Images of 2010

Thank heavens nothing earth-shaking happened as of press time yesterday to add to the already long list of events that turned the Year of the Tiger into a roaring one. But showbiz as it is, so full of “shakers” and “movers,” what else will or can shock us, not even the “death” of Rustom Padilla that gave birth to “Bebe Gandanghari” (who is currently “missing in inaction”).

As we welcome the Year of the Rabbit (does it signal more out-of-wedlock pregnancies, that animal being notorious for, well, “over-excitement”?), let’s take a quick look at the lingering images of 2010 before we bid it goodbye tonight, hopefully not with life-threatening firecrackers but with harmless torotot and continuous blowing of horns, while the stereo is playing rock ’n roll music in full volume.

Person of the Year: Willie Revillame

He dared fight the giant network ABS-CBN, swapped multi-million-peso charges with it, moved to TV5 and put up the new game show Willing Willie that appears strikingly like his controversial, defunct ABS-CBN show Wowowee.

Couple of the Year: Dr. Vicki Belo and Dr. Hayden Kho

They have stuck to each other through thick and thin, through triumph and tragedy, proving to all and sundry, once and for all, that love conquers all --- you know, hahamakin ang lahat masunod ka lamang.

Major, Major Star of the Year: Venus Raj

She won only fourth runner-up in the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant, surviving a threat of disqualification due to technicalities in her “Binibini” application form, and created a “major, major” impact with her answer to judge William Baldwin’s question during the pageant’s decisive stage.

Victim of the Year: Katrina Halili

She lost the court case that she had filed against Dr. Hayden Kho, her sex-video partner, but swore that her lonely battle was far from over, relying for justice if not on local courts maybe Up There where no guilty person can go scotfree.

Silent Victim of the Year: Maricar Reyes

Unlike Katrina, the other “Hayden victim” has kept quiet up to now (could she be in a prolonged denial stage?), not breathing a word about what or what did not happen and opting not to give even a word of support for Katrina. Is silence really the better part of discretion?

Weddings of the Year (Decade?)

• Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez: They finally (finally!) tied the knot at a beach in Batangas after being hampered by legalities. No need for any adjustment because, as the couple disclosed, they have been living together for three years since they got engaged back in 2007.

• Robin Padilla and Mariel Rodriguez: The wedding took place at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, in August and not in September in Baguio during an Igorot ritual (that looked like a wedding) that served as Mariel’s introduction to Robin’s family roots. The couple then filmed a movie also in Agra to be shown as a Valentine offering in February 2011.

• Angelu de Leon and Lorenzo “Wowie” Rivera: Both come from failed marriages and they prove that love can be lovelier the second time around — with a new partner.

• Maggie Wilson and Victor Consunji: On Dec. 18, they capped a romance that titillated Internet addicts with videos of their pre-wedding intimacy. (More on them in a near-future issue.)

• Krista Ranillo and Niño Jefferson Lim: After all the hullabaloo that swirled around Krista and You-know-who, she swapped “I do’s” with Niño, a California-based businessman, after a whirlwind romance, in July at Jewish rites. Krista is giving birth to her and Niño’s first child in April 2011.

The Big Splits

• Kris Aquino and James Yap: Revealed in May before the presidential elections won by Kris’ Kuya Noy (Pres. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III), after seven turbulent years marked by public fights. Friends again, the uncouple are waiting for the verdict on the annulment case between them.

• Pres. Noynoy and Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad: It happened in September, after almost three years of going steady. The President has been reported to be courting a few girls (his stylist Liz Uy, etc.) to no avail. Shalani denied rumors linking her to other guys (among them Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian and her Willing Willie co-host Willie Revillame).

• Vic Sotto and Pia Guanio: Since they called it quits in July, they have remained friends which is obvious on Eat, Bulaga! where their romance blossomed and withered. After all, seven years are seven years. That’s what “friends” are for, isn’t it?

• Richard Gutierrez and Jewel Mische: True to form, they admitted that they were “secretly” going steady only when they broke up. Jewel moved from GMA to ABS-CBN presumably to stay far from Richard who is being linked to Solenn Heussaff who was one of the castaways in Survivor Philippines which he hosted on an island in Thailand. (Trivia: Richard’s sister Ruffa Gutierrez also broke up with John Lloyd Cruz although neither of them admitted that they were ever “on.”)

The Lock-up Hoax: John Lloyd Cruz and Shaina Magdayao

Whoever started the dirty rumor must be sick in the mind, fit to burn in hell. You know who you are! Imagine two very popular and very familiar personalities getting “locked up” and being rushed wrapped in a blanket to the hospital! Simply unbelievable, simply incredible, simply crazy! John Lloyd and Shaina have beautifully survived perhaps the nastiest issue ever in their careers and woe to the architect of that insane yarn.

The Big Switch

Stars have been playing a merry-go-round by switching loyalties among the networks Kapamilya (ABS-CBN), Kapuso (GMA) and Kapatid (TV5), led by Willie Revillame. Among the other big fishes: Richard Gomez, from Kapuso to Kapatid; Dolphy, Maricel Soriano and John Estrada, from Kapamilya to Kapatid; and Claudine Barretto and Heart Evangelista, from Kapamilya to Kapuso. By March next year, Aga Muhlach will stop being Kapamilya and start being Kapatid. 

Baby of the Year: Lucho Agoncillo

As with their wedding last year, Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo were over-protective over the birth of their first child, Lucho, whose baptism was kept private (with a gatecrashing paparazzo denounced by the couple as “a brazen intruder”).

‘Glee-ful’ Star of the year: Charice

Already a stunner in concerts with A-List artists (Celine Dion, Michael Bublé, Mariah Carey, et al), the girl from Cabuyao, Laguna, upped her ante by doing a drop-dead guest performance in the chart-buster musical US TV show Glee, affirming her reputation as the Philippines’ most popular showbiz export. Keep up the good work, Charice!

Indies Shine in International Filmfests

Indie films continue to shine not only on the home front but also in international film festivals, thanks to the road paved by the late Lino Brocka who ushered the Philippine Cinema presence (with Insiang and Jaguar) into Cannes back in the ‘70s and with the chances made even wider by Brillante “Dante” Mendoza for their colleagues when he won Best Director (for Kinatay) also in Cannes last year. Among the indies that shone big and bright in 2010: Brillante’s Lola which won the Grand Knight Award at the 27th Miami International Filmfest, Best Film at the 8th Rome Asian Filmfest amd three awards at the 11th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Filmfest in Spain; Pepe Diokno’s Engkwentro, which won an award (for a first-time director) at the Venice Filmfest and Best Asian Films at the 11th Jeonju International Filmfest in South Korea; Mark Meily’s Donor which won for Meryll Soriano Best Actress at the 37th Brussells International Filmfest; Ralston Javier’s Bakal Boys which won Best Film at the 16th Lyons Asian Filmfest; Raul Jarolan’s The Red Shoes which got a Jurors Recognition Award at the 27th Bogota International Filmfest; and Adolf Alix Jr.’s Chassis, the first Filipino film to be nominated at the 25th Mar del Plata International Filmfest in Argentina. (Note: Also, Chito Roño’s “mainstream” film Emir won a special Best Artistic Contribution Award at the Cairo International Filmfest. The Philippines has submitted Noy, an indie, for consideration as entry in the 2011 Oscars’ Best Foreign-Language Film.)