As Inday Badiday used to quote her mom, Even the falling of a leaf has a reason.
In hindsight, Martin Nievera looks at what happened to his cancelled shows in Las Vegas as a blessing in disguise because it forced him to slow down, what with all the free time he suddenly had, and, as they’d say, smell the flowers. Yes, Somebody Up There must have given Martin “a reason” to focus his attention on something more important and more immediate.
“It gave me time to be with my family,” he said, referring to his beloved Katrina Ojeda and their eight-month-old son Santino, and Ram (his son with ex-wife Pops Fernandez) who was then spending a vacation with them in Las Vegas last month. “All these years, I’ve been so busy that I kind of forgot one important thing — spend more time with my loved ones.”
Part of his bonding especially with Ram was a memorable family trip to Disneyland where, Martin recalled, “I felt like a child all over again. For a change, Ram was thrilled playing kuya to Santino.”
One bright note: They stopped over at Pixar which has in its staff some Filipino artists who are behind such animation hits as The Incredibles, Cars and Ratatouille. A promising artist, Ram showed some of his sketches to the Pixar guys and they liked them.
Which means that Ram could someday work at Pixar where he plans to return with more of his works in December when he, hopefully, goes back to Las Vegas with his Kuya Robin (who is into music).
More “family bonding” happened last Sunday, July 15, at Alabang Country Club where Martin and Katrina, together with Katrina’s sister Sophia and her husband Jinggoy Lige, hosted a reunion party — actually, an “advance” first birthday party for Santino who’s turning a year old on Oct. 23 yet. Besides Santino, the other “celebrator” was Jinggoy and Sophia’s son Emilio.
“It was the right time,” said Katrina, “because everybody was around.”
“Everybody” included not just Ram but his Kuya Robin who was seeing his half-brother Santino for the first time.
Between now and first week of August when he, Katrina and Santino go back to Las Vegas, Martin will have more time not just for occasional shows but — yes, yes, yes — to smell the flowers.
Letter from MTRCB member Ed Sicam
Dear Ricky
I hope you can print my side of the story How Transformers Rocked the MTRCB that came out in The Philippine STAR last Sunday, July 15.
First of all, I did not walk out of the screening room. The committee had already voted and the film representative had already been given a chance to defend his request for a G rating. All of us already signed our individual rating sheets and the committee report giving Transformers a rating of PG-13. For all intents and purposes, therefore, the proceedings had ended. So, the preview assistant, Mr. Eli Pura, took the signed reports and I rode back with him to the office. My fellow reviewers, Ricardo de Leon and Cristina Concordia, stayed behind with the film representative still trying to convince them to give the movie a G rating.
When I got to the office, I had to leave for a while on personal business. When I got back an hour later, Mr. Pura informed me that my fellow reviewers had taken the signed reports and crossed out their original comments to change their votes to G. I found this highly irregular. I, as a member of the committee, should have been consulted about the changes in the rating. They did not consult me at all about the change.
More important, I value my signature very much. When we signed the document giving the movie a PG-13 rating, that was that. I therefore withdrew my signature from the spurious document which was full of erasures because I don’t want to be perceived that I succumbed to pressure from the distributor.
Chairman Ma. Consoliza Laguardia signed the permit to exhibit of the movie as a member of the three-man committee. Now, I don’t know if the chairman actually saw the entire movie. She makes no mention of it. If she watched the movie alone, that’s against our IRR which states that a movie must be reviewed by three members at the same time. If she did not see the movie at all and merely signed the permit, that’s even worse.
She also says that the main reason the movie got a PG was the use of the word “masturbation.” This is not true. In the original report, all three of us cited the violent fight sequences which may be disturbing to young viewers without parental supervision. Now, in the revised report, it just states that parents should exercise caution in allowing young viewers to watch the movie. But isn’t that what a PG-13 rating is all about? — ED SICAM
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)