[COLUMN] Maine Mendoza learns new skills for #MaineGoals

Actress Maine Mendoza has added another thing to her bucket list – owning a farm – which came about during shooting of her new series, #Maine Goals.
Photo from Instagram/@mainemendoza_

ACTRESS Maine Mendoza revealed in a recent article in the Philippine Star that she had enjoyed learning new skills during shooting of her new show, “#MaineGoals,” that will air soon.

Mendoza mentioned her farming experience and training a dolphin as among the experiences she enjoyed.

In fact, she enjoyed the farming experience where she got to harvest tomatoes that she now has added an item to her bucket list – owning a farm.

“I actually sent a text to my mom. I am looking for a piece of land in Bulacan. After doing it, I realized that I also want to have a farm in the future, ‘di ba?,” Maine was quoted as saying in the article.

“I really enjoyed harvesting the tomatoes. Tapos kino-consume ko siya agad. I really can’t wait to have my own tomato farm soon. I hope I get to achieve that in real life #Maine Goals,” she added.

In that farming episode, Maine also earned how to operate a tractor and cut grass or stalks.

Maine says she is excited to show viewers what she learned in taping episodes for “#MaineGoals” which took two years to make. She also wants viewers to grab opportunities by the horns and not be afraid to go after things they have in their bucket lists.

“If you get the chance, just do it. Don’t wait for the right time. Create it. Iba ‘yung feeling of fulfillment when you achieve something or do something that you never thought or you didn’t think you’d achieve. Kalimutan ‘yung feeling of fear or kung anuman ‘yan. Just do it,” Maine said.

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Filmmaker Erik Matti’s new film, “On the Job 2: The Missing 8” will compete with 20 other entries at the Venice Film Festival in September.Photo from Instagram/@erikmatti

Filmmaker Erik Matti’s latest film, “On the Job 2: The Missing 8,” will be competing with 20 other entries in the 2021 Venice Film Festival, this September, it was revealed in a recent Inquirer.net story. The film stars John Arcilla and Dennis Trillo.

OTJ2 is a follow-up to the director’s 2013 film that starred Piolo Pascual, Gerald Anderson and Joel Torre. That first film was part of the Director’s Fortnight at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

In the film, Arcilla plays the lead character of a paid journalist who receives money from a politician and who continually argues with his partners in a provincial newspaper he runs. One day, he goes to the office and discovers that all of his colleagues have disappeared. The compromised journalist begins to investigate and dig up evidence on who is to blame for the disappearance of his colleagues.

Apart from being included in the Venice Film Festival, OTJ2’s episodic version consisting of six parts has been picked up by HBO Go and is scheduled to air in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

According to Matti, he hopes that what eventually happened to OTJ2 will see producers investing in bigger films once more.

“Right now, we only come up with films worth P4 or P5 million. The filmmakers, on the other hand, will finally free themselves of the idea that they can only make rom-com (romantic comedy),” Matti was quoted as saying.

“They’d say, ‘Finally, we are starting to fight the norm.’ There are a lot of them out there whose sensibilities aren’t really for blockbusters. They will see that, after ‘OTJ2’ got sold, they can also come up with new stories, not just those that producers are asking from them. They can now think bigger,” he added.

Matti revealed his goal in getting OTJ2 in the film festival.

“The goal in getting into Venice is for the film to get on the world stage. After we finished shooting the film in August 2020, we didn’t know what to do with it. We had no takers even for cinema distribution. It was difficult to find a deal that we wanted, partly because movie houses have remained closed,” Matti revealed.

“We need to remind people out there that Filipinos are still here, that we’re still making films,” he added.

The OTJ2 director also revealed that they had sent materials to the festival’s team early this year before it even started accepting entries.

“What we sent them didn’t even have graphics yet and the music was still temporary. I guess you can say they were moved by the story,” Erik said.

Matti said they will organize a theatrical screening for OTJ2, which runs over 3 hours, later in the year, prior to HBO airing the episodic version.

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Former MTRCB head Manoling Morato passed away due to complications from COVID-19 on July 30 at the age of 87. Manoling (2nd from left) is shown in this throwback photo with entertainment personalities (from left) actress Delia Razon, actor Romeo Vasquez and beauty impresario Ferdie Villar.Photo courtesty of Ferdie Villar

I am saddened to hear the passing of one of my good friends, Manoling Morato, who was former head of the Movie and TV Review Classifications Board (MTRCB) due to complications from COVID-19 on Friday, July 30.

According to a report by ABS-CBN News, Manoling, who was 87 years old, died at a Quezon City hospital.

His family revealed that his health had rapidly deteriorated after four days in the hospital.

Actor Jake Cuenca was quoted in the article, saying, “Ang bilis, a matter of a week! It took us all by surprise because he usually overcomes challenges.”

Manoling will be missed by many in showbiz, including myself. Rest in peace, dearest friend!

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