Cory wants Kris to play Cory in Ninoy bioflick

Yes, it’s true: Cesar Montano is producing, directing and starring in a movie about Ninoy Aquino with him in the title role. Cesar doesn’t physically resemble Ninoy but you know how good an actor he is. I’m sure he’ll spring another big surprise just like he did by pulling a very credible, award-winning performance as Dr. Jose Rizal whom he also doesn’t resemble but whom he portrayed with amazing realism, taking pains to learn how to speak Spanish and copy the hero’s mannerisms (based on research and interviews with historians).

According to reports, Cesar is eyeing Maricel Soriano (his leading lady in one movie and in the ABS-CBN sitcoms Kaya ni Mister, Kaya ni Misis and Bida si Mister, Bida si Misis) to play Cory Aquino. Well and good. Maricel can and will, no doubt about it, do justice to the role, she being a good actor like Cesar.

But here’s the catch: According to a Funfare DPA, if she had a choice – and, I guess, her wish should be respected – Tita Cory would rather have daughter Kris Aquino play her.

"Tita Cory said she’ll be more comfortable that way," said the DPA who’s close to the Aquino family.

Asked about it, Kris was mum.

What she admitted was that it was she who acted as a bridge between Cesar and Tita Cory.

"I introduced Cesar to my mom," Kris told Funfare. "He set up an appointment with my mom through me. He went to my mom’s office. Then my mom took him to Tarlac to tour Aquino Center where they had lunch. Cesar is in constant communication with my mom."

If ever, the Ninoy bioflick will be Kris’ next movie after the blockbuster Star Cinema suspense-thriller Sukob (with Claudine Barretto, directed by Chito Roño) which continues to draw SRO crowds in Metro Manila theaters on its extended run, so far grossing more than P170-M and is well on its way beyond the P200-M mark. "It’s really malakas," said Regal Matriarch Mother Lily.

But Kris’ decision to postpone her "retirement" from movie-making isn’t at all influenced by Sukob’s phenomenal success, making it, as its ad puts it, "the all-time highest-grossing horror film of all time!," making Kris and Claudine the current Box-Office Queens.

"I still have two movies under my present contract with Star Cinema," said Kris who once claimed that when she and husband James Yap get married in church, James would make her stop making movies and just concentrate on TV hosting. "But after James and I saw Sukob, he said that sayang naman daw if I stop making movies dahil ang ganda talaga ng Sukob."

Which means that the show must go on – tuloy ang ligaya! – and that’s until Kris shows signs of pregnancy.

"Of course, if I get pregnant, I’ll have no choice but to quit making movies for a while," explained Kris who has been vocal about her and James’ plan to have a baby next year.

After she and James came back last week from a vacation in the US (they went to Las Vegas after the Sukob premiere in L.A.), Kris said she had a pregnancy test which turned out to be "negative."

So what about the church wedding, rumored to be scheduled before end of this year?

Kris didn’t make any comment. She only giggled.

Will Tim Yap end up as Bai Ling’s leading man?

Scoop: Inquirer’s Super creative director, events organizer, party animal and Embassy co-owner Tim Yap is on the brink of international movie stardom. Yes, believe it or not.

If Tim passes the screen test, he might end up as the leading man of no less than Hollywood actress Bai Ling in Shanghai Baby which will be filmed in China by a German producer. He’ll play an insecure, immature and suicidal young man.

"The character is my exact opposite," Tim told Funfare in an exclusive interview. As Manila’s social set knows, Tim is not insecure, not immature and definitely not suicidal. "So playing the role will be a big challenge to me."

How did Tim stumble upon this chance of a lifetime?

Well, he recalled that he bumped into Bai Ling at a bar in Singapore and they hit it off so well that they became instant friends. A member of Chairman Mao’s Red Guards during China’s long-drawn Cultural Revolution, Bai Ling is among the first batch of Chinese actors who have successfully penetrated Hollywood. She co-starred with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat in Anna and The King and, recently, shocked her family and friends by posing nude in Playboy. (See, Pops, hindi ka nag-iisa!)

To make a long story short, Bai Ling informed Tim that a search was going on for her leading man in Shanghai Baby. "So why don’t you give it a shot?" she asked Tim.

Back home, Tim promptly took a crash course in acting under Gina Alajar and took a screen test, clips of which are now in the possession of the German producer. Aside from Tim, the two other candidates are professional actors from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for my friend Tim who must be day-dreaming, what with international stardom now within his reach.

Good luck, Tim. I hope you get the plum.

What the Pussycat Dolls ate at Little Asia

Taking time out from their busy schedule recently when they were here for a concert at the Big Dome, the Pussycat Dolls stopped over at Little Asia for a sumptuous meal.

"They were fun to dine with," said Little Asia owner-manager Charlemagne Lim (who celebrated his birthday last Monday night with friends at – where else? – Little Asia Greenhills Promenade branch).

The producer of the Pussycat Dolls concert is Charlemagne’s good friend, so he had access to the Dolls, one of whose members is a Filipina.

"They enjoyed the food," added Charlemagne.

Here’s what the Dolls dined on:

• Japanese Tofu Steak (pan-fried tofu with shredded chicken, mushrooms and kuchay),

• Thai Eggplant with Minced Pork & Shrimp (eggplant stuffed with pork and shrimps in sweet Thai sauce),

• Fried Green Beans (deep-fried green beans with ground pork and black mushrooms), and

• Steamed Broccoli with Prawns & Mushrooms (broccoli flowers sauteed with prawns and mushrooms).

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