Will Karen stay or will she go?

Could it be true that Karen Davila’s contract with ABS-CBN has expired and not only is she not renewing it but she’s also, well, jumping ober da bakod (if you know what that means)?

The Internet is sizzling with tsismis to that effect and my New York-based friend, who is also Karen’s good friend, is worried to death.

“I’m just bothered because over the years, Karen has proven her worth and loyalty to ABS-CBN and she has delivered numerous top-caliber reports for the station,” said my friend in an e-mail. “Her ethics and style of reporting contributed a lot of integrity to the ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs. It’s about time somebody clarified the rumor.”

My friend (and Karen’s followers) may rest assured after reading the following official statement from ABS-CBN PR executive Bong Osorio:

The public has been kept guessing the past few weeks about the rumored changes that will take place in the country’s leading news and current affairs division.

Here’s the real score that should put to rest the misinformation drive that some quarters have so desperately planted in the print media the past few weeks:

Broadcast journalist Ces Drilon returns on ABS-CBN’s late evening newscast Bandila. Ces will again join Korina Sanchez and Henry Omaga Diaz in the International Emmy-nominated newscast that will be introducing new changes starting Oct 6. Watch out.

ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs’ flagship news program TV Patrol World will be, as usual, anchored by Ted Failon, Karen Davila and Julius Babao.

Karen will continue doing her weekly morning program Wonder Mom which has been extended to one hour as it has been earning positive feedback from viewers who find the show informative, helpful and entertaining.

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Serbis wins another international award

After being panned by critics at the last Cannes Film Festival where it was shown in competition (the second Filipino film to do so, after Lino Brocka’s Jaguar), Brillante “Dante” Mendoza’s Serbis (written by Armando “Bing” Lao) continues to win awards in other international filmfests. Victory is sweeter if...isn’t it?

Serbis won the Golden Kinnaree Award (Grand Prize) in the Southeast Asian competition at the Bangkok International Film Festival which ended last Sunday, Sept. 28, according to a report from Funfare’s Toronto-based “international correspondent” Ferdinand Lapuz.

Francis Xavier Pasion’s Jay won the Special Mention Award in the Main Competition Category and John Torres’ Years When I Was a Child Outside won the same award in the Southeast Asian Competition. (Torres is also the movie’s producer, writer and cinematographer and Lao as creative consultant of Jay which was written by Pasion himself.)

Direk Francis, who attended the festival to present Jay, sent a text message announcing the winners. Main Competition’s Golden Kinnaree awardee is Spiros Statholopoulus PVC-1 from Colombia which was an official selection in last year’s Director’s Fortnight in Cannes.

Ten films competed in the Main Competition which were first and second features; and nine in the Southeast Asian competition, three of which were from the Philippines.

This is the third international award for Serbis after winning Best Film (plus $15,000 cash award) and Best Actress (plus $10,000 cash award) for Gina Pareño at the Pacific Meredian Film Festival in Vladivostok, Russia, two weeks ago.

Direk Dante attended the first three days of the Bangkok Film Festival. He flew to Pusan, Korea, last Sept. 25 to be an instructor in the Asian Film Academy. Serbis will also screen at the Pusan Filmfest along with Jay and four other Filipino films.

Raya Martin’s Now Showing was also in the Southeast Asian Competition while Adolfo Alix Jr.’s Tambolista and Mendoza’s other film Tirador were in the Southeast Asian Panorama.

Acclaimed Filipino director Lav Diaz, who won the Orizzonti award in Venice this year for Melancholia, was one of the three jury members in the Main Competition.

* * *

If omnipresence were the sole gauge of winnability in a presidential race, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando would win hands down. Sadly, it’s not.

Some people say that Bayani is trying desperately hard to win people’s (especially the masa’s) attention, never mind if, according to his critics, he’s “cheapening” his office by joining a “talent” contest like GMA’s Celebrity Duets. The guy seems to be enjoying his 15 minutes of fame so, sige, pagbigyan ang hilig.

You see him everywhere (and I’m referring not just to those distracting billboards all over the Metropolis): In the GMA game shows Gobingo (hosted by Arnell Ignacio) and K! The P1-M Videoke Challenge (by Allan K) in which he won the top prize (donated to his lucky home partner), in the audience during the Petula Clark concert at the Big Dome and, the night before, as a performer (with fellow tenors Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes and former DILG Sec. Joey Lina) at Clark’s Manila Hotel show.

His “gimmick” seems to be working (with the amused masa, presumably) because Bayani is getting votes on Celebrity Duets. In fact, even if he’s loudly proclaiming himself as a presidential aspirant in the 2010 race, he seems to be campaigning less for that and more for Celebrity Duets, reminding everybody who shakes his hand, “Sa Celebrity Duets n’yo muna ako iboto.” Could it be true that he has “required” MMDA employees to text-vote for him, otherwise...?

The question is: Do we need another “hero”? Kailangan ba natin ang isang “bagong Bayani?”

Oh well, if Bayani doesn’t make it to the presidential arena in 2010, he can always quit the MMDA and become a full-time singer-actor.

* * *

Sen. Migz Zubiri made direk Joel Lamangan choke with emotion and cry in public when he donated P2.5 million for the scholarship program of the Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Pelikulang Pilipino (NMPP) which Lamangan heads. The amount came from Migz’s Priority Development Assistance Fund.

“You see,” said direk Joel, “we knocked on the hearts of many people but only Sen. Migz opened his.”

The NMPP will shoulder the tuition fees of 10 to 15 scholars enrolled in state universities and taking up two-to-four-year courses preferably film-related.

By December, Migz promised an additional P2.5-M donation, this time for the housing project the NMPP is undertaking for small workers in the industry. Migz is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing.

The NMPP was also able to distribute 3,000 Philhealth cards to the needy in the industry, with the two-year membership paid for by the Quezon City government.

Maybe the NMPP can raise more funds by requesting — nay, pressuring! — in-demand directors like Joel to set aside even only 10 percent of their fat pay envelopes, thereby making the NMPP more self-dependent and self-reliant.

The other side of the Stylistics issue

A few issues ago, Funfare put out a clarificatory letter from Viva Concerts & Events, Inc. which is producing one of the two concerts of two different groups of Stylistics. The other is produced by Renen de Guia of Ovation Productions who sent Funfare his side of the story.

Excerpts:

Ovation Productions feels that it is the party being alluded to by Viva Concerts & Events as the group advertising its October concert as The Stylistics concert. Viva is the producer of the “other” Stylistics group in December. Ovation Productions has never advertised producing the ‘Stylistics concert’ and we are only too pleased to clarify certain issues about Viva’s press release.

On April 30, 2008 Stylistics manager/agent Jack Bart e-mailed Ovation, offering The Stylistics which I politely declined knowing that the Stylistics no longer sounded the same without its original lead singer Russell Thompkins Jr. I watched the group’s concert at the PICC in Dec. 2005 and was rather disappointed with the performance. It was at that point that I decided to track down the real voice of the Stylistics and, to my delight, discovered that the original lead singer has formed a new group called ‘Russell Thompkins Jr. & The New Stylistics “dedicated to preserving the sound of the original recordings.”

Viva’s own press release that appeared in The STAR recognizes that Russell Thompkins can advertise its group as “Russell Thompkins Jr. & The New Stylistics.”

Ovation Productions has always advertised its October concerts as “Russell Thompkins Jr. & the New Stylistics — the Original Lead Singer, the Original Sound” for the reason that it was Russell’s impeccable falsetto voice that led the group to international fame and recognition, recording such hits as You Are Everything, Stop Look Listen, You Make Me Feel Brand New, Betcha By Golly Wow, among many other top-selling hits.

Russell’s major goal and mission is to provide his “fans, friends and supporters, who have remained loyal for over 30 years, with the same quality of music and showmanship that they have come to know and love.”

We thank Viva for allowing us the opportunity to explain to the multitudes of Stylistics fans the real situation.

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