Why Vilma’s 40th-year TV special has been scrapped

There was a big fanfare late last year when ABS-CBN announced that it would produce a spectacular TV special to mark Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos’ 40th year in showbiz. Vilma is, after all, the Star for All Seasons. Besides the TV special, Vilma was supposed to star in a weekly drama-comedy to herald the new year.

Well, January has come and gone and soon it will be March. The sad news is that both the TV special and the drama-comedy have been scrapped – for good? – through no fault of either ABS-CBN or Vilma. So whose "fault" was it?

First, let’s review the wild speculations which have all been proven baseless by Vilma herself during a chat with Funfare, to wit:

• No star wanted to appear as guest in the TV special as a "silent" protest against Vilma’s husband, Sen. Ralph Recto, who was wrongly roasted (for non-action on a further deferment) during the stars’ anti-VAT rally. (Ralph has been "exonerated," with his Senate committee "cleared" in the issue.)

• Rival channel GMA 7 has "warned" its stars and talents against guesting on the TV special, and

• Vilma is so preoccupied with her duties as Lipa City Mayor that she hardly has time to shoot.

The truth, according to Vilma, is that she’s prevented from doing the two projects by a provision in the Local Government Code which prohibits star-politicians from doing movies and/or TV shows while they’re in office.

So why are the likes of Senators Loren Legarda and Noli de Castro, and some congressmen Miguel Zubiri and Ted Failon, and even Pampanga Gov. Lito Lapid and Pampanga Vice-Gov. Mikey Macapagal-Arroyo still very visible on the showbiz scene?

The provision, according to Vilma, covers only mayors.

If so, why are Parañaque City Mayor Joey Marquez and Caloocan City Mayor Rey Malonzo (now shooting a movie purportedly for "international" release) blatantly violating that provision?

"Maybe I’m just being law-abiding," smiled Vilma. "I don’t want to start working on the TV special and the drama-comedy only to encounter problems later on."

Anyway, I’m sure ABS-CBN can "skirt" that provision by paying tribute to Vilma still via a TV special by not making her the host of the show.

Meanwhile, Vilmanians (and other Vilma-lovers) out there will just have to wait perhaps until after 2004 (Vilma said she’s not running for reelection or any higher office) for the chance to watch their idol week after week in a drama-comedy.

Munting Tinig goes international

Munting Tinig (Small Voices) may not have made it to the Oscars race for Best Foreign-Language Film but it has won the nod of a film distributor who will market the movie around the world.

Here’s the report from Funfare’s Toronto-based "international correspondent" Ferdinand Lapuz:

Mongrel Media, the Toronto-based top Canadian specialty film distributor (Spain’s Pedro Almodovar) Talk To Her and other prestigious foreign-language films has acquired all rights in Canada to Small Voices, the Philippines’ Best Foreign Language Film Oscar entry and an Audience Favorite Award Winner in the recent Palm Springs International Film Festival.

A film by acclaimed Filipino director Gil M. Portes, Small Voices is a heartwarming and inspirational story of a young teacher, Melinda (Filipino star Alessandra de Rossi), who is sent to teach the elementary grades and tries to make a difference in a poor remote village.

Hussain Amarshi, President of Mongrel Media, said, "We are thrilled to be distributing this wonderful film from the Philippines. We believe that Small Voices – with its life affirming qualities – is a film that will find a very receptive audience in North America."

Portes said, "We are excited about working with Hussain and his staff in making the Canadian release a successful one. It is only fitting that Canada is the first country, aside from the Philippines, to distribute the film and the distributor is based in Toronto. We had our world premiere there, thanks to the Toronto International Film Festival for always inviting the best of Philippine cinema."

Small Voices is a Teamwork Productions film, produced by Portes and Ray Cuerdo, written by Portes, Adolf Alix and Senedy Que, and stars de Rossi, Dexter Doria, Gina Alajar and Amy Austria. The deal was negotiated by Amarshi for Mongrel Media and by Cuerdo for Teamwork Productions.

E-mail your reactions at: [email protected]

* * *

And now, some interesting items from my e-mail:

From Jun Valenzuela, Naga City

I wrote to bring to your attention this word which I believe is the most mispronounced word in the media. Worse, it is only in our local media. Award-winning TV broadcasters such as Korina Sanchez, Mel Tiangco, Mike Enriquez, Tina Monzon-Palma, to name a few mispronounced it. Even radio announcers mistook its pronunciation. Even our president misspoke it! The word is charge d, affairs. This is a French word meaning "charged with affairs". Or, a government official temporarily placed in charge of diplomatic affairs while the ambassador or minister is absent. Being a French word, it is and should not be pronounced like an American word. Therefore it must not be said like the way we pronounced the words charge and affairs. It is pronounced as Shar-Zhey De-Feyr and not like Charj De-Afeyrs.

From Andrew R. Calvert, Hong Kong:

Thank you for that heart-warming article about the Alcasids (Ogie & Michelle – Philippine STAR, Feb. 2).

We need more of these family-oriented stories especially from the entertainment world in these uncertain times.

Please less interview from wannabees’ who without batting an eyelash report, "they do not use underwears." Yuk! And less boobs exposed by our artistas, then they complain of stalkers indecent proposals, etc.

From M.C. Sicam, M.D., Pasig City:

I read you column with interest most days of the week but had to cringe this morning when, once again, I came across an error that is frighteningly common when Filipinos write and speak English.

I am British, a British citizen and a Briton. What neither I nor Elizabeth Grace Burton Mole’s father are is a British. "British" has always been and will continue to always be an adjective. It has never and will never be a noun.

Lesson over!

Thanks, as I said earlier, for such a regularly enlightening and entertaining column.