Ken Chan Plays Father with Special Needs in “My Special Tatay”

Ken Chan has always been so nice to me, even his fans who always holds a special place in his heart. Today is the premiere of his new show “My Special Tatay” in GMA’s afternoon prime, and of course GMA Artist Center arranged an intimate viewing party for several of Ken Chan’s fan groups as they were eagerly waiting for this new soap.

Honestly I was expecting another installment of his previous successful project Destiny Rose but I guess he’s doing this to employ something different, to make himself challenged as he portrays different roles and probably make himself learn as a better actor.

Ken Chan says ”We had a shooting day today but had to cancel it so we can be with you guys. Our goal is to be able to send the message across, about this condition and how people with special needs need help and understanding. Thank you for helping us, I hope you get to watch this from start to finish.”

Bruno says “When we accepted this project and saw the material, we were very excited to be in it. I play an anti hero, not much of a contra bida and he's a little on the soft side. I hope you all get to see us and how we tell this important story that has a lot of lessons.”

Arra San Agustin came in front and said “I am so happy to see you all eager to watch the first episode, I hope would like this show. We spent a lot of time making this.”

Direk LA says “Thank you so much for your support, I hope you continue to watch the show and perhaps we’ll have a longer run if you show how much you love this. I hope I can take you all to the set, we have so many things in store for you guys so thank you for coming here today, enjoy the pilot! Thank you for supporting Ken and the whole show!”

Here's the rest of our interview on video,we asked them about the show and how they feel about the acceptance of the audience during the pilot episode.

When we watched the episode earlier, it evidently showed they took time to actually anchor the life story of Ken Chan’s character and what happened with his parents. They told us these are all significant so you get to know why the circumstances happen, as it is not only on the pretense of having special needs, they too are people who get affected by life, they live day to day like you and me, and how they want you to know that despite his condition, he was able to accomplish being a good father.

This is a touching story, out of the box characters that Ken Chan enjoys and he attributes these interesting acting pieces to the management of GMA whom he trusts over the years to become who he is today. He said thanks to the people present there, Puradak Chicken (for our meals) and Bench who gave us goodies to take home too.

You should watch what happens tomorrow, I bet there would be more interesting people they need to tell you about so make it a habit to watch My Special Tatay on GMA Afternoon Prime!

Congratulations Ken! I am so proud of you! Keep that fire burning, that passion continues to grow in you. Cheers!

KUMAGCOW

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Camille Pratts and Neil Ryan Sese for “Ang Forever Ko’y Ikaw”

GMA is amping up their morning tine slot starting with this promising show called “Ang Forever Ko’y Ikaw!”. Topbilled by Camille Pratts and Neil Ryan Sese, they’ll make you swoon with their love story from Mondays to Fridays at 11:30AM. They will also be together with some of the most talented actors from their stable Bruno Gabriel and Starstruck’s Ayrs Mariano. They’ll be challenging a tough pairing in the other channel but I’m sure they’ll be actually putting up a good fight. Their premise, a love story that has got to do with fate, chances, love in unexpected places which would make viewers root for them right from the start of the show.

Neil Ryan Sese

This is based on a true story of the relative of one of the writers. It’s like they had coffee, same flavor, same shop, sat in tables but never met. They also dined in restaurants, ordered the same food at the same time but never even saw each other. Then in one party, they were introduced, they didn’t know they lived in the same condo, both single parents and now want to keep their lovelife FOREVER, and didn’t know they were right beside each other, all along.

Now they go through a dating phase, the comedies included. They also met through alter ego accounts, kindred spirits but didn’t know they knew each other. GMA Entertainment Content Group and Marco Fundales’ concept seemed too true, until this love story that talks about destiny HAPPENED.

Their Director Jude Paulo Diangson says “It will be different because of the treatment, it will focus on light romance, but not shallow. It has substance and authenticity, that’s our target and it’s weired because I was able to watch this and felt it. The story is not complicated, easy to understand but not too conflicted.”

The magnanimous Ms. Odette Khan

Ms. Odette Khan says “Well I want you to know that there is no acting involved, this is me and my daughter in law and I am so happy to be part of this. I will treasure this award I got for the rest of my life, we all know we work hard for this and I think it’s mine and no one can take it. The only kid I have passed away in this show and I don’t like her. Yon! Thank you to GMA 7 the best network ever!”

Camille Pratts

Neil says “This is my first time to be a romantic leading man, I’m not scary this time and I had to be more natural. I’m really thankful they chose me to play Lance. I knew he’s hopeful. The material alone is promising and we don’t have to do anything but just follow the process and hope it would reflect with the audience who will watch this show. Camille is pretty and fun to be with. I feel bad about the passing of Direk Maryo but the last time we talked it was about this project. He told me to get more good looking and macho, but I told him I can do that macho part though the good looks part is already as is.”

Camille adds “The challenge really is just toning down the intensity. I love romcoms because it looks effortless but really does have to do a lot with it. It’s a good thing even normal people can have a second chance, that’s what I want people to pick up from this show. I also believe in serendipity, in God’s perfect time you will meet your special someone. When I read this, it felt so familiar, my lines even felt like it in real life. It’s probably why Ginny as a Mom and her journey, I could totally relate with her. It’s not going to be gone in my life, it’s always going to be there. Vj and Nathan are my priorities, that’s where I pour because it’s always going to be part of my life. God has plans for us and I didn’t see parts of my life like this, but it came for me and my kid, I think that’s why we have this. We love Ms. Odette dearly, we even sometimes laugh so much we had to stop taping. Neil will be topless in one scene, so you have to watch this. The things you will see here can happen in real life, it would be easy to love the story because everything is relateable and simple just to be able to entertain. Back then I had to get raped and stuff but in this script we had to fall in love. Our director made it even easy for us to do this. I am grateful that GMA believes in me, this is a blessing to be in this show even if I just gave birth.”

Bruno Gabriel

The gorgeous Ayra Mariano

Bruno says “I haven’t really loved enough people to know if serendipity is true or not but I’m sure there’s someone out there for all of us. As a follow up to Grind, this looks different because it’s younger, humorous, and we’re excited we got even more close. We haven’t had scenes yet (Camille) but happy to work with Neil because reminds me of my real Dad. Pretty much the same with Ayra, I would be happy to continue this love team with her. ”

Ayra Mariano says “It’s our first time to work with them, super happy to be with them on scene because you are not intimidated. I am so glad management gave us this roles and build our loveteam. I think this is what’s happening with out love team, I can work with Migo but I’m happy with Bruno. We still have people hoping for that to happen because of TOTGA, so anything goes.”

Archie Alemanya

The sexy Kai Cortez

Kai Cortez says “I love Camille, but this has been the first time I worked with her in a series. I see a lot of things we have in common and as far as friends go, we’re good.”

Again if you’re up for a feel good light romantic show, then you should watch “Ang Forever Ko’y Ikaw!” on GMA’s morning slot at 11:30AM, March 12 right before Eat Bulaga.

KUMAGCOW

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BENCH UNDER THE STARS The Press Preview

It looks like you wanna know what's about to happen tomorrow at Bench Under The Stars, so I'll begin by taking you to the press preview we had a few weeks ago. This is part of Bench's 30th Anniversary celebration so in a nutshell, expect MORE than the usual fashion show. Imagine being under the stars at night, confidently being in your skin and donning the best quality Bench underwear and denim.... giving it your all!

Your favorite stars, your favorite models, will all join in the fun and make you feel it's just YOU and them under the stars. The band called PULSO started things off with model Rob Mananquil on vocals, he's the boyfriend of Maxene Magalona. He's actually pretty good , a great prelude for what's about to happen in the show. Yes it's going to be sexy, it's expected to be undeniably good. In this show you'll also see first timers, some artists from both ABSCBN, GMA, even international models. You'll be seeing Sanya Lopez, Beauty Gonzales, Bianca King, Addy Raj, Bruno Gabriel, Kiko Estrada, Albie Casiño, Kim Domingo, Marco Gumabao, Jodilly Pendre, Miss Universe Maxine Medina and a whole lot more!

CLICK ON THIS BUTTON TO SEE THE REST OF THE SHOW!

GRIND: Get Ready It's a New Day!

Have you seen that new show GRIND (Get Ready It's a New Day!) on GMA? I actually missed it last week so I'm a bit sad.

Good thing I had the chance to interview them this afternoon at Palm Grill in Tomas Morato. GMA organized a bloggers conference so we got to see the artists in this project. GRIND is produced by a new company called Wizpher Mac Productions who pitched this show and now it's shown on GMA right after i-Witness. It's a little late, but they were quite confident telling us that they know the story alone could get you hooked in this series. The aim is to bridge the gap between millenials and non millenials, a task quite difficult to understand but we all know that exists right? And let's face it, when people interact with them, they don't get along sometimes. It's a mystery how these not so kids anymore maintain their values. It shows the mindset of millenials, asks questions of why they are driven, how they also work hard for their family. In fact, they are just like the rest of us.

These yuppies are independent, expressive, everytime has a different outfit. Jazz Ocampo plays Solanj, a carefree soul who takes care of her best friend's coffee. Carlo and Solanj are best friends and business partners. Theirs is a pretty cool relationship, but does this automatically mean it's bound for romance?

In the pilot episode, they will start off at different situations, the guy got fired, two ladies had problems. So they got together and put up a COFFEE SHOP. It's where they all pour their passion, you'll see that in their eyes.

He is a millenial, an admitted overachiever. He is socially inept, with an unfriendly vibe, always in the zone, but says he's not really that cold. He keeps the relationships that means a lot to him. The daringness of his character is not just there to show it, it has a purpose, it mirrors young professionals and their lives. Bruno Gabriel quirps "This character may be older than I am but as an actor, this adds to versatility. Carlo succeeded early in college, like the millenials they are, it shows his different experiences. Sexy is just the way it is, I don't feel judged and I think it's a cultural thing."

They also told us about RK played by Benedict Campos. He's a previous Artist Center actor, but is now managed by a different outfit. They described his character like it's the worst among them adding "He's poor because of his own fault. He carries his trolly around like his home, but he's so positive and he's always the happy one. His character is gay, very realistic and not a clown. He attacks his role differently and we think he's the first one who passed the auditions with flying colors. When we read the script, we get surprised by how he executes it, and he's a very interesting character." 

Jazz Ocampo adds "Solanj may be a different type of role, a yuppie but Artist Center knows how to put us in characters. I played different ones in the past and I don't think it'll affect our teen image because they train us at workshops, it equipped us in getting different roles." 

Ayra Mariano plaus Louie in the show, she says "Louie is a millenial, always on the go, always picking up jobs everywhere and is working for her family with different siblings from differen races. She just ultimately wants to have someone to lean on."

So if you're not doing anything this weekend make GRIND a part of your watching habit. It's an interesting plot, very current, and won't short change you in small amounts of drama, romance, comedy all rolled into one! Again, it's on GMA right after i-Witness.

Thank you to their sponsors for giving away these items :) I like the shirts from BUM and cleaning stuff from Bench!

As a parting shot, here they are inviting you to watch the show!

KUMAGCOW

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The Cast of GMA's "Hahamakin Ang Lahat" Facebook Live Sessions

GMA is starting a new afternoon header called "Hahamakin ang Lahat" (means renouncing everything just to please you) starring Kristoffer Martin (who's hunkier now), Joyce Ching (yes they're exe's in good terms), Thea Tolentino (premier villain), Renz Valerio (who promises to do mature things in this soap), and newcomer Bruno Gabriel (a very tall guy with good looks) and a couple more people to complete the cast. 

Now I wasn't prepared to actually see what was going to happen to the Facebook Live Q&A because honestly this is my first time to see them in this setup. I was expecting it to be a little more on the interactive side and I think they even gave more than that. The greeting alone was shocking because they said "Hi and Hello" like it's the 4th of July. 

This is my first time to see Bruno Gabriel and if my hunch is right, he probably is a ramp model. His built, very muscular body, would probably pass off as very athletic. He plays football, tennis, and just learned that he's the son of former actress Lani Lobangco. Albeit a bit quiet during the event, he comes off very eloquent when he talks, he got teased about that because it looked like he prepared a lot about what he was going to say in that live stream. I think the show had a different working title previously but he says he's excited to be part of this show. He's not nervous anymore because he got a lot of help from his co-actors. I think they're probably trying to pair him with Thea Tolentino in the show, but we have yet to find out how that would turn out.

She's lovely, a bit thinner than the last time I saw her and she's raring to challenge the KrisJoy pairing on this show. She's one of GMA's believable anti heroes, and she's done a remarkable job in her past shows. Now that she's in "Hahamakin Ang Lahat!" she plans to attack the character differently as she's not directly going to be evil. I got the sense that you might be rooting for her as well as she tries to be in the way of KrisJoy in this soap. We will find out on their premier this afternoon. I still owe her a Strawberry Shortcake because when I went to Trinoma that morning Papermoon didn't have one yet on the shelves and said to go back at 4pm, long story! But I'm so glad she's still here, remember the long running Half Sisters? Ah, you should expect more!

Joyce is very versatile. She could play possum one day and a monster the next. She's very bubbly, and Kristoffer and her rapport is just contagious! They're like an automatic tag team when playing around, they even finish each other's sentences. It would be easy to find them sweet on this show because I think they are in real life. If I didn't know Kristoffer's gf I would've believed they're still together. I'm sure you'll get along with how she'll portray her role this time as the romance evolved between her character and Kris'.

Kristoffer bulked up a bit, probably stemmed from working out a lot these past few months. He's a dynamite ready to explode when you put him in a group. He was drawing punchlines left and right, hugot's even. But this show will probably showcase his knack for drama, he's always been good in that department and this show would probably prove to be another challenge to see if KrisJoy still have what it takes to be a love team. I'm a fan of these two!

Taller, feistier, Renz Valerio was also trying to fool around with the cast that afternoon. He's not that shy anymore and he exudes good manners even if he's trying to be naughty. He's a really good example for teens now trying to phase in the more mature roles like in this soap. They were joking about him drinking and stuff, you should have been there live. His adoring fans can't wait to see him, they were the most vocal that afternoon and he's pretty thankful for that.  Watch his character become involved with the lovers, the other people in the show because he's someone to watch out for.

I hope you are all enjoying the show right now. Here's a rerun of thay Facebook Q&A shot from my camera. Enjoy!

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