Vice Ganda beats Kris at the tills

These past few days, there has been some kind of a contest between Vice Ganda and Kris Aquino on who was No. 1 at the box office during the just-concluded 39th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Of the two, it’s Kris who is loudly claiming that My Little Bossings (the movie she co-produced with Orly Ilacad’s OctoArts, Tony Tuviera’s APT Entertainment and Vic Sotto’s M-ZET Productions) topped the eight official MMFF entries, with Vice Ganda’s Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy a close No. 2, even if Vic and the other Bossings stars have kept mum on the issue.

Well, Kris is right. Bossings did finish No. 1 during the 10-day MMFF but as of Friday, Jan. 17, GBBT has already overtaken Bossings at the tills with a total gross of P429,147,427.72 (figure furnished Funfare by Viva Films, co-producer on the movie), seconded by Star Cinema (the other producer) which has declared GBBT as “the now all-time highest-grossing Filipino film.”

The Bossings producers haven’t released the gross of the movie which took a pre-release P100M from the commercials (Kris and Vic’s endorsements) incorporated into it.

So, Bossings was No. 1 during the official 10-day MMFF run but GBBT is No. 1 in the two movies’ entire run (both still showing in several theaters nationwide, with GBBT in 62 theaters).

Thus, it’s correct to conclude that, yes, Vice Ganda has beaten Kris at the box office. Let’s hope that this new feather on his cap doesn’t go to Vice Ganda’s head.

Incidentally, Kim Atienza, Vice Ganda’s It’s Showtime co-host, lost a P10,000 bet to Vice Ganda because he predicted that GBBT would top the MMFF, even if Vice Ganda that early was already “conceding” to Bossings. The two movies’ extended run has vindicated Kim, so would Vice Ganda give the P10,000 back to Kim?

Welcome back, Mike Templo!

Because of an unpleasant experience not really his fault (“Not guilty,” was all that he would say), lawyer Mike Templo quit (or was terminated from) his three shows on TV5 (Morning Show which is now Good Morning Club, Pilipinas News Weekend and the docu Insider), plus a Sunday night radio program on Radyo5. The son of former actress/TV host Mildred Ortega and retired general Mitch Templo could have contested his dismissal (you know, what is he a lawyer for?) but he preferred to keep quiet and just shrugged it off. In fact, TV5 big boss MVP was clueless about what happened, asking Mike if he was okay at TV5 when they crossed paths by chance.

During his absence, Mike said that he went back to New York to fix his law office (with another one back home).

“I reconnected with my staff,” according to Mike who studied at Tuoro College, a law school in New York (he specializes in immigration cases) after graduating with a Philosophy degree from UP Diliman.

The good news is that Mike will soon be back, this time on GMA News TV, on the magazine show Boarding Pass (Saturdays, starting Jan. 25, 5:10 to 5:45 p.m.) which tackles issues confronting Filipinos abroad (immigration, employment, finances, etc.), with two NY-based lawyers (Mike’s colleagues Leo Guerrero, a Fil-Am, and Tsui Yee, a Chinese-American) as side hosts (shown on split-screen).

“It’s going to be a half-hour show,” said Mike, “which will be aired abroad on Pinoy TV.”

Asked what his three memorable episodes on his TV5 show Insider were, Mike (who started on television in a law-oriented show on ANC) said, “One was sleeping overnight at the death row of the National Penitentiary, second was when I lost in a wrestling match with a bull in Masbate and the third was when I went aquarium-fishing with kids in Zambales in the open seas.”

Looking back sans regrets or resentment, Mike said that he learned a lot in TV5.

“It was first at ANC and then at TV5 where I honed my skills as a host.”

Pledge of support for MMDA

Six of the industry’s top heads have issued their pledge of support for the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) which is behind the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

They are: Marichu Maceda, chairman of the Board, Movie Workers Welfare Fund (MOWELFUND); Wilson Tieng, president of Motion Producers and Distributors Association of the Philippines; Leonardo Monteverde, chairman of the Motion Picture Anti-Film Piracy Council; Orly Ilacad, president of Philippine Motion Pictures Producers Association (PMPPA); Ronnie Ricketts, chairman of the Optical Media Board (OMB); and Rolando Duenas, VP External of the National Cinema Association of the Philippines.

Here’s their official statement:

For the past 39 years, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) has not only been a showcase of the Filipino talent for art and story-telling through filmmaking but more importantly, it has served as an integral part of the movie industry through its tireless efforts in raising funds for the following beneficiaries: The Movie Workers Welfare Fund (MOWELFUND), the Film Academy of the Philippines, the Motion Picture Anti-Film Piracy Council, the Optical Media Board and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

The Metro Manila Mayors, through the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, have been generously waiving the amusement taxes during the 10-day festival period in favor of Metro Manila Film Festival to benefit these organizations. We are truly grateful to the Metro Manila Mayors support has made the successful conduct of the festival possible for the past 39 years.

It is in this spirit that we, the members of the Philippine movie industry, pledge our full support for the 39th Metro Manila Film Festival, the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Metro Manila Mayors who make this tradition possible.

Mabuhay ang Pelikulang Pilipino!

(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com. You may also send your questions to askrickylo@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)