Ryan and Bianca: Speaking of Love

There's definitely a twinkle in the eyes of Yspeak hosts Ryan Agoncillo and Bianca Gonzales. That's because they're in love! Not with each other, though.

Ryan's head over heels for Judy Ann Santos, and Bianca is on with Direk Lino Cayetano. The two's love interests were the guests at the first anniversary of the debate show for the youth on TV. For a change Ryan and Bianca temporarily gave up their hosting slots to Amy Perez and Roderick Paulate as they joined their Juday and Direk Lino in debating the topic, love.

Ryan and Juday admitted they're wearing identical rings. But the bands are not engagement rings. They symbolize their first shared experience, when the pair visited Magic Mountain in the US. Ryan and Juday admitted it was during the taping for Krystala that their love story began. Ryan said when he first saw Juday he was smitten right away. But it took her a long while to develop a liking for him because he was "rude." The relationship bloomed after just a few weeks. At first they went out on group dates with their friends. Then, love just took over.

Juday was all bubbly answering questions from Amy. Ryan looked more reserved to me, and fidgety. Was he tense? Afraid perhaps that Juday might go overboard and spill out something left better unsaid? I feel the relationship of Bianca and Direk Lino is deeper and more stable. Get this: they pray together before sleeping via their cellphones! He calls her up while he's at work, knowing she's ready to go to bed.

"Some of my colleagues find it strange that I would retire to a quiet corner. They don't know Bianca and I are praying," he said.

He gave Bianca a book as his first gift, but she hasn't read it yet. The way Bianca and Direk Lino tell it, their families have also grown closer. That's because the two went through the traditional courtship process and were accepted by each other's families. o0o

Aga Muhlach says it's not Claudine Barretto who's holding up the shooting of "Dubai." He claims it's the disparate schedules of the stars. The movie is now five months in the making and its script had undergone 12 revisions.

Last Friday, the stars and crew returned to Dubai to film one of the movie's highlights. I'm told Star Cinema is spending P1 million for just one scene. Wow!

Aga has acquired a measure of creative control over the film. He made a few suggestions on how to improve the script and the writers heeded his advice. "At first some of the scenes may look rather shallow, but they just look so because the settings and the characters are so different," Aga said. "I believe we pulled it off, though. It's a pretty good movie." o0o

In mid-August, Madonna fell off her horse, cracking three ribs, a collarbone and her hand. She was celebrating her 47th birthday with her two children and husband, director Guy Ritchie at their 485-hectare estate in southwest England when the accident happened.

Doctors told Madonna it would take her three months to make a full recovery. It might have taken longer were she not physically fit. But just last Sunday the pop diva traveled to Toronto, Canada, to support Ritchie in his quest for a distributor for his latest film "Revolver."

Ritchie was all praise for Madonna. "The wife is very good, thanks. Eight broken bones and she's come with me," he said. o0o

Twenty-five days or so into its 100-day odyssey, Pinoy Big Brother is already showing signs of faltering, despite ABS-CBN's all-out campaign to promote its million-peso reality show. Sure, there are occasional sparks of emotional conflict and tension, especially whenever it's time to boot out a housemate. But on the whole, the show lacks the drama, action and suspense that its rival for the time slot, Sugo, provides.

A friend of mine also notes that the housemates lack, well, character. Nobody stands out; no one the audience could really root for. This is how my friend sizes up Pinoy Big Brother: "The show is supposed to exploit the push and pull of group dynamics. In every group, there must be the leader, the nonconformist, the exploiter, the follower, the devious schemer. They're supposed to interact in close quarters, each individual trying to work with the group to the best he or she can, without undermining his or her chances of surviving. It is after all a question of who will be the last housemate standing. In the quest for P1 million, it's everyone to himself."

"Yet I see no conflicts deep enough to keep the group in constant flux. No electrically charged confrontations, no deepseated anger, no emotional crescendo to propel the show to its climax. The show's too bland to keep the viewers interested until Day 100," my friend added. o0o

I'll be flying to Cebu and I'm excited. I know that your city is an enchanting place. See you all!