Why the ‘haste’ in screening Manila fest entries?

Are things being done in haste due to time constraints?

This is the big question people in the industry are starting to ask – yes, silently just yet – regarding the soon-to-be-revived Manila Filmfest which screeched to a drastic halt (after almost three decades) due to the "scam" that erupted in 1994.

Over the weekend, the screening committee "tasked to review the (42) scripts" submitted for consideration, came up with the Magic 6, namely Maverick Films’ Diskarte, Star Cinema’s Jologs, Regal Films’ Sweethearts, Viva Films’ Magkapatid, Neo Films’ Super B Saves the Day and RVQ Productions’ Yes, Babe, Dat’s My Daddy.

The committee members are Secretary Lito Banayo as chairman, and as members Councilors Kim Atienza, Miles Roces, Lou Veloso and Marjun Isidro; Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila president Benjamin Tayabas; Raul Camaligan (of SM Cinemas); Philippson Chua (of Gotesco); and June Rufino (representing the managers’ group).

Now, was each of the members of the screening committee able to read all the 42 scripts in such short period? Or did the committee do the reading "in haste" so as to give producers of the lucky "Magic 6" enough time to finish their entries for the 14-day Manila Filmfest slated for June 12 to 25? We’re talking here of finished scripts (each one consisting of at least 100 pages and that’s a conservative estimate) and not just synopses (one page is enough to summarize the whole story).

Anyway, we’ll see in June how good the entries are (the proof of the pudding is in the eating, see?), each of which, as per the incentives given by the City of Manila, gets P5 million to help defray production cost (along with Manila Mayor Lito Atienza’s promise to reduce by 50 percent the 30 percent amusement tax).

Zed could have been a priest

Hadn’t he entered showbiz, Zed Carion would have been... a priest?

"Well," Zed confesses, "I really wanted to be a priest, that’s why for 15 years, I was an acolyte at the Sta. Maria dela Estrada Church (on Katipunan Road, Quezon City). I was also a member of the Youth For Christ. I come from a very religious family."

But fate intervened and Zed instead found his way into showbiz. He hasn’t gotten that much-awaited "big break" yet but Zed, going on 21, is keeping his fingers crossed that it will come in due time (pagdating ng panahon). In his more than two years in the business, all that Zed has been getting are "support" roles in such TV shows as Labs Ko si Babe (topbilled by Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal, now off the air), Pangako Sa’yo, Okatokat and Tabing-Ilog, and in a few movies (Kung Ikaw ay Isang Panaginip, Got 2 Believe and Ikaw Lamang Hanggang Ngayon). Now, his face does look familiar, no matter how vaguely, doesn’t it?

Maybe you remember Zed from such commercials as those for Coke, Cali Shandy and Double Mint, among others, which became his stepping stone first to ramp modelling (at 5’9", he can carry clothes with elan) and then to movies/television. Two other talent managers expressed interest in "pushing" Zed but it was Boy Abunda who brought Zed to the attention of the ABS-CBN/Star Cinema Talent Center where dozens and dozens of other hopefuls are hoping and praying to be, well, "noticed" (are you there, Mr. M?).

Zed is Cesar Eduardo Torre Carion in real life, part-Chinese, part-Spanish and part-Indian. He’s the eldest among three children. His father, Cesar "Sao" Carion, was with Joel Torre at Peque Gallaga’s acting group in La Salle Bacolod where Zed would swoon everytime he saw his "Tito Joel" acting onstage.

"My dream to become an actor must have been formed at that time," surmised Zed. "Then, I forgot all about becoming a priest."

At the UP Preparatory School, Zed was active in theater but his interest shifted to sports during high school at Claret where he became a member of the volleyball team, later competing in Vietnam with the RP Youth (Volleyball) Team. He’s now an AB Philosophy junior at UP.

Recently, Zed (nephew of Viva executive June Torrejon Rufino, also from Bacolod) played the lead role in the play Heni (inspired by the life of St. Eugene de Mazenot) mounted at the Notre Dame School (Caloocan City). He’s now rehearsing for a stage musical called Awit ni Balagtas, playing Florante.

"This is all part of my training as an actor," said Zed who’s also taking acting workshops. "Being new in the field, I want to try as many kinds of roles – comedy, drama, etc. – as possible. But eventually, I want to specialize in character roles. My friends tell me mas bagay daw sa akin ang kontrabida."

Well, behind that priestly face lies...

GMA back on radio

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has launched her new weekly radio program Ang Panawagan ng Pangulo.

Aired simultaneously by the Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) and leading radio stations in its initial telecast, the President answered questions from Deo Macalma of DZRH, Jay Sonza of RMN, Mario Garcia of DZRV Veritas, Rey Langit of DWIZ, Joel Reyes Zobel of DZBB, Korina Sanchez of DZMM and Roger Arienda of DWAN.

GMA reported in the program that the country has registered an almost four-percent economic growth, contrary to claims by critics that the nation is in more trouble than before.

She said two million new jobs have been created and the Labor department is implementing a reintegration program to cushion the impact of company shutdowns due to the global recession.

GMA also confirmed reports that 20,000 teachers will be hired for the coming schoolyear, and that the court will decide whether or not former President Estrada can leave for medical treatment abroad.

She said she would directly inform Region 3 Police Director Chief Supt. Reynaldo Berroya about reports that a rape suspect named Armand Aquino remains free in Angeles City in Pampanga.

Ang Panawagan ng Pangulo is aired every Monday at 7:30 a.m. by the PBS with a hookup by at least one of the leading radio stations on a rotation basis.