2012 02/29-03/06

MANILA MAIL COMMUNITY

"Folded & Hung" model, Alden Richards, barring unforeseen circumstances, will grace the US premiere of "The Road" in Hollywood on May 9.

Heartthrob SAM MILBY engages a full house audience during the successful Dream Tour 2012 concert headlined by ANGELINE QUINTO at the Summit Pavilion of the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada last Saturday, February 25.

Media representatives, community friends & network employees pose after a special press conference held last week at The Filipino Channel in Redwood City where they presented their newest Station ID, the trailer of their latest movie offering "Unofficially Yours," Gawad Geny Lopez Global & presentation of awards/nominations at 2012 New York Festivals. (Photo by Nerissa Fernandez)

Monica Pidoy, right, a 14-year old belter (with mom, Chona) from San Leandro, CA wowed audiences last Saturday night at the "Seasons of Love" concert at The Summit last Saturday.

Seen having fun at The Summit at Holiday Inn last Saturday night are San Jose Real Housewives (L-R) - Jona Romualdez, Mila Quibilan & Elvie Teodoro.

TFC's Eric Pugeda beams with pride & joy as he points to the multiple awards & nominations, including one for “Streets of My Lolo,” written and produced by Pia Lopezbaños-Carrion (her team included videographer Jeremiah Ysip, editors Danny Manasala and Mitos Briones, with Mike Carrion providing art direction).

Stella Ruiz & Michael Cruz held a very successful post-Valentine show titled "Seasons of Love" (produced by Rockstar Media Productions) at The Summit at Holiday Inn located at 399 Silicon Valley Blvd, San Jose, CA last Saturday night. Congratulations!

Mrs. Veronica Kalinawan (in red) celebrated her 80th birthday at the Tropicana Buffet Restaurant in San Jose, CA last January 9, 2012 together with fellow Filipina Golden Girls, Aurora S. Trivino (95 years old), Elvie Souza ( 92) and Maria Sarmiento Yabut (86).

“THE ROAD” TO HOLLYWOOD - MAY 9

(Alden Richards to attend US premiere together with Rhian Ramos, et al)

TO-BE-SEEN IN THE CITY

“THE ROAD” is going to have its US Gala premiere on May 9, 2012 at the Mann Chinese Theater in Los Angeles , CA according to an email from . GMA Network, Inc.’s Publicity Specialist Katherine “Kali” Paalan-Hofileña.

International film critics at KillerFilm.com describe GMA Films’ 2011 thriller movie “THE ROAD” as “creepy to the extreme” (KillerFilm.com) and a “beautifully shot supernatural tale with incredible effects and great scares” (Bloody Disgusting), The Road is a story about a twelve-year-old cold case, which was recently reopened when three teenagers went missing while traversing an infamous and abandoned road. As investigators try to find leads to the whereabouts of the missing teens, they also unearth the road’s gruesome past that spans two decades – a history of abduction, crimes and murders. Although the road is isolated, anyone who tries to pass through it can be sure that he is not alone. Lingering in the dark and desolate pathway is a vengeful ghost who makes sure no one leaves the road – alive!

Furthermore, according to GMA Pinoy TV’s LA-based representative, Jush Andowitt, tentatively (visa & budget limiting), expected to attend and grace the US premiere in person are some of the movie’s stars - Rhian Ramos, Marvin Agustin, TJ Trinidad & “Folded & Hung” Model, Alden Richards, among others.

The movie also stars Carmina Villarroel, tween stars Barbie Forteza, Louise delos Reyes, Derrick Monasterio, Lexi Fernandez, Ynna Asistio, Renz Valerio, John Regala, Lloyd Samartino, Gerald Madrid, Allan Paule and Ms Jacklyn Jose.

The film’s Director said Yam Laranas, according to Philstar.com, on the forthcoming premiere of the GMA Films movie, “We want to make it a special event. We want to make it special for everybody. Of course, we can’t watch live like the Oscars but it’s a step. We will make sure that we attend the red carpet event in our best.

We want to have a very positive response and we hope many people would come and watch,” Direk Yam added further. “I am not speaking on being a blockbuster because we are only showing on limited cinemas in the US, but all around the US. But we are lucky because the revenue of the screenings is not only twenty percent but eighty percent of the revenue would come from videos on demand. We hope for that one whole week run of The Road, we can get as much audience as we can.”

The good thing with their partnership with Freestyle Releasing, according to Direk Yam, is that the company tapped a PR group which handled PR for “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Sideways” and they want GMA and Direk Yam on board every single step of the way.

“They would always consult us on how we would want the PR campaign to go. We want to show this film to as many Filipinos as possible but Freestyle wants to cross over, not just the Pinoy audience, because they feel and really believe that it can get a big market from the American market and not just Pinoys.”

In fact, Direk Yam is going to the US on March 6 to deliver the materials for the promo blitz. And he’s hoping that all the actors could come and grace the premiere. “The variables are the budget and the visas but if you ask me now and GMA says yes, we would want to bring all our stars with us,” said the director.

After freaking the hell out of moviegoers in the Philippines with its unique but effectively haunting storyline and superb cinematography, The Road will pave the way to Hollywood fame as it becomes the first ever all-Filipino film to be commercially released in North America and Canada this May.

Through an international distribution agreement with GMA Films, Hollywood-based international film distribution outfit Freestyle Releasing will commercially release The Road in the mainstream American and Canadian markets beginning May 11, 2012.

The movie, a brainchild of internationally-acclaimed film director Yam Laranas, will be shown in over 50 theaters across North America and Canada . “I think this is the first time that a locally-produced Filipino film will be distributed commercially by an international releasing outfit in the U.S. and Canada , and treated like a Hollywood-produced movie. This is not simply a special off-shore screening of a locally-produced film; this is in fact a full-fledged commercial distribution deal, and there’s a big difference between the two,” said GMA Films President Annette Gozon-Abrogar.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to exhibit the ingenuity and creativity of our artists and directors in the international market. It’s about time that we show the world that we, Filipinos, are not only good in boxing or singing, but we can also excel in the field of movie-making. The release of The Road in the U.S. and Canada is good news not just for GMA Films but also for the Philippine film industry because this would inspire especially our new generation of directors, writers, cinematographers and artists to perfect their skills and aspire for greater heights,” said GMA Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon.

GMA Films’ THE ROAD is in official competition at the 30th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. The Belgian festival will be from April 5-17, 2012. BIFFF is one of the biggest genre festivals in Europe.

The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. It takes place in Brussels , every year in March.

THE ROAD is also in competition at the 8th Fantaspoa - Int'l Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre, Brazil - the first fantastic film festival from Brazil, recognized as the biggest genre festival in Latin America. Each year the festival receives around 700 submissions to create a unique program with approximately 150 films (90 features and 60 shorts).

THE ROAD will also be simultaneously released in digital home video format (DVD) and will be made available globally via subscription-based and online distribution platforms including Video-on-Demand (VoD), Amazon Prime, Netflix, and iTunes.

GMA Films is the movie production arm of media giant GMA Network, Inc.

SEEN IN THE CITY

ABS-CBN Bags 6 Nominations in 2012 NY Festivals

ABS-CBN Corporation in the Philippines and its subsidiary, ABS-CBN International in the U.S., bring honor to the homeland by bagging a total of six nominations at the prestigious 2012 New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards for its news and current affairs programs and specials and for a short public service video, chosen among all entries coming from 40 countries worldwide.

ABS-CBN’s cinematic style documentary “Storyline,” is once again nominated in the Biography/Profiles category after earning three recognitions from the NYF last year, namely Silver World Medal in the Biography/Profiles category, Bronze World Medal in the Community Portraits category, and a finalist certificate in the Social Issues/Current Events category.

ABS-CBN’s “TV Patrol,” which is the Philippine's highest rating primetime TV newscast, is nominated for the second consecutive year in the Best Newscast category for its extensive coverage of Storm Juaning. Last year, “TV Patrol” received a finalist certificate in the same category for its coverage of the Manila bus siege titled “Bloodbath in Manila.”

Two ABS-CBN current affairs show also made it as finalists in two different categories. “Krusada,” a weekly documentary that espouses advocacy journalism, made it in the Social Issues/Current Events category, while magazine program “Rated K,” which is ABS-CBN’s number one current affairs show anchored by Korina Sanchez, is nominated in the Magazine Format category.

ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs special documentary about the 25th anniversary of the 1986 People Power revolution dubbed as “EDSA25: Sulyap sa Kasaysayan” received a nomination for the History and Society category.

ABS-CBN International, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation, became the only Filipino media company based in the U.S. to reach the finals of said festival with the nomination of "Streets of My Lolo" under the Social Issues/Current Events category, going against the likes of CNN and Discovery Networks.

“Streets of My Lolo” is a short piece created for and shown at the 2010 Filipino American History Month celebration at the San Francisco City Hall, co-presented by the Office of then Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco, Filipino American Arts Exposition, SOMA Pilipinas and ABS-CBN International. It highlights the efforts of SOMA Pilipinas to preserve Filipino history and heritage in the streets of South of Market, San Francisco which served as an early settlement for many Filipino immigrants. It was written and produced by Pia Lopezbaños-Carrion who heads the Ad & Promo unit of ABS-CBN International under North America Media Events and Production Group & Global Customer Engagement Head John-D Lazatin. Her team included videographer Jeremiah Ysip, editors Danny Manasala and Mitos Briones, with Mike Carrion providing art direction.

Finalists will be awarded and entries which will be promoted to Gold, Silver, or Bronze awardees will be announced during the awarding ceremony to be held on April 17, in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas from April 14-19, 2011

Briefs & Shorts

Hollywood actor Adrien Brody was reportedly seen in Boracay Island recently but almost no one recognized him…J Lo’s very looow V-cut sheer outfit at last Sunday’s Oscar Awards seemingly exposed part of her left areola, in HD no less...loved the innovative way Natalie Portman announced the Best Actor & Best Actress Oscar nominees – by talking to them directly and praising them, followed by their close-ups and movie clips…love, love, also the Circque Du Suloeil number emphasizing how the movies captivate us and move us to the edge of our seats via flying trapeze acts and gravity-defying dance numbers…love, love, love also the way the Oscars presented the Best Original Screenplay nominees where they simultaneously type onscreen the character names and dialogues (like they appeared on the actual screenplay!) as the actual movie scene was played out. Very clever.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"When they called my name. I had this feeling I could hear half of America going, ‘Oh no! Oh come on, why her? Again!” joked Meryl Streep in the beginning of her acceptance speech as Best Actress, her third Academy Award of her career on Sunday night, for her role as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. This is Streep’s 17th nomination and she was given a standing ovation by the crowd as she got to the microphone. She then began thanking her husband, Don, because, she as she says, “When you thank your husband at the end of the speech, they play him out with the music.” She even thanked her ‘other partner’ J. Roy Helland, who won an Oscar earlier in the evening for his makeup work on the film. Street and Helland worked together continuously for 37 years starting during her first play in New York City to “Kramer vs Kramer (where she got her very first Oscar award), then to “Sophie’s Choice” (she got her 2^nd) and have worked together onwards eversince.

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