Sydney: A kind stranger and a TV host trapped in elevator

SYDNEY, Australia — So there I was at a street corner waiting for the slight winter drizzle to subside and for someone who could give me direction to the St. Mary’s Cathedral, the church where I would hear Mass when I find myself in this Australian city.

A few just passed me by, refusing, to quote Jose Mari Chan’s hit song, to stop and talk awhile, until a woman did. Her face lit up when she recognized me from a TV show axed by management after a record 20-year existence. She said her name is Myra and she gave me more than just direction but also an umbrella. I thanked her and was about to proceed to St. Mary’s when she insisted that I have coffee with her.

At the coffee shop of the nearby Intercontinental Hotel, Myra poured not just cup after cup of green tea for me but also bits and pieces about her life: She hailed from Gapan, Nueva Ecija; separated from her Filipino husband and now married to an English divorcee; worked as a supervisor of a building-maintenance company; and has a daughter who is an aspiring singer.

She pointed to a condominium building one corner away where she said she lived with her husband. Instead of going home, Myra again insisted that she escort me to the church. I shared the umbrella with her along the way. “I haven’t been in this church for a while,” she said, thanking me for “bringing” her back.

After a few minutes of solemn prayer, she bade me goodbye, leaving her umbrella with me while I stayed until the Mass ended. This story is perfect for the Reader’s Digest “The Kindness of Strangers” section but I can hardly wait to tell it to the world.

Sydney-based Filipino artist Rebekah Araullo, one of the artwork exhibitors at Vivid. (Right) Myra, the kind and helpful Filipina.

The day before, I experienced how honest an Australian storeowner was. I bought souvenir items and paid with my credit card. I was a block away when somebody tapped my shoulder. “You forgot your credit card,” the storeowner said. I thanked him profusely.

Those two incidents happened last week when I was in Sydney for the Independence Day: Resurgence junket (more on that in coming issues) together with other Asian journalists including Marie Lozano of ABS-CBN/ANC Channel.

The next day, a scary thing happened at the Shangri-La Hotel where the journalists were billeted. We were to meet at the lobby at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon for a visit to the set of Alien: Covenant. At 2:20, as I joined the group, the junket supervisor whispered to me, “Do you know what happened to Marie? She’s trapped inside the elevator!”

To make a scary story shorter, it took management more than 20 minutes to rescue Marie who was alone in the elevator.

“I was coming from my room at the 34th floor,” recalled Marie who showed up cool and composed (“grace under extreme circumstance”). “At the fourth floor, the elevator shook violently and rapidly dropped to the basement with a loud thud. I am claustrophobic so you can just imagine how I felt.”

That must have been the longest 20 minutes in Marie’s life. To humor her, I said, ‘What if you were trapped with Liam Hemsworth (cast member of Independence Day: Resurgence)?

“I wouldn’t have minded being inside overnight,” Marie managed to laugh.

ABS-CBN/ANC Channel TV host Marie Lozano with Jeff Goldblum, a cast member of 20th Century Fox’s Independence Day: Resurgence which had its junket in Sydney. Right: Vietnamese Phuong Mai, one of the Asian journalists invited to the junket, beside a poster for the Michael Caine starrer The Quiet American which stars another Vietnamese actress, Do Thi Hai Yen, as Caine’s leading lady.

Marie was staying over for two days to see more of Sydney (which she was visiting for the first time). The first thing she did when we got back from the set visit was to cancel her extended stay at Shangri-La and transferred to another hotel.

Meanwhile, at the Vivid Event (a dazzling spectacle of lights, videos and artworks, etc.) around the Victoria Harbour, we bumped into Filipino artist Rebekah Araullo who created what she called Ptolemi, “an architectural installation that swirls along the edge of Campbells Cove, an abstract representation of the cultural values and artistic practices of the iGeneration…highly innovative in its form, construction and digital content…”

Rebekah said that she graduated with an Architecture degree from a university in the Philippines before she migrated to Australia several years ago. She’s an associate lecturer on Computational Design at the Australian School of Architecture + Design UNSWA Built Environment.

Incidentally, among those who covered the ID junket was Vietnamese actress Phuong Mai who has done 10 mostly drama and horror films (“But not too scary as per government guideline,” she said). A Business graduate, the Hanoi native defied strict family wishes (“Any profession but showbiz,” she added) worked as a model after winning in a contest in 2012 and that served as her ticket to showbiz. Always dressed to the nines, Phuong Mai was a scene-stealer during the junket, wearing a fabulous feathered gown during the visit to the Alien Covenant set (sorry, nothing about that yet because of the embargo).

JLC will personally receive award in NYC

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema officially announced that John Lloyd Cruz (photo) will receive his Best Actor award (for Honor Thy Father) at the 2016 Star Asia Awards during the 15th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) June 22 to July 5.

Other honorees gracing the event are Miriam Yeung of Hong Kong and Lee Byung-Hun of South Korea who will discuss their new films.

Previously announced award recipient is Pinay indie actress Teri Malvar who’ll receive the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award. John Lloyd and Teri are the first Filipino actors to be honored in the festival’s history.

The festival will showcase 51 Asian films including three from the Philippines: Hamog (Haze, starring Zaijian Jaranilla, Therese Malvar, Sam Quintana, Bon Lentejas, Kyline Alcantara); a noir youth drama by Ralston Jover; Honor Thy Father, a religious crime drama by Erik Matti; and Apocalypse Child (starring Sid Lucero), a sensual surfing film by Mario Cornejo.

2016 Miss Global Phl ghost writer of some politicians

Camille Jensen ‘CJ’ Hirro (center), a ghost writer for some politicians, was crowned 2016 Miss Global Philippines beating 22 other empowered women, including runners-up (from left) Sammie Anne Legaspi, third; Perlyn Ocampo, first, (the lone single mom in the batch); Janelle Olafson, second; and Christine Horstman, fourth.  

An AB Communication Arts cum laude graduate from UP, 28-year-old CJ will compete in the 2016 Miss Global (international pageant counterpart) to be held at the PICC on Sept. 24, announced Rizza Lao and Pauline Sofia Laping, founder and CEO of MGP. This is the second year in a row that the Philippines play host to the international pageant.

CJ is a ramp and commercial model, artist, speech writer, TV host from Lubao, Pampanga. She did cameo roles in TV5’s Trenderas and ABS-CBN’s Dream Dad, and was featured in Net 25’s EZ Shop Taumbahay. Also a filmmaker, CJ co-directed the short horror film Kulob which was one of the 10 finalists in the 3rd Philippine Graphic Fiction Awards by Fully Booked in 2010. She was second runner-up in 2009 Mutya ng Kapampangan and a candidate in the 2014 Bb. Pilipinas pageant.  

Derrick Monasterio and 2013 Miss Philippines Earth Angelee delos Reyes hosted the Miss Global Philippines pageant last Saturday night at the New Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila. Nonoy Zuñiga was the guest performer. —Text and photo by CELSO DE GUZMAN CAPARAS

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