that we get a director like Tikoy Aguiluz to ensure that we are doing a quality film," he added.
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Indie prince Edgar Allan Guzman’s career is indeed doing great. After signing a five-year, ten-movie contract under Regal Entertainment last week, he got an offer to appear in an episode of the top-rating ABS-CBN drama Maalaala Mo Kaya, with no less than Kim Chiu in the female lead. He finished taping yesterday.
Edgar is indeed getting the right breaks in movies and the TV scene. Doing a drama in MMK is a big boost for the young actor’s career. "I am excited to have worked with Kim Chiu because she’s one of the hottest stars in ABS-CBN and I am flattered with the chance to work with her," said the Cinemalaya best actor of 2011.
Come September 7, Ligo na U, Lapit Na Me, one of the box-office hits of Cinemalaya, will be shown nationwide under the distribution of Regal Entertainment.