Shared Experiences, Love, and Hurt in MMFF 2025 Entry UNMARRY

This 2025 MMFF, an entry by CINEKO Productions and Quantum Films will touch on the topic of relationships, love, and walking away. Angelica Panganiban and Tom Rodriguez will play the role of Angelica and Tom, a married couple who's life is about to collapse, breaking their hearts, and their two daughters. The other couple played by Zanjoe Marudo and Solenn Heussaff, want to fight their annulment procedure, and being with his son Elio played by Zac. Then found themselves inside the office of a lawyer, Atty. Lombridas played by the iconic Eugene Domingo. 

Finding themselves in the same boat, they got to stand on trial, telling some of the hardest things they've ever experienced while in the circumstances of their respective partners, and end up connecting, because they've been through the same things too. They began rebuilding themselves, helping each other overcome their trauma, but does this mean they're meant for each other?

Eugene Domingo "This film is sincere, no hysterics, just telling a story. It's an honor for me to do a film like this, we have a relationship because I am the real Ninang of Angge. She gives a little, it doesn't have to be overdone, a little talk, you'll feel it because she has been through a lot."

Chris "It's the way they throw lines, when I wrote this, I couldn't imagine how it would feel like in real life. It's been 3 years since we conceptualized this, about annulment, and the issues of legalities, no resolve of suggesting, but fair depiction of it, and balanced."

Angelica says "If you watched it, you'll like how characters tell their story. When I read this, I needed to be the voice of those who are seeking freedom, and we deserve that. I prepared for this because you really have to get to know the character first, it's easy because I'm working amongst friends too. I often suggest things, and they were receptive. Z and I have worked together so many times so it's comfortable to work with him. She didn't have to fight an annulment, but it's how she tries to find herself.When I was being given roles, I just couldn't feel things. Of course I want the life I have right now but I needed something that could make me come back with a project, something that could fire passion. I got text messages from both Atty Joji and Direk Chris. When I found out the cast, it was just the schedules that we talked about. This was really worth it. I started slow, they guided us in the first 3 days, but I wanted to do best because I miss this craft a lot. I wanted to prove so many things because I have experience. I needed to attack differently. My husband was happy and supportive, had to take breaks because I live in Zambales. This made me go out to Manila for a couple of days. Being with Uge was also warm, I feel good being with her on set "

Zanjoe says "When I read this, I knew how we were not husband and wife, but we were going through the same thing. Being a Father, and Husband, it's going to be more natural to connect with my character. It doesn't undermine marriage. I focused on emotions, because most of it is Ivan's family and how they are leaving you. I had to attack it on the day of the shoot, because it needs to build up naturally. I love how you know something will happen on scenes even after rehearsing it, it's a surprise every day."

Tom says "Celine and Ivan is relatable, but I tried to approach it as a human being even if I don't understand why. Even if love was depicted wrong, it's not a gimmick, it is a story that happens a lot in the Philippines. I feel fortunate because I got through a divorce which is relatively quicker. I was eager to accept this role. Atty. Joji is my Mom, this material was good but when I read it, it's something you wouldn't just leave on the table. I had to find the character."

Nico says "Being a child in an annulment, I went through it personally. This encourages you that in every ending, it gives someone else a fresh start."

Here's the video of the Mediacom this afternoon:

This comes out on Christmas day together with other entries of the Metro Manila Film Festival 2025. Make sure you catch it with the other films because this looks like an Angelica Panganiban masterpiece, she could get a Best Actress award for it. It doesn't matter if you're single, married or not. The film encourages you to think, start a better life with someone else or your own.

TomCar Stars GMA's Love of My Life

You've seen this and the previews of it in between GMA programs in the last few weeks. Excited as you are, you will start to see it on February 3 on GMA's primetime slot. You love them so much in previous shows, but Tom Rodriguez and Carla Abellana is back for a very promising drama entitled Love of my Life. This is directed by Don Michael Perez for GMA.

#LoveOfMyLifeMediacon
Posted by Kumagcow on Tuesday, January 28, 2020

They also have Coney Reyes as part of the cast, but they promise the ensemble will make the story interesting in this drama. They just saw parts of it during the presscon, they were shooting this for 7 months and some of them cried. Coney Reyes adds "You know I only accept and choose projects that challenge me and yes, working with young bloods required me to learn from them too rather than them just learning from me. Please let everyone know how good this series is because we have worked so hard on this."

There are so much to look forward to on GMA's shows this year. If you're excited for another TomCar show, this would be a good way to satisfy your cravings.

The Fight Continues: Goldwyn vs Michael on Dragonlady

Let’s not get confused, if you might be wondering what’s happening with the corporation and the personalities that are getting so much bad luck in this series, they all boil down to a love story between Michael (played by Tom Rodriguez) and Goldwyn (played by EA Guzman) and the dragonlady herself Scarlet (played by Janine Gutierrez).

EA and Tom’s character are smitten with Scarlet but in the episode which happened a few days ago, Goldwyn found them in the most awkward situation, dressed in their birthday suits, coyote ugly, then all hell breaks loose! Scarlet just couldn’t contain her real feelings for Michael and that time alone and conversation just made them closer, the passion exploded and inhibitions went out the door because that’s how real love works. But in the end, she tells Michael that she’s just playing with him... something they’d regret if this bears fruit in the coming days. (But let’s not get ahead of ourselves).

Meanwhile, their corporation isn’t doing much better as DJ Durano’s antics just wouldn’t work with their offices accounting and how much he’s spent for the nights he’s been gambling with the company’s money. To get away with it, he decides to also blackmail an evil vixen portrayed by Maricar de Mesa, which hopefully also gets caught because they’ve been living in luxury all this time. When they do, maybe they’ll both end behind bars, and life would just be perfect. Until, those who they think were already dead, suddenly appeared and freakishly alive!

Oh how I remember those latin telenovelas, things that are weird always happen, and apparently, our oriental and Asian take on it proves it’s a very good story too. Now there will be more things happening in the coming weeks, I saw them shooting last week in a nearby hotel in Quezon City. Scarlet seem to be back with Goldwyn (or are they?), but are they really together? Or will this spell something bad for them when they discover her hidden identity (especially if Astrid makes their lives like hell!).

Make sure you watch Dragonlady on GMA’s Afternoon Prime! Wait til they unravel more angles in this story, and maybe more characters that will make their lives worse than it already is. Exciting!

MALEDICTO Set To Scare You On May 1

Maledicto is coming up this May 1st, pretty close if you think about it. It’s the first production supervised by Hollywood giant 20th Century Fox and done locally by partner Cignal Entertainment, Fox Original Productions and Unitel. It stars Tom Rodriguez, Jasmine Curtis, Miles Ocampo, Ynah De Belen, Eric Quizon, Martin Escudero, Franco Laurel, Nonie Buencamino, Liza Lorena, Menggie Cobarrubias and a whole throng of character actors. A horror suspense genre based on a script made in 2015, a lot of things happened before this became a reality. Fox is glad this will show next month, a first locally made film with local actors, talking about the colorful and creepy world of exorcism in the Philippines.

SVP and GM for FOX Philippines Jude Turcuato says “Maledicto is a latin term from Male, for us this is a horror thriller after looking at a ton of scripts and we wanted to do if Fox can really produce a Hollywood pedigree film to be shown May 1st. I personally don’t get scared easily but when it is more real, then I’d be more convinced with the supernatural. A place where science and religion intersect, that’s where I am more afraid. This is part of the production lineup of 20th Century Fox. We needed to fulfill standards to make sure the staff and stars were safe, it’s what we did before we shot it all.”

Tom added “Father Xavi was a psychiatrist, but was groomed to priesthood. He wanted to understand why his sister passed and not just mental problems. I remembered shooting in an abandoned school that burned down but heard something cracked, a huge burned branch fell from out of nowhere and the trees were actually meters away from where the shoot was, that was weird.”

Writer John Guillermo said “I came up with Maledicto in 2015, way past when movies blew up in the west and here. We wanted to go in depth with possession, a horror flick but more procedural. I wanted them to see exorcism and an ancient phenomenon how to do this in this day and age. I want this to differentiate how this story is different from what the others have come out with. We realized for the characters to be compelling, we had to do research everything and go hispanic, even localize it further. When we got together, we still wanted it to be original, not strictly taken from Philippine folklore, but more based on our colonial experience as well. I am skeptic but when I was doing this I had to look for exorcism videos, the writing team felt freaked out about the unreal stuff we got. We took precautions before, during and after the shoot.”

Ynah de Belen “No I didn’t ask advice from Mom when it came to this horror thing. I have my own identity and didn’t want to live in the shadow of my folks. I was always called Anak ni Janice but hopefully after doing this I’d be remembered by my own name. I am playing the role of Mara, very close with Father Xavi and our relationship is a catalyst on how this story came out. I have heard of possession stories, but not first hand, but there are a lot of scary stuff out there.”

It made Tom wear charms and protection, scared people a bit while they were making this all. Now watch it unfold on May 1, it’s an in depth look at the process, while it may not be the exact prayers, it will make you think, or squirm in the dark corners of the movie house. Watch it if you like creepy stuff!

GMA Offers DRAGON LADY on Afternoon Prime

It looks like GMA is banking on a new fantasy series in the afternoon. They treat all their timeslots equal and if this is morning or night, it will all be like primetime, every time.

Tom Rodriguez says “I hope I could live up to her expectations. Janine makes it easy to jump into the scene, I am lucky to have experienced that with other actresses but the work we have done before felt like I was a little spoiled and if that was indicative of what is about to happen then I am afraid how we will have fun in this show. I am not nervous because the people we work with are very collaborative. We always try to get to the same page, we spent an entire afternoon as a group plus a familiarity workshop with each other. Even when I was starting I didn’t really stick to one partner and I get to experience working with other actors and actresses so there is a bit of a lucky thing to so that. I sometimes get too scared to share things but I did that when we talked so now we’re more of a team and that’s a good thing.”

Janine Gutierrez says “I can’t really show what the Dragon Lady looks like but it takes me three hours to do makeup and prosthetics. In the beginning she really was born with it, but not to spoil anything, it wouldn’t be told in the story yet. I have seen the heavy prosthetics and it was a little effort to do it, it made me nervous. When I saw the final product, it was something different. In real life, I am a little strict, some people may tell me I am like a dragon lady in real life. What is good about Celestina is that she is fighting for something, to standup for her family, to standup for herself. As an artist, if it’s a good story, we are game for that. This will break things that may imply I am just a sweet girl, it’s on a whole other level, it will literally be something that I haven’t done in any role. This literally will have me breathing fire, figuratively too.”

Watch out for the story of Michael Chan and Celestina as they introduce you to the Dragon Lady as their love story unfolds on GMA Afternoon Primetime.

Erich, Lovi and Tom for THE SIGNIFICANT OTHER

I have always loved Erich since she started doing shows in ABSCBN. In a way I was rooting for her, both in her work, and her relationships. Like life, it all has ups and downs. She felt real for me, even if she unfollowed me on IG but I don’t mind anymore haha. She remained so nice to me whenever we meet, I’m a fan I admit, and I like what is happening. She worked hard for her body - and now is the opportune time to show it off.

We all like what we see.

In this film though, she’s not the one who gets pitied with because as much as you would want to feel for her character, she’s the other woman. Lovi on the other hand plays the wife, who in a nutshell focused more on her career than her marriage. I don’t see the reason why she should be cursed for that alone but there may have been reasons why Tom Rodriguez would philander. Would that even be justifiable?

Direk Joel Lamangan says “This is the story of a woman who fell in love, and how the significant other woman came into the picture. The title is there as it is what’s written, and we think it is integral to the movie. They are not contented, they are problematic, this storyline has been told so many tines but the only difference is... are these actresses who are the best in their generation. It exists and it happens. Working with Snooky, Dina, and Tom was obviously my favorite part. I just want to see them sincere in creating characters.”

Dina Bonnevie says “I’m a doting mother, who still has care for their kids. A little well off but just like Snooky we’re just looking after our kids. I was so afraid of him in the past but he sets the bar with being real and faking it, he’s very frank but you’ll learn so much to tell me sometimes he doesn’t believe my acting, to be better than the last time. He’s a maestro.”

Ms Snooky says “I learned a lot working with Direk Joel. It’s like I reached the pinnacle of being an actor, I just worry I will fail but he has been so kind with me. I really thank him on how he treats the crew, how important it is to the craft and how he treats everyone. I see so much of Lino Brocka in him. We had a scene with Ms Dina in the bathroom and you’ll love how that will unfold in the movie. It’s something you should look forward to, when I was in underage it was so hard to remove that thought now that we had to work and hurt each other. We had to really do it again because the first take was too soft for him.”

Tom Rodriguez says “I play Dr Santillan and regards himself as the best in his field. Very confident and he gets to sleep with the top models in the industry. He gets his machismo, his confidence from doing these things that are wrong. I had so much fun working with Direk and I am trying not to get freaked out working with him.”

Lovi says “I am a supermodel, wife to Tom. She chose her career over love so she didn’t have time for her husband. I started with Direk and I think he is just an actor’s director. Erich is someone I look up to and if you see her at work, I get to do good scenes because I get it from her. She’s real and very sincere and I am thankful that I got to do that with her.”

Erich adds “She might be poor but is divided into playing this love game with his heart or mind. This is such an opportunity for me, this is also the first time I worked with actors from other networks. My rule number one is not to be number 2, and I think it’s the classy way to do even if you already want to hurt the other party. I love the chance to actually work with Lovi, we’re now good friends.”

This film is produced by CINEKO Productions and Star Cinema. It will be out on theaters on February 21, see why it’s got 7 Million Views on Facebook, 9 Million on their music video, and see if this is your cup of tea.

KUMAGCOW

Fresh Blogs Fast!

Max Collins Celebrates Birthday with Closest Fans!

Having been able to witness how Max Collins' career has flourished over the years is just an understatement. The gorgeous actress took some time off of her busy schedules and made it a point to spend some time with some of the nicest people to boot, her adoring fans. Last year, she was able to celebrate her birthday with them and a couple of her friends over at Makati's West Rembo district. Together with Pink Women on Fire, they took care of under privileged children in a day of story telling and giveaways. She's no stranger to these causes but felt that this year could be different and should be dedicated to her supporters who have always been there from the start. They didn't even leave her at times when she couldn't even say hi or hello personally because of work. She and GMA Artist Center prepared a day of pampering at a local nail salon in Quezon City to make sure they felt how important they were for Max.

Aside from getting them manicure and pedicure treatments, Max also made the party fun by playing some short games with her fans. She never said no to a selfie either. It was intimate and pretty good to see they enjoyed it!

I then sat down with Max for a short interview. What astounds me to know is that she's actually getting inclined with business. She's got a lot on her plate right now but she wants to make these plans all come true in the next few years. Listen in!

Max Collins Birthday with Fans by kumagcow

Thanks to Max's GMA Artist Center family, MET TATHIONE, Ever Bilena Cosmetics, Bench, Black Water Perfumes, Tokyo Posh, Faces and Curves, Dental Focus and OMIZU water, her fans also got some goodies when they went home. Happy and eager to support Max, they went home with a smile on their faces. That's what Max wanted all along!

Max has some pretty good projects right now in GMA. She's in Encantadia, and recently Someone To Watch Over Me with Tom Rodriguez and Lovi Poe. Make sure you watch the show on primetime as it will replace Juan Happy Love Story which starred Dennis Trillo and Heart Evangelista. 

Thanks to GMA Artist Center for having us in Max's celebration. Happy happy birthday gorgeous lady! You'll go places!

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Dion Ignacio's Birthday at the Camillus Medhaven for the Elderly

We're in far Marikina today for the celebration of our dear Kapuso hunk Dion Ignacio. He's celebrating his 29th birthday but he's never look older. The Starstruck alumni and Marimar antagonist is looking forward to spend time with the seniors and patients from the Camillus Medhaven for the Elderly. He spent a lot of time with them first and even sang a few songs for them while giving small things for the elderly too. From food to toiletries, to small grocery packs and adult diapers, he's sought help of his GMA Artist Center family to facilitate the arrangements for this day to happen.

When Dion arrived, he immediately said hi to the elders and made "mano" to all of them. He also obliged to get photos taken with the staff and patients of the center. I learned most of their relatives are abroad and couldn't get someone to take care of them that's why they are in the haven for the elderly. A sad fact, but I find it was actually good for them since they can talk with others in their situation plus the people in the center took care of their needs quite good. Dion remembers his Grandpa and Grandma and felt he's just visiting them here too. He lives a couple of blocks away from this place in Marikina and this isn't the first time that he's celebrated with the elderly, he did this too in a different place last year.

The center's leaders also told us that this is the first time that a celebrity has been able to visit them, and wishes this isn't the last. I'm sure GMA Artist Center would do this again.

Dion also sang a couple of songs for them. The staff swooned on the young hunky gentleman from Starstruck.

Happy happy birthday Dion!

One of the caregivers who also facilitated the event thanked Dion, GMA and Artist Center about them holding his birthday here.

What I don't understand is that he's still not satisfied with his built, he promises to go back to the grind so you'll get to see him in more roles real soon.

He also told us his experience in the first Lipsync Battle together with Tom Rodriguez where he had to help his friend. They were battling against equally gorgeous hunk Dennis Trillo. He also mentioned his experience studying culinary arts plus what he's doing with Philia Band. We also talked about the starstruck winners this year. Listen and watch our interview with the birthday boy  :)

For more information about their artists:

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Visit their official website

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