10 Reasons To Watch BORN BEAUTIFUL

Okay, I think it’s about time you get ready for this wonderful film by Direk Jun Lana and Perci Intalan which had us all at the edge of our seats with the tons of trailers they came out with. I was hoping to see this last MMFF but as Direk Perci told me, they will have their time. I was one of the few people invited to see the film’s UNCUT version last week, so here’s 10 reasons why you should watch BORN BEAUTIFUL.

1. This is a SEQUEL. The highly successful DIE BEAUTIFUL needs to be continued and this did not disappoint.

2. Martin Del Rosario as Barbs is eye candy. He fits the role like a glove, because if it’s not him it wouldn’t be believable why Barbs always wins in beaucons. There I said it.

3. Lou Veloso is a very good actor then, he’s greater now. You will love his quirks, how motherly and forgiving he has been not just for Barbs, but for every gay person she’s welcomed to her home and business. You will love her even more in confrontations, she’ll blurt out expletives like breakfast, tons of it.

4. Paolo Ballesteros is also here. His character Trisha is no small role, in fact he feels like a highlight in this film even if it was a few cameos. He comes armed with the makeup transformations he’s known for. This time though, it will be iconic, it will be controversial, it will stir emotions of the conservative, religious, but he explained well why he did it (as part of the conversation).

5. Kiko Matos is ANIMALISTIC. He’s the rough and tough guy you always fantasized about. He did it and Barbs liked it. Maybe because there’s just too much tongue all round lol. Even if it was traumatic in the beginning and all the friends warned her about him, she chose to be with him still. Until when? That remains to be seen when you watch this film.

6. Akihiro Blanco is the ROMANTIC type. I must say, I didn’t expect him to do the things he did in this film because he’s always been the goody two shoes, the guy who wouldn’t dare do it with a guy, but he gave himself for the craft and I think I heard several shrieks in the front row (from his fans) who actually felt it was a romantic scene every time he appeared with Barbs on screen. That is a good measure of his capability as an actor, I personally also am rooting for Barbs and him to be paired in the movie given the circumstances (which you will see in the movie). This actually happens in real life and this was a tough way to bring it out in the open.

7. Jun Lana and Perci Intalan are geniuses. As Direk Jun puts it he says “We do not make films to be SAFE. If you make a film, you must step on something. If that’s what you want then let’s not make films anymore.” That for me is a tough and bold statement, I can’t wait to see what they have in the series through Cignal.

8. VJ Mendoza (albeit shortlived) have delivered strongly as Princess. The comedic punches in this movie was an opportunity to show how crafty people are and have that sense of TIMING. He did good, also the whole cast so prepare yourself laughing continuously on some instances.

9. This movie will educate you about OPEN relationships, how to LOVE as much as you can. It also discusses about false religious groups, abuses, mature stuff not normally discussed in classrooms. I hope this would be allowed to be viewed R-16 as they are appealing I think. The uncut version wasn’t as harsh or overly matured as I thought it would be. MTRCB should reconsider.

10. It is worth every penny you will spend for a movie ticket, I even can say they have given even MORE in this sequel. I would highly suggest you bring yourself, your straight friends, your LGBTQ+ people because this would be something people could LEARN from aside from getting the entertainment value it brings.

Born Beautiful is also being planned to be shown as a series in CIGNAL very soon. Before that, you should take the time to watch it this January 23, 2019. This again is written by Direk Jun Lana, done by Screenwriter Rody Vera, Elmer Gatchalian, Ivan Andrew Payawal and Fatrick Tabada. This is produced by CIGNAL Entertainment, Octobertrain Films and The IdeaFirst Company. Some scenes will be bleeped on the regular screening, but you will still have the story told.

Congratulations to the men, women, LGBTQ+ people who made this what it is. 9/10 for me.

Michelle Vito,Jon Lucas, Akihiro Blanco for "Dito Lang Ako"

Early morning blog conference today with the stars of new romance movie "Dito Lang Ako" with Michelle Vito, Jon Lucas and Akihiro Blanco.

Aside from the three good looking lads, the film also includes Ms. Boots Anson Road, Freddie Webb, Rey PJ Abellana, DJ Durano, , Garie Conception, Senpai Kazu, Road fill of Moymoy Palaboy with the special guest appearance of James Deakin.

Just like you, I was dumbfounded why BLADE a car accessory center suddenly went into movie production. Talking to Blade’s Founder and CEO Robertson Sy Tan he says “This was all planned as content for our social media channels but after shooting it, the budget grew, the stars aligned and we followed the same Hollywood formula. This love story will encompass generations, young, old, LGTBTQ, and everything in between so you really would have something for everyone. We thought if this was just for our social media content, it would have been a waste. So we decided it was good to actually put these episodes together and use the content as a film. With the way the first people who watched it reacted, they saw something good and apt for cinema. This is how “Dito Lang Ako” happened. James Deakin is very influential, he became our friend and we just asked him to be involved in the project and he inmediately said Yes, he didn’t hesitate to help us.”

Akihiro says “I play the role of Victor, son of the owner of the Blade store where she works. That’s also the place where she’s working, it’s where I fell in love with her. We all helped each other, we took time to make things work. They have been so good to me, Jon and Michelle are so chill in and out of the set. Romance and effort, respect, it was all present in that age so you’ll learn from that.”

Michelle Vito sas “I play the role of Nelia, an employee at Blade. I was so happy to do this but nervous at the same time. I hope people would like the film. I had to take strides doing shots because sometimes I had to think every shot is critical, we had to do it fast and precise in every scene. The 70’s is different, we had to speak differently, dress differently, and we had to do it consistently. They need to watch this so they could learn what was good during that time. Some kids are so rough today so this may serve as a little reminder on how we should do things. I hope people understand that in everything, we need to do good, treat people with respect. They can fall in love with that. Ms. Boots will be me in the present sense, Mr. Freddie Webb will be Jon. It’s a fun project and we can’t wait for you to see that.”

Jon Lucas adds “I play Delfin, the first person to fall in love with her. A little crazy but he’s a good man. I was a little pressured to do this. This one is challenging because in a sense it is a period film. The clothing, the way we speak, it was all set in the 70’s. We are also a romance - drama genre, I am glad to work with our director because he made all things easy for us to do. Millennials need to watch this, they need to see how courtship was done during this era. People will realise that breakups are not solutions to relationships, both have to work on it. When I went out with my baby, I had really good feedback, they appreciated that I said the truth. I learned to be a responsible parent, I think that counts.”

This film is directed by Roderick Lindayag and is produced by Blade Entertainment. This will be shown on August 8 in cinemas nationwide, premier night on August 6. Visit ditolangako.com for more details about the film.

KUMAGCOW
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Ken Chan and Barbie Forteza for "This Time I'll Be Sweeter"

It's but fate that led them here after working in a lot of projects in GMA and the popular #KenBie love team has been adored by their fans all throughout the country. This is the same formula they are working on as Regal Multimedia Inc. gambles with this movie called "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" starring the very humble and down to earth Ken Chan and the bubbly and talented Barbie Forteza. 

Barbie says "We are so thankful as we come back to mainstream movies. I am more happy, excited to finally see this on screen. I am the type that watches how they make an effort, then give what I can if I fall in love. What I like about Ken is he remembers the smallest things, even the things you talk about 5 or 10 years ago. Direk doesn't rehears because he would rather have something raw, almost takes the first one and treats it as gold."

Ken adds "I am nervous because this is my first movie. I get really encouraged with what people tell me just by watching the trailers... on how excited they are to actually see the film. I wish we could exceed our goals in the box office. Even in Singapore I was hounded by Barbie's fans and they even sent stuff for her from Singapore. Barbie is sweet, she knows if you are hungry or tired and she makes an effort to show how she cares. If we have heavy scenes, we try to understand the story, internalize them and do different styles to do it."

Direk Joel Lamangan says "I have done a lot of romcoms but you'll see them be younger here. Even if they are young, they are professionals and I could feel how young I got too working with them here. These guys are all intellectual actors, all of them."

This is directed by no other than Joel Lamangan and will continue to push with this KenBie formula that started with their previous show "Meant To Be". In this story, Erika and Tristan used to be lovers back in college. Their relationship didn't work and both were caught heartbroken, but later on found themselves in different careers, to meet again, and perhaps have a second wind in their relationship. Will it work if they had their own emotional baggage with them? Will their past haunt them? Or will a third party (in the person of Thea Tolentino) come and destroy this budding romance? That remains to be seen.

Aki Blanco says "If I fall in love, I would be super happy, excited but really a jealous type. I am single now, the last relationship I had was when I was in high school and I'm sure if ever we had a relationship it's going to be more mature, handled differently."

Kim Rodriguez says "If I fall in love, I'll really have to take care of myself first because it's hard to trust people these days. I am single, but extremely happy with my relationship with God. I hope I get to work with Alden Richards because I get so kilig with him and Maine Mendoza."

Jai says "It's so funny but even if I'm working with stars from other channels, it's like a family here and now we're like a huge barkada. You should try this thing if you can."

This movie also stars Ara Mina, Rey PJ Abellana, Neil Ryan Sese, Yayo Aguila, Kim Rodriguez, Hiro Peralta, Akihiro Blanco, Jai Agpangan, Kaki Ramirez, Fiona Yang, Jon Leo and a lot more stars on Regal's stable. This movie will be shown on November 8, 2017. 

KUMAGCOW

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Mark Neumann's Character "Takgu" Finally Appears in Baker King

You've seen the past few weeks of Baker King shown on TV5. The show is adapted from a Korean drama which I had the chance to actually follow on KBS which is a Korean cable channel available locally too. I loved the plot, I loved the story, and I loved the way they made it in the original one so hearing that they're going to make Baker King done here, I had my doubts about how it would turn out. I know Mark Neumann since his stint with Artista Academy a few years back. With his good looks, pleasing demeanor, sculptured german physique, I knew he was going to make it big in the local showbiz industry. He's done countless shows, even lorded the Wattpad series in the same station. The happy network seemed to have gone his liking and since his Wattpad stories and shows have had remarkable viewing, TV5 must have thought of using this guy fully by making him star on his own show. Baker King is also his dream.

Mark will play the role of Takgu, a guy who's lived a very colorful life. He's the son of a mogul and his mother basically was poor and abused because the original wife of his Father basically made head way in making their lives miserable. They also tried to kidnap, hurt her, keep her in the sidelines most of the time and keep tons of secrets in between. The first few weeks tells us the story as they were just kids and it basically explains why Tagku, his brother, his mother and everyone else involved in their lives are how they are now, now that they've all grown up.

They'll also be romantically involved with some of the characters and they would end up with the ones they love, so in a nutshell Shaira Mae will be with Mark Neumann in the story. Akihiro Blanco will also be a little busy in this drama because his role is pivotal. There will be a lot of situations where their characters will have a lot of conflicts, much like what I've seen in the original Korean series because as TV5 puts it, they'll be making this story very similar to the original one. They deem not to change it because the concept is very nice already that it would be catastrophic to not show that in the Philippines.

In my neighborhood, Kamuning Bakery basically is the oldest bake shop because they've been there since 1939. They bake tons of stuff that I grew up with and they went here to basically have Mark try and show us a few things he learned in baking workshops. He did it for this role but he told us that he fell in love with it and maybe even plan to pursue a business like it in the future. When he teased some of the press members about showing them his pandesals, they thought of something else but seeing how much effort went in to making this in front of us that day, it made us feel how Mark would definitely give Takgu's role justice. Landing this was even made with stern hard work, it was just something he hoped for in the past and TV5 trusted him with this part. We felt he was very thankful for the opportunity and hopes he doesn't disappoint the same people who has helped him land this role.

He got his hands dirty and made dough from Flour, Water, Yeast and a little salt. They also had butter, Sugar, creamed and mixed it up to form it in a ball. They let it rest and cut it into little pieces. Et voila! You have Mark Neumann's Pan De Sal!

He was also very happy while doing it. He says that in order to make good bread, you must have passion, you must feel happy while doing it because once you bite into something that you make while you're sad, the customer will also feel that way too. You'll see them cry because it wasn't made for a good reason. This is something that you'll learn from the master bakers of Baker King.

Oh and if you see weird stuff like how much the Korean culture is a bit respectful of the matriarchs, please understand that this is how it is in Korea.

You'll see him bake, you'll see him fight, you'll see him love and be a responsible man in the end. Today would be a good time you follow his story as we watch Baker King Mondays to Fridays at 9:30 PM on the happiest network in the Philippines, TV5!

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http://www.tv5.com.ph/

TV5 Rolls Out Sunday Powercast Noontime Show "Happy Truck Ng Bayan!"

You know what I love about TV5? It's their ability to innovate and make shows from scratch. This weekend, we covered what seemed to be a secret show they were working on for almost a year now. The cast, was just about everybody on TV5's stable. It was also going to be in a time slot where the strong only survive. They are challenging some really good programs from other networks but wouldn't just provide stars and variety, they're adding in comedy, dance, singing in a whole different way. Different way? Yes, different. How you may ask? Well for starters, they're not just doing it inside the studios, aside from that, they're not letting the audience travel all the way to the Novaliches or Mandaluyong studios... they're going to you! Yes, they're going from town to town in this huge one of a kind Happy Truck as it converts into a full functioning stage and do their production numbers, game segments, songs and dances on the streets where you are. They're going to your barangays and play, go around and be with you as they launch this noontime show called "Happy Truck Ng Bayan!".

For starters, they had us surprised with new faces as the "New Generation Sexbomb Girls". Same intensity, same body qualities and strong disposition that they'll be getting the whole cast and the crowd dance with them on the show. 

There's no other channel that features some of the newest stars in different shows such as these kilig crew. Imagine Sophie Albert, Vin Abrenica, Chanel Morales, Akihiro Blanco, Shaira Mae and Mark Neumann as they take you into Wattpad Presents themed games and portions in the show plus their own production numbers. They're cute, gorgeous, amazing and if you get them in one frame everyday, wouldn't that be awesome?! Oh and if that ain't enough, Superstar DJ Tom Taus will join the crew. Isn't that too much? Well, there's more!