Kris simply trying to save marriage... Ruffa: Yes, I am fabulously single!

Curtain-raisers:

• Now I know why an actress and her non-showbiz husband have gone on self-imposed exile abroad (in the US, in Europe or just somewhere in Asia? who knows?). The man has incurred debts to the tune of hundreds of millions from several people, one of them a friend of somebody I know from whom the actress’ husband owes, hold your breath, P300 million! I wonder how much he owes the others.

• The current American Idol Kris Allen might come for a Valentine concert next month, with the Fearless Productions of Jomari Yllana and Singson brothers Ronald and Ryan as producer. It’s the same group that brought here AI graduates David Cook (champion) and David Archuleta (finalist) last year. Kris beat Adam Lambert who outed himself during the AI run.

• Fresh from Las Vegas where he’s based, Jun Polistico, dubbed as “a durable balladeer,” will have a limited stint at the Century-Park Sheraton Hotel’s Top of the Century on Jan. 29 and 30. The entrance fee is inclusive of hors d’ouvres buffet and a round of selected wine and drinks. Limited seats, so better make your reservations early. Text or call Aris Demavivas at 0917-845-0903.

• Take note: Every P5,000 worth of accumulated receipts in any of the Little Asia outlets (Tomas Morato, Quezon City; Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan City; and at The Venice McKinley Hill Fort, Taguig City) entitles you to two complimentary tickets to the Paramore concert on March 9 at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Concert Grounds. The promo is good until March 9.

• Showbiz Power with Kuya Mar, the long-running radio program anchored by Mar d’Guzman Cruz, will now be heard on Sundays (starting on Jan. 17), 6 to 8 p.m. still on RMN dzXL. Kuya Mar will dish out the juiciest showbiz items during those two hours.

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Last Wednesday (Jan. 13) at around 5: 30 p.m., I got the following text message from a friend: May sinugod na babae si Kris Aquino sa Valle Verde...pinagsuspetsahan daw ‘yung babae na girlfriend ni James (Yap, Kris’ husband)... Paki-verify.

My first impulse was to call Kris but either she “cannot be reached” or “the person you’re calling is out of coverage area.”

So I did the next best thing: Mobilize the Funfare mole code-named Jumpy Kangaroo (deeply imbedded in the Aquino-Yap household) to check posthaste. Here’s his report:

Kris and James were having a late lunch at 2 p.m. that day when James’ celfon rang. The caller was a girl, crying, and saying, “I did everything already...” blah-blah-blah. Kris did what any wife would do (and considering that she and James have just survived a “Lovers’ Quarrel” sorted out during a post-Christmas family trip to Bangkok): she asked James who the girl was and why she’s crying on his shoulder. James had hung up after telling the girl that he’d call her later.

A little discussion (not an argument) followed during which James told Kris that the girl was having a problem with her boyfriend (somebody else) and that the girl has been his long-time (Purefoods) fan. Like any puzzled wife, Kris asked James, “Why would she be crying on your shoulder, for that matter on a man she knows very well who is very much married?” Normal reaction, wasn’t it?

For quite a time now, the girl has been sending James chocolates or cakes or other goodies, addressed only to James, making Kris wonder, “If she can’t write my name or those of our children, why doesn’t she just address them to ‘James and Family’ para naman mawala ang suspicion?”

The little incident didn’t end there.

While being made up for the day’s work by Bambbi Fuentes, she got a “forwarded” text message (from where, it wasn’t made clear), purportedly from James who was telling the girl to just say sorry to Kris “at nang matapos na lahat.” That made Kris even more suspicious. Any wife would react the same way, right?

So Kris decided to drop by the girl’s house (also in Valle Verde) where the girl’s mom very nicely met her. Kris politely turned down the mom’s invitation”to come in” and simply, very politely, told the mom the whole incident. Kris never raised her voice (unlike perhaps most “aggrieved” wives); she was calm as she reminded the mom that she and James are working very hard at saving their marriage and calls or text messages from “any girl” to James is the last thing that they wanted especially at this stage when they (Kris and James) have just patched things up.

Kris didn’t make sugod the girl. She only wanted to relay to the girl the message that she should refrain from calling or texting James since James is very much married and it doesn’t look good for her to be doing that. Siempre naman, kahit sinong wife ay hindi matutuwa sa ganoon.

(Note: I asked Jumpy Kangaroo what the moral of the story is and he said, “Huwag po magti-text or tatawag sa isang lalaking may-asawa. ‘Yon lang po.” Wives out there, agree or disagree?)

* * *

While we are at it, might as well tell you another story that involves another showbiz couple — oops! not just one couple but two, namely Ruffa Gutierrez and John Lloyd Cruz, and Shaina Magdayao and John Prats.

According to reports, John Lloyd and Shaina are sometimes seen “having some drinks” at a joint (Countryside ba ‘yon?) frequented by showbiz folk. John got wind of it that’s why he broke up with Shaina. Could it be true that John now wants to “confront” John Lloyd? Is it true that John is spreading the yarn that John Lloyd is teaching Shaina “bad habits” (such as drinking)? Those are the speculations.

Enter Vina Morales, Shaina’s older sister.

Perhaps concerned about Shaina, Vina called up Ruffa to verify what Ruffa and John Lloyd’s “status” is — you know, are they really “on” or what?

I don’t know what Ruffa’s answer was but what’s puzzling is why Vina would meddle in other people’s affairs when, according to the Funfare mole (not Jumpy Kangaroo but Good Riddance), is a mess. “Bago siya makialam,” said Good Riddance, “ayusin muna niya ang buhay niya.”

Ouch, ang sakit mo naman magsalita!

So, John Prats and Shaina have broken up, but have Ruffa and John Lloyd broken up too?

Ruffa laughed. “Why would we break up when we never went steady?”

Ehemmmmm!!!

As soon as she stopped laughing, I asked Ruffa what her “status” is now, 15 days into 2010?

“I am fabulously single!”

Wow, grabe! Fabulously grabe!

Should we drink to that, John Lloyd and Shaina?

Cesar Apolinario’s Estasyon to Dhaka Int’l Filmfest

Did you know that Estasyon, the second indie directed by GMA 7 field reporter Cesar Apolinario, was shot in only four days on a shoestring budget of P400,000?

The movie, starring Klaudia Koronel and Mon Confiado, is competing at the Dhaka International Film Festival, Jan. 14 to 22, against presumably more “expensive” entries from other countries (Australia, Malaysia, Iran, Turkey, Sri Lanka, India, Hong Kong, etc.).

The plot revolves around the life of a boy told with the Quiapo Nazareno procession as backdrop, an annual event which Cesar has been covering for GMA News.

Cesar’s first film, Banal, won him the Best Director Award at the 2007 Metro Filmfest.

Here’s what Cesar has to say about Estasyon (which he co-wrote with Chris Lim):

Estasyon’s genre has yet to be defined. It is not only a fiction and a documentary film combined. It is a story behind a story within a story, about a young thief who went to Manila to be able to to touch the image of the Black Nazarene upon the request of his ailing mother.

The story of Christian (played by newcomer Christian Galindo) and his mother in itself is already so poignant, it can already be the topic of the movie itself. But Estasyon is not just about Christian and his mother. It started and ended with the porn director turned documentarist who struggled with his own demons during and after his shoot. A number of auteur filmmakers have already been doing this fusion of fact and fiction.

But I wanted to set apart from their genre by removing pretenses and stating his opinion at the end of the film. It was a bold move. Films are always subjective. But I was courageous enough to stand up against this insolent practice, much more chastising the faith and leaders behind it. For some, they say, the film should speak for itself. But for me, it was not enough.

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