RHIAN RIVERA and LEA BERNABE Will Be INTENSE in POV
Thursday, August 27, 2026
JULIANNE RICHARDS on VMX's Pinay K@masuträ
THE RAIN IN ESPANA to be Shown on TV5
Friday, May 12, 2023
I've seen much talk about this on Twitter and an online novel platform a few months ago. When they were already rolling and announcement of the cast was already done, I am glad how they chose Marco Gallo for the role of Kalix and Heaven Peraleho for the role of Luna. This is first and foremost, a love story. Telling that story from the book to the screen is going to be a hard one and it needs to come across the same way if they want to succeed.
The show will premiere on May 14 at 4PM (and Sundays thereafter) on TV5 and their other platforms, and will have 10 episodes to make sure it translates to the audience how hard it is to balance school, family, love and wished career these days. Things will certainly be complicated once the part of infidelity will be shown, so make sure you watch out what caused it and how it would turn out in the show.
Rain in España has shown a lot of promise in Viva One so having this be on free to air and digital TV will have an entirely new audience to please. Writer Gwy Saludes (who looks so young btw!) is also involved as a creative consultant, so it'll be good to see how it would strictly follow the story line, and perhaps, the success that comes with that. This is also directed by Theodore Boborol who's got several successful movies on his belt, so we do expect this to be told excellently like his other projects.
Aside from the two stars, the show also includes Gab Lagman, Bea Binene, Krissha Viaje, Nicole Omillo, Aubrey Caraan, Gabby Padilla, Andre Yllana, Frost Sandoval and Francis Magundayao. For more about this project, head on to TV5's social channels and see why people are raving the Rain in Espana.
Bad Life Choices: ALAPAAP Now Out on VIVAMAX App
Friday, November 18, 2022
It delves into the lives of college friends, some who are into film making. To finish their studies, had to make a documentary as requirement. They decided to do a documentary, a tribe from a remote province. It wouldn't be that easy as they're no ordinary bunch of guys and gals. Let's just say it's all about bad parenting, vices, urges and alcohol ultimately taking over their usual lives. They're a pretty rough bunch and it won't be too long til they meet mishaps along the way.
You'll get to see the role of Josef Elizalde who plays Erik Bengzon being a lot problematic. He's in his own world, pretty much feeling invincible but later on receives the ugly truth of his actions. Aside from that, Ali Asistio who plays Orius Plana will make you think if he's a good friend or a a bad influence. He looks like a goody two shoes at first, then an evil doer, and makes matters worse. Katrina Dovey, Andrea Garcia, Chesca Paredes, Alona Navarro provide chameleon like characters wherein the audience begin to see horrid changes as they take in intoxicating drinks or substances. They even took it to the mountains (visiting natives) and lived to regret every second of it. The lone London based guy Luke Selby had some of the press screening the movie at the edge of their seats as he contributed what he could do in the acting department. Albeit foreign, he fit right in like a glove. He was in conversation, yet clueless, you'll have to fish out reasons how he ended up in group sessions as with the other cast members.
I asked how this would be different from a Brillante Mendoza directorial work, and Fredrich Macapagal Cortez told us about his cinematography background that would take this into more of his style. This is quite easy to understand once you get to see the closeup shots (especially the eye, skin and sunlight scenes) which you'll see if you stream this project. This is also exclusively going to be released through the VIVAMAX app so download it if you want to see the movie. Subscription fees are also affordable, so you have a chance to see it all. Aside from that, the cast also told us about how detractors shouldn't look at their work differently. Listen in to what we talked about after the screening, I love how frank Andrea Garcia answers questions:
If this piqued your interest and want to know how it ends, go watch ALAPAAP scheduled to be released today November 18 on the VIVAMAX app.
Get Obsessed with "The Influencer" on VIVAMAX
Friday, August 05, 2022
In this day and age, you’ve probably seen an influencer strut their stuff on social media channels. It’s a shortcut to stardom for some, while others use it for other things.
Yexel is an influencer, one that has a dysfunctional family, living quite a fake life. He goes out with friends, some to spend the night with. But in one of these parties, he meets Nina... one that would change his life.
Yexel becomes a kid in a candy store initially. When he’s with her, he takes on Nina like a ravaging hungry testosterone filled maniac who doesn’t want to be far from her... that's til she mentions how she wants to become more serious, but Yexel obviously wasn’t into that.
Unbeknownst to Yexel, Nina has her own secrets. Yes, the film will be really packed with lots of scenes that VIVAMAX is known for (almost half of the scenes will be like that). It’ll get really really overboard once Nina starts taking out her real personality and all hell breaks loose.

This script is interestingly written, at the helm of Quinn Carillo I'd liken her style to be of Quentin Tarantino, she doesn't mind how much shock factor her story is and it's something that you'll look forward with her work. Albeit this is the first time Direk Louie Ignacio is tackling this genre, it was well executed and done realistically, researched well.
You will be a little exhausted at the end of this movie, feel how they'll be trying to connect what's happening in some of the darkest sides of the influencers they got these stories from; because Direk Louie says, this is something that they wanted to show, something so real that they wouldn't be defending much on the story line of "The Influencer" which comes out on August 12th.
GOLD ACERON Topbills SCORPIO NIGHTS 3
Wednesday, August 03, 2022
Blessed beyond his wildest dreams, that's what Gold Aceron describes his year. He's already done several indie films in the past that has landed him with acting awards, and trust from the producers, patrons who have noticed his work and acting prowess. This afternoon, we got to talk to him about his new movie Scorpio Nights 3. It's hailed from the classic 1985 movie created by Director Peque Gallaga written by T.E. Pagaspas which starred Daniel Fernando (now the Governor of Bulacan).
Gold Aceron used to work independently without a manager, but when he was booked to act in a music video, he was noticed by Kean and Chynna Ortaleza Cipriano who owns OC Records. He became their first managed actor after that. All he wanted to have was something simple, a slew of projects that would be able to alleviate his financial woes, so he could provide for himself and his family. He's practically done the legwork already, and he deserves the success he's having.
In the film he's playing the role of Matt, a young man discovering his potential in the "makin love" department. He fancies Pinay, a married woman played by Christine Bernas. Things will get complicated as Mark Anthony Fernandez' role as Drake (her husband) would find out later on about the illicit affair they're having which all started from a simple peephole.
Here's what happened earlier during the press conference:
Gold says "I was extremely happy when this project was mentioned to me. This is a classic movie, my parents knew it and I wasn't really informed first about who was going to comprise the role of the lead guy. They told me that I was going to be part of it, I was overwhelmed, even if I was a little nervous because my body wasn't as big as Daniel Fernando's back then, I was thankful this was really given to me. I watched the first one, I didn't have qualms about it being a little risky. OC Records really changed my career path, I feel lucky being in this management, they are a huge blessing for me because they really guide where I would go. They also mentioned I'd be singing soon, I'd like to explore that someday, why not, that's additional talent for me. I want to show people that this happens in real life, you'll learn something from Matt and how he explores this life. I'd love to do different roles, I also am doing a May-December affair movie soon, it's going to be this year too."
He adds "If I'd be able to choose, I want to be rich rather than famous so I can still go out whenever I want to and not be limited to stay at home. I want to go to malls without people recognizing me, just enough so I could provide for myself and my family."
If you would like to see the film Scorpio Nights 3, it's already available at the VIVAMAX platform which you can download in the App Store or Google Play. Thank you to OC Records for the opportunity to interview Gold earlier today!
VIVAMAX: "TAHAN" When Things Take A Dark Turn
Sunday, July 17, 2022
We went in the cinema of Gateway Mall for the screening of the film TAHAN, a movie which will be shown solely on streaming platform VIVAMAX. Cloe Barreto plays the role of Elise, a woman who was forced to work in the high end escort industry; she started at a very young age. To provide for herself and her Mother, she had to seek clients for pay to do all their wishes. She falls prey to different kinds of folks, some kind, some abusive, which puts her in the brink of losing hope.
Her relationships are all complicated, but it pays the bill. Although in a rut, she does several encounters to feel she's the dominant one, being served as she doesn't have that on normal days. She also got into vices, so she could forget about what’s happening. She also gets involved with a guy (a former high school fling) played by JC Santos (also multi awarded actor). He represents her way out, her wishing to change ways, but all fails as she gets sold and forced by her Mom; depicted by 2016 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Ms. Jaclyn Jose. The film also stars Mercedes Cabral, Karl Medina, EJ Salamante, AJ Oteyza and Jet Delgado. Quinn Carillo wrote this film, but also stars in it as the protagonist's best friend.
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| Talented writer and actress Quinn Carillo who slayed the script! |
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| Cloe Barreto plays Elise |
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| AJ Oteyza, Quinn Carillo plays interesting characters |
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| JC Santos plays Cloe's high school sweetheart. What will become of him when things go south? |
Not to patronize her, but Quinn really put the needed shocking twists in the script of this film. Although it delved on content appealing to men, Director Bobby Bonifacio, Jr. made risky creative interpretation to make Quinn's script come alive. It felt like a long dream sequence, one that takes all the things she probably feared the most to happen on screen. If you think about it, this movie is matriarchal in nature, on how their relationships and dynamics work... until things take a dark, dark turn.
All in all, this is a showcase of talented actors. Cloe Barreto has really leveled up her acting chops straight from her other projects like "Silab". Aside from that, JC Santos presents a different persona who still has to tell their story. They were high school sweethearts who lost touch. This may also open up a lot of possibilities, a prequel, another installment, which can be possible since the story asks for it. As expected, Madame Jaclyn Jose proved why she's world class. She's very generous, and let Cloe shine when she needs to in the film. I'd be really surprised if this didn't snatch an award from different festivals which they plan to do soon. Here's some videos I made of the presscon which happened after the screening:
You can watch this movie solely on the VIVAMAX app, you can download it off web.vivamax.net, Google Play or the App Store. Payment is a monthly subscription which you can do on the website, or various digital wallets. It can also be accessed in countries like UAE (Dubai), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar or elsewhere in Europe where available. You can also download it on East and Southeast Asian countries, New Zealand, Australia, the US and Canada. Having this be accessed worldwide, it's already doing the deed of introducing Filipino films worldwide. Congratulations to the cast and production of TAHAN and I'm glad plans for another film from the same production will be in the works soon.
This film is sick, and I LOVE IT!
Of Card Sharks, Betrayal and Feisty Women: Director Phil Giordano for VIVAMAX's "PUSOY"
Wednesday, May 04, 2022
I've had the pleasure of meeting Writer-Director Phil Giordano during the screening of Brillante Mendoza's masterpiece "Palitan" during the first week of December 2021. He's originally from Staten Island in New York, got his masters from NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia. He's pretty accomplished and has received a Grand Jury Prize at the New York Screenplay Contest for his short entitled "Supot".
He's no stranger to how we do films in the Philippines as I'm under the impression he's been working with Brillante Mendoza's production for a number of years. His handy work "Supot" that got around 10 accolades in Busan International Film Festival and several other award giving bodies - and have been shown in different countries as well. He's done several commercials and campaigns with well known brands like KFC, Porsche, Johnson & Johnson, Universal Music and others. Recently, they released a new movie which he made for the VIVAMAX platform called "PUSOY". This was something he already had written but made it extra spicy since it's likely to follow the theme of movies seen on the app.
As the title suggests, this is about a group of card hustlers lead by Baron Geisler's character Rodolfo. Their lives got complicated when they got caught in one of their cheating sprees and murdered a son of a politician played by Greg Hawkins (of Kuya Escort fame). Rodolfo got in a rut and had to seek help of a General which then forced him to go even deeper into debt... and the dark world of wagers, dirty money, women and vices. The film stars Janelle Tee who plays the role of Xandra. She's Rodolfo’s mistress with the same set of skills, providing the venue for love, trust and betrayal in different acts. Also in PUSOY are Vince Rillon, Angeli Khang, Felix Roco, Jela Cuenca, Julio Diaz, Raqel Monteza, Kiko Matos and Jacq Yu. This is pretty much an ensemble of new and experienced actors which we asked Director Phil Giordano about, let's listen in:
It's remarkable to see that we have the talented Director Phil Giordano making strides in the movie industry in the Philippines. I like his capacity to adapt, to make his films follow his style, which I deem stem from his hunger to create things and write at an early age. After seeing films done in the US, he knew he could do an even better job and got inspired with the great film makers. He's also planning to have a shorter version of this out for international film festivals, so this is just the start. Exciting times no?!
PUSOY by the way can be seen worldwide on VIVAMAX (this is produced by Brillante Mendoza), you can visit VIVAmax.net for more information about the movie and other titles in their library. Get in tourch with Phil on his social channels FB: https://www.facebook.com/PhilipJGiordano/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/philip_giordano.director if you want to see more of his work.
CRISTINE REYES and DIEGO LOYZAGA on ENCOUNTER PH Adaptation
Monday, May 24, 2021
Undeniably one of the most watched KDrama in television and cable history and one of the most revered shows where Park Bo Gum stars is this one called "Encounter" which he stars with Song Hye Kyo. Well, it's going to be shown on TV5, Sari Sari Channel and on the Cignal Play App. Thing is, this is the Filipino adaptation and from the looks of it, it's going to have its own flavor as the ones reprising the role of Selene and Gino is Cristine Reyes and Diego Loyzaga.
For those who watched the Korean flick, they did some scenes in Cuba right? This time, since the constraints of the pandemic happened, they got scenic sunsets done in Ilocos Norte and Subic which made this even more interesting. The love story between a divorcee hotelier and a person who later they find out worked for her is going to get your frustrations worked up as they solve their relationship and her former husband's family. She's very successful, upon making a dying business evolve into an empire. It was so nice to see how Cristine and Diego portray their complicated characters as they are going to put their personal and Filipino flavor. This afternoon, we got to ask questions about the show and here's some of it on video:
Aside from Cristine and Diego, they will be flanked by a colorful ensemble cast which includes Kean Cipriano, Robert Seña, Maricel Morales, Yayo Aguila, Louise delos Reyes, Gardo Versoza, Isay Alvarez and more. ENCOUNTER will be shown every Saturday at 8PM and the catch up episodes will be the next day on Sari Sari channel. You can also download the Cignal Play App if you're elsewhere in the country and prefer to watch it streaming instead.
This is also Diego Loyzaga's comeback after a long hiatus in show business. You might want to watch his star shine more.
Championing Viewers: CIGNAL TV and TV5
Thursday, March 18, 2021
If you haven't felt it, heard or seen it, you'll be surprised how Cignal TV and TV5 did these huge business model changes in the past few years. They've started to work with independent producers and talent agencies which made a pretty good impact since it lowers production costs for the channel, but not shortchange artistry, entertainment value and talent which Filipinos rightfully deserve.
For those who don't know, they've worked with huge entertainment companies like VIVA Entertainment, IdeaFirst Company, Cornerstone Entertainment, Brightlight Productions, Archangel Media and Regal Entertainment. And if you haven't seen it yet, episodes of ABSCBN's highly rated shows like Coco Martin's "FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano", the Jodi Iza Sam starrer "Ang Sa Iyo ay Akin", then the Paulo Avelino, Zanjoe Marudo, Arci Muñoz and Angelica Panganiban show "Walang Hanggang Paalam" and the recent reality show Pinoy Big Brother Connect which had its finale a few days ago.
Not only that, Brightlight Productions also produced Korina Sanchez' Rated Korina, the Ian Veneracion and Dimples Romana romcom "Oh My Dad!" and the jampacked fun and innovative show "Lunch Out Loud". Viva Entertainment on the other hand brought to the table "Born to Be A Star", "Puto", "Republika Origins", "Ninja Kids", "1000 Heartbeats: Pintig Pinoy", "The Wall Philippines" and recent KDrama adaptation "Encounter" with Diego Loyzaga and Cristine Reyes. They also did Masked Singer Pilipinas, Ghost Adventures, Bella Bandida, Kagat ng Dilim and Onstage which had their really good runs in the evenings. They did good. My favorite people from IdeaFirst Company also did "Paano Ang Pasko?" and "Paano Ang Pangako?" which was done by Direk Jun Robles Lana (script), Director Enrico Quizon, Ricky Davao and Perci Intalan.
Cornerstone Entertainment did "I Got You", "Stay-In Love" and "Sunday Noontime Live!" plus Gretchen Ho's very own show Woman In Action and home grown TV5 News Programs Frontline Pilipinas and The Big Story which she's a mainstay. Archangel Media did the Paolo Ballesteros and Wally Bayola hosted Bawal na Game Show (which I had the chance to join a few months ago). They also did Fill in the Bank with Jose Manalo and Pokwang which is still doing good til now. Regal Entertainment Inc is doing their 10th year of content via One Screen Channel on Cignal TV, and they're still doing more in the coming months.
What's good is that we all know who's winning here, the viewers. For all these years, TV5 and Cignal TV managed to still bring everyone a piece of good programming in the midst of a pandemic. That's a lot of people working there just to bring you these things in 2021.
I can't wait to see more!






















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