Entries from March 2009

March 27, 2009

Pacquiao returns to GMA-7

By Nickie Wang/ Manila Standard Today

After announcing that his much-awaited fight against Ricky Hatton will be aired on ABS-CBN, Pacquiao made an apologetic announcement honoring the exclusive rights of GMA-7 and Solar Sports to broadcast his May 2 title bout.
It’s a mission accomplished for GMA Network vice president for entertainment Wilma Galvante, who personally [...]

March 26, 2009

Cesar Montano: Intertwined life in the movies and politics

By Nickie Wang/ Manila Standard Today
Is Cesar Montano going to run for a political post again? Well, the right person to answer this question is no other than Cesar himself.
The actor plunged into politics when he made a sudden decision to join the Senate slate in the 2007 elections under the administration’s TEAM Unity. Critics [...]

March 24, 2009

Animax animates the ‘Laminated Woman’

By Nickie Wang/ Manila Standard Today

LaMB premieres 8 p.m. tonight. It is the first multi-platform, multi-disciplinary, and multi-media production for online, mobile and television produced by Animax.
This $6-million animated film, the biggest Animax original production, is also the channel’s first production in High Definition to be broadcast across several countries. The story is inspired by [...]

March 23, 2009

Richard Gutierrez relives the Legend of Zorro

By Nickie Wang/ Manila Standard Today
This year’s most anticipated and ambitious program to be produced on primetime television is the first and official localized version of the story of a fictional character created in the early 20th century.
Zorro, GMA Network’s latest addition to its strong Telebabad block, will be headlined by Richard Gutierrez playing the [...]

March 20, 2009

Rock band restarts journey with Arnel Pineda

By Nickie Wang/ Manila Standard Today
Our old pals can still rock, and the inclusion of Filipino rocker Arnel Pineda provided new energy to the band that has been entertaining fans across the globe for more than three decades now.
Last Saturday at exactly 8:30 p.m., rock aficionados had a dynamic auditory and visual experience. It’s a [...]

March 13, 2009

Final set throws fans into hysterical frenzy

By Nickie Wan/ Manila Standard Today
It’s around 10:30 in the evening, what emotion would you feel if the iconic “Ang Huling El Bimbo” was being performed by the greatest local band, and you were in the middle of one hundred thousand people who are practically singing the song through their hearts, and the sky [...]

March 13, 2009

Saying ‘I do’ for the nest egg

By Nickie Wang/ Manila Standard Today
We were invited to an event that launched ETC Entertainment Central’s newest program, Here Come the Newlyweds. Bonifacio High Street was an apt location for a launch that was attended by chatty disc jockeys from top FM radio stations and some energetic and young scribes from magazines and dailies.
Right smack [...]

March 13, 2009

Karylle unravels a story through music

By Nickie Wang/ Manila Standard Today
Karylle’s reconstructed heart, figuratively we mean, is amazingly strong for she just throws unpretentious smiles when asked about her failed relationship with actor Dingdong Dantes.
Instead of letting herself be doomed to frustration and heartbreak, she comes up with a project that serves as an avenue of her creativity. Truly, people [...]

March 7, 2009

Francis M raps no more

After eight months of treatment and four excruciating chemotherapies, actor and Philippine rap icon Francis Magalona (Francis M. to his fans and Kiko to his friends), succumbed to leukemia yesterday, 12 noon at The Medical City on Ortigas Avenue in Pasig.
The news of the death of the 44-year-old rap star was heard across the Philippines [...]

March 7, 2009

‘Unforgettable’ singer in Manila

By Nickie Wang
Manila Standard Today

American singer-songwriter Natalie Cole is on a mission to fill up the Araneta Coliseum on March 11 crooning the most beloved ballads and R&B classics that catapulted her as a hot R&B star of the ’80s.
The 59 year-old singer, who popularized the Grammy Award-winning songs “Unforgettable,” “When I Fall In Love,” [...]