My 15 most memorable TV interviews

(Second of a series)

This is the second part of the series of articles I’m writing where I try to recall my 15 most memorable interviews for Startalk and the 15 there stands for the show’s 15 years. Below are more of my unforgettable interviewees:

Heherson Alvarez, Manoling Morato and Henrietta Mendez — It was the height of the Sutla brouhaha and the conservative sector of society was up in arms against the sex films that proliferated local theaters that time.

In Startalk, the idea was to put together members of the Philippine movie industry and those who wanted to put a stop to the exhibition of skin flicks in a mini debate. The problem cropped up when two filmmakers did show up, but refused to face the opposing side. I swear they hid right outside the studio — near the exit leading to the smaller Studio B.

With the film industry’s representatives cowering in fear, what was I supposed to do? I thought it was best to play devil’s advocate. (The truth be told now, I also wanted to protect the interest of local films because Marichu Maceda, who later became a pillar of the movie industry after her father’s generation, had always instilled that in my head.) And so there I was locked in a debate initially with just Alvarez and Morato because Ms. Mendez was still finding her way to the GMA 7 studios at that point.

When she finally arrived, she said her piece and noticed that I was being one-sided in favor of the local film industry and scolded me on the air because a host wasn’t supposed to do that. Yes, I was like a schoolboy being reprimanded by my teacher. Morato, however, came to my rescue (thank you, Manoling) and told Mendez that I was just playing devil’s advocate.

I can now look back and say that it was one of the most heated arguments ever captured on television — little me against three distinguished personalities. Did I survive in one piece? I don’t think so. It was one of those moments when I hoped the earth would open up and swallow me.

After that segment, we all shook hands and even had our picture taken — like nothing untoward happened. To this day, I still hold all three in high esteem and am particularly fond of Manoling Morato because we may never have the same opinion, but I’ve always admired him for his gentlemanly ways and I respect him for standing by his views (even if these always differ from mine). 

Months after that episode, people would still talk to me about that segment to ask what really happened (strangely enough, for all the people who claimed to have watched it, that Startalk edition didn’t rate). Now Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto (then still Lipa mayor) even asked me where I found the guts to argue with all three.

Most people said that I should have just gone with the flow and it was a mistake to have taken up the cudgels for the local film industry. Maybe they were right. Sometimes it’s not worth fighting for the movie business. In the first place, I am not even part of that profession, strictly speaking, although our show basically feeds on what goes on in the movies.

Also, what’s there to fight for? After all, in spite of all those indie films that nobody watches anyway, the Philippine movie industry is dead. Okay, half-dead.

Melanie Marquez — It may have been a rather short interview, but it became a mini-goldmine for more Melanisms, a term coined by Ricky Lo to describe such linguistic aberrations, courtesy of the international beauty queen-actress.

When I asked her about a lawsuit that dragged in court for many years (I don’t remember what it was because she got herself involved in one too many), she said that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore because it was already in the “arcade” (she meant archives). That sent suppressed chuckles within the studio and later some wise guy remarked, “What was the case doing, strolling in the arcade?”

Later, when I asked her why she wasn’t making movies anymore, she responded: “You know me, I am now semi-retarded (semi-retired).” That brought the house down and I had difficulty trying to hush Lolit Solis, who was seated just three feet away from us — on the steps of our tiered stage.

I have no idea if Melanie noticed the sudden outburst of laughter all around us. Maybe she did, but she never said anything after that. That’s Melanie — you never know what’s on her mind.

I never had the chance to work with her, the way Ricky did when they did the program Showbiz Stripped, but I did find myself with her one time in Cebu (for the Kapuso fans’ day). We had a long chat in the vehicle and I found her to be a very sensible woman. She didn’t make demands on the staff, except to give her one entire row in the van to make room for her “long-legged” (the very first entry in her list of Melanisms).

And just to show you what a good sport she is, she even planned on compiling all her Melanisms into a book (she even sent somebody to interview me regarding that). Now, I wonder what happened to that book project.

A lady singer I will not identify — It was actually a non-interview because I didn’t want to do it. Why? Because that time she was just trying to call public attention to herself and I knew nothing would come out of it.

I will not forget this because it was the only time in my 10 years in Startalk that I refused an assignment (you can ask our executive producer Reylie Manalo). To escape the interview, I locked myself in the bathroom and refused to come out. Sensing my firm resolve, Rosanna Roces knocked on the door and told me to come out because she had volunteered to do it on my behalf. She regretted having done me that favor because, to her frustration, nothing really came out of the interview.

In time, I got to know the singer better and understood where she was coming from (she eventually gave up on stardom and had since been very quiet). She had a good heart to begin with and that was so admirable. I’m sorry for having misjudged her character because as Melanie Marquez said (in the now-defunct Debate): “Don’t judge my brother — he is not a book.”

(To be continued)