Wowowee now among RP’s top tourist attractions

Curtain-raisers:

• The best (read: most meaningful and thought-provoking) message I got during the Christmas Season came from Ben Chan. It reads: Buddha says, "In the end, only three things matter – 1) how much we loved, 2) how gently we lived, and 3) how gracefully we let go of things not meant for us." Incidentally, I bumped into Ben in Bangkok last week when I did an exclusive interview with Parinya Charoenphol, fondly called Nong Toom, the transsexual kickboxer whose life story is the subject of the hit Thai movie Beautiful Boxer (with Yul Servo deadringer, real-life kickboxer Asanee Suwan in the title role), released here by Viva Films starting on Wednesday, Jan. 8. "Very impressive," said Ben of Nong Toom who is more woman than most women.

• Public service reminder from Globe: Beware of text messages informing you that you’ve won a prize. Globe never asks winners to pay cash or send pre-paid loads to claim a prize. The winners are advised via letters, phone calls from Globe reps and advertisements. Don’t be a victim of fake promos via text!

• Since a few weeks ago when Funfare mentioned Maxellium (Psyllium Fiber), a US-FDA-approved natural dietary supplement, readers have been asking where they can buy it. My friends (among them June Rufino, Ronald Constantino, the whole staff of The STAR Entertainment section) and I have been taking Maxellium (doctors say it’s okay, its effect on the body is the same as those of other fiber food such as oatmeal) and, yes, we’ve been enjoying the desired effects. You know, it cleanses your system and you go out of the restroom in the morning feeling light and easy. Maxellium is said to control, among other things, your blood cholesterol, blood sugar, weight and other gastrointestinal problems. According to Alex Tan of Herway, Inc. (distributor of Maxellium), it will soon be available in leading drugstores. Meanwhile, for inquiries, call Herway at 533-8992 or 533-8993. (Watch the ads in The STAR.)

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In case you’ve been so engrossed in your lunch and haven’t noticed, ABS-CBN’s noontime show Wowowee (hosted by Willie Revillame, coming right after Kris Aquino’s Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba?) is now among the country’s top tourist attractions, a "must-visit" among Balikbayans who are familiar with the show because of The Filipino Channel (TFC).

Directed by Bobbet Vidanes (with Morly Nueva as executive producer), Wowowee, I guess, now ranks higher than the Rizal Park or even the Baywalk as destination of vacationing overseas Filipinos.

I saw it for myself yesterday when I acted a "tourist guide" for my Balikbayan relatives and friends who nagged me to death to bring them to Wowowee – or else? We found the studio packed full with Balikbayans from all over the world (the USA, Canada, Australia, etc.).

How do they manage such an otherwise unwieldy crowd? Escorts led the groups, as well as local "tourists," to their respective seats. An hour before the show, the floor director, Mel Feliciano, assisted by Owen Ercia, briefed the audience on when and how to clap their hands, how to sing the show’s theme song with its accompanying "body language," how to encourage the contestants (of the Bigat-10, Pera O Bayong and other segments), and how to rise as one as soon as Willie introduced them.

Now I know where all that inexhaustible energy is coming from, fully-charged from beginning to end, and sustained even long after the show’s two-hour (1 to 3 p.m.) playing time was over.

This weekend, my Balikbayan friends and relatives are going back to La Puente, California, with exciting stories to tell about Wowowee, supported by hard evidence like souvenir photos with Willie and co-hosts Iya Villania, Kat Alano and Janel Jamer.

Come to think of it, because of Wowowee’s contribution to the country’s tourism industry, shouldn’t Tourism Secretary Ace Durano name Willie Revillame an honorary Tourism Undersecretary? Yeah, why not?

LVN lab doing well under new management

About six months ago, LVN laboratory, the premiere film printing and processing company in the country shut down operations that signaled the final death sentence of the declining movie industry. A bid for the company and its assets was waged by such companies as Regal Films, ABS-CBN’s Roadrunner, and GMA Network. In the end, Tony Gloria of Unitel Pictures and Butch Jimenez, both of whom are partners in Optima Digital Inc. won the bid, and have since then ran the operations of LVN under its new corporate name, Opticolors.

In a short chat with Butch, he said that Opticolors has done well in its first six months of operations. "We have managed to turn the company around and we hoped to exhibit a profit for the yearend of 2005."

Opticolors continues to dominate the printing business in the country. About 90 percent of the movies being shown in the on-going filmfest was printed and or processed in Opticolors.

For 2006, Butch and Tony hope to transfer the operations to their new center near the Fort. "The next step is really to look at the international market," said Butch." For now, all the foreign films shown locally are printed abroad. We already have great people running the lab. We now need to build a facility that will meet international standards. It’s time to compete with the best labs in the region."

While business remains to be the name of the game for the two partners, they have not lost their love for the movie industry. One of their initiatives is to find a way they can support up and coming independent film producers with their post production requirements. "We haven’t figured out exactly how, but Mr. Gloria and I are bent on supporting the future crop of filmmakers in the country," shared Butch. "We have invested in the equipment, we also need to invest in the talent. That’s the only way for the movie industry to flourish."

By the way, congratulations to Butch for recently winning the first CEO (Communications Excellence in Organizations) award of excellence given by the International Association of Business Communicators, and for being appointed OIC of Smart’s sales and marketing group. For those wanting brand new cellphones at second hand prices, here’s a tip. Butch told me: there’s an ongoing sale of phones only at Smart wireless centers. Nokia’s for as low as P3,650, Motorola’s for only 2,590 and Sony Ericsson with camera for 2,990.

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