Ted Failon back on air on Monday

Almost two months after his wife Trina Arteche-Etong was found dead at the bathroom of their house in Tierra Pura, Tandang Sora, Quezon City, and officially declared a suicide by the NBI, Ted Failon will return to work on Monday, June 8, as co-anchor of the ABS-CBN early-evening newscast TV Patrol World with Julius Babao and Karen Davila, and of the hard-hitting dzMM program Failon at Sanchez (co-host Korina Sanchez has filed a leave of absence).

“Life is painful but I have to move on,” said Ted in a text message to Funfare which gathered that Ted and his two daughters just came back from a “bonding” trip to Hawaii. “Praise God!”

For sure still hurting and traumatized by the harrowing experience he and his family had to go through in the wake of Trina’s death, Ted must have a lot to say about how he survived it all. Of course, his avid followers (who have missed him terribly, I’m sure) are eager to find out if Ted will sound as hard-hitting as before... or even more so now?

Stay tuned.

Juday not yet infanticipating?

A month after she and Ryan Agoncillo jumped the gun on everybody (except those very close to them) by getting married at dawn in San Juan, Batangas, Judy Ann “Juday” Santos feels a little pressure into having a baby... soon!

But sorry, folks, Juday is not yet having morning sickness or craving for manggang hilaw.

Asked in jest if their honeymoon was successful or not, Ryan said, “How could it be when there’s a 50-pound condom between us,” referring to their adopted daughter Yohann who insists on sleeping between them.

Married life is so far, so good. The couple has moved to their dream house somewhere in Alabang.

“Ryan has become more maasikaso,” said Juday. “He checks on me every hour on the hour, unlike when we were just going steady na nagtitipid siya sa pagtawag-tawag.”

A good cook, Juday has almost perfected what Ryan calls her specialty — Angrydobo.

“I invented Angrydobo when we were in the States,” recalled Juday who was arguing with Ryan while she was busy preparing dinner. “I was angry and kept on putting into the kaserola all the ingredients na mahawakan ko. Nang maluto na, aba, nasarapan si Ryan. So hayan, Angrydobo!”

Like other showbiz newly-weds (Gloria Romero and Juancho Gutierrez in the movie Honey-Honeymoon, Pops Fernandez and Martin Nievera in Always & Forever, Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres in the sitcom Richard Loves Lucy, etc.), Ryan and Juday are topbilled in their own sitcom, George & Cecil, which premieres on June 14 on ABS-CBN. Juday plays a cop nicknamed George (from Georgina Castro) and Ryan a high-school teacher nicknamed Cecil (Cecilio Murillo).

Written and directed by Joey Javier Reyes, George & Cecil is not, as Joey put it, “guest-dependent,” that’s why it features an all-star cast that includes Tessie Tomas, Al Tantay, Malu de Guzman, Gladys Reyes and husband Christopher Roxas, Dimples Romana, Dino Imperial, Archie Alemania (who has reportedly broken up with live-in partner Mickey Ferriols), four newcomers (Dionne Monsanto, Enriquez Gil, Ynna Asistio and Adrian Solomon), and Pinoy Fear Factor participantes Jommy Teotico and Manuel Chua.

From Tarantino with admiration

While the national government has yet to officially commend Brillante “Dante” Mendoza on his feat of winning the Best Director award (for Kinatay) at the recently-concluded 62nd Cannes Film Festival, several other groups are giving him due recognition, including the municipal government of San Fernando, Pampanga (where Mendoza hails from), the city government of Mandaluyong (where Mendoza lives), UST (where he studied Fine Arts) and the Directors Guild of the Philippines.

Mendoza told Funfare that he has just been interviewed by CNN for its Talk Asia show, Newsweek and Time.

Meanwhile, Mendoza just received a letter from Quentin Tarantino, one of the A-list directors he has beaten in Cannes. The letter reads (quoted as is):

Dear Mr. Mendoza,

Bravo on your difficult troubling work. Your decision to never dramatize the murder, never indulge in movie suspense...was bold, daring, and to me, the whole point of making the movie in the first place. I felt it was completely a eyewitness account of a horrofic murder. I believed everything I saw. Your point wasn’t to dramatize it. It was to capture it.

Bravo,

Quentin Tarantino

Will Patricia win as Mrs. Asia USA 2009?

From Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre (of The Filipino Reporter), this piece of good news:

Patricia Javier (Mrs. Robert Walcher III) is competing in the 21st annual Miss and Mrs. Asia USA (2009) Pageant with finals slated for June 13 at the Alex Theater Performing Arts & Entertainment Center in Glendale, California, with over 30 other US-based delegates representing different Asian regions.

Married to chiropractor Robert Walcher III by whom she has a son, Robert Douglas “D’4th” Walcher IV (who turned two years old last February), Patricia was a former Bb. Pilipinas candidate before she joined showbiz. She heads the newly-formed Asian Dolls which performs in various Asian events in the US.

What’s up?

• Jed Madela (photo) will perform at Robinsons Starmall-Pampanga tomorrow, June 7, starting at 4 p.m. Autograph-signing and photo session will follow.

• The hit “Buy-One-Take-One” CD/DV sale at 1487 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, is on its last weekend today and tomorrow. The CDs are sold at giveaway prices and big discounts.

• Concert at the Park, in partnership with the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) President’s Committee on Arts & Culture, presents the Hiyas ng Maynilad Dance Company and the PLM Rondalla tomorrow, June 7, starting at 6 p.m. The show is open to the public.

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