Taylor Lautner tapped as new Bench endorser

JUST IN: Taylor Lautner of Twilight fame has been tapped as the newest Bench endorser.

This was the latest good news relayed to Funfare yesterday afternoon by my sosyalista DPA who didn’t say if Lautner would model shirts and pants or, why not, underwear.

Lautner is the perfect Bench model. I have interviewed him twice, first in New Moon in 2009 and then last year for Eclipse. Only in his late teens, Lautner has beefed up for his role as Jacob, the werewolf (against Robert Pattinson as vampire Edward for Kristen Stewart, the human between them) in the Twilight series, with the last book, Breaking Dawn, split into two movies (the first one showing end of this year).

During our second interview, I asked Lautner (who was friendly and engaging) how he developed his six-pack.

He smiled and said, “I worked out five days a week. At the same time, I had to eat every two hours…six egg whites, bacon and toast in the morning as suggested by my trainer. The working out was easy but the eating part was hard. I had to add calories because my body fat was only about eight percent.”

Lautner is the latest Hollywood star hired as endorser of a local brand. Natalie Portman modeled for Kamiseta, followed by Katie Holmes. Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick was here two weeks ago to shoot as endorser of Penshoppe.  

Network 'war' goes to NYC

Don’t look now but the never-ending network war is being waged in New York City. Well, it seems.

That’s what Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre thinks.

“In what appears to be GMA Network’s response to ABS-CBN dispatching Kapamilya stars Jericho Rosales and Karylle to New York City to entertain tens of thousands at the Philippine Independence Day celebration last June 5 in the city that never sleeps,” reports Edmund, “the Kapuso station is sending four of its most prized artists to NYC’s neighboring Jersey City, New Jersey, where the annual celebration of Philippine-American Friendship Day will be staged on June 26.”

Iza Calzado, Aljur Abrenica, Mark Bautista and Jennylyn Mercado will ride a fabulous float of GMA Pinoy TV (direct rival of The Filipino Channel) and greet Fil-Am fans during the Friendship Parade along West Side Avenue in Jersey City, the second biggest city in the state of New Jersey and where a huge number of Filipino households and business establishments are concentrated.

Sponsored by the Philippine American Friendship Committee, Inc. (PAFCOM), the Kapuso stars will join dignitaries led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Philippine Consul General Mario de Leon Jr., Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations Libran Cabactulan, as well as the event’s grand marshal Nena Lozada Kaufman and members of the Fil-Am community headed by PAFCOM overall chair Isagani Puertollano and officers of Friends Indeed USA, Inc. (the first Grand Parade Ambassador of Goodwill and Culture).

Edmund said that the day-long celebration will kick off with a Thanksgiving Mass at Our Lady of Victories Church on Kennedy Blvd. and Ege Ave. at 10 a.m. The parade’s opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting will be at 11:30 a.m. on West Side Ave. and Claremont Ave. The actual parade starts at noon from Claremont Ave. down to Lincoln Park, where the street fair and cultural festival will take place from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“Among the performers are local artists Kirby Asunto and Alyssa Shoemaker.

Like their TFC counterparts, the four GMA stars have all become household names among US Filipinos coast to coast because of their top-rating shows aired over GMA Pinoy TV.”

Kapamilya stars Karylle and Jericho Rosales wow a big crowd during the Philippine Independence Day celebration in New York last June 5. Also at the event was former Bb. Young-Pilipinas/singer-actress Rachel Anne Wolfe, with Felix Manuel (one of Funfare’s ‘beauty experts’).

Meanwhile, added Edmund, Jericho proved he hasn’t lost his luster among Fil-Am fans as multitude of fans mobbed his float as it traversed Manhattan’s Madison Avenue during the June 5 parade. Also on the TFC float was Karylle, along with STAR columnist/immigration lawyer Michael Gurfinkel, host of TFC’s Citizen Pinoy.

“Fans in every street corner screamed Jericho’s name, with the dashing Green Rose and Subject: I Love You heartthrob, clad in an elegant Barong Tagalog, trying to wave and throw a smile at every one of them.”

Kate Tubungbanua of Haskell, New Jersey, said she and her companions went to NYC “just to see Echo” as well as for the fish ball and balut.

“I’ve been dying to see Jericho in person; he’s so handsome,” Funfare contributor Dawn Fraser quoted Kate as saying before Kate headed for the busy street fair to look for the Pinoy delicacies she’s craving for.

Karylle had her own crowd of admirers gushing at how stunning Zsa Zsa Padilla’s daughter actually is up close. It was one of Karylle’s last public appearances for a Filipino audience before she goes to Singapore to begin the four-month production of the TV show The Kitchen Musical which will be aired in 22 Asian markets by the Southeast Asian English-language channel AXN. The TV musical also stars Christian Bautista.

“Napakagandang bata pala ni Karylle. She looks very classy, but down-to-earth,” Edmund quoted Linda Pelayo, associate publisher of The Filipino Reporter as saying.

Linda also raved about Jericho and Karylle’s singing talent during the cultural extravaganza that also featured Philippine Jazz Queen Annie Brazil and daughter Rachel Anne Wolfe, and New York Z100’s DJ Riddler, among other artists.

Interestingly, Vice Pres. Jejomar “Jojo” Binay also turned out to be a crowd-pleaser as he casually engaged them before marching with the dignitaries that included Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, Philippine Ambassadors Jose Cuisia Jr. (United States) and Libran Cabactulan (United Nations), Consul General Mario de Leon Jr., Deputy Consul General Melita Thomeczek, and Tourism Director Emma Ruth Yulo, among others.

The Kapuso stars who will grace the Philippine-American Friendship Day celebration in New Jersey on June 26 are (clockwise, from top left): Jennylyn Mercado, Mark Bautista, Iza Calzado and Aljur Abrenica.

“He’s very charming pala in person,” said one female fan who repeatedly described Vice Jojo to her friends as soon-to-be “the first black president of the Philippines.”

He shook hands with star-struck kababayan and posed with them for posterity.

Said Edmund, “Meanwhile, the Iloilo mayor was basking in glory as his hometown’s pride and joy, the acclaimed Dinagyang Festival Dancers (represented by Dinagyang’s 2011 winner Tribu Pan-ay of Fort San Pedro National High School) wowed crowds lining up the streets of Manhattan. The 30 Iloilo-based performers, clad in majestic costumes, make-up and props, gave a rousing Mardi-Gras type presentation throughout the celebration to the delight of the audience, many of whom were non-Filipinos.”

Aklan’s Ati-Atihan presentation, a consistent favorite at the NYC Philippine parade, didn’t disappoint as its large contingent pumped up spectators with its exceptional dance choreography and beats, as well as its colorful, indigenous costumes.

Famous New York Fil-Am TV journalists Nina Pineda of WABC and Hazel Sanchez of WCBS came back this year as parade emcees.

“It’s so wonderful to be a Filipino today. I love every minute of it,” said Pineda, whose Pennsylvania-based mom Mila is from Pampanga.

What’s up?

• If ever Willie Revillame does buy Don Enrique Zobel’s house in Ayala Alabang for $10M (the asking price), will the private plane that Willie bought for P200M from Jorge Consunji land on the helipad as Funfare mentioned yesterday? Of course, not! But Willie’s helicopter (not mentioned in yesterday’s story) might. Besides the plane and the helicopter, Willie also has a yacht. What a life, ‘no!

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