Philippine Entertainment News

The paradox of her crusade, of course, isn’t lost on Hindy. She’s not biting the hand that feeds her, only urging a sense of balance. An insider like her, after all, is always more acutely aware of the industry’s excesses.

So says the caption on this page of Rogue magazine’s September 2008 issue featuring the young Rustan’s designer Hindy Weber-Tantoco. On the cover, she is pictured about to cut a scarf which, the reader will discover, is actually an Hermes. In an inner fold, she is using it to shine her shoes. Other shots show her flaming a fashion book with Chanel No. 5, cutting an Armani suit, dragging a mannequin with a Louis Vuitton, and spraying water on a Chanel bag.

We honestly don’t feel remorse for those fashion items, but we feel awkward for Rogue. If anyone is to be accused of biting the hand that feeds it, it is them. Sure, Hermes, Chanel, Armani, and Louis Vuitton may never advertise on their magazine, but this month’s spread still says something about what Rogue really thinks about brands. These names, no matter how small, helped the magazine survive for more than a year. It even looks like they packaged Rustan’s product index this month as a deal with Hindy.

These heretical photos? They were born out of Hindy’s vision. She proposed it, and Rogue embraced her idea posthaste.

In the end, they had to put it on her shoulders. They do realise that it’s hard to be a brand-hating magazine, and they’re right. Taking this intrigue aside, we think Rogue is back with a great issue since that Joey Mead fiasco. And though this may look like a problem, we’ve got no issues with Rogue’s style. We love irony, and we’re still buying it.

3 Comments | Celebrities, Endorsements, Magazines

After the pretty successful Paris, je t’aime, a collection of love stories shot across the different district of the French capital, which was well-received by both mainstream and arthouse audiences comes New York, I Love You. Currently being screened in Toronto International Film Festival and slated for worldwide release on February 2009, we can’t wait for our dose of Natalie Portman. She’s not only starring as a Jewish girl bargaining for a diamond in one of the vignettes; one segment of the film also marks her writing and directorial debut! Whatever comes out, she’ll find it hard to disappoint us. So here’s the trailer with Nat prancing about in a wedding gown. We’ll be glad to walk the aisle with her! Now, when are they shooting Maynila, Mahal Kita?

Photos of Natalie on the set of the segment which she directed after the jump.

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Add a comment | Celebrities, Film Festivals, Movies, Trailers

1. Because we got in for FREE. As unofficial Kjwan groupies during the 3rd day, we weren’t really wearing performer ID’s, but we had our hundred bucks to spare for dinner. Aside from music equipment, painting, clothing, and magazine booths, there was also this food stall that sold huge hungarian sausage sandwiches which we loved to bits. The rest of the time we spent for compulsive shooting, smokes at the nearby parking lot for a minute or two, or just bobbing our heads to the performances.

2. Because there was VARIETY. We arrived during a drum clinic, and moments later there’s hardcore slamming with Queso. The crowd was amused by these Indian guys in jeans, long sleeves, and tie combo dancing with Sing India, then they go wild with Kjwan. Even Pinoy Dream Academy alumni RJ Jimenez had his slot in the program as much as the Frenzied ska of The Spaceflower show and Skabeche. We attempted to leave the event a number of times, and each time, we ended up saying, “Just one last set/song.” until the joint jamming finale with Kadangyan.

3. Because it was an INTIMATE VENUE. To be that close to the performers, no VIP tickets required or anything, is every fan’s dream. Nobody getting smashed (well, except maybe during Queso’s set), a lot of seats available, and photographers clicking without major obstruction. People came in and out and it wasn’t a hassle at all. We could literally sniff the performers if we wanted to although that could have been a little freaky.

4. Because of THE LADIES who brought down the house. There’s The Late Isabel’s Wawi Navarroza; the charming vocalist and photographer was our initial reason for coming to the show. A couple of surprises: Project Ganymede’s Yanna Verbo Acosta was mesmerizing in her world electronica set while jazz vixen Olivia impressed us with her sheer scatting skills. The number we’re raving about: Sinosikat’s Kat Agarrado fiercely posing and hitting the right notes live in their version of Pinoy Soul. If only for these ladies, the night is totally sold on us.

More pics HERE.

2 Comments | Celebrities, Concerts, Events, Music

And it’s on. The Eraserheads reunion concert gate at The Fort must have opened, and it’s raining! After all the changes in organizers, venues, and ticket prizes, it’s on. I really regret that I can’t go, so I’m just dedicating a fan post today.

About 3 years ago, I endured this serious 1 hour and 30 minutes mindf*ck made by the one of the grandfathers of Indie Cinema, and the best part for me was seeing where my favourite tender years band took its name. Those who have seen it will have recognised the allusion in Huwag Mo Nang Itanong (Field trip sa may pagawaan ng lapis/ Ay katulad ng buhay natin/ Isang mahabang pilang/ Mabagal at walang katuturan). On that note, I present to you my top 3 favourite Eraserheads songs or what I want in their reunion concert line-up tonight.

There’s Alapaap (performed only by Ely in this vid) from the Circus album, and I like it because it’s about getting high this yes to freedom (naks). Basta–this invitation to pseudo-id release. Being carefree. Spontaneity. Jouissance. This anti-ressentiment. Rendered with a beautiful build-up, it’s an easy fave.

Then there’s Spoliarium from Sticker Happy featuring Lara Fabregas (?) in this black and white video. It doesn’t make that much sense (i.e. at bakit ba tumilapon ang gintong alak diyan sa paligid mo?), but from what remains, I think it’s one of the most angsty E-heads song there is. If to sound like worshipping them, I think it’s about the despair over the not-making-sense. The best part: that endless fade to “ang pag-ikot ng mundo” which isn’t really a fade (if not for track limits). Looking back, I can’t believe how this became popular with its heavy lyrics and it perhaps proves that a thinking band could be a consumed band. I don’t think people are lazy thinkers, so I hope they stop giving us the “hindi kasi papatok sa masa” excuse.

And Maselang Bahaghari from Natin99; here in a fan tribute video. This probably makes less sense than Spoliarium, but I equally like it.  Must be the synth-heavy arrangement. They arrived at this sophistication which was arguably a great leap since their first records. At this point, people listened to them as they experimented. And their influence will most probably stay in the coming decades. Damn me for snootily daring to say: they are the best Pinoy rock band ever. I think of them as they hold their reunion concert tonight. And you, what are your 3 most favourite E-heads songs?

UPDATE: Ely Buendia is rushed to Makati Medical Center after the band’s first set, Pinoy Plurkers report. PEP.ph says it’s a triple bypass operation. Here’s Ely’s sister breaking the news to the audience:

5 Comments | Celebrities, Concerts, Music

First in our Torrent Kissing segment

I first saw Paris, je t’aime at last year’s Cinemanila, but I can’t help revisiting it as I hear the news about New York, I Love You in post-production for next year. And thanks to torrent technology, I don’t even have to buy my usual pirated DVD. There’s just so much to love and rediscover in this movie; I can’t complain about watching it over and over.

In Gus Van Sant’s segment, there’s Gaspard Ulliel who also played Manech, Mathilde’s (Audrey Tautou) lover in A Very Long Engagement.

There’s Steve Buscemi (with that WTF face I dearly love) who was given a leading role in the romantic comedy Interview.

In a similar metro scene I starkly remember from Maria, Full of Grace, hauntingly beautiful Catalina Sandino Moreno is a saint.

In the Bastille segment, a dying wife asks his philandering husband to read her Sputnik Sweetheart, which was my first Murakami.

Here a grieving mother, the forever young and very expressive (no need to talk) Juliette Binoche also played Steve Carell’s love interest in Dan in Real Life.

Posters of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant and Walter Salles’s Motorcycle Diaries (both of them directing their own Paris, je t’aime segments) are inconspicuously posted in Alfonso Cuaron’s long continuous shot.

The Maggie Gyllenhaal I love, different from The Dark Knight’s, is this discreetly lonely American actress shooting and getting drugged in France.

This backpacking Elijah Wood character still ain’t too far from a hobbit, but it caused a raucus stir among the snobbish Cinemanila crowd in its witty visual-driven horror-comedy sequence.

Just because. <3

A surprising finale performance by Margo Martindale–her faulty French, how she carried the button-down blouse with track pants, fanny pack, and running shoes, that last expression are made of acting win.

Finally, this movie is how I discovered the music of the fierce Leslie Feist. Now, if you’ll take a moment to listen to her La Meme Histoire.

(Probably) complete poster versions after the jump.

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1 Comment | Celebrities, Film Festivals, French, Movies, Music, OST, Torrents

Who would have thought that the murder of a gay (non-)reality TV producer could become a (non-)movie about a gay producer named Jay, played by an actor once rumored as gay, making a TV (non-)documentary about a murdered gay teacher named Jay? Clearly, filmmaker Francis Xavier Pasion had a complex game going on in Jay that it won Best Picture in Cinemalaya and it will be opening the Orizzonti (Horizons) section of the 65th Venice International Film Festival next week.

At the film’s ending sequence, the camera catches a book on mockumentary, and this tells the audience how aware the film is of its game. Popularly-hated but now critically-awarded Baron Geisler is shot ambivalently as the character and actor at the same time. The metanarrative renders perceived reality itself as ambiguous. Through this, its technology, casting, and production is justified. It’s OK that the documentary acting looks contrived since it’s supposedly scripted. It’s OK that the making of the documentary looks gritty since it’s supposedly unedited. Ironically, it wins the Best Actor and Editing awards.

Did Jay the murdered and Jay the murderous producer share the same boyfriend (Coco Martin) and the same mother (Flor Salanga)? But really. Even the filmmaker has factored himself in the game as a real-life TV show producer himself. In the end is a question: what is real? As with the chick that gets crushed on top of a casket in the film, how do we know if it just died accidentally or if PETA advocates should call for a boycott? Looks like a definite win.

Images from Paolo Feliciano. Trailer after the jump.

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Add a comment | Film Festivals, Indie, Movies, Trailers

Just because. Food lovers that we are, we couldn’t resist having the August 2008 issue of Rogue Magazine. Too bad she doesn’t eat meat anymore; at the cover is former VJ Amanda Griffin dripping with honey and sexiness. Although born at Windsor, Amanda settled here in the Philippines and has recently moved to Hong Kong. With a husband. The shoot is her first time to be back in Manila since their wedding, but she hasn’t changed a bit. She has also been at the cover of FHM Philippines in November 2006 and Uno Magazine in December 2005 and October 2007.

Cover image from the Facebook page of Rogue Magazine where they have links to free scans of past issues. More photos after the jump.

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Add a comment | Celebrities, Magazines

Lovers and professional partners Dr. Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho personally greeted us bloggers at an open house in their Tomas Morato clinic. Aside from looking like they could actually endorse their services themselves on the billboards, what pleasantly surprised us was them announcing the launch of Ike and Nena Belo Foundation meant to provide scholarships, to give surgical assistance, and to protect the environment. About right for that one last cause coz they’re terribly making the Philippines one hot place to be.

Thanks to them, we’re worshipping our beauty godess Anne Curtis even more. And Katrina Halili is arguably still the sexiest Filipina.

Guess what? They’re the ones keeping Sergio that fit. And they have already taken the ugly from Betty La Fea. The hottest part: they care, and we’re glad to see more kids going to school and more burn victims feeling less scarred.

Photos of Dr. Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho from Mica.

3 Comments | Celebrities, Endorsements

Local fans were infuriated when rumors came out that ABS-CBN is producing a Pinoy version of Gossip Girl. It’s understandable for something tagged by New York Magazine as the “best show ever”. To have Serena van der Woodsen played by KC Concepcion, Dan Humphry by John Loyd Cruz, Blair Waldorf by Anne Curtis, Nate Archibald by Sam Milby, Chuck Bass by Luis Manzano, and Jenny Humphry by Angelika Panganiban is not just awkward but hilarious.

When the left picture leaked into the Internet, there wasn’t news about the Malaysian-powered TV5 yet. But as the show premieres today, fans will have a new channel to blame. And a different set of cast to mock. It turns out the pics above are not just models but the actors themselves. Surprise!

Slightly recognizable at the right is former Pinoy Big Brother teen housemate Mikee Lee. And he’s flanking one of the girls with Rodjun Cruz who’s suppose to be the school heartthrob. Joining them guys is Fred Payawan, another PBB teen alumnus, plus Kevin Lapeña (da who?) and the Kung Fu Panda theme singer Sam Concepcion.

Even more obscure are the girls Cheska Ortega, Mary Grace Perido, Charina Suzara, Maxinne Eigenmann, Miki Hahn, and Saab Magalona. Ah, so many of them in line for FHM, Maxim, and Uno covers. Will it be XOXO for the new network with its new show? Looks like they have a lot to catch up on even just to be at par with Studio 23 and QTV.

Cast image from PEP.ph. Preview of the pilot episode after the jump.

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4 Comments | Celebrities, TV Series

It has its wow moments. The screen presence of Shamaine Buencamino–whether it is taking clothes off the sampayan, peeling camotes, or leading rosary in the family’s bomb shelter–is arresting. Burning the photo of her G.I. suitor, playing drawn piano keys on the ground, indie suki Meryll Soriano actually throws convincing lines. I also had to google Ynna Asistio just for her cuteness and good singing. As the stepping up elderly son, even Jay Aquitania keeps up with the well-casted actor lineup not only with his obviously well-rehearsed Japanese but also with his mischievous antics. Bind this up with an expectedly sophisticated musical score (classical piano, kundiman, and Rosas Pandan!), with the realistic although austere avoiding-the-panoramic production design, and with a “music unites all” theme and you have a chest-tingling number.

But it’s just OK. I don’t think it was unfairly snobbed like what some articles insinuate. Compared to this one, 100 and Jay really deserved the Cinemalaya awards for me. I’m more inclined to like a movie about a dying bitch (100) or a manipulative gay journalist (Jay) than an aaaw-inducing historical one. Don’t get me wrong; I fruitfully learned how Americanized and Japanized Philippines have already been in the past. But the filmmaker Paul Morales could only do so much with his historical material. It is about an upper class family, but its rebel son can’t take center stage. It’s entitled Concerto, it’s suppose to be mushy, it made me teary-eyed, but that’s about it for me. After all, if it is daring, it dares to be reconciliatory instead of fanning the flames of historical Phil-Jap tension. On the other hand, it’s most probably a better watch than A Very Special Love.

Images from Andre Cagawas, one of Concerto’s producers. Trailer and poster after the jump.

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1 Comment | Film Festivals, Indie, Movies, Trailers