It pays to believe in magic

Di kita ma-reach as "expression of the year" was bumped off by "got to believe in magic" because, let’s admit it, during these past 12 months of economic crunch and terrorism and all sorts of disasters and sufferings (natural and/or man-made) and a lingering feeling of uncertainty (you know, will America attack Iraq early next year and trigger, God forbid, another world war?), what sustained you and me was the magic of movies. When everything around us seems to be falling apart, we escape to the dark confines of the moviehouse and, even for only two hours, we make-believe that, yes, the fragments of our lives will fall into place by and by, just you wait and see, and all will be right with you and me and with the world again.

Thanks to the magic of movies.

Di Kita Ma-Reach was the title of First Son Mikey Macapagal-Arroyo’s tail-ender starrer in last year’s Metro Filmfest and, for a long while, everybody made fun of it, through word of mouth or texting, as if by doing so we could get back at the First Family by "hurting" the son.

Of course, "got to believe" (in magic) was the title of the late Rico Yan’s movie with former girlfriend Claudine Barretto and it was a huge hit, for sure making the bedimpled Rico grin from ear to ear in heaven where he is now. A lot of things happened in showbiz between "di-kita ma-reach" and "got to believe" (in magic), making the Year of the Horse as exciting and as unpredictably intriguing as previous years. Showbiz folks are not like you and me. In good times and in bad times, come hell or high water, whether the peso is gaining strength or going down the drain, the show must go on, making showbiz again the year’s favorite spectator’s sport, with us voyeurs and eavesdroppers relishing every moment of it in the sidelines, wildly cheering the players right on!

Here are our Top 10 Stories/Personalities of the Year:

• FPJ, Person of the Year

Without saying a word and by simply keeping mum and just smiling, Fernando Poe, Jr., Da King no less, was – and still is – the favorite topic since end of last year when the "FPJ 2002" stickers (which turned out to be a gimmick for Batas ng Lansangan, his first movie in 2002 and not a campaign pitch for 2004) started sprouting all over Metro Manila, scaring off dozens of Presidential aspirants. Will he run in 2004 or will he not? Until this very minute, FPJ remains non-committal, thus making the guessing game even more exciting and full of suspense. FPJ believers (among them Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde, Armida Siguion-Reyna and Kris Aquino) swear that if and when FPJ does run, he’d make his opponents "bite the dust." So, beware?

• Rico Yan, The Fallen Idol

When Rico died in his sleep at the tender age of 27 on Good Friday while on a Lenten vacation at the Dos Palmas Resort in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, the whole country became one in mourning his untimely passing. It was hard to imagine that somebody so young, with bigger things beckoning for him, could be so...dead! No other star’s death in recent memory could equal the media to-do over Rico, a national event highlighted by subplots just like the ABS-CBN soaps he starred in with his girlfriend Claudine Barretto who braved the Yan Family’s disapproval and went to Rico’s wake - and funeral – in the glare of TV cameras. In life, Rico was a role model for the young. In death, he has become even more so, having lived, no matter how briefly, an exemplary life.

• Kris Aquino, Joey Marquez and Alma Moreno, the Eternal Love Triangle

While it lasted, the Kris-Joey-Alma real-life soap was the most widely-followed, beating the telenovelas, not only by local fans but also by those in Filipino communities abroad reached by ABS-CBN’s sister company, The Filipino Channel (TFC). It was a replay, only with more complications this time, of dear Kris’ episode with Phillip Salvador, father of her son Joshua, once again reopening old wounds between Kris and her mom, former President Cory Aquino. Alma Moreno, Joey’s estranged wife, wasn’t above reproach either, herself accused (by Joey) of being the first to, uh, "go astray" (reportedly with a young deejay from down South). Has the "soap" ended? Or are we caught in a cliffhanger? Stay tuned in case there’s further "development."

• Assunta de Rossi and Jules Ledesma, "Loveteam" of the Year

Their age difference (Assunta is 19, Jules is 42) and height disparity (she stands 5’9" and he, 5’2") notwithstanding, the Sex Star and the Congressman have proven to be a sturdy pair, surviving parental disapproval (on Assunta’s maternal side) and cruel criticisms that they’re just "using" each other, she for his money and he, for "prestige." Last Dec. 14, Assunta and Jules capped their tumultuous romance by getting married in civil ceremonies at the Ledesma’s hacienda in San Carlos City, without both their families around, promising to get married in church sometime in early 2004. Showbiz-observers claim that Jules must have felt like a FAMAS winner - with Assunta as his "trophy" wife.

• Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla, Friends of the Year

Even while confined (with his dad, former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada) at the Veterans Memorial Hospital (for more than a year now), former San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada continues to make headlines. Early this year, he invited movie writers to a salu-salo inside the Veterans compound to drum up interest for his movie (shot when he was still a "free" man), with Judy Ann Santos as leading lady, and it became an "issue." But many people quietly nodded in approval when Jinggoy "kissed and made up" with Bong Revilla, appointed head of the VRB (Video Regulatory Board) this year, closing the rift caused by Bong’s "denouncement" of Erap during the EDSA II in early 2001. Earlier this year, Jinggoy did say he had "forgiven" Bong but it was only last month that they had the chance to bury the hatchet together in person.

• Diana Zubiri, The ‘Hitchhiker’ of the Year

These past 12 months, several "good girls" decided to turn "bad" to clinch elusive stardom the bold way, among them Aubrey Miles and Maui Taylor. But the Boldie of the Year, perhaps without her meaning nor intending to be, is Diana Zubiri who made headlines when Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos charged her for "public scandal" after she posed in bikinis on top of a flyover on EDSA for a magazine-cover pictorial. By singling out Diana, launched to stardom in Seiko Films’ Kasiping, Mayor Benhur drew varied reactions from all sectors, with many people saying that the Honorable Mayor should have paid more attention to the street children of Mandaluyong City instead of, again without his meaning nor intending to, trying to put such a "phantom of delight" behind bars.

• Piolo Pascual, Survivor of the Year

His detractors tried their darndest best to cut him to pieces, to the point of putting his sexuality in question, but Piolo Pascual proved to all and sundry that nobody could put a good man down. So who cares what Piolo does in bed, and with whoever partner, as long as he gives the public its due – that is, a good performance? The other night, Piolo mounted the stage of the PICC during the Metro Filmfest Gabi ng Parangal to receive a Best Supporting Actor trophy (for his role as an activist in Star Cinema’s Dekada ’70), his very first, and it’s the most palpable proof that he’s here to stay, that he’ll survive future attacks, so his detractors be damned!

• Mikey Macapagal-Arroyo, the ‘Unreachable’ Star

The First Son unwittingly stole the thunder – and the headlines – from his mom, President GMA, by just being... himself? That disaster of a movie (yes, Di Kita Ma-Reach) hasn’t stopped him from pursuing stardom, never mind if showbiz has dragged him into the quagmire of gossip. Early this year, Mikey married Angela Montenegro who gave birth to their first child a few weeks ago amidst rumors that Mikey was romancing Rufa Mae Quinto, his leading lady in a forthcoming Viva Films flick. Of course, Mikey vehemently denied the yarn, saying that it’s all a "gimmick" for the movie. In an ugly incident during the baptism of their daughter Mikaela Gloria, Mikey showed his First Son temper by reprimanding a TV writer, who claimed that Mikey "cursed" her using four-letter words, after the writer hooked up with a studio-based colleague who dared ask Mikey about that rumor. When last heard from, Mikey was said to have "apologized" to the lady writer, off-camera this time.

• The 2002 Metro Filmfest, Controversial As Usual

The annual Metro Filmfest, made nationwide this year for the first time, won’t be the same without the usual wranglings and in-fighting. When the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) committee in charge of selecting the Magic 7, headed by Caloocan City Mayor Rey Malonzo, made the announcement, it was met with a howl of protest from the two producers whose entries were disqualified (later reconsidered but with deferred playdate, to open on Jan. 1, 2003), MaQ Films’ Mother Lily (Spirit Warriors 2: The Short Cut) and Vic Sotto (Lastikman of OctoArts/M-Zet Films). The Metrofest, extended by seven days (until Jan. 10) went on as scheduled without further ado – until next year, maybe?

• Dark Clouds Over the MTRCB

When Anding Roces turned over the chair of the MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) to Marilen Dinglasan, eyebrows soared when it was reported that the new MTRCB chief is a good friend (and Assumption classmate) of GMA. A case of "nepotism"? It didn’t take long before Dinglasan was accused by MTRCB rank and file of this and that, followed by filing of charges and countercharges. The dark clouds over the MTRCB haven’t lifted, even now that an OIC (Dennis Manicad) has been named by GMA. This is one incident that has gone "uncensored."