Face to face with Starbox

I spent yesterday morning switching between GMA and TV5 monitoring Ali Sotto’s show, Starbox (GMA) which was airing its first episode, and Amy Perez’s Face to Face (TV5) which is celebrating its first anniversary with week-long specials.

I don’t think it’s coincidence that the two shows are being pitted against each other. They are similar in many ways. Both are heavily pang-masa, obviously with the CD crowd as target market although they also appeal to the AB class.

As its followers know, Amy’s show brings quarreling people face to face, letting them slap each other, pull each other’s hair, swap invectives and even, if they are not prevented in time by the burly bodyguards, throw their seats at each other before they ventilate theirs and, in the end, with the help of the Trio Tagapayo, usually iron out their differences which they cannot in the barangay level, and forgive each other. That’s the formula of Face to Face — to appeal to the voyeuristic nature of Filipinos.

As its premier episode indicated, Starbox is also headed for the heart of the masa. In yesterday’s show, Ali and co-host Papa Jack (the Love Radio counsellor) held court at the Tutuban Center and invited members of the SRO crowd to express their opinions on various topics, mostly showbiz-related, and then presented a wife who was sore at her husband whom she accused of having an affair with another woman. With the help of star guest host Marian Rivera, the couple kissed and made up, just like what feuding couples usually do in Face to Face.

Not to be outdone, Amy invited controversial starlets Angelica Jones and Ethel Booba as members of the sawsaweros and sawsaweras, taking the “sa pula” and “sa puti” sides, which are members of the studio audience who are asked for their opinions (by waving either the pula card or the puti card) by Amy’s sidekick Hans Mortel during the show’s Boto Hans portion. Hans’ counterpart in Ali’s show are the twins MJ and MM (of the boyband XL8R) who are assigned to ask the crowd’s opinion on the topic at hand.

In yesterday’s show, Amy tackled the issue between two half-sisters, one of them accusing the other of stealing her husband, a topic which, according to Ethel Booba, she could relate to because she said her younger sister did the same thing to her. At one point, Ethel and Angelica had a friendly argument over a guy (identified by Ethel only with the initial “P”) with whom they apparently got involved. “Pero ang pagkakaalam ko,” Ethel told Angelica, “hindi naging kayo (ni ‘P’); niligawan ka lang n’ya.” Angelica and Ethel ended up laughing over the non-issue.

I must say that Ali and Amy are both intelligent hosts who can dish out pieces of helpful advice based on their own personal experiences. They are so nice and so nurturing that they can be anybody’s tita or ate, very comfortable shoulders to cry on.

Ali’s show is only a day old while Amy’s show is one year old, so it’s too early to see how the “rivalry” will progress with time. The two shows are so interesting that you would wish you had two TV sets turned on simultaneously so you can watch both shows without holding the remote control and switching channels all the time.

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A Filipino film was awarded top honors at the recently concluded US National 24-Hour Film-Racing Tour. The winning short, Creative License, was directed by Pinoy filmmaker and commercial director Paolo Dy.

The 24-Hour Film-Racing competition challenged filmmakers in cities all over the United States and Canada to write, shoot and complete a short film in 24 hours, based on a specific theme. Examples of past themes were Revenge, Bad Advice and Jealousy. Filmmakers were also tasked with incorporating a surprise element in the film. The surprise element could be a prop (such as a balloon) or an action (such as a slap) that must be performed in the film.

Top: Paolo Dy (right), director of the 2010 US National Film-Racing winner Creative License, with Film-Racing co-founder Charlie Weisman (left) in New York City. Above: Pinoy actors Christopher Fabregas and Cathy Azanza, stars of Creative License.

“At 10 o’clock in the evening, prior to the deadline, we received our assigned theme,” the Funfare source quoted Dy as saying. “The theme was Exaggeration and our surprise element was Pizza.”

Dy explained that he and his team, composed of theater actors Cathy Azanza and Christopher Fabregas, wanted to make a story that was fun, but also very sincere. Shot in New York and written in Filipino, Creative License tells the story of a young Filipino immigrant struggling to make it in the big city.

“The film was inspired by conversations we had with Pinoy friends living in New York and elsewhere,” said Azanza who wrote the screenplay. “Like most immigrants, they are very willing to give up certain luxuries and make sacrifices to build a life for themselves. But, of course, their families back home worry. Out of love, they find that at times they have to get ‘creative’ just like the character, played by Christopher in the film to stop their families from worrying.”

Added Dy, “We were very conscious about making the film about what was close and real to us, which is why we chose to write it in Filipino. At the heart of it, we just hoped we could tell a story people could relate to and a character people could feel for no matter what language we used. More than a Filipino story, we hoped to tell a very human one.”

Dy and Azanza officially received their First Place prize package in New York last week from Film Racing co-founder Charlie Weisman. The package consists of a cash prize, a one-year scholarship with Writers Boot Camp, plus professional film and audio editing software from Sony Creative Software.

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Avery Fisher Hall of the Lincoln Center, home of the New York Philharmonic and one of the world’s renowned performing arts centers, will feature some of the Philippines’ biggest names in film and television in a major concert on April 23.

The Star Magic 18 concert, presented by Ritzberries Productions, will present 18 of Star Magic’s most prized artists in a three-hour spectacle from the artists Pinoy viewers all over the world love to watch regularly on The Filipino Channel.

John Lloyd Cruz, Bea Alonzo, Gerald Anderson, Kim Chiu, Sam Milby, Angelica Panganiban, Diether Ocampo and Gabby Concepcion lead the pack of performers.

Joining them are fellow superstars Gabby Concepcion, KC Concepcion, Maja Salvador, Shaina Mangdayao, Zanjoe Marudo, Erich Gonzales, Enchong Dee, Rafael Rosell, Pokwang, Chokoleit, and Pilipinas Got Talent champ Jovit Baldovino.

Star Magic 18 will also take center stage on April 15 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and on April 16 at the San Jose Event Center in San Jose.

(Tickets to the NYC show are $50, $75, $100, $125, $150 and $195. Call Burt at [914] 346-9646 for tickets.)

What’s up?

•The Kanlaon Broadcasting System (KBS) employees are invited to attend a three-day get-together reunion party that will be held on May 20, 21 and 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The event kicks off with a welcome dinner at Café Moda on Friday, May 20. The next day, May 21, brunch will be hosted by the Malapayas at their residence to be followed by the Main Dinner/Dance in the evening at The Orleans Hotel and Casino. On Sunday, May 22, a send-off brunch will be hosted by the Marfils to bid farewell to all the participants.

For more information, contact any of the following organizers: Primo Sumagaysay at [email protected]; Miriam Guamen Marfil at [email protected]; Manny Topacio at [email protected]; Ricky Pineda at [email protected]; or Flora Portilla Ramos at [email protected].

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Winners of the 2011 (8th) Golden Screen Awards of Enpress

US-bound (from left): Derek Ramsay and girlfriend Angelica Panganiban, Shaina Magdayao and boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz, Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu, and Erich Gonzales and Enchong Dee.

Seven of the winners of the 2011 (8^th) Golden Screen Awards of Enpress held Saturday night at Teatrino in Greenhills, San Juan City, from left: Sid Lucero, Best Actor in a Dramatic Motion Pictures (for Muli); Angelica Panganiban, Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Film (Here Comes The Bride); Tirso Cruz III, Best Supporting Actor (Sigwa); Lovi Poe, Best Actress in a Dramatic Motion Picture (Mayohan); Martin del Rosario, Breakthrough Performance by an Actor (Dagim, tie with Rocky Salumbides for Tarima); and Frencheska Farr, Breakthrough Performance by an Actress (Emir). Other winners include Sigwa, Best Picture (Drama); Emir, Best Picture (Musical or Comedy); Chito Roño, Best Director (Emir); Best Screenplay, Sigwa; Best Story, Emir; Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, John Lapus (Here Comes The Bride); and Best Supporting Actress, Zsa Zsa Padilla (Sigwa).

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Azkals at Star City

 The Philippine National Football Team, popularly known as the Azkals, recently visited Star City to savor a rare day-out in the country’s foremost amusement park. Led by team captain Aly Borromeo, the Azkals went on rest-and-recreation by trying the famous inverted roller coaster, the Star Flyer, along with other park attractions. On hand to greet them were officials and staff of Star Parks Corporation, and 101.1 Yes FM’s deputy station supervisor Karen Golfo.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected] or at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare.)