• As in last year’s Metro Filmfest, only seven films will join as official entries in the 10-day Metro Filmfest this year (from Dec. 25 to Jan. 3, 2004). There would have been 10 (Star Cinema’s Milan was pulled out because it couldn’t meet the deadline), so nine remain as contenders for the "Magic 7." Now, which two films will be left out to join the filmfest after the official 10-day period (meaning starting Jan. 4, 2004)? Will there be a repeat of last year’s controversy that caught Caloocan City Mayor (and Metro Filmfest chairman) Rey Malonzo in the middle?
• I just came back yesterday from Seoul where I interviewed Britney Spears. (Watch for her in Conversations this Sunday, Dec. 14, and on The Buzz afternoon of that same day). Brad Turvey was there, too, for Channel [V]. He was with a pretty Channel [V] girl named Joanne and they looked good together. That’s for your information, Ma’am Pops (Fernandez).
• Do you know what Bookingham means? You don’t of course! I learned what that strange word means also in Seoul, as told by an "eyewitness." You see, an actress-TV/host interviewed a foreign singer not so long ago. One question (on the cue card, huh!) read, "How did you feel during your performance at the Buckingham Palace?" The actress-TV/host, long suspected to have nothing between her ears, read "Buckingham" as, you guessed it, "Bookingham" and her face must have turned tomato-red when the foreign singer corrected her, "It’s Buckingham!" No, you didn’t see it on local TV when the interview was aired. Yes, that embarrassing "Bookingham" portion was edited.
"Oh, no," Meryll nearly screamed. "I can do kontrabida roles, a bit sexy maybe, but not bold ones. Otherwise, my parents will kill me; papatayin ako ng Daddy ko."
Daddy is Willie Revillame who, like most playboys and womanizers are said to be, is fiercely protective of his unica hija even if at one time he kind of reneged on a promise he made to Meryll regarding her bar studies in London.
"I knew that my Dad wanted me to fulfill my dream," said Meryll, "but he wasn’t able to put up the money because he lost his job. I understand, and I never took it against him. No hard feelings, I assured Dad."
What Meryll planned then was to take up a course in filmmaking and work doubly hard during her first year so she could qualify for a scholarship and thereby spare her Dad further expenses.
"What I plan to do is enroll in a course in Creative Writing and Filmmaking at the UP (College of Arts)," added Meryll who is earning enough not to demand any support from either her Dad or her Mom (BecBec, Maricel Soriano’s younger sister).
Because she’s now of legal age (even her vital statistics are "legally" delectable / 34-25-33 evenly distributed in her 5’3.6" frame), Meryll doesn’t feel The need to consult her Dad as far as decision-making is concerned although she asks for her Mom’s opinion because she’s still staying with her (and, in effect, is under her authority).
"Do I have a love life? Mayroon naman! My boyfriend is not from showbiz. He’s a photographer. One year na kami."
But Meryll does ask for pointers from her Aunt Maricel especially about her career.
"She always reminds me to be professional and to be punctual on the set, ready with my lines. I should study daw the script before I report for shootings; I should never, never daw go to the set unprepared. Also, she always tells me to be true to myself, like her. I’m like my Aunt Maricel. What you see is what you get."
And she can be brutally frank, too.
Asked what advice she could give Willie, Meryll didn’t mince words.
"Daddy, be thankful for all the blessings coming your way. Learn from your mistakes. Put away the negative vibes."
Does Willie ever listen to her?
"He does, he should! I can be very frank with him. I tell him what I feel and what I think, unlike those around him na binobola-bola lang siya."
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)