Phenomenal K-pop group ITZY made Manila its first Asian stop for the much-awaited Checkmate world concert tour. It was the second visit to the Philippines for the all-girl pop group and fans made sure the group was welcomed beyond expectations when they stormed the two-night concert of the group at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Celebrated composer and musical director Louie Ocampo marks a major milestone in his illustrious career with a two-night concert (February 4 and 5) at The Theater at Solaire in Parañaque’s Entertainment City.
LGBTQIA+ projects are certainly on a roll. The new year kicks off with the international premiere of I Love You, Beksman at the 52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam. The new movie of former TV network executive-turned-director Perci Intalan is in the official selection of this highly touted European festival and it stars actors Christian Bables and Keempee de Leon.
CELEBRITY moms and dads will have their hearts and hands full this new year. There was a baby boom of sorts in la-la-land in 2022, and these personalities celebrated their first-ever Christmas and New Year’s Day with their new bundles of joy.
ONLY a few days more before the onset of the new year. As in years past, 2022 had its share of highs and lows, challenges and breakthroughs, miscues and milestones.
US-based Ai-Ai de las Alas is back for a few days because of her work commitments for GMA Network. De las Alas flew into town quietly last week to fulfill her judging chores for the TV singing star search The Clash, now on its fifth season.
THERE are many reasons why this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) looks promising, and this early we can already identify some of the noteworthy performances that might create ripples when the participating movies are finally shown on Christmas day.
FILIPINO entertainment producers and executives continue to raise our flag wherever they are based. Take for instance Walt Disney’s Asia Pacific senior vice president Jay Trinidad and independent US based movie producer Arsy Grindulo.
A DEAR friend once said that magic and love have a great deal in common. Both put a smile on your face, both awaken your sense of wonder, delighting the heart and enriching the soul.
THE featured films at the ongoing QCinema International Film Festival are being received very well, what with the meticulously selected and carefully curated films by the organizers, headed by the festival director Ed Lejano.
THIS year is doubly special for singer Martin Nievera. First, he turned 60, and, second, he is celebrating his 40th year in the entertainment industry.
IT is perhaps the best lineup of films to be featured in the 10 years that QCinema International Film Festival has existed.
IN the last few years, there have been many instances of unexpected intrusions of beauty in the life of Beauty Gonzales—actress, wife, art enthusiast and mother.
EVEN at a very young age, Jericho Violago knew that music was something that made him happy.
THERE is no doubt that Barbie Forteza is the brightest TV star of this season.
Singer-actor Ice Seguerra is on a roll these days. He is celebrating his 35th year in the entertainment business, a major milestone for someone who turned 39 recently.
TEN years after her breakthrough stint in American Idol where she nearly won the top prize, American-Mexican-Filipino singer Jessica Sanchez has unlocked yet another potential gift as a musical artist.
IT has been more than a year since Bea Alonzo made the big move to GMA Network.
IT is by chance that actors Michelle Aldana and Jean Garcia met each other on the set of the soon-to-air GMA drama series Nakarehas na Puso, but is by choice that they have forged a new friendship.
TAKING some of the major US cities by storm is the ongoing OPM Summer Fest Tour, featuring the musical artists of the popular bands from the Philippines.
FOR rising star Ayanna Misola, there is beauty in almost every thing, even in chaos, confusion, disruption—even madness.
NOW considered a superstar in Korea, actor Lee Jung Jae quietly went behind the camera and is making a bigger splash with his directorial film debut, Hunt.
ASK anyone involved in films and television who has worked with Rio Loscin, and one gets a horde of superlatives as reply—how pleasant and professional she is, how consistently focused and prepared when she reports for work on the set. Many will tell you that aside from being an amazing actor, she is also very kind and sincerely nice, too.
YOUNG directors GB Sampedro and Rain Yamson have unique interesting features and distinct personalities to be “on cam” talents, but they chose to be behind the cameras and create their respective impressions of art and outputs of cinema.
THE Tikbalang costume designed and meticulously created by actor-host Paolo Ballesteros for candidate Graciella Lehmann bagged the best national costume prize at the recently concluded Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant.
HOT, handsome and hunky GMA leading man Derrick Monasterio finally gets his first-ever top male lead role in a TV series and we say that this is long overdue. This dream of his finally came true when the media giant, where he is exclusively signed, offered him its newest afternoon show that began airing this week, Return to Paradise.
IT has been 55 years since Gina Alajar first faced the cameras by way of the movie Kaibigan Ko’ng Santo Niño, produced by Lea Productions and directed by Armando de Guzman. Out of more than 300 applicants, the then 8-year-old Alajar bagged the role of Oreng, a feat that would see her pitting acting talents with the superstars of that era: Gloria Romero, Eddie Garcia and Luis Gonzales.
Max Eigenmann has achieved an actor’s feat for the coming Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, scheduled in early August. She is the lead character in two of the 11 film entries in competition this year, something rare for this festival that took a pause for two years because of the global Covid-19 crisis.
WHEN news broke out last week that veteran actor Tirso Cruz III took his oath in Malacañang as the new chairman of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), members of the movie industry were caught by surprise.
FORMER First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Romualdez Marcos just turned 93 over the weekend, and perhaps the best gift she received was witnessing the recent inauguration of her only son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the new president of the country.
THERE’S a few days left before Pride Month ends. More and more artists are making us proud of their achievements and contributions to make our world a happier and a more accepting place for everyone.
TOP Class: Rise to P-Pop Stardom is the biggest, newest, and most interactive talent reality competition in the country. It has just been launched and is now being shown simultaneously over many leading platforms including the TV5 free channel and KUMU, with regular updates on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.
THE first is always priceless, so they say. Rising crooner Arthur Nery believes so, too.
ALMOST half the year has passed, and acclaimed actor Sid Lucero feels things are getting better and better as he rolls into every new month.
FOUR former Mister International titleholders were in Manila recently for the launch of the new franchise of the national pageant, now under the wing of veteran pageant authorities headed by lawyer Manuel Deldio, who serves as president and national director, and his formidable team that includes Ameer Gamama, Mother J Samonte, Arvin Maceda, and Makoy Manlapaz.
WHILE Vivamax continues to reign on the available streaming platforms in the Philippines, it has also produced three wonderful discoveries that continue to thrill, trigger, tickle, titillate and treat its millions of viewers: Ariella Arida, Angeli Khang and Ayanna Misola.
THE idea of letting international singer Alisah Bonaobra do a cover of the timeless Cecile Azarcon-penned song “Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin” came from Rosabella Jao-Arribas, a US-based album producer and manager to a handful of promising Filipino talents.
Election day is finally over, and in a few days the country will know its next leaders.
Progressive and insightful Filipino-American filmmaker Enzo Williams is back in the country, observing the ongoing election season with a positive mind and hopeful eyes.
URIAN award winner and GMA contract star Jason Abalos is setting his sights on becoming a Provincial Board Member of Nueva Ecija’s 2nd District. It is Abalos’s first foray into the world of Philippine politics and he is keeping an open mind, absorbing every new thing that he needs to know about public service.
IT was in April of 2015 when Ai-Ai de las Alas took a leap of faith and crossed over to GMA after reigning for many years as the prized resident comedy star of ABS-CBN.
Different girl groups are being launched one after the other, sprouting like mushrooms, and there seems to be no drought in discovering fresh, fierce and fabulous Filipino female talents.
It’s either you like him or you don’t, but content creator and controversial filmmaker Darryl Yap doesn’t really care.
THE Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund) turned 48 recently and celebrated it with the turnover of its newest building that includes a new state-of-the-art theater.
IT is Women’s Month and we celebrate four exemplary actors who continue to inspire many with the quality of work they give and the kind of women that they have become.
FOR more than a year now, Maja Salvador has been wearing different hats.
It has been more than two decades since Boogie Bugayong’s last acting stint on Philippine TV and he is so happy to be back.
WE are deeply proud of our artists who continue to raise our flag overseas in the advancement of their careers. Year after year, we learn about Filipino artists landing substantial roles in international productions, getting recognized, winning plums and elevating Philippine artistry to a higher level.
A NEW show on GMA, The Best Ka! is being promoted as an information entertainment program that will highlight Guinness world record-holders from all over the planet. Tasked to handle the hosting chores is the gorgeous Mikael Daez, a loyal contract artist of the network.
TWO beautiful and exceptionally talented ladies recently dropped their respective new songs, both collaborations. Nicole Laurel is a third generation singer-actress from a line of well respected performance artists, while Claudia Barretto comes from a family of actors.
It’s been some time since award-winning actor Sid Lucero starred in a film and many are happy that while the new year is very young, Lucero already has two movies in exhibition: Lawrence Fajardo’s Reroute and Mac Alejandre’s Silip sa Apoy.
Actor-politician Bong Revilla is all smiles these days. The second season of the widely followed GMA weekly series Agimat ng Agila is off to a good start when it had its premiere over the weekend.
The first month of the new year is not even over and we have already learned and read about plenty of good news in the local entertainment industry. Others may consider some of these as small victories but whether massive or minuscule, what’s important is each achievement is a milestone.
The late Dolphy’s brand of comedy remains unmatched up to this day and his actor-sons Eric, Jeffrey and Vandolph Quizon continue to make their daddy proud, acknowledging upfront that none of them can ever come close to the flair the late Comedy King had in acting and his brilliance in making people laugh.
The irreverent and irrepressible filmmaker Darryl Yap turned 35 over the weekend and he continues to up the ante with every new project he commits himself to.
As we all welcome the new year, may the careers of these three brave, bold and brilliant young actors soar higher than ever.
IT’S been again quite a challenging year for most, but two actresses who have the same first name are closing this tough year on a high note.
Actors Mon Confiado and Maja Salvador hit it off well during the filming of the Mikhail Red movie Arisaka, produced by Paul Soriano’s Ten-17 Productions.
Paris-based music company Believe has acquired a 15-percent stake in Viva Music and Artists Group (VMAG), the current leading music label in the Philippines and touted as one of the biggest labels in Southeast Asia today.
THE suave, sleek and sanguine son of actors Teresa Loyzaga and Cesar Montano is definitely on a roll. He jumps from one movie set to another and even his romantic liaisons have become extra-sensational these days.
Singer-actress Nicole Laurel has just released her newest single and music video, “Christmas Without You,” and the song is stirring quite the pre-holiday buzz on popular music platforms, like Spotify and YouTube.
Art stalwart, theater impressario and well-loved culturati Cecille Guidote Alvarez is spearheading a huge cultural and heritage adventure come December, billed as the ResiliART Earth Saving Event in Manila.
WOMEN have taken up their rightful spaces in tinseltown and beauty has been continuously redefined over the years.
IT has been a few years since the local music industry witnessed how an anonymous, nameless all-male group went viral when they uploaded a seamless and synchronized dance rehearsal video. Today, SB19 has not only created huge waves in the local music market, but also made their presence already felt in the international arena.
Thirty years after they were launched as the triumvirate teenage heartthrobs by the late ace manager-discoverer Douglas Quijano, the members of the so-called Gwapings have taken three very different routes and are now leading very different lives.
WHILE the ongoing pandemic has slowed down major film companies and TV networks in churning out their regular volume of films and programs, it has given entertainers more than enough time to focus on improving themselves and their physiques, especially male celebrities who are aware that the fitter they are, the more palatable they will be on the big and small screens.
Almost 10 years after he was first introduced to the public through the local edition of the Big Brother TV show, Kit Thompson has achieved what many of his former housemates have failed to pull off in this cutthroat world of show business: a good measure of success.
During pre-pandemic times, Teacher’s Day was celebrated in schools all over the world with programs and school activities that pay tribute to educators.
Everybody’s favorite funny woman Ai-Ai de las Alas has her hands full at this time, especially given that a new season of The Clash has just commenced.
THE last time actor Jao Mapa took on a lead role was almost 25 years ago, when he shared stellar billing with then hotshot and no-holds-barred actress Rosanna Roces in the Romy Suzara film Matrikula.
FOR actor Adrian Alandy, staying healthy has become top priority during these extraordinary times.
Italian-Filipino newcomer actor Marco Gallo believes that one’s destiny will unravel by itself when the time is ripe and perfect.
GMA contract star Bianca Umali has learned to look at life in a totally different perspective since the pandemic took over and changed the lives of everyone around the world.
Mandated by President Duterte, the country will officially celebrate and commemorate the heritage, significance and legacy of Philippine Cinema through the Philippine Film Industry Month this entire September.
I HAVE known Lucy Torres-Gomez for a quarter of a century now, and she has remained ladylike in her dealings, lavish in kindness, laudable in both her many passions and public service, large in generosity, and lackadaisical in anything that fosters negativity.
DUE to insistent public demand, the phenomenal P-pop group SB19 will be streaming limited replay editions of its very successful virtual concert Back in the Zone, which broke online streaming sales records for the KTX platform earlier this month.
Once Mon Confiado takes on a role, be it big or small, he gives it his all.
Bing Pimentel and her actor-children Sid Lucero and Max Eigenmann are all set to enter the second-round cycle of locked-in work for their respective new TV series.
THERE are just a few actors we know that have remained grounded, unperturbed and unchanged by success. One of them is GMA’s prized leading man Dennis Trillo.
Actor-politician Alfred Vargas was recently hailed as Pinakapasadong Aktor Para sa Pelikula, equivalent to a best actor win, by the academe based group Pasado (Pampelikulang Samahan ng mga Dalubguro) for his outstanding performance in the Mac Alejandre film Tagpuan. The group also bestowed nine other awards to the movie.
THE brave, daring and intrepid men involved in the movie Lockdown know that film has important stories to tell. And they themselves have their own wonderful anecdotes about facing challenges and emerging victorious from their respective personal battles.
JUST weeks after releasing its newest single “MAPA,” the fiery boy group SB19 has agreed to play beautiful music with another hot music group, Ben & Ben, and take this heartfelt song into a totally new dimension.
JUST before the pandemic changed the whole world, respected actress Angelina Kanapi took a leap of faith and flew to Seattle, Washington, to marry the man of her dreams.
DESPITE the ongoing pandemic, many cities around the globe are still celebrating Pride Month, recalling that time in June of 1969 when riots were held by the members of the LGBT community against a controversial police raid of the Stonewall Inn in New York City.
Well-respected actor Ricky Davao quietly celebrated his 60th birthday recently in the company of his children with a special dinner at his Quezon City home.
EVERY day that Paolo Paraiso spends with his two sons Tomas, 16, and Lucas, 12, is special, just like Father’s Day.
Lotlot de Leon is happy that she made time when asked to be part of the movie Dito at Doon, produced by TBA Studios under the direction of JP Habac. The highly successful movie that debuted online, and is now available in more than 60 countries worldwide via TBA Play, starred her real-life daughter Janine Gutierrez.
Despite the many limitations brought about by the pandemic, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) continues to open doors for local filmmakers to shine and fulfill their dreams of being film creators.
Come May 17 when a new Miss Universe will be proclaimed in the state of Florida, US, the Philippine flag will be raised much higher than ever before in the world’s most prestigious beauty pageant.
ICONIC model, beauty queen and actress Marina Benipayo wears many hats these days.
MANY in the local entertainment orbit were taken by surprise when Derek Ramsay proposed marriage to his very new girlfriend Ellen Adarna recently.
Everyone seems to be talking about the movie Dito at Doon, a small beautiful film from TBA Studios that explores connections and misconnections, telling us about the similarities and differences in that complicated thing called love, making us go through the little joys and big emotions on-screen during this difficult time of pandemic lockdown when movements are restricted, and freedom in general seems to be on pause.
MANY in the local entertainment orbit were taken by surprise when Derek Ramsay proposed marriage to his very new girlfriend Ellen Adarna recently.
Everyone seems to be talking about the movie Dito at Doon, a small beautiful film from TBA Studios that explores connections and misconnections, telling us about the similarities and differences in that complicated thing called love, making us go through the little joys and big emotions on-screen during this difficult time of pandemic lockdown when movements are restricted, and freedom in general seems to be on pause.
THERE comes a point in our lives when all we have to do is take charge of our lives and be open to changing direction. Such is the case of actress Maja Salvador, whose professional life was caught in a very tight bubble at the onslaught of the pandemic.
Chad Borja remains one of our all-time favorite crooners. Through the years, Borja has maintained his high standards of musicality and has taken good care of his voice, despite the fact that he underwent a medical scare during the peak of his musical career many years back.
Reaching more than 2 million views in less than 48 hours after its official release, the new music video of phenomenal P-Pop group SB19 is certainly causing huge ripples in the music world.
Young actor Rex Lantano’s foray into acting for the online platform comes with many firsts.
Acclaimed Philippine visual artist Nasser Lubay is part of the ongoing intimate group exhibition, titled The Philosophy of Color, a collaborative presentation of the Gajah Gallery Singapore and Modeka Art Philippines.
LIVE events may have been put to a halt for almost a year now, but the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) continues its annual tradition of recognizing those whose works and artistry have brought honor to the country from different awards-giving organizations overseas.
