PIA WURTZBACH'S FIRST FULL LENGTH MOVIE

Pia Wurtzbach's first movie after she won the Miss Universe title will be released on December 25, 2015 in time for the Metro Manila Filmfest.  She will star in the comedy fantasy movie titled "Gandarrapido: The Revenger Squad," which also stars the Unkabogable Star Vice Ganda and Teen King Heartthrob Daniel Padilla.  Pls click this link to watch the trailer

WHO WILL SUCCEED FRANCE'S IRIS MITTENAIRE TO WEAR THE BLUE DIAMOND STUDDED CROWN?

There are unconfirmed reports flying around that there will be major changes in the format for the selection of the semi-finalists for Miss Universe 2017. Apparently, only 4 will be chosen from each 3 merged continents as follows:

          4 from the Americas (North and South America)

          4 from Europe
          4 from Africa, Asia and Oceania          
          4 wildcards (probably the referring to the online voting)

However these are just plain rumors and Miss Universe has yet to announce the new format. If this is true, it will somehow affect Asian countries in particular, as many believe that Asian delegates are strong this year. They will have to compete for the 4 slots with other favorites notably Miss South Africa and Miss Australia (representing Africa and Oceania, respectively) but as the case may be, only 4 slots are up for grabs.

Latin Americans are apprehensive of the alleged format as they are represented by 33 delegates including countries from the Caribbean region.  Europe has 26 countries and Asia, Africa and Oceania has also 33 countries (if to include Turkey).

Popular Filipino Columnist Ricky Lo, published on his column today that Rachel Louis Peters is currently leading on the pageant's Facebook poll with over 209,000 votes, followed by Miss Thailand with over 155,000 likes; Brazil with 28,000; Colombia with 37,000; Indonesia with 24,000; Nicaragua with 18,000; and Germany with 14,000.

Among the frontrunners are Miss Thailand Maria Poonlertlarp, Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, Miss Indonesia Bunga Jelitha Ibrani, Miss USA Cara McCullough, Mis Venezuela Keysi Sayago, Miss Philippines Rachel Louis Peters and Miss Russia Kseniya Alexandovova.

2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach will be one of the telecast judges.  She will join  Miss Universe 1998 Wendy Fitzwilliam, makeup artist and TV host Jay Manuel, Venezuelan-American YouTube star Lele Pons, TV personality Ross Mathews, and host and presenter Megan Olivi as part of the panel of judges.


Eight-time Grammy award-winning and multi-platinum artists Fergie and pop star Rachel Platten are set to perform at the coronation night.  

Hosted by Steve Harvey, the three-hour special airs live from the Axis at Planet Holywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas Sunday 26 November on Fox (27 November Monday morning in Manila).  Model, enterpreneur and body activist Ashley Graham returns as backstage host and to provide analysis and commentary throughout the telecast are TV personality and fashion expert Carson Kressley and Supermodel and pageant expert Lu Sierra.

There are 92 contestants contestants vying for the blue diamond studded crown.  According to Miss Universe Org. the crown has an estimated value of $300,000 or roughly P14.32 million. It is encrusted with 311 small polished diamonds, weighing a total of 10.37 karats. The crown also contains five large blue topaz stones, weighing 18.6 karats each. These symbolize strength and loyalty. The 198 dark blue sapphire stones that weigh 18.6 karats each represent faith and wisdom. Who will be the lucky girl to win the crown?

FOR ARTS SAKE

ART, SEX AND MALE NUDITY

I was invited yesterday by my two friends to watch the 2014 indie film “Esprit de Corps” at 'Cinema 76, a movie theatre located in a quiet residential area in San Juan suburb. The micro-theatre with a capacity of about 60 seats, is a haven for film buffs and Indie film lovers, so just in case you might have missed the limited theatre run of popular indie films, just check out the line-up of movies up for showing at 'Cinema 76 website. Regular ticket price is set at P150 only.

“Esprit de Corps” is an adaptation of Auraeus Solito's play of the same title in the 1980's about the game of seduction and ranks in the ROTC. It’s an unusual story of two cadets and their pursuit to outsmart a corrupt Major Marcus for his position. The movie is set at a Catholic school for boys a few years before the Marcos dictatorship fell from power. The long and grueling interrogation scenes and male nudity may be a bit shocking to some but I tell you this is a good watch film. I’ve heard people before who walked out from cinema feeling that they’ve watched a movie that’s isn't worth their money but “Esprit de Corps” is a good deal of entertainment; it’s the kind of movie that stickily secure the audience to their seats from start to finish and mind you, all the seats inside the theater were all filled up (mainly millenials.)).

Hats off to the impressive performances of the three lead stars JC Santos, Sandino Martin Jr and VJ Mendoza. I wished that they be given more breaks in showbiz because they really deserved it and of course congratulations to the director of the movie Auraeus Solito AKA Kanakan Baligtagos for coming up with an engaging film. He’s also the director of another gay themed and acclaimed movie “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros.”

After watching the movie we walked around the area looking for a place to eat. We then went inside a new mall. There were a variety of choices: from gourmet to "tapsilog" but we ended up having our late dinner at sidestreet fastfood restaurant and then we headed back to our friend's place for late night converstation until it was time to go home at 1:00 a.m.

IT'S CONFIRMED! PIA WURTZBACH WILL SIT AS ONE OF THE 6 TELECAST JUDGES FOR MISS UNIVERSE 2017

The Miss Universe Organization has confirmed through its website that 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach will be one of the six telecast judges in the upcoming Miss Universe 2017 to be held on November 26, 2017 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Other judges include Ross Mathews, Lele Pons, Jay Manuel, Megan Olivi and 1998 Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam.

Now that Pia will be one of the celebrity judges, some people are saying that it may boost Rachel's chances of clinching into the top 10 and even the top 5.  In this context, I feel that it’s not fair to put Pia on the spot and I'm sure she will not use her position and ruin her reputation just like that.  At the end of the day it all depends on Rachel's performance.

In addition to Pia, another Filipino will be among the preliminary judges and he is no other than

Cecillo Asuncion, a Fil-Am modelling director and founder of Slay Models, a modelling agency for transgender talents.   

Another interesting topic is that Miss Indonesia Bunga Jelitha Ibrani trained under Aces and Queens, the same group who trained Megan Young and Kyle Versoza. Rachel on the other hand, is the protégé of Kagandahang Flores camp which is Aces and Queen's rival. There are also unconfirmed reports that even Miss Thailand Maria Poonlertlarp Ehren  trained under Aces and Queens, not in Manila but in Bangkok.  Who will make it among the three ladies? I bet, all the three will be in the top 15 at least or even top 10, why not?  

Everybody knows that Pia's manager is Jonas Gafud who's the CEO and founder of Aces and Queens and again the intriguing question...will she help Aces and Queens beauties over rival Kagandahang Flores' protégé Rachel Peters?  I know this is a silly question but...just asking LOL.

  

TWO AND ONE

Last Monday I attended the movie premiere of horror flick titled “Nay,” an entry in the ongoing 2017 Cinema One Originals Festival and the following day I watched the gala night screening of two digitally remastered movie classics namely “Tag-ulan sa Tag-Araw” (1975) and “Langis at Tubig” (1980).  I was amazed with the enthusiasm and response of the moviegoers on both events. "Nay" was screened to a sold-out seats at Trinoma Cinema 2 and likewise large crowd showed up for the screening of two Vilma Santos movie classics.  The event was well organized, with people behind the restoration program in attendance headed by Leo Katigbak of ABS-CBN Film Archives.  Cocktails were served at Glorietta's Cinema lobby before screening time.

Now on its 12th year, the Cinema One Originals Festival is an independent film festival held annually during the month of November and is produced by Cinema One, a cable television channel owned by ABS-CBN.  Its goal is to showcase diverse talents of young filmmakers who received financial assistance in producing their entries.  On the other hand, the film restoration project of ABS-CBN is dedicated to restore and remaster select Filipino films through the use of modern digital technology and preserve them for future generation.  In this respect, ABS-CBN's generosity and effort in discovering new talents is indeed highly commendable and a significant milestone in the local movie industry.

FRIENDS OR FOES?

There are unconfirmed reports (or maybe just plain rumors) that Miss Indonesia Universe Bunga Jelitha Ibrani  and Miss Thailand Universe Maria Poonlertlarp Ehren were trained under Jonas Gafud's Aces & Queens, the same group who trained Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, 2013 Miss World Megan Young and the current Miss International Kyle Versoza.

Whether the rumors are true or not, the two ladies are often mentioned as front-runners in the ongoing Miss Universe in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.  They will compete with the Philippines' very own Rachel Louis Peters, who incidentally is the protege of Rodin Gilbert Flores of "Kagandahang Flores" camp.  For those who are not familiar with the local pageant world, the two groups are supposedly rivals in their field as talent scouts. Kagandahang Flores camp beauties includes the current and controversial Miss Earth Karen Ibasco, 2013 Miss International Bea Rose Santiago and Miss Philippines Universe 2014 Mary Jean Lastimosa.

Pageant fans are already hyping their respective bets but I am sure Miss Indonesia and Miss Philippines will be friends since they are reportedly roommates.  Rachel Peters mentioned in her previous interviews that she actually lived in Thailand for a while so I am sure she will bond well with Miss Thailand Maria Poonlertlarp Ehren.

Good luck ladies.  GO ASEAN GIRLS!

GOSSIPS, SASH AND CROWN

There have been a lot of allegations flying around saying that the results of the just concluded Miss Earth pageant were biased and partial to other delegates in favor of the hometown girl.   Karen Ibasco bagged the 4th crown for the Philippines and though she made her countrymen proud, not everybody was happy including local fans.  Her pictures have been the subject of  ridicule by angry fans around the world specifically from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia and sadly including the Philippines. Unconfirmed reports had it that even the national director of Miss Earth Venezuela called Karen "ugly"on national television.  Poor Karen, it’s not her fault if the judges chose her.  To watch the pageant, please click this link

The Philippines has won 3 Miss Earth crowns over the past 4 years including a back to back win in 2014 and 2015, not to mention the numerous top 4 placements almost year after year.  However some are quick to defend saying that this is not a surprise at all since the Philippines has been consistently winning in major international pageants specially during the last 8 years and has now joined the ranks of the elite group of pageant powerhouse countries like Venezuela, USA, Puerto Rico, Colombia and India.

I want to be fair and honest as much as I can, the truth was that during the pageant, I was thinking if Karen clinch into the top 4 she would surely nail the Q&A and she could easily win the crown and this is exactly what happened.  I felt that if  Philippines win this year, it may not do any good to Miss Earth and the organizers would be flooded with complaints; this early there are reports that several countries intend to boycott the pageant next year. 

Yes, Karen is bright no doubt, she's articulate, graduated cum laude, teaches physics at a reputable school and all that stuffs, but Miss Earth is still a beauty pageant. While other major international pageants like Miss Universe and Miss World chooses their winners based on beauty, poise and personality, Miss Earth chose to be different.  They are looking for a girl who could best fit the role of an ambassadress to promote environmental awareness.  Yes Karen possesses the qualities and the passion however it does not make enough sense if the Philippines win most of the time in her home country as the other girls have also prepared hard for the pageant so why not give others a chance? What's the use of holding pageants and invite the world to join if the host's representative gets special treatment? Remember the winner of Miss Earth Air this year is also half-Filipina.  And how many half-Filipinas placed in the past? I feel that Miss Earth should limit the number of  Filipino judges to two only to eliminate favoritism. Karen was also voted “Darling of the Press” at the press presentation held a few days prior the coronation night. When she was announced the winner I overheard a certain TV entertainment commentator say “ano ba yan?” (which literally means “What is that” or  it could also mean “what the hell” if meant negatively).  The local press tend to favor the local girl and this is where lies the problem.

On a positive note, this year's edition has leveled up in terms of production values, stage and format.  The opening number was upbeat and unique so let's give credit to Carousel Productions, they hit it right this time.  I wished they give more air time for the swimsuit segment as it was rather too short.  The choice of guest performers and emcee were great.   

Miss Earth is a valuable pageant and I’ve seen several videos showing  environmental advocacies of individual candidates and I must say I am really impressed. There were numerous pre-pageant activities promoting environmental causes.  It would be a good idea if they trim down the number of competitions a bit. The girls are divided into 3 groups and consider this - each group will go through various competitions such as swimsuit, evening gown, resorts wear, national costume and talent competition and each competition are held separately in different venues.  In addition there are 3 other main competitions - the body and form category, intelligence and beauty of face competition (whatever they call it where girls did not wear make-up at all).  The pre-pageant activities were enormous and the candidates visited various in the country places like Ilocos, Zamboanga and Batangas to name a few. 

To sum it up, the judges have spoken and their decision is final. Let's give Karen a chance and prove her worth and I am sure she can do it.  I hope the organizers review the whole process and come up with ways in order to avoid further negative discernment from national directors of participating countries and of course the fans. 

POSTSCRIPT TO 2017 MISS EARTH

I will post my views of the just concluded Miss Earth 2017 soon based on my personal observations on the two events that I have attended related to the pageant i.e. press presentation and the coronation night.

I'm elated that my blog has been visited by people from different countries like the U.S., Thailand and the Middle East.  I'm just a newbie in blogging and even though I am busy with my work, I will always find time to update this blog whenever I can.  Big "Thank you" to everyone and please feel free to give your comments and suggestions that you may want to address.  

MISS EARTH 2017

The 17^th edition of Miss Earth concluded last night in glittering rites at the Mall of Asia Arena with representative of the host country The Philippines winning the title for the 4^th time.  26 year old Physicist Karen Ibasco bested out 87 delegates.  Her victory is met by angry protests from pageant fans online stating that the contest is allegedly rigged favoring the homegrown delegate, however many agree also that Miss Philippines delivered her answer well enough and got the judges’ nods (more than half of the judges were foreigners).  But if you read comments in forums and facebook pages, all we read are harsh comments against the results of the pageant.

Miss Earth 2016 Katherin Espin of Ecuador crowns her successor Karen Ibasco of the Philippines

The 3 Elemental Queens are : Miss Air 2017 - Australia (Nina Robertson), Miss Water 2017 - Colombia (Juliana Franco) and Miss Fire 2017 - Russia (Lada Akimova)

Other Finalists :

Top 8 : Czech Republic (Iva Uchytilová),Thailand (Paweensuda Drouin), Netherlands (Faith Landman),Venezuela (Ninoska Vasquez)

Top 16: Angola (Ermelinda De Matos), Bosnia & Herzegovina (Lela Karagić), Cameroon (Angele Kossinda), Guatemala (Maria José Castañeda), Switzerland (Saraha Laura Peyrel), Tonga (Diamond Langi), USA (Andreia Gibau) andVietnam (Le Thi Ha Thu).

Crowd Favorites

During the parade of nations, Misses Philippines, Thailand, Colombia, Indonesia, USA, Venezuela and Netherlands received the loudest cheers from the crowd.   The delegates dazzled the audience as they introduced themselves in the parade of nations in their spectacular earth warrior costumes.  I love the opening number, it was unique and very modern; Carousel Productions hit it right this year.

James Deakin of CNN Philippines hosted the pageant. I hope they will hire him again next year as he did a great job (except that he tends to exaggerate a bit when he announces the name of countries), but all in all he did a good job. International R&B Shontelle (from Barbados) and Indonesian Violinist Iskander Widjaja were guest performers.

Semi-finalists shows their best form wearing Ricky Abad swimwear.

MISS EARTH 2017 PRESS PRESENTATION

The 2017 Miss Earth Delegates were presented to the Press last Monday 30-Oct-2017 at the poolside of Diamond Hotel in Manila.  The 87 delegates sashayed down the catwalk in their Ricky Abad swimwear wearing high heels stilettos.  Here's the video link: Miss Earth 2017 Press Presentation Video and on our youtube channel

The homegrown girl Karen Ibasco of the Philippines was voted "Darling of the Press" by the members of the press and Misses Thailand and Zambia placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively.  Considered front runners for the crown are Paweensuda Drouin (Thailand), Sarah Laura Peyre (Switzerland), Andreia Gibau (USA), Ninoska Vásquez (Venezuela) and Faith Landman (Netherlands)

The event was attended by reigning Miss Earth 2016 Katherin Espin of Ecuador, Miss Earth Air 2016 Michelle Gomez of Colombia and 2014 Miss Earth winner Jamie Herrell of the Philippines.

Finals will be held on November 4, 2017 at the Mall of Asia Arena.  German-Indonesian violinist Iskandar Widjaja and International R&B singer Shontelle (from Barbados) are set to perform at the coronation night which will be telecast live on FOXlife, Rappler, Globovisión,Fox and delayed telecast on ABS-CBN and the Filipino Channel. There are reports that James Deakin of CNN Philippines will host the pageant.