Julia Montes: It’s steroids, not pregnancy

The actress made this clear to squelch rumors attributing her added pounds to pregnancy. True, she’s gained weight but it’s because of the steroids she’s been taking to get rid of her pimples.

The pimple problem was an offshoot of overwork and prosthetics, Julia said in an interview. After finishing the teleseries Walang Hanggan, she went right ahead to filming A Moment In Time, which is Star Cinema’s Valentine offering and where she is paired with Coco Martin.

“My skin got irritated because of the prosthetics I was wearing,” she said. “So I had to take steroids along with dermal treatment. The effect was that I was retaining water and gaining weight.”

Julia said she’s excited about A Moment In Time because it is her and Coco’s first movie together.  “After Walang Hanggan, the fans are anticipating a sequel to the story of Daniel and Katerina. But our characters in the movie are totally different.”

Julia said that in Walang Hanggan, their roles were emotionally intense. In A Moment In Time, “it’s more light. You will see the fun side of Coco.”

The movie was shot in Amsterdan and Paris, and follows the romantic exploits of Patrick (Coco) and Jillian (Julia).

Before A Moment In Time hits the theaters, the teleserye Juan de la Cruz starring Coco will be launched on Monday. Erich Gonzales is Coco’s co-star.

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A Filipino film has finally made its mark in the Sundance Film Festival, the Holy Grail for independent films.

The movie Metro Manila, directed by Briton Sean Ellis, won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic category. Shot entirely in Metro Manila, it stars Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, and Althea Vega.

The movie jointly represented the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Ellis, who received the trophy, said he dedicated the film to his mother who passed away last year.

The Sundance was begun in 1978 by a group spearheaded by actor Robert Redford to showcase films that veer away from the traditional Hollywood system. The festival fuelled the indie movement and has become one of the most prestigious international competitions for film.

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Ending days of speculation, Beyonce admitted last week she lip-synched the singing of the US national anthem at the inauguration of US President Barack Obama.

There was a huge debate over whether the Grammy winning singer pre-recorded her singing of The Star Spangled Banner at the January 21 affair in Washington.

At a televised news conference, Beyonce said yes, she did, but only because it was too cold for a live performance and she didn’t have time to rehearse with the orchestra.

“I am a perfectionist and one thing about me is that I practice until my feet bleed and I did not have time to rehearse with orchestra,” she said.

“It was a live television show and a very, very important emotional show for me and one of my proudest moments and due to the weather, to the delay, due to no proper soundcheck I did not feel comfortable taking the risk.”

Beyonce defended what she did, saying singing to a pre-recorded track “is very common in the music industry and I am very proud of my performance.”

Critics had said Beyonce was not capable of delivering a live performance. But at the news conference she silenced her critics with a stirring, a capella rendition of the national anthem.“Any questions?” she said afterwards.

Beyonce said she definitely won’t be lip-synching when she performs during the halftime break of the Superbowl, the championship game of the National Football League, in New Orleans today (tomorrow in PHL). (FREEMAN)