Vina-Robin onscreen magic remains

Robin Padilla remains to be the favorite leading man of Vina Morales. And even if they haven’t done a movie for quite a long time, Vina is pleased to know that the magic and chemistry that she has with Robin is still very much felt.

The two are reunited in the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry “Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo” where Vina plays Gregoria de Jesus, the second wife of Andres Bonifacio (portrayed by Robin). Despite the long absence on the screen as a tandem, Vina says the “kilig” factor is still there, something that even the production staff (whom they are working for the first time) noticed.

“He is still very thoughtful, sweet and a gentleman. Of course, we already have boundaries but he has matured and liked what he said, hindi rin ako basta nadadala sa pagiging sweet niya,” Vina said with a laugh. She is very happy to be part of the cast of “Bonifacio” and she didn’t mind being second choice for the role. It was originally offered to Iza Calzado who had to beg off after the TV series “Hawak Kamay” was extended.

Even if “Bonifacio” is a historical film, the role of Vina provides the love angle between the Lakambini and the Supremo. And they have a kissing scene, which prompted Vina to ask jokingly if Oryang and Andres did kiss during their time.

The producers of “Bonifacio” knew they are making an epic so they did not scrimp on the production budget. What they want to achieve is to make a movie that they will be proud of. Robin said they constructed a set on location which was destroyed by a typhoon and when the producers learned about it, they agreed to reconstruct the set, otherwise the movie’s continuity would suffer. They also constructed a set inside a big studio in Makati for the death scene of the three martyred priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora.

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We would like to make a correction on our item on the 10th Cinema One Originals awards which came out on Wednesday. We mentioned that Matt Daclan, who was named best actor for “Soap Opera” was the first Cebuano actor to win in Cinema One.

We got a message thru Facebook from Bianca Balbuena, the producer of “Soap Opera” and “That Thing Called Tadhana” and she said that the win of Matt was the second time for a Cebuano actor. According to Bianca, the first time that a Cebuano actor won in Cinema One was two years ago when Nicolas Varela won best supporting actor for the movie “Aberya.” It was a Cebuano film shot in Cebu by Cebu-based director Christian Linaban.

We stand corrected and we’d like to thank Bianca for giving us that information. We congratulated her for the success of “Soap Opera” and “That Thing Called Tadhana” which won several awards on Cinema One Originals. When we asked if the Angelica Panganiban and JM De Guzman starrer will have a theatrical release, she said that they are still planning for a nationwide theatrical release but there are no concrete plans as of yet.

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The role of Ella Cruz in “Bagito,” the new ABS-CBN series which started airing on Monday, is really an attention-getter. We had the chance to watch the special press preview of the show topbilled by Nash Aguas and Alexa Ilacad and one plus factor of the series is the fine acting dished out by Ella who plays a college student whom Nash falls in love with and which brought him the problem.

The fans knew Ella for being sweet, but in “Bagito” she gets a complete makeover and transformation. Aside from hair extensions, she puts on red lipstick and dons sexy outfits to make her look mature for her age. She really comes on as sexy and truly credible as the object of desire of Drew (Nash’s character in “Bagito”).

And Ella carried her role with aplomb. She really looks desirable and oozing with sex appeal and it should be easy for Nash to fall for her. Even the young male teenagers, who are going to watch “Bagito” will find Ella sexy and alluring.

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The office of Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista is making sure that the forthcoming Quezon City Pink Festival will become a big success and they are leaving no stone unturned to fulfill its promise that it is going to be one event that the LGBT community will be proud to participate in and support.

Elaborate preparations are now being put into place to make sure that the QC International Pink Festival will open with a big bang on December 8 at the Trinoma Mall. The production team handling the event is making sure that the LGBT community will be amply represented and will likewise be a part of the festivities. After all, the event is for the LGBT crowd and it is but right to get them involved in the project.

Noted personalities in the movie scene will attend the opening ceremonies on December 8 which will be graced by Mayor Bautista himself plus directors Soxie Topacio and Nick Deocampo who are the main people behind the festival. They are very pleased that the good mayor is extending his full support to the QC International Pink Festival which they hope to make a yearly affair.