What to do with awards

Sent via e-mail this very interesting letter from reader Suzette Naval. She has obviously monitored and observed our local awards presentations. Here is Suzette’s letter in full:

Hi Butch! Re: your article on awards. Every year, I tune in to these special shows on TV expecting pure entertainment. It is a natural expectation given the number of celebrities or creative people who put their heads into these.

However, it is unfortunate that I end up shifting to other channels because of sheer boredom. And, because the presentations are too long, I usually hit the sack before they get to the most exciting parts.

It is sad. I think everybody in the showbiz industry should consider the awards presentation as a celebration of gifts. It is the perfect medium to express the gift of gab, the gift of music, and dance and artistry. Frankly, the hours are wasted on bad scripts, hosts who simply follow the script, artists who stammer and come unprepared, and production numbers that can’t be without Dulce or Ivy Violan.

If the organizers would like more people to appreciate their work, maybe they can:

• Choose main hosts way in advance and make sure that at least their main hosts are prepared for the entire show;

• Male hosts should come from the comedy genre because they’re the best in adlibs and icebreakers. Edu Manzano, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon are great examples. They’ve got wit and credibility and can pronounce words correctly;

• They should pair the male hosts with great female hosts like Charlene Gonzales, Pops Fernandez, and Kris Aquino;

• Since presenters come in late even if they are given invitations that indicate a certain time, then might as well give them a call time. If they are needed at 10, then call time is at nine.

• Get beauty queens and popular models as alternates or back-ups for presenters. They should know from the very beginning that they are hired as back-ups. They can have a set of alternates for each major segment of the show. This could work well if only one of the two presenter is not available. But what if both are not around? Use the back-ups for both, it doesn’t matter. It saves production people the trouble of juggling thru lists of stars who are available and then running them through their lines; and

• Organizers should also make the entrance of the stars part of the show. Much like the Oscars (but make sure it still fits the usual three hours). This could be a great way to perk up the night ahead for both the viewers and the stars themselves. Maybe this could motivate the stars to come on time too. Get sponsors to give out a prize for all those who walked the red carpet on time. There should be some com-on aside from basic exposure.

I hope you receive this e-mail and hope too that the award programs will improve. Thanks and good luck in all your endeavors!

Sincerely, Suzette

Organizers of all the award-winning bodies should probably take note of most of Suzette Naval’s comments because they are very sound. But allow me to respond point by point to what she said:

• The hosts are really chosen way ahead of time. In fact, they are the first to be cast (about three or four months before the awards night). Unfortunately, some of them have no word of honor and back out at the last minute (like the night before). Sometimes, therefore, you are left with no other choice but to take in a replacement on the day of the awards presentation;

• I agree with you on that. Edu Manzano, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon are among the finest hosts we have and they really perk up the audience during awards presentations. It’s just a pity that Bert Marcelo is no longer around;

• Charlene, Pops and Kris have already been making the rounds of awards nights for the longest time and are very in-demand for these occasions;

• I’m sorry but very few of them respect the call time;

• I don’t think anyone would agree to that kind of arrangement – certainly not beauty queens and models whose egos are even bigger than those of movie stars. (There are some who are nice, but I’ve encountered others who are quite difficult to handle). Many years ago, we asked a beauty queen to help hand out the trophies in the Gawad Urian. (Actually, it was her mother who volunteered her services.) When she found out what she was going to do, she pouted all throughout the program; and

• Most of the awards presentations are held at the UP Theater, which, unfortunately, doesn’t have a long walk ideal for a red carpet set-up. The Urian tried this last year at the Araneta Coliseum, but most of the stars still preferred to use the back entrance.

Anyway, Suzette, thank you for your comments and I will present your letter to the producer of this year’s Urian Awards, APT Enterprises. Wish us luck on the May 17th when we stage our annual Gawad Urian.