Ronan Keating coming for Big Dome show

Curtain-raisers:

• Funfare’s Toronto-based international correspondent Ferdinand Lapuz reports that the five films competing for the Best Foreign Film trophy in the forthcoming Golden Globe Awards are Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (France), City of God (Brazil), The Crime of Fr. Amaro (Mexico), Hero (China, directed by Zhang Yimou), Nowhere in Africa (Germany) and Talk to Her (directed by Pedro Almodovar, Spain).

"I’m sad that Gil Portes’ Munting Tinig (Small Voice) didn’t make it," said Ferdy.

• John Prats and sister Camille are spending Christmas in the US. Are you?

• Extra! Extra! hosts Paolo Bediones and Miriam Quiambao are having their movie "debut" in the forthcoming Viva Sharon Cuneta-Richard Gomez movie, tentatively titled Walang Kapalit (or is it Sa Sandaling Kailangan Mo Ako?). Sharon and Richard play a separated couple who meet again after 10 years, both with children by their new partners. Paolo plays Sharon’s lawyer while Miriam plays Richard’s girlfriend.

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Besides the Boyz II Men, other foreign acts are coming in February next year for Valentine shows – barring any hitch. One of them is Ronan Keating who’s performing "live" and solo (meaning without the rest of the Boyzone members) on Feb. 15, 2003, at the Araneta Coliseum in a Valentine show produced by Viva Concerts in cooperation with Midas Productions.

"The fact that I’m performing solo doesn’t mean that I’m breaking away from Boyzone," Ronan (whose most popular solo song is When You Say Nothing At All which he sang in Notting Hill and No Matter What) whom I personally interviewed twice (first in Taipei in 1999 and then on his visit here in 2000). "The Boyzone is still together even if I perform and record solo sometimes and so does Stephen (Gately). We have a career as a group and each member has an individual career of his own."

The break-up rumor cropped up in 1999 when Stephen Gately (who also visited the Philippines in 2000) "outed" himself, admitting that he’s gay to preempt an attempt by a black-mailer to expose Stephen’s "secret."

Asked if Stephen’s "shocking" confession adversely affected the Boyzone, Ronan (who’s a deadringer for Clint Eastwood) shook his head, saying it didn’t.

"We’ve known all along that Stephen is gay; it wasn’t new to us, it wasn’t news to us. The Boyzone guys have been friends all these years and each of us knows the other members very well. There was nothing to hide from each of us, so there was nothing shocking or upsetting about Stephen’s revelation. We know each other’s personal life but we don’t interfere with each other’s lives. We know each other inside-out. There’s mutual respect among us.

"The big surprise is that Stephen’s confession turned out to be positive for the Boyzone. We’ve earned so much respect from the media and from the public. It seems that people now respect Stephen even more for being honest, for being brave enough to tell the truth no matter how sensitive it might be. I think we’ve even gained more fans."

Ronan, 25 – and, sorry, girls – very much married, released his first self-titled solo album in 2000 (the one he was promoting when he came here), which shot straight to No. 1 in the UK charts. The album carried Ronan’s other best-known song Life is a Rollercoaster (along with When You Say Nothing At All) and has so far sold more than 4.4 million copies. His second solo (the sixth album), Destination, was released last May.

Expect Ronan to sing selections from his two solo albums, including, of course, When You Say Nothing At All and, maybe, No Matter What.

Open Forum

Something not-so-funny happened on the way to the Forum – yes, that controversial restaurant-bar at The Podium (Ortigas Center, Pasig City).

The Forum opened with much fanfare early this year, with Paolo Bediones reported in the press releases as among the star-investors, along with his manager, concert producer and talent manager Jacob Fernandez. Not true, it turned out. Paolo and other stars aren’t owners of the Forum at all and neither do they have any investment in the venture.

Not so funny, is it?

Even Jacob (who has been hounded by ill luck for I don’t know what reason) has ceased being business partner (with other high-placed people who have to remain unidentified for the time being) and investor in the Forum.

"He has, in fact, been stripped of all connections to our business," said one of the partners who recently met with some media guys to clear the matter once and for all. "He has no more right to represent the Forum."

You see, Jacob (who was recently placed on the "watch list" by the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation), has reportedly been looking for new investors.

"There’s no need for new investors," clarified the Forum co-owner, "because the real owners of the place are still around the active, and they’re the ones bankrolling the establishment. Jacob is not empowered to act for or in behalf of a business enterprise he has ceased to be connected with."

A big renovation work is now going on at the Forum which is set to have a grand (re)opening middle of January next year, although it did have a "soft opening" a week ago. The architecture and interior decor are Roman-inspired. The Forum is open from 11 a.m. Lunch is now served.

So what caused the unpleasant parting between Jacob (who spearheaded the venture) and the real financiers?

"Loss of confidence," said the Forum co-owner.

Soon, charges might be filed.

What the real owners are aiming for is to turn the Forum into "A place where beautiful people can go to have a nice time with good food and good ambience."

Added the co-owner, "The Forum is now getting help from ‘legitimate and professional’ figures in the entertainment business, so expect big things to come."

Okay, now, this is the way to the Forum.