Renaldo Lapuz A winner in his own right

David Cook must still be relishing his triumph as the newly minted American Idol. The 25-year-old rocker was the choice of 12 million viewers of the show who phoned and texted in their votes.

Perhaps the biggest vindication for Cook was an apology from Simon Cowell, who had favored teener David Archuleta to win the title by a "knockout." Cowell said his critique on Cook "verged on the disrespectful."

But Cook told reporters backstage he didn't really know "if the apology was warranted. I thought what he said was an opinion and nothing more. At no point did I feel disrespected. Yeah, I'm appreciative of the fact that he decided to apologize. An apology from Simon is a pretty rare gem."

Perhaps a winner in his own right is Fil-Am Renaldo Lapuz. Remember him? He stood out during the auditions with his outlandish all-white get-up and by singing his mawkish composition "We Are Brothers" to Simon. During the final night, Lapuz had a guest appearance backed up by the University of Southern California cheerleaders and a marching band! He may appear screwy but so was William Hung.

The show's finale was a big thing for many American Idol fans in the Philippines. One member of the Cinema Evaluation Board confessed days before the show that her entire family was planning to have dinner together while watching the live satellite feed.

Archuleta has no reason to fret. His showbiz career is off to a grand start, thanks to American Idol. "He's still a winner for sure," a classmate of his gushed. "He's gonna be big no matter what."

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Gloria Romero and German Moreno proved that they can still deliver a riveting performance. In the indie film “Paupahan” (Crossroads), the two icons of Philippine cinema pulled out all stops in one intense scene in which German coaxes Gloria to curse her long-deceased husband for being a philanderer. "Curse him. Curse yourself. Curse me," German urges his friend, and soon he joins her in shouting out invectives. The scene was one of the high points of the movie, a tapestry woven from intertwining lives in a slum that borders a cemetery.

“Paupahan” also draws on the talent of veteran cinematographer Romy Vitug to highlight the emotional tension and the depressing sweep of the stark stage the characters inhabit. Also in the cast are Snooky Serna, Krista Ranillo and Jay Manalo.

The film, produced by former bold actor Allen Dizon and directed by Joven Tan, earned a B rating from the Cinema Evaluation Board and an R-13 from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

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Because she is the newest endorser for Belo Essentials, young diva Sarah Geronimo faced the inevitable question from the movie scribes: Is she willing to have some "enhancements?"

"Heavens, no!" Sarah replied. I'm happy with how I look now."

She also expressed surprise at reports that the fans of John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo would boycott her film with John. "I hope they understand it's just a job. I have no intention of stealing John from Bea."

Besides, she added, she won't have any kissing scenes with John in the movie. "I'm not ready for that."

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The early reviews about “Serbis” do not bode well for the Philippines' lone entry in the Cannes Film Festival. According to news reports, the critics were not impressed, and the film could end up a "dud."

That would be a big disappointment for the Philippine contingent to Cannes, who had high hopes that “Serbis” would give the heavyweight contenders like Clint Eastwood's Changeling a run for the money.

The winner for the filmfest's coveted Palme d'Or award will be known this week. Let's keep our fingers crossed. The last Filipino film to have a crack at Cannes was Lino Brocka's “Bayan Ko” 24 years ago.

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It's a baby girl for Inah Revilla and Vince del Rosario. Inah is five months pregnant, and the couple will be married on Wednesday at the Manila Cathedral.

The baby's name? Alexa Daniella, which is 18-year-old Inah's choice. Had it been a boy, he would have been named Brian Andrew, after Inah's brother.