'Exodus,' 'Kubrador' heads for Tokyo International Film Fest

The action-fantasy movie "Exodus" and the critically-acclaimed "Kubrador" are the two Tagalog movies that have been invited to the Tokyo International Film Festival, while the film "Exodus" has qualified to compete for the Best Asian Film award.

According to Teruoka Sozo, programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival, in an email sent to producer Atty. Joji Alonso and director Jeffrey Jeturian, "Kubrador" is invited for screening at the Winds of Asia section, the same section where "Minsan Pa" was screened last year.

However, "Kubrador" is not qualified to vie for the Best Asian Film award because this award is for a new film that has never been awarded before. "As far as I know, 'Kubrador' already got many awards internationally (congratulations!). So, the film is excluded from the qualifying films list for Best Asian Film Award. I would appreciate your kind understanding about this," said Mr. Teruoka Sozo in his email.

"Kubrador" already won awards from the two festivals it has participated in this year. For the remainder of the year, "Kubrador" shall compete in 5 more festivals namely, Hawaii, Valladolid, Brussels, Amiens and the Asiatica Film Mediale in Rome.

Atty. Joji in an email sent to us said: "'Exodus' is a very well crafted film. The post-production work on both 'Kubrador' and 'Exodus' were done by Ignite Media. In fact, what initially impressed me with Ignite was their creation of 'Exodus.' But when I got to work with their extremely professional group, I realized that they don't only have the talent and the skill to help an indie filmmaker like me, we also share the same passion for the arts. Ignite took care of 'Kubrador' just like it was their own. It is a given that the next film I will do, will undergo post production work with them."

The amiable lady producer added that she certainly hopes that Exodus will run away with the Best Asian Film award. It will make all Filipinos proud!

Jackie Rice, Biboy Ramirez more than friends?

Even if GMA Films is promoting the loveteam of Marky Cielo and Jackie Rice in "Till I Met You," the joint production venture of GMA Films and Viva Films, it was not Marky but Biboy Ramirez who arrived together with Jackie Rice at the celebrity premiere of "Till I Met You" at the Podium Cinema in Ortigas Center, Pasig City last Friday night.

Biboy and Jackie even granted interviews to the TV crew after the screening of the movie that features Robin Padilla and Regine Velasquez in the lead roles. But as expected, Biboy and Jackie denied there's something romantic going on between them.

But the next day, they were seen together on the set of "Hoouuu," the new GMA show that premiered last Sunday (after "Ang Mahiwagang Baul"). Jackie is not part of the cast of "Hoouuu" but Biboy is a guest. He's playing the role of a ghost in the series that has Jolina Magdangal, Marvin Agustin, and Teri Onor as mainstays. Jackie also stayed to wait till Biboy was through with his scenes and even chatted with the press people who dropped by the set.

As usual, Jackie was very consistent in saying that she and Biboy are just friends, same with other guys being linked to her like Boy 2 Quizon (who became Jackie's friend after she guested in "Bubble Gang"). She also denied being disrespectful to her mom. She said there was never any occasion that she was rude to her mother.

Even if her role (same with Marky) in "Till I Met You" was kind of short, Jackie enjoyed doing the film and she was quite satisfied after watching the movie's VIP premiere last Friday. "I cried at the movie's ending because I didn't expect it would end that way," she said.

Jake Cuenca now a Kapamilya

After being a Kapuso for three years, young actor Jake Cuenca is now a certified Kapamilya star after signing up with ABS-CBN last week. Yes, Jake was "pirated" by ABS-CBN and those who negotiated to get Jake literally moved heaven and earth just to secure Jake's nod. According to a source, Jake was offered a talent fee three times the rate he was getting from GMA. Who could say no to an offer like that?

According to our source, Jake will have three new shows in ABS-CBN. One of them is a stint at "Love Spell" wherein he will be paired with Angelica Panganiban, while the other one is the forthcoming teleserye "My Destiny" where Jake will play an important role together with Gerald Anderson.

The staff of "My Destiny" patiently waited for Jake to say yes to the offer that they had to forego the taping of the show's pilot episode, as well the program plugs for the show, since they really planned on including him already in the pilot telecast.

We hope that Jake did the right thing by transferring to Channel 2. We heard that ABS-CBN had long wanted to get him to star in their soap operas. The network had been eyeing him since "Vietnam Rose" days. But there's no love lost between GMA and Jake because he informed the Kapuso network that he's being offered a show by the Kapamilya network.

Hunky actor's indecent proposal

Blind item: Who is this hunky actor who refused to pay commission for a work given him by a gay talent coordinator in a big network? The hunky actor approached the gay talent and asked for his help to get him TV guesting. The gay talent coordinator was able to get him a job in a TV series and he appeared in it for several weeks.

Naturally, the gay talent coordinator asked for his commission since he and hunky actor agreed on this. But after getting paid, the hunky actor refused to give the talent coordinator the amount due him (around P8000) and gave the gay talent coordinator the run around.

Luckily for the talent coordinator, he knows the house of the hunky actor and he popped there one morning to get his money. But the hunky actor wouldn't want to get him the exact amount and was only willing to give him P4000. When the gay talent coordinator insisted on getting the full amount, the hunky actor caressed his arms and insinuated that he was willing to pay him in a different way.

The gay talent coordinator agreed to the hunky actor's "indecent proposal" but his excitement turned to dismay. It turned out, the hunky actor, despite his bulky frame, is small down there.