2014 05/02-05/08

PHILIPPINE NEWS/PHILIPPINES TODAY/INSIDER COMMUNITY

The 2014 Miss Philippines Earth 2014 Grand Finals and Coronation will be held this Sunday night, May 11, 2014 (coincidentally, Mother's Day) at the Mall of Asia (MOA) in Pasay City and among the 49 ladies from around the country (and overseas) vying for the national title are Melbourne, Australia's Carmen Baena (she has roots in Clayton, CA) and Mary Laverlyn Nalus of Las Pinas City, right. The event will be televised by ABS-CBN starting at 10:00PM same day. Photo from Miss Philippines Earth (Official) Facebook Fan Page

Project Inform (a community organization that seeks to create the first generation free of HIV and Hepatitis C) together with Macy's, US Bank and other sponsors, presented 'Swimwear For A Cause' Benefit Summer Fashion Show held at the Phoenix Hotel Swimming Pool last Saturday, May 3, 2014 in downtown San Francisco. Among the models is Fil-Am Inigo Garcia Cacho of South San Francisco (he is being represented by City Model Management). Photo by Richard C. Lao, CPA, MSMOT

Milpitas Mayor Joe Esteves (3rd left) who is running for reelection this coming November, personally congratulated with a Plaque of Appreciation, The Filipino Channel (TFC) on their 20th anniversary celebration held at the Santa Clara Convention Center's Elizabeth A. Hangs Theater last Wednesday, April 23, 2014 shown here with (L-R) Resident Film/TV Director and Screenwriter John D. Lazatin, Retired ABS-CBN Executive Kit Tully, ABS-CBN International Corporate Affairs Officer Keesa Ocampo, Community Leader Carmen Collete & ABS-CBN Global Head of Corporate Affairs (PR, Community Relations, Philanthropy, Internal Comm) Nerissa Fernandez. Photo by Richard C. Lao, CPA, MSMOT

Happy 18th birthday to the first ever and reigning Binibining TFC Alexandra Drechsler of San Jose, CA. She is also graduating this year from Presentation High School and in the fall, will attend Santa Clara University with double majors in Mass Comm and Business (shown here with mom Elizabeth Chua-Drechsler during the TFC 20th Anniversary Gala held at the Santa Clara Convention Center). Photo by Richard C. Lao, CPA, MSMOT

Both Southern California-based ABS-CBN Foundation Int'l Managing Director Jo Ann Kyle (left) and News and Entertainment TV reporter and Newspaper Columnist Yong Chavez traveled up north and added glamour to the TFC 20th Anniversary Gala held at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Photo by Richard C. Lao, CPA, MSMOT

Ladies in red - Millie Gurfinkel (the Filipina wife of noted Immigration Lawyer Michael J. Gurfinkel) and Balitang America Anchor, Gel Santos Relos flank Managing Director, North America. ABS-CBN Network, Chinky De Jesus during TFC 20th Anniversary Gala held at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Photo by Richard C. Lao, CPA, MSMOT

Belated Happy Birthday greetings to Richard C. Lao, CPA of San Ramon, CA shown here attending TFC's 20th Anniversary Gala Event held at Santa Clara Convention Center. Photo by Bradford Adkins, MSCIS

Ariagne Arielle Duave, left, with the leading Democratic candidate for Governor of Nevada, Chris Hyepock (early voting starts May 24) and Bradford Adkins, MSCIS (right) shared brunch at Chin Chin Restaurant along Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA . Photo by Richard C. Lao, CPA, MSMOT

Belated Happy Birthday, Maritess "Tess" Mendaros of Danville, CA's BlackHawk Country Club/Community shown here celebrating with sister Marichu "Mary" Lim last Saturday, May 3, 2014! Photo by Richard C. Lao, CPA, MSMOT

San Francisco, CA's Rizza Belen Diaz (shown here during the Swimsuit Competition in Solaire Casino Resort in Pasay City) is one of the 49 delegates competing for the 2014 Miss Philippines Earth crown whose finals is set this Sunday, May 11, 2014 @ MOA. Good luck, Rizza! Photo by Miss Philippines Earth (Official) Facebook Page

TFC's Adobo Nation, ABS-CBN Foundation International PSA nab Emmy NorCal nominations

The 43th Annual Northern California Area EMMY® Award Nominations were announced Wednesday, May 7th at noon on the internet. The EMMY® award is presented for outstanding achievement in television by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).

ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel (TFC) garnered two nominations in this year's NorCal Emmys:

Historic/Cultural-Program Feature/Segment

* “Mother honors request of young landmine victim,” KGO ABC 7

CHERYL JENNINGS, Producer/Reporter/Writer; STEVE KUSHMAN, Editor

* “State of Change,” KTXL FOX 40

BEN DECI, Reporter; DARREN MCQUADE, Photographer

( “Man who rescued JFK reflects on 50th Anniversary,” KXTV 10

DALE SCHORNACK, Reporter/Photographer/Editor

* “Adobo Nation - Sari-Sari Etc: 7 Mile House,” The Filipino Channel (ABS-CBN International)

AGERICO PUGEDA, Executive Producer; TROY ESPERA, Producer;

JOSEPH PERRY, JEREMIAH YSIP, Videographer; MILAGROS BRIONES, Editor

Watch the video: http://bit.ly/1g9hnV4

Spot Announcments: Community/Public Service (PSA)-Single Spot or Campaign

* “Batkid-Make a Wish,” sfgate.com/San Francisco Chronicle

LUANNE DIETZ, MIKE KEPKA, Producer/Photographers

* “Fighting for Survival,” The Filipino Channel (ABS-CBN International)

MARIA PILAR LOPEZBANOS-CARRION, Producer/Writer;

JEREMIAH YSIP, Director/Photographer; EUGENE LIBADIA, Lighting Director;

MICHAEL ANGELO CARRION, Motion Graphics Artist

Rounding up the team behind this PSA are: Danny Manansala, Editor; Danie Sedilla-Cruz (of CCM Manila), Producer -- Manila unit; and Paolo Ramos (of CCM Manila), Director/Photographer -- Manila Unit.

Watch the video: http://bit.ly/1uCAvEl

Both teams have won NorCal Emmys for TFC since 2012.

San Francisco/ Northern California is one of the twenty chapters awarding regional Emmy® statuettes. Northern California is composed of media companies and individuals from Visalia to the Oregon border and includes Hawaii and Reno, Nevada. Entries were aired during the 2013 calendar year.

This year 659 English and 101 Spanish entries were received in 63 categories. English and Spanish language entries were judged and scored separately. A minimum of five peer judges from other NATAS chapters scored each entry on a scale from 1 to 10 on Content, Creativity and Execution. (Craft categories were judged on Creativity and Execution only). The total score is divided by the number of judges. The mean score is sorted from highest to lowest in each category. The Chapter Awards Committee looks at blind scores (not knowing the category) and decides on the cut off number for nominations and recipients. The results are tabulated by our accounting firm Spalding and Company.

The Emmy® statuettes will be presented at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square on Saturday, June 14, 2014. The black tie event is sponsored by Steve Padis Jewelry and Forevermark. The dual webcast of the live ceremony and red carpet interviews is sponsored by Anvato. Tickets for the gala are $150.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.emmysf.tv For more information e-mailemmy@emmysf.tv or call (415) 777-0212.

GODZILLA OPENS MAY 16!!!

OSCAR® NOMINEE KEN WATANABE STARS

IN EPIC ACTION ADVENTURE GODZILLA

World’s most revered monster is reborn;

Godzilla opens nationwide May 16

The world’s most revered monster is reborn as Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures unleash the epic action adventure GODZILLA. From visionary new director Gareth Edwards (“Monsters”) comes a powerful story of human courage and reconciliation in the face of titanic forces of nature, when the awe-inspiring Godzilla rises to restore balance as humanity stands defenseless. The film stars an international ensemble cast led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Kick-Ass”), Oscar® nominee Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai,” “Inception”), Elizabeth Olsen (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”), Oscar® winner Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient,” “Cosmopolis”), and Oscar® nominee Sally Hawkins (“Blue Jasmine”), with Oscar® nominee David Strathairn (“Good Night, and Good Luck,” “The Bourne Legacy”) and Emmy® and Golden Globe Award winner Bryan Cranston (“Argo,” TV’s “Breaking Bad”).

“Godzilla” unfolds across multiple continents and spans several decades, tracing the impact of a series of mysterious and catastrophic events through the eyes of a handful of people caught at the epicenter. “Our film doesn’t tell this story from an omnipotent perspective,” Godzilla producer Thomas Tull explains. “In the midst of this crisis are people whose lives are irrevocably changed by it. These aren’t super heroes, but regular human beings caught in extreme circumstances, which made casting such a vital component of our film.”

Oscar® nominee Ken Watanabe plays Serizawa, a Japanese scientist who has devoted his life to the search for Godzilla and hopes to find in the cave evidence of the mythical creature’s existence. “His quest goes deeper than scientific curiosity,” Watanabe describes. “He is concerned about the kinds of terror that could exist in the world, and has his own theories about what he calls the ‘Alpha Predator’ and the role it plays on the planet.”

In the film, Godzilla’s origins are linked to an alternate take on recent history, a dark legacy that haunts Serizawa, who is both named for and inspired by a key character in the original Japanese film. “Dr. Serizawa is the scientist with the deepest insight into the creature, and Ken brought so much complexity and depth of feeling to this character,” Edwards says. “We used to joke when we were filming that no one’s got more different looks than Ken. He is such a fascinating actor to watch because you can see all of his internal thoughts on his face. When we were shooting, he would always do another look or take a breath or go to leave the room and you’re saying, 'Oh no, don’t stop, don’t stop.' The takes would just go on and on because you’d never want to yell 'cut.'"

Watanabe responded to Edwards’ desire to draw upon the thematic threads of the original within the context of the contemporary world. “I feel that Japan and, really, the entire world, are facing similar challenges today as we were at the time the first film was made,” Watanabe reflects. “Godzilla cannot be separated from the nuclear element, and serves as an urgent reminder that we have to look to the future and think about what kind of world we want to have. So, when I read the script, I was impressed that Gareth’s film maintains Godzilla’s connection to the consequences of trying to harness forces we barely understand.”

The Legacy of Godzilla

In 1954, Japan’s Toho Co., Ltd., released Ishiro Honda’s groundbreaking monster movie “Godzilla” in a country still reeling from the devastation of World War II. The film became a massive hit in Japan, and, 60 years later, continues to resonate around the world for distilling the fears and horrors of the atomic age into an awe-inspiring force of nature...Godzilla.

“‘Godzilla’ is the benchmark of monster movies,” says Gareth Edwards, the British director at the helm of the epic new vision for Toho’s iconic creation. Edwards grew up on Japanese monster movies before discovering Honda’s 1954 masterpiece on DVD and was fascinated by its stark allegorical subtext and continuing relevance in contemporary times. “If you went around the world with the silhouette of a giant dinosaur looming over a city, everyone would know exactly who it is—whether they’ve seen a Godzilla movie or not. But what many people don’t realize is that the original Japanese ‘Godzilla’ is actually a very serious film. I think that’s the reason it was so embraced by Japanese culture—because not only is it a great monster movie, it was also very cathartic for people to see those images brought to life on screen in such a visceral and real way.”