Why was Ruffa crying?

Followers of the ABS-CBN late-morning show Ruffa & Ai probably didn’t notice it but for two days last week, co-host Ruffa Gutierez (with Ai-Ai delas Alas) was red-eyed... from crying? According to Funfare’s Bohol Avenue DPA, last Wednesday Ruffa was on the phone while all the guests were in, including Lea Salonga. When she came out of her dressing room, “Her eyes were red, obviously from crying,” said the DPA. Same thing happened the next day: Ruffa was again on the phone, crying while talking to somebody “mysterious.”

The question is: Who was she talking to and why was she crying?

Wild guess: John Lloyd Cruz?

The same DPA said that it’s not true that John Lloyd and Liz Uy have reconciled. While John Lloyd claims to be “loveless” (even if, according to other sources, his “special friendship” with Ruffa is as strong as ever, secret nga lang), Liz seems to have found “new happiness” in the person of Francis Ricafort, LJ Moreno’s brother who was once linked to, among other girls, Camille Prats and KC Concepcion.

“On Aug. 5, Francis’ birthday,” added the DPA, “Liz hosted a ‘surprise’ party for him at her condo unit and then they hied off to Boracay where they were seen holding hands while walking in the sand. Sweet na sweet sila.”

Back to Ruffa and John Lloyd...Did somebody “order” them to, well, “lie low” while the promo for Star Cinema’s In My Life (John Lloyd’s movie with Vilma Santos and Luis Manzano who plays John Lloyd’s lover) is in full blast?

Asked what the matter what, Ruffa texted Funfare thrice.

First text: “I cried over something but not to the point of letting it affect my work.”

Second text: “Over JLC? No. Secret! One day you will find out what.”

Third text: “I was just feeling sick. Have a cold and cough, and have been sneezing. I guess it’s allergies so I had to see a doctor yesterday morning before reporting to the studio. Baka naman people thought I was crying cuz my eyes were red from the allergies. Grabe!!!”

Ace Cruz gets good breaks

Funfare wants to congratulate actor-producer-director Ace Cruz who flew home with a good news: Outrage, his latest movie for his own Spirit Films, LLC, was named Best SciFi Picture of the Year at the 2009 Action On Film (AOF) International Film Festival in Pasadena, California.

AOF is one of the most progressive film festivals where hundreds of films, videos and documentaries from around the world are shown, some in competition and others for exhibition.

Described as “a white-knuckle thriller about the law of attraction, fate-changing decisions and facing the past,” Outrage stars Michael Madsen and Natasha Lyonne, with Ace himself, Michael Berryman (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest) and Derek Lee Nixon among the co-stars.

Ace’s other films which he himself produced, directed and starred in are Last Chance (with Judy Ann Santos, Todd Bridges and Jamie Bay), Asian Task Force (with Sunshine Cruz and Blain Tyler), Deadly Decisions (with Mandy Marcet), The Golem (with an all-star cast), Fate (with Michael Pare, Philip Michael Thomas and Lee Majors) and Psychotic (with Kathleen Kinmont, Joe Estevez and Sam Jones).

The good news is that for P100, you can download any of Ace’s films. Check out www.spiritfilmsllc.com or [email protected]. That should be ready by next month.

“Aside from watching the whole movie,” said Ace, “you can see the trailers of the other movies, with a bonus of behind-the-scene features.”

Born in Manila, Ace migrated to the US with his parents, Bing Herrera and Yolie Cruz, when Ace was three-years old. He was educated at IHM in L.A. (elementary) and LeConte Jr. High and John Marshall High School (for high school) and finished AB Fine Arts (major in Drama) at the University of Southern California. After graduation, Ace produced stage plays in which he also acted.

From 1991 to 1996, Ace shuttled between L.A. and Manila where he did movies for Viva Films.

“After acting for 10 years,” said Ace, “I decided to venture into directing and producing films. It took me four years to finish my first movie, Last Chance. I was learning on the job. I made it for $10,000. It was a great learning experience.”

Here with Ace is Outrage actor Derek Lee Nixon who also acts as Ace’s assistant.

While here, Ace is mulling on producing, directing and starring in an indie film which he plans to enter in filmfests both here and abroad.

Back in the US, he will start final preparations for his next project, Fight Quest, with Mike Cohen as funding partner.

Readers’ reactions

To give readers both sides of the story, Funfare is printing two letters, this time “in defense” of Survivor Philippines Season 2 castaway Mika Batchelor who is being accused by Alejandro sisters Barni and Rachel of “stealing” the title “The Sexy Chef” which the sisters claim to be their own.

= From Luis M. Harder who claims to be the uncle of Mika Batchelor:

My niece Mika is really sexy, beautiful and charming. Besides, she’s really a good chef with a strong background on her craft as she extensively trained in Italy. Mika deserves the tag because that’s obviously the truth, unless somebody else has a different perspective of what sexy, beautiful and charming is.

I looked at the photo of the Alejandro sisters and I think they are far from “sexy”. On the other hand, I only came to know from your column that there is such a restaurant named “Sexy Chef.” I wouldn’t eat there because the food there could only taste bitter and sour because the “chefs” are sour grapers and bitter losers. Hehehehe.

= From “mcb bomb” (no address given):

Let me start by saying that I read your column on a regular basis. This email is in reply to your segment on “The Sexy Chef”. I’ve never heard of a company named as such. Do the Alejandro sisters have a copyright ownership to that name? If they do not, then what is the hoopla all about? If Mika tags herself a sexy chef then so be it. If she’s sexy and a chef then she fits the description.

The sisters are in no way in the likes of Nigella and other chefs mentioned. It’s almost atrocious to compare themselves to them as they have not earned the ranks of the said chefs. Having a registered business under a certain name and a copyright to a name are two different things. How many Aling Rosa’s Sari-sari stores do we see just by driving from Manila to Laguna? Why insult Mika by questioning her decency and accusing her of riding on the popularity of their company’s name (if it’s really popular?). It irks me whenever people make such a claim. Rachel’s popularity have long been evanescent.

(Email reactions at [email protected] or at [email protected])