The spirit is with them

Curtain-raisers:

• Former President Cory Aquino will lead the special guests at the advance screening tonight at SM Megamall Cinema 1, starting at 7 o’clock, of Regal Films’ 2002 Metro Filmfest entry Mano Po. Tita Cory’s daughter, Kris Aquino, is said to be good in the movie partly shot in Beijing, so good that she just might run away with the Best Supporting Actress trophy. I wonder how Tita Cory (and her 30 invited guests) will react to Kris’ steamy love scene with Eric Quizon, which prompted Kris to conclude "na talagang Quizon nga si Eric" (whatever she meant by that).

• Oops! Osteria Italia, partly owned by Ara Mina, is still in business and is not, as Funfare wrongly wondered the other day, closing. It’s the cafe behind it that’s up for lease. Maybe some people (this one included) are misled into thinking that Osteria has closed because of the "Closed" sign hanging at its front door one lunch time. "In fact," said somebody in the know, "Osteria is doing well, especially this busy Christmas season."

• Cherie Gil and husband Roni Rogoff, along with their two daughters (but minus Cherie’s son Jamie), are spending Christmas not in Italy (where the Rogoffs are based) but in Egypt. This family togetherness should put to rest once and for all that there are kinks in the Cherie-Roni marriage.

* * *

Perhaps there’s no local movie in recent years which has been dogged by Lady (Un)luck like Regal Films’ Spirit Warriors 2: The Short Cut, again directed by Chito Roño (like the first Spirit Warrior movie that finished among the Top 3 moneymakers in the 2000 Metro Filmfest) and also with the Streetboys as topbillers (Danilo Barrios, Vhong Navarro, Jhong Hilario, Spencer Reyes and Chris Cruz).

Just a few weeks before Chito started shooting the movie, his father, former DILG Secretary Jose Roño, died. which means that Chito was in mourning while grappling (like the Streetboys in the movie) with underworld creatures (tiyanaks, aswangs, etc.) and underwater inhabitants (mermaids, etc.). Chito must believe that one of the best and most effective therapies in coping with the grieving process is to keep oneself busy, busy, busy.

And then, while shooting some scenes in Biri Island off San Isidro town in Northern Samar (Chito’s home province where the first Spirit Warriors movie was partly filmed in the vicinity of Calbayog City, the Roños’ hometown and bailiwick), the boat Chito and other crew members were riding was hit by giant waves. It sank, along with the movie camera worth P7 million.

Last week, the Metro Manila Development Association (MMDA) headed by Caloocan City Mayor Rey Malonzo announced the "Magic 7" entries to this month’s Metro Filmfest (including FPJ’s Alamat ng Lawin; Rudy Fernandez’s Hula Mo, Huli Ko; Dolphy’s Home Along Da Riber; Bong Revilla’s Agimat, Anting-Anting ni Lolo; Lito Lapid’s Lapu-Lapu; Vilma Santos’ Dekada ’70; and the Regal all-star-cast epic drama Mano Po), leaving out the two other aspirants, Vic Sotto’s Lastikman and, that’s it, Spirit Warriors 2. (Anyway, after all the wrangling and exchange of barbed words on national television between the "in" producers and the "out" ones, the MMDA has decided to include Lastikman and Spirit Warriors but on deferred playdates, meaning they’ll open on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2003, a week behind the "Magic 7." The filmfest has been extended to Jan. 10.)

Several days ago, while Chito, Mother Lily and Roadrunner Network’s Alan Escaño (who’s the Regal partner in the P80-million-plus project featuring the latest in special effects) were still reeling from – and raging over – the MMDA decision, Chito was hit by still one more misfortune – the unexpected death of his mother, Carolina Roño.

Have all these big blows broken the backbone of these real-life "spirit warriors"? Hardly. Still and all, the trio is fighting, with heads held high. Yes, the "spirit" is with them and that is what’s keeping them all pumped-up.

Last Sunday, Mother Lily led the Streetboys at a parade of tiyanaks and aswang and mermaids at the Elephant World at the Araneta Center – "As if nothing happened," said Mother Lily who believes that whatever happens, come hell or high water, the show must go on! – together with reigning and immediate-past Bb. Pilipinas beauties and other guest stars (like Click’s Richard Gutierrez, etc.).

Well, what else can we say but... Keep it up, That’s the spirit!

Tips for last-minute gift-givers

If you haven’t wrapped your gifts or just about to, maybe the following tips/reminders will help spare you from ending up with your face red – and your pocket inside-out empty:

1. Don’t overspend. Stick to your budget. In hard times like we are in, only the truly rich (filthy or otherwise) can afford to splurge.

2. Don’t get carried away by the Christmas rush. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself holding an empty bag on Christmas Day, with not a cent left for the noche buena.

3. If you have to recycle, be very careful. You save a lot of money by resorting to this age-old practice (after all, isn’t everybody doing it?) but make sure that you rewrap the item, check the card (I once received a recycled gift with the original card still inside the box – given by somebody who wouldn’t give me a piece of toothpick even on my birthday!) and make sure that the item isn’t personalized (you know, bearing your name, nickname or simply your initials).

4. Give gifts that may not be expensive but truly meaningful. A personally-designed greeting card can be more meaningful than, say, an engraved picture without your "heart" on it.

5.Avoid, if you can, giving: a) candles, b) fruitcakes, c) diaries, d) key chains, e) organizers and f) ballpens because there are just too many of them. (No originality.)

6. Better still, pretend that you are too tired to shop and doze off and wake up on Dec. 26 when everybody is dead tired from all the shopping and the partying and whatever it is that human beings do during the Christmas season (often at the expense of observing the true essence of Christmas which is praising Jesus, the Celebrator).