My star-struck moments

(First of two parts)

In spite of the fact that I had been in the business of interviewing and interacting with celebrities for heaven knows how long, I never gave myself the chance to pause and ponder if I got star-struck by certain showbiz personalities.

But first things first: If you are from the industry, it’s a different kind of star-struck feeling that you get when you are constantly exposed to movie stars. You get star-struck on a different — and definitely more personal — level.

An accountant, a teacher, a student or anybody who doesn’t have regular access to the showbiz world may get star-struck immediately when he or she sees an artista passing by just a few feet away.

If you are in the kind of profession I have, you are not allowed to let that happen to you because you are there for a job. If some star-struck feeling gets to you, in fact, you are supposed to push it away so that the celebrity you are going to interview never gets the chance to intimidate you — or mesmerize you to the point that you forget that you are there for work. You cannot be too giddy-giddy and gushy when faced with your subject because you lose your focus.

Today, I’m so jaded that the only moment I’d probably get dazzled is if Dr. Jose Rizal were to come back to life and say hello to me. Maybe this is due to the fact that I started very early in a profession where celebrities abound and I just got used to having them around.

Strangely, it’s now when I’m so much older that I’m going through periods when I want to pinch myself and ask: “Did I really meet and had interaction with this and that celebrity?” This may be a delayed reaction, but allow me to look back and check out the list of personalities who made me feel star-struck even for a moment.

Vilma Santos — I was doing my practicum when I was assigned by my editor to seek her out for a forum to see if she went to psychics and believed in them. This was already way after the time all the fortune-tellers in showbiz (Rene Mariano later said he wasn’t part of it) wrongly predicted that she was bringing home the Best Actress trophy in the 1977 Metro Manila Film Festival for Burlesque Queen.

I still recall where I found her - on the set of Inday Badiday’s See-True in Broadcast City. Nobody knew who I was and I just pushed my way to get to her and to my relief, she proved to be very accommodating. Yes, she immediately answered my question (very diplomatically said so as not to offend seers).

Looking back now, I have to say that I got star-struck by her presence, especially since she held me by my shoulder as she spoke to me. Oh, Vilma Santos touched my shirt!

She was brimming with so much charm and that was the time I fully realized what charisma was all about.

Fernando Poe Jr. and President Joseph Estrada - There was a brief, but significant chapter in my life (in my early 20s) when I worked as media director for the Film Academy of the Philippines. This was where I hobnobbed with industry members who later became my personal friends. I remember riding the company vehicle home (in an old Ford Fiera) with Barbara Perez, sharing tips on where to get fresh pine trees for the holiday season with Gina Alajar and serving as sounding board to the ideas of my beloved Tito Eddie Romero, who later would become national artist.

My star-struck moment came, however, during a late afternoon board meeting held at the Vera-Perez Gardens. Joseph Estrada (about a decade away from becoming President) arrived early and found a seat vacant beside me to my left. He took it and exchanged pleasantries with Marichu Maceda who was seated across the table. Soon after, Fernando Poe Jr. arrived and took the only seat available that was to my right. I was sandwiched between the two legends of Philippine movies. But who would spoil that moment of euphoria for me, but Manay Ichu? Seeing that I was a barrier between the two best friends, she called out to me: “Butching (which is how she had always addressed me), do you want to move?” Of course, she said that in a tone that didn’t embarrass me in front of the quorum. But deep in her head, what she wanted to get through my thick skull was: “Move your ass, you nincompoop! The two buddies want to sit beside each other!”

Oh, how so inconsiderate of me! I should have gotten up at once when I saw FPJ walk in. Assessing that situation now, maybe it was because I was too young and raw then to comprehend showbiz protocol — that the two movie kings should always be made to sit together.

Or maybe I was too star-struck to think at that point. Or perhaps, I really wanted to have a feel of how it was to be seated between the two most powerful men in showbiz that time. And Manay Ichu had to spoil it for me!

Marichu Maceda — Now that I’ve mentioned the name of Manay Ichu, she may be surprised to know that I got star-struck with her the first time I saw her in person. A respected industry leader, she has a commanding presence that can both charm and terrorize (she only lashes out at those who do not toe the line).

I had a school project then to interview archivist Ernie de Pedro at the CCP and it turned out Manay Ichu was holding office there. Mr. de Pedro and I talked in the anteroom and at one point, Ms. Maceda stood by the door to give instructions to the office secretary. She was there for only a minute, but I now recall getting star-struck seeing a powerful woman who fought on behalf of local movies.

Little did I know that a few years later, I’d work for her at the FAP where we hit it off so famously that she became second mother to me. Today, I treat her like a real mom and I love her dearly. Of course, I don’t get star-struck anymore. In place of that, every time she nags me, I feel like I’m being struck by lightning and thunder.

(To be concluded)