Scary showbiz situations

Last Saturday’s edition of Mike Enriquez’s Imbestigador should be an eye-opener to showbiz aspirants. In that episode, the show exposed the illegal activities of a certain Michael from Pampanga who promises young boys a crack at stardom by accommodating them in GMA 7’s StarStruck and giving them a slot as dancers in S.O.P.

But then, there’s no such thing as a free meal in this world. The youngsters are required to fork over P5,000 (supposedly for medical), their cell phones and if possible their laptops (if they have one). The most rotten end of the deal, however, was when he required one of them to check in at a hotel with him and grant him sexual favors.

I’m not exactly discouraging young people to join show business (finish your studies first!), but allow me to enumerate horror stories that can happen to you in this profession. These are scary real-life situations that are a lot frightening than the ghouls of Halloween:

You will never enjoy the simple joys in life — You think that’s easy? Hah! You can only say that now because you still have your privacy. But once you lose it, you may pine for the simpler days you used to take for granted when you were an unknown. I remember the story related to me by a friend who used to accompany Sharon Cuneta in the Megastar’s trips abroad. Sharon’s problem is that even if you bring her to America, she is still recognized by Pinoys there. One time, they went to a place where there was not one Filipino and Sharon just danced in the street out of sheer happiness for momentarily enjoying her freedom. Of course, there are perks to being Megastar, but you can just imagine all the sacrifices she has to make and you need the kind of strength and discipline she has and how many of you can have that? Even battle-scarred Nora Aunor refuses to come home (even if she is still considered a superstar here) because she still enjoys relative freedom in the West Coast.

You can be a victim of vicious gossip — Be prepared to have your innards lined with steel because you may not be able to swallow all the gossip people may spread about you. It’s not only the tabloids you should worry about. In this day of blogging rumors (mostly unfounded) can easily be circulated about your person and most of the time these are just speculations, conjectures — if not outright lies.

You will never get to savor your youth and innocence — People who were in their teens during the Japanese Occupation claim to have matured overnight — and they are forever resentful of that because they were forcibly thrown into that kind of situation.

In showbiz, you’ll be fighting all sorts of battles and wars and if you survive you’ll be jaded for the rest of your life. Nothing will excite you anymore and you’ll be hardened by those difficult experiences while fighting your way up the ladder. You’ll be paranoid and suspicious of the people around you. In the end, you’ll be bitter when the time comes you loosen your grip on success. So this is what they do to me after I gave them the best years of my life? In Hollywood, the classic case is Mickey Rooney. He was the biggest juvenile star (along with Judy Garland who also died miserable) and had everyone at his feet during his prime. When he was old and withered, he may still have managed to gain access to the glamorous Oscar Awards from time to time, but they sit him way up in the balcony — looking alone and pathetic. No way to treat a Hollywood legend. But that’s the scary reality of show business.

Especially for newcomers, you can be a victim of sexual molestation — Lecherous producers and talent managers abound in the industry (here and abroad) and you’ll be thrown into circumstances that if you succumb to, you may regret later. Some are even taken advantage of with the consent of their parents who are no different from those pimps selling their kids to pedophiles.

You may end up in the flesh trade — This is how it goes: A completely unknown individual with good looks joins a star search or even a reality show. He or she may not win, but is able to have his/her 15 minutes of fame. This becomes a springboard to stardom or to another career: The flesh market. Sometimes the person can’t help but embrace the oldest profession. Why? He or she is given no choice. In the entertainment field, he or she is a mere starlet without a steady source of income. But they have to maintain a movie star lifestyle — which means not riding the bus, the jeepney or the FX (I don’t know about them, but I have no trouble taking the very efficient MRT). Where do they get the money to purchase the car — and gas to run it? Those who have no career here go abroad — in some Asian destination where the moneyed natives so love movie stars from the Philippines. You don’t need to be a major star here to be able to up your market there. Sometimes, all you have to do is have a video showing yourself dancing in some TV program and you’re sold at a good price.

And so my dear showbiz aspirants aren’t the scenarios I painted above scarier than all the Hollywood horror movies you’ve seen in theaters or in pirated DVDs? I’m not trying to frighten you, but these are scary showbiz realities that you’ll be encountering in this profession.

In the concluding portion of this piece on Thursday, I will tell you bigger horror stories even the established stars are scared to experience.