by Nickie Wang
As soon as November waived goodbye and December delightedly came, parties are being held left and right. There are big ones like ABS-CBN and TV5 Christmas parties for the members of the press and there are also small ones that celebrated simple successes of some showbiz talents.
These parties also served as good venues to formally announce some good news. The most interesting sound byte so far is the onscreen paring of Gerald Anderson and the former Kapuso star Jewel Mische. StarStruck alumna, Jewel, is more recognizable as Richard Gutierrez’s former flame and someone who strikingly resembles KC Concepcion in photographs.
The new tandem will star in an upcoming series entitled Bagwis. Consequently, the Kapamilya actor would have to say bye-bye to Kim Chiu for now because the series is already lined up for the first half of 2011.
This announcement might cause an outrage among Kimerald fans like what happened when Gerald was reported making beautiful music with Bea Alonzo. But they should understand that their idols significantly need to get out of their comfort zone and grow as individual actors. Kim has appeared several times on TV shows without Gerald by her side and still managed to earn good reviews. She is proving it once again via the Your Song series. Gerald, on the other hand, made a mark when he played Tiagong Akyat in a series based on the movies of Ramon Revilla, Agimat.
Juicier
Over TV5, the miniscule station camouflaging as a huge media network, made some announcements that literally made everybody’s head turn. It’s launching Cristy Fermin as the face of its weekly drama anthology program, the station’s answer to MMK.
The Juicy and Paparazzi host will read the essay on Star Confessions, which dramatizes the struggles and real-life experiences of some talents before they got [pirated] by Manny Pangilinan-owned channel. What do you say, dear Ate Charo?
Meanwhile, everybody started talking about Anne Curtis’ equally beautiful younger sister, Jasmine. The 16-year-old Filipino-Australian will have a grand showbiz debut through the TV adaptation of Robin Padilla’s Utol Kong Hoodlum. She will star opposite TV5’s JC de Vera, who by the way will try his luck as an action star this time.
The young newcomer will be jet setting from Melbourne to Manila to comply with her showbiz engagements. She can’t fully settle in the country because she is still studying and transferring in a local school is not yet an option.
“I know that you all expected that I would be a Kapamilya, considering the obvious fact that my sister is part of ABS-CBN. I would’ve loved to be a Kapamilya or even a Kapuso, but TV5 gave me the best offer anyone studying could ever receive,” Jasmine says on her personal blog.
“TV5 is making it all possible for me to do both things I enjoy—school and making you all happy. I chose to be a part of TV5 because they are very much willing to work around my school schedule, which is of utmost priority,” she furthers.
Jasmine has the looks and the personality, but everybody is asking: Is showbiz going to be kind to her like it is to her older sibling? The answer might have been clearer if TV5 was ABS-CBN or GMA-7. Probably, sticking to her family’s original plan would be a wiser decision, which is to finish high school first before entering show business.
Too old for Going Bulilit
So you have already seen the latest addition to Kapamilya’s afternoon block that premiered Monday last week. The musical variety show features the station’s newly-discovered faces, so new you can hardly recognize each of them, apart of course from the main hosts and those who are PBB Teen Edition and Going Bulilit graduates.
The daily show radically reminds us of That’s Entertainment, the defunct teen variety program in late ‘80s and early ‘90s hosted by Walang Tulugan main man, German Moreno. It is under the direction of star maker Johnny Manahan, who also created the program that assassinated That’s Entertainment, Ang TV.
Like the classic program that launched the careers of some established artists today, ShoutOut divides its host of talents (who ironically do not justify the word talent) in four different groups: Mondeerifics for Monday; Tuesdelicious for Tuesday; Miyerkulitz for Wednesday; and Friends-thurs for Thursday. Every Friday, these groups come together for an all-star cast performance joined by main hosts Enchong Dee, Erich Gonzales, Sam Concepcion, Robi Domingo, Aaron Villaflor, Enrique Gil and Empress Schuck.
Kapamilya keeps on saying that it provides highly-innovative and original shows to cater to its loyal audiences. The management even filed a copyright infringement case against Willing Willie for copying the concept of the noontime show Wowowee. Isn’t ShoutOut an obvious rip off of That’s Entertainment to begin with?
On a lighter note, the title of the program brings us to conclusion that it is not innovative at all. Shoutout became a prominent word on the Internet when social networking site Friendster added a feature in the profile page wherein someone is given an option to say what’s on his mind, just like Facebook’s status update. That was like half a decade ago.
Is it bye-bye, Sarah?
If we are to believe Willie Revillame then Sarah Geronimo will soon be seen as one of those who shifted loyalty in favor of a more lucrative offer of TV5.
In last Friday’s episode of Willing Willie, Star Factor finalists appeared on the show to promote the talent search’s finale. While interviewing them, Willie told one of the finalists (in Tagalog), “You look like Sarah Geronimo.”
“Let’s not keep it as secret…Sarah will soon join TV5. She will be given a show called A Star is Born,” the controversial host divulged.
Sarah’s fans previously asked why she does not appear on ABS-CBN’s Christmas station ID and they were told that the pop princess was on a vacation during its shoot. If there’s any truth in Willie’s revelation then Sarah would break the heart of her legion of fans. She always told that ABS-CBN gave her the opportunity to have a solid career and she will never leave the station.
“I’m happy [with ABS-CBN] and I don’t have any reason to leave,” Sarah said in a previous interview.
VERY WANG 