By Boy Villasanta There is a singing contest in Japan which is named after the famous Grammy Music Awards. Its title is Kitashinchi Grammy Singer Contest and Filipino singer Mika Lorie won second prize among several contestants. Mike sang the iconic song “My Way” in her own interpretation that got the nod of the judges. According to Lorie, she should …
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By Boy Villasanta In her more than two decades in show business, Maria Rivera feels she has to embark on a new journey. The avenue that she takes at the moment is doing a Cinemalaya film. “Excited na excited po ako (I am very excited) to do a Cinemalaya film,” exclaimed Marian in our interview with her right after the press conference of the …
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Now it can be told? After four years of no true and clear-cut picture of what really transpired in the celebrated split between Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez, the jigsaw-puzzle is still unanswered. What is clear as the blue sky of the civil status of married couple Carla and Tom was the decision of a foreign court as far as …
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To beat the deadline for the submission to the selection of the 2025 Order of National Artist (ONA) or the National Artist Award on June 30, 2024 being a Saturday, a weekend non-working day, Dingdong Dantes’ Aktor PH hastily filed a recommendation or nomination for Vilma Santos (mostly addressed as Vilma Santos-Recto as an official society if not formally acquired …
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BUCHEON City, South Korea—I am here in the middle of a game-changing film festival on genre projects. This is a gathering of who’s who in the international genre filmmaking (fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, horror, supernatural etc.) industry. This is my fourth time at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), the largest, most prestigious, immersive and the first ever genre fest …
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By Boy Villasanta Wonder why topnotch singers and concert queens, i.e., Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez, Nightingale Lani Misalucha and their ilk cannot be casted as leading ladies in the most talked about show “Triple Threats Series” of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) that helped catapulted to the top the singing careers of many big named Filipino performers? Let …
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by Boy Villasanta No other than Roger Garcia, the Advisor of the prestigious Asian Film Awards, is the Dean of the 2024 Fantastic Film School of the 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in Bucheon City, South Korea whose academy scholarship starts today, 4th of July and ends on the 10th July, 2024. Garcia is one of the most …
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by Boy Villasanta Asia’s Sentimental Songstress is officially and finally out of the Katipunan ng mga Artista ng Pelikulang Pilipino at Telebisyon (KAPPT). This was confirmed by action superstar Rhene Imperial who formerly was Vice-President for External Affairs of the actors’ group. “Nagpulong na kami at sumunod kami sa batas. Hindi na si Imelda Papin ang presidente ng (We already …
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“I don’t want us to lose our identity. We should love our country, our music, arts, and culture” In the June 3-9 issue of Market Monitor, we featured an excerpt from an interview with classical pianist Nick Nangit who will hold a concert tomorrow, June 29, 2024 at 2 pm at the Bulwagang Gat Antonio J. Villegas in Manila City …
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by Boy Villasanta Another work shopper in the first-ever free scriptwriting classes in 1982 of National Artist for Film Ricky Lee has written 30. Award-winning screenwriter, producer and director Armando Lao, also known as Bing Lao, died of heart failure on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Colleague Jeffrey Jeturian, one of his best friends and classmates at Ricky’s seminar reported on …
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The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business