Red Carpet

Eugene Domingo: The supporting actress finally gets her chance at a lead role

Friday, 04 September 2009 00:00 Rochelle C. Pangilinan | AJPress Manila

It’s been said time and again that there are no small roles, only small actors. This is probably the adage that comedienne Eugene Domingo went by in her several years in show business. Eugene has had countless appearances in both TV shows and films playing supporting roles.

For some time in the minds of TV and movie audiences who have seen her and laughed at her antics, it seemed that she was set to get the supporting role for life. Most of the time, she has been the "token" best friend, like in last year’s blockbuster Ang Tanging Ina Ninyong Lahat (with Ai-Ai delas Alas) and the critically-acclaimed 100 (with Mylene Dizon). However, one thing is for sure: in all of these appearances, even with minimal screen time, Eugene always got noticed. With her perfect comedic timing and delivery, she managed to charm audiences and tickle their funny bones nonstop. Her thespic skills, which she no doubt honed during her stint with Dulaang UP at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, are so illustrious that she has often come close to stealing the thunder of her more well-known co-stars.

Rants and raves for 2009’s National Artists

Thursday, 30 July 2009 20:41 LOUIE JON A. SANCHEZ / AJPress Manila

AND now, the new National Artists of the Philippines…

Fresh from her much anticipated State of the Nation Address (SONA), Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo named seven individuals who will receive the Order of the National Artists honors, the highest award bestowed by the state to those who have contributed greatly to the development of different fields of Philippine Art. Magnifi cent would be a perfect description for these seven—if not for the fl ak they have been receiving from all sides.

In a statement delivered by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the President honored National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Executive Director Cecille Guidote Alvarez for theater; Manuel Urbano, also known as Manuel Conde, for fi lm and broadcast arts (posthumous); Lazaro Francisco, literature (posthumous); Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, visual arts, painting, sculpture and mixed media; Magno Jose Carlo Caparas, visual arts and fi lm; Francisco "Bobby" Mañoza, architecture; and Jose "Pitoy" Moreno, fashion design.

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Cheers to Cinemalaya’s 5th year

Thursday, 23 July 2009 21:48 ROCHELLE C. PANGILINAN / AJPress Manila

LAST 2007, director Brillante Mendoza’s Foster Child starring Cherry Pie Picache and child actor Jiro Manio opened the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, which was then on its third year run. Mendoza went on to become one of the local industry’s widely acclaimed directors, with his subsequent works fi guring in international fi lm festivals (his most recent, Kinatay, won for him the Best Director plum at this year’s Cannes Film Festival). This year, his 2008 fi lm Serbis, a fi nalist at last year’s Cannes, held a special screening at Cinemalaya.
Such has been the prestige that Cinemalaya enjoys. Since its inception in 2004, it has remained true to its commitment to honor the cinematic works of Filipino fi lmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity. Several fi lms which have been part of the festival went on to gain critical acclaim and mainstream audience appeal such as Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, Endo and last year’s 100.
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Simply fantastic!

Thursday, 16 July 2009 20:15 Rochelle C. Pangilinan / AJPress Manila

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IT’S a plot that’s been done a countless times before in celluloid, TV and musical stage: a girl and a boy meet and fall in love; however, a running-off-into-the-sunset ending eludes them as feuding families cause them to stay apart. While this storyline has never failed to engage audiences for years, one can’t be blamed for hoping for something different.
That is why thank God for The Fantasticks. In 1960, Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones combined their creative forces for The Fantasticks, loosely based on the play The Romancers (Les Romanesques) by Edmond Rostand. This musical tells the story of two doting fathers who pretend to feud to ensure that their kids fall in love, believing that kids do what their parents forbid them to do. The fathers’ scheme work and the kids do meet and fall in love, and in between there are touches of drama, romance, comedy, fantasy and lots and lots of hummable and even danceable music—it is a musical after all.
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Long live the King of Pop

Thursday, 02 July 2009 23:19 Malou Liwanag-Aguilar / AJPress San Francisco

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THE whole world was shocked when it was announced that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died of a cardiac arrest in Los Angeles last June 25. Just as we were reeling from the death of famed Charlie’s Angels Farrah Fawcett, hearing Jackson’s death sent text messages and twitters flying trying to confirm whether there was any truth to it.
But there it was on the news. The man who changed the way we see music videos, who won the most Grammys and did the "moonwalk" has left this earth.
Being a teen of the eighties, flashbacks came pouring in—I was 12 years old when Thriller came out, and it became the world’s largest selling album of all time. When it was released, we immediately begged our Dad to buy us the album, and spent most of our free time playing the record while trying to copy the dance moves in the video.
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