StarTalk pictorial: A casting coup

(Second of two parts)

More than a month after StarTalk celebrated its 10th anniversary, we still get a lot of inquiries regarding the commemorative magazine that was published to mark the occasion. The one question we always get is: Is it for sale? The answer to that is no. The only way to get the magazine is to be among the first 10 callers every Saturday during the live edition of StarTalk.

This magazine (put together by our artistic director, multi-Palanca winner Floy Quintos) is something we are all proud of because a lot of effort went into it (it was our program manager Janine Piad-Nacar and the staff who actually did all the work). I don’t know how early they started putting the magazine together, but I do remember that they only informed me about the pictorial five days prior to the actual shoot.

When my executive producer Reylie Manalo told me about this really major undertaking involving the past and present hosts of StarTalk, my first reaction was to panic. First, what was I going to wear? Reylie told me to bring suits in brown, black and blue. I have all those colors, all right, but all these are in double-breasted style of the previous fashion season. Just bring them – Reylie said on the other end of the line. Floy, also a style guru, will be there anyway – aside from our official stylist, Sander Andan.

The obedient soldier that I am, I brought all three suits and ended up wearing an old black coat that I had worn to the Film Academy Awards, a GMA 7 function at the Aliw Theater a few months ago and most recently at the wedding of Andrea Bautista to Dr. Jun-Jun Ynares. But I had something new to complete the attire – a pair of Versace cufflinks that I borrowed from a friend, who wanted it returned ASAP. With the problem on what to wear solved, it was on to the next. (Compared to the problems of the world, mine are so embarrassingly mundane).

Given the fact that I only had five days to lose weight and get in shape for this shoot, I went into a really hardcore workout that made every single muscle in my body sore. (I wanted to be prepared in case they asked me to take off my shirt – ha-ha-ha.)

On the day of the pictorial – conducted in one of the bigger function rooms of Trader’s Hotel along Roxas Blvd. – I was told to be on time because our photographer Jun de Leon was a stickler for punctuality. Prior to that, I heard stories about how he had slammed the door of his studio on clients who were late. I’m not sure how accurate these stories are, but he certainly has earned the right to do that. After all, he is the master – the best in his field.

Actually, it was with fear that I faced Jun de Leon for the first time. But a few minutes into our session, I discovered that he is a wonderful person and if it were not for the fact that he smokes (I get woozy when somebody smokes near me), I would have wanted to spend a lot more time talking to him during our breaks.

During the actual shoot, I learned a few tricks from Jun de Leon. One was to smile using only your eyes. It’s difficult at first, but it can be done – believe me. This enables you to give a really sincere smile – even if you are faking it. (How’s that again?) He taught me other things (there’s nothing like learning from the master), except that I can’t share these with you anymore because these may be tricks of the trade that he may not want me to divulge in public.

One difficulty I encountered during the shoot was when Jun de Leon asked me to arch my body. Sure I can arch my body, but not in that condition when every muscle in my body was screaming in pain as a result of my rigorous last minute workout. From behind the camera, Jun de Leon gave his instructions: "Arch your body! Arch! Arch!" To that, the muscles in my body could only respond, "Ache! Ache!"

When I finally got the pose Jun de Leon wanted, he made me hold that while everyone else fixed the flowers in the background, got an apple box somewhere and there I was dying of pain inside. But I swear the outcome was worth it and I couldn’t be happier with the photos. Thanks, Mr. De Leon. And thank you, too, Krist Bansuelo for doing such a great job fixing my hair. (It’s Celeste Tuviera or Susan Aquino of Symmetria who cut my hair, but for the shoot, Krist styled it nicely to complement my Symmetria haircut.)

After the shoot, I was brought to a room upstairs by associate producer Agnes Suriaga for a VTR interview to talk about my six years in StarTalk. Downstairs, Jun de Leon went on with the shoot with Lolit Solis and Joey de Leon. It’s just too bad I wasn’t around when it was Lolit’s turn to face the camera – and that was to her relief because she knew I would have heckled her, which she did to me when she caught the tail end of my shoot.

When Lorna Tolentino and a then still very pregnant Dawn Zulueta (she was StarTalk host from 1995 to 1996) arrived almost at the same time, I made a joke about how they can now do another remake of Patayin Mo sa Sindak si Barbara.

One thing we all noticed about Dawn, she still looked very lovely even if she was due to give birth to a boy – contrary to the old wives’ talk that a pregnant woman carrying a male infant would be at her ugliest. (I guess with a face like hers, that’s the ugliest she can get.)

Lorna and Dawn had all the time in the world to pose for Jun de Leon because we still had to wait for Kris Aquino and Boy Abunda to arrive at 8:30 p.m. No, they were not playing prima donna. That was really the time they gave us because that was a Sunday and they were still coming from The Buzz and had other things to do after that. We were just so grateful that they agreed to take part in this pictorial considering the fact that they now belong to another show of the same genre. From my end, I was even willing to wait for them till midnight because it was really a great idea for all of us to be in one shoot for this Startalk pictorial.

Of course, that was easier said than done – especially when I looked at my watch and realized that I had been waiting for four hours. They wouldn’t even allow me to lean my head against the wall (in my attempt to rest a bit) because that would have messed up my hair.

Before I could even complain, I looked around me and saw Issa Aguirre, Romy Punla and Febe Meneses (the trio that comprise our segment Da Who) staring at each other – bored stiff from all that waiting. I realized that they had been there ahead of me and if anyone had the right to complain, it was the three of them.

When Boy and Kris (who came with James Yap) finally arrived, a sudden surge of energy filled the room. Finally we were complete (almost) and we could start with our group shot. I immediately slipped back into my black coat and took my designated position beside Kris. (I was hoping I could chat with her and Boy, but there was still a lot of work to do.)

Lolit had the most difficult pose. She was sprawled on the floor and this made her quip, "I feel like the family pet!" Not far from her was an empty chair that was meant to have been for Rosanna Roces, who obviously couldn’t make it to that gathering.

With us complete (almost), Jun de Leon clicked away as he gave instructions to us on how to romance the camera. At one point, I looked around me and I realized that I was with these accomplished people in one picture. What great company I now keep. Suddenly I had this feeling – I’ve arrived. But then, that could only be in my mind.