Curtain-raisers:
• Okay, let’s talk in geographical terms: Kenya Russia doesn’t seem to mind nor to care being seen in public with Mexico Philippines, never mind if they have been the subject of gossip these past few weeks, much to the consternation of Mexico’s wife Jakarta Portugal. For all we know, Mexico is just, ehem, Kenya’s “family friend” because everytime they are seen together (the last time having been in Baguio), Kenya was chaperoned by her actor-father Mauritius Romania. Don’t you wonder how Kenya’s real boyfriend Denmark Zaire feels about the whole thing?
• First, the lips. And then, some other parts of her face. Now, haven’t you noticed that Granada Bermuda is starting to look more and more different from her original self? What has she been doing to her face? Isn’t she challenging the possibilities of science to the limit? Salamat po, doctor!
• Same with Portugal Finland who, according to showbiz-watchers, now looks “fishy” because of the lip-enhancement which she consistently denied having gone through. What did they say again about birds of a feather...? By the way, how come Portugal and Granada Bermuda are intriguingly quiet about the recent brouhaha Ms. Controversy wannabe Malta Bangladesh has been dragging them into? Is silence a sign of guilt? Are Granada and Portugal worried that the issue might reach the ears of a senator (as controversial as they are) who might summon them into testify in a wide-ranging “probe”? Is it the calm before the storm? Remember, we are all on typhoon-alert mode.
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No, Cristine Reyes doesn’t really mind being tagged as the new Horror Queen on account of her current starrers, Patient X (co-produced by GMA Films and R Gutz Productions, the new company put up by Cristine’s leading man Richard Gutierrez) and Ang Darling Kong Aswang (2009 Metro Filmfest entry of OctoArts Films and M-ZET Films, with Vic Sotto).
“Doing Patient X was scary,” said Cristine (now a Viva contract star) who hasn’t fully recovered from the trauma inflicted by Typhoon Ondoy which left her, her mom (former actress Venus Imperial) and two little nephews stranded on the roof for hours. “Okey lang tawagin akong Horror Queen basta may kadugtong — Comedy-Horror Queen.”
And then she laughed, stopping only when asked how she’s coping with post-Ondoy “stress” (to put it mildly).
“I seem to have developed a phobia for rain, lalo na kapag malakas na ulan,” admitted Cristine. “I sat on the set of Aswang when there was a thunderstorm. My first impulse was to run...but where to? Ang lakas ng ulan at hangin na may kasama pang kulog at kidlat. Sometimes, I would wake up breathing hard from a bad dream where I’m being chased by a faceless man. It’s a recurring dream at ang setting ay palaging Provident Village.”
Luckily, Cristine doesn’t need any professional help, knowing that time will, as they say, heal the wounds.
“No, I haven’t gone back to our house in Provident Village (Marikina, one of the areas hardest hit by Ondoy). I went there only once just to check the extent of the damage. My mom and I are temporarily staying in Ate (Ara Mina’s) house in the Batasan area in Quezon City. I just bought a house nearby and we’re planning to move there soon.”
The best lesson she said she has learned from her Ondoy experience was not to be too attached to material things.
“Anytime puede ‘yon mawala. That’s what our elders say and they are right.”
Her outlook in life has been changed radically, too.
“I used to be secretive about my feelings. Hindi ako demonstrative; parang nahihiya ako umamin na mahal ko itong tao, na mahal ko si ganito, si ganyan. I seldom said, ‘I love you!’ Things have changed. I’m more transparent now, open with my feelings. I can say ‘I love you’ to my loved ones very easily now. I realized that the best time to say ‘I love you’ to anybody is when they’re still around.”
Cristine hastened to add that she hasn’t said “I love you” yet to one particular guy, not even to Patient X co-star Richard Gutierrez who, she insisted, is “just a friend” even if he gave her special treatment on the set, quick to provide her with whatever she needed.
Last linked to Dennis Trillo, Cristine said that she’s putting her love life “on hold.”
“I’ll make sure that the next guy I get involved with is really worth my time.”
In Patient X, director Yam Laranas’ first work after The Echo (the Hollywood remake of the Regal flick Sigaw, still showing in some theaters in Metro Manila), Cristine took over from Heart Evangelista (who backed out after she was haunted in her dreams by a “ghost” she saw on the set) in the role of a patient (Richard plays her doctor) shrouded in mystery.
“I easily identified with the role even if I have ceased to be a ‘mystery’ girl in real life,” Cristine said in jest. “After Ondoy, binura ko na ang anumang ‘mystery’ sa buhay ko.”
She’s starring in an ABS-CBN teleserye which will start rolling as soon as the right leading man is chosen.
“Do I have a choice? Wala lang. Okey sa akin whoever ABS-CBN will choose.”
Replacement is 2009 Mister Int’l Philippines
Michael Manansala, 22, took the 2009 Mister International Philippines title during the grand finals last Oct. 14 at A Venue Events Mall, Makati City. He was a last-minute replacement for Francis Soo who had to leave for Davao because his grandmother passed away.
At 6’2”, Michael was one of the tallest among the 15 candidates. He also clinched the Mister Personality Award. Among his prizes were P50,000 cash and a round-trip ticket to Taiwan where he will compete in the 2009 Mister International contest on Dec. 19.
The A Venue pageant also doubled as a men’s wear fashion show featuring the collections of Rick Abad, Jerome Lorico, Jeffrey Rogador and Barge Ramos. Proceeds were donated to the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) Makati branch.
The runners-up were Thomas Anthony Malko (first), Farzam Nasirian (second) and Abdul Wallace (third). The other finalists were Franco Ramos, Mark Gargoles, Ian Daniel, Mike Acuna, James Versoza, Francis Salazar, John Mangoba, Peter Dee, Adrian Petry, Raphael Grafil and Alvin de Joya (People’s Choice awardee).
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)