Iza and Ken Chu: After Batanes, what?

Curtain-raisers:

• Oops! The headline of yesterday’s Funfare should have read: Korina is Anak TV Seal’s Most Admired Female TV Host (not Lady).

• Could it be true that there’s going to be a major revamp in the Optical Media Board (OMB), the current chairman of which is Edu Manzano? (In tomorrow’s Funfare, Edu will air his side on the controversy involving him and Sen. Bong Revilla.)

• From Funfare’s “beauty experts” Felix Manuel, Joey Cezeare, Gery Yumping and Francis Calubaquib: Pageant veteran and TV host Hemilyn Escudero (right) is representing the City of San Juan (Philippines) at the Miss Global City 2007 contest in Taipei on Dec. 17. The 5’6", 35-25-35 charmer paid San Juan Mayor Jose Victor Ejercito a courtesy call recently. Hemilyn received several awards from different international pageants she has competed in, including the 2006 Miss Petite International held in the US and the 2005 Miss Globe International held in Albania.

* * *

Year 2007 has been a fruitful one for Iza Calzado. She bagged the female lead in The Echo, the Hollywood remake of Regal Films’ Sigaw (directed by Yam Laranas who’s also at the helm of The Echo); she’s in-demand for soaps on GMA 7; she’s among the stars of Desperadas, Regal Films’ 2007 Metro Filmfest entry; and  she has just co-starred with Taiwanese superstar (and member of the quartet F4) Ken Chu in Batanes (directed by Adolf Alix Jr. whose other film, Donsol, is among the 50-plus films competing for the Magic 5 in next year’s Best Foreign-Language Film race in the Oscars).

Iza was a second choice for Batanes (she was recommended by Judy Ann Santos, the original star) and in Desperadas (replacing Dawn Zulueta) but she hardly minds, knowing that second choices almost always emerge the better choices.

Now truly “international” (because she has starred with an American, Jesse Bradford in­ The Echo; an Argentinian, Segundo Sernadas on the GMA soap Te Amo; and now a Chinese, Ken Chu in Batanes), Iza is ready for her “Hollywood close-up” when she goes to the States next year for The Echo promo.

Asked if he himself is keeping an eye on Hollywood, Ken shook his head.

“I take one step at a time,” he said. “I don’t make long-range plans. I try to concentrate and make good in what I am doing now.”

Iza and Ken got to know each other very well during the shoot of Batanes in Batanes. Iza stayed there for a few weeks while Ken stayed for only two weeks.

“Not being a fan of F4 and not having watched their TV shows,” said Iza without apologies, “I came to know Ken only when we started working together.”

Is it the first time Ken is working without the three other F4 members?

“No,” he said. “I’ve been working on a lot of projects by myself in the past four years and Batanes is actually my third ‘solo’ movie. I also just finished a martial-arts series in China and I’m halfway through with my second solo album.”

Now known as JVKV (after the first letters of their names — Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Ken Chu and Vanness Wu), the former F4 guys are doing a drama series together for the Taiwan Tourism Board and on another album coming out this month in Japan.

Even now that Batanes is showing (catch it in some Metro theaters), Iza and Ken can’t seem to get over their nervousness over their love scene which Iza described as “my most intense ever.”

“Actually, I have two love scenes,” said Iza. “The other one with Joem Bascon, who plays my husband. The difference is that my first love scene is tender. My love scene with Ken (a stranger washed into the island after his boat capsized) is more passionate.” 

So after Batanes, what?

Will Iza and Ken be doing their next team-up in Hollywood?

“I hope,” said Iza, knocking on wood.