Another Pinay is new star of Spider-Man

Yesterday’s Funfare bannered the story of Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre about the resignation of Fil-Am actress Natalie Mendoza as female lead of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark which opens on Broadway on Feb. 7. In his follow-up story, Edmund happily reported that another Pinay, Teresa Victoria Carpio, is replacing Natalie for the role of Arachne (with Christopher Tierney as Spider-Man) effective Jan. 4. It seems that Natalie quit the musical due to injury.

“I’m glad that it’s another Filipina who took the role,” added Edmund who sent Funfare Update a brief backgrounder about Teresa which he got from the Internet:

Born 1981 in Oklahoma City, Teresa Victoria Carpio is an American-Chinese-Filipino singer, songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of Hong Kong Chinese-Filipina singer Teresa Carpio with whom she has performed on stage as a backup singer. Her mother has also recorded one of her compositions. Her father is Peter Mui who co-founded Tungtex (Holdings) Co. Ltd., a Hong Kong-based garment maker. He is the president and 49 percent owner of Yellow River, Inc., a New York-based garment firm which is 51 percent owned by Tungtex. He also founded Yellowman.

Teresa Victoria acted and sang a slow rendition of the Beatles song I Want To Hold Your Hand as Prudence in Across the Universe, a movie set to the music of The Beatles. She played a lesbian cheerleader in the movie who always seemed to find herself on the outside looking in at other relationships. After feeling rejected by a cheerleader in her squad, she runs away to New York City and finds herself tied into the main script with the primary characters.

She has also appeared on television, including a TV movie and in one episode of both The Jury and Law & Order. She made her Broadway debut in Rent as Alexi Darling and others, appearing from Dec. 2006 until April 2007.

In the previews of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark which began on Nov. 28 last year, she originally played Miss Arrow. After Natalie’s resignation, Teresa Victoria took over as Arachne.

RP film competing in Berlin Filmfest

Sampaguita, directed by Francis Xavier Pasion, is one of the six films so far confirmed to be competing in the Generation KPlus of the Berlin International Film Festival next month. Produced by Pasion’s Pasion Para sa Pelikula and lawyer Joji Alonso with JV Tence of Quantum Films, it won a Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Cinemanila Independent Film Festival.

The five other films are: A Pas de Loup (On The Sly), Belgium/France; Jutro b dzie lepiej (Tomorrow Will Be Better), Poland/Japan; Keeper ‘n til Liverpool (The Liverpool Goalie), Norway; Mabul (The Flood), Israel/Canada/Germany/France; and Une vie de chat (A Cat In Paris), France/Belgium/Netherlands/Switzerland.

Sampaguita is the third Filipino film to compete in Berlin, after Maryo J. delos Reyes’ Magnifico (2004) which won both the Crystal Bear and Grand Jury Awards (when the filmfest was still Kinderfest) and Aureaus Solito’s Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros which won the Grand Jury Award and Special Mention for the Crystal Bear Award in the Generation KPlus Section.

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