LOS ANGELES—Charice Pempengco may guest again on Ellen DeGeneres’ TV show. And Josh Groban is returning to the Philippines to perform in concerts this year.

We heard these exciting pieces of news from Ellen and Josh themselves when we bumped into them at last Wednesday’s party at the home of Fox co-chair Tom Rothman and his wife, actress Jessica Harper.

Ellen, who was out in the backyard lined with patio heaters that made it possible for guests to linger outdoors amid the winter chill, gushed about Charice. She exclaimed that the young Filipina singer was “great!” The host of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” said she was glad to be helping launch Charice’s career in the US. In Charice’s first appearance on Ellen’s show last month, she wowed everyone with her performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

Josh, who performed in two concerts in the Philippines last October, told us with a big grin, “Filipinos are the best fans in the world.” He has every reason to smile these days. His Christmas album “Noel” was the best-selling album of 2007 in the US. The warmly dressed singer is grateful to Oprah Winfrey because his guest appearance on her show boosted the sales of “Noel.”

In the Rothmans’ living room, near the spot where Tom Cruise planted himself and greeted guests last year, Drew Barrymore, looking Annie Hall-ish but with a fetching beret instead of a hat, held hands with her boyfriend, actor Justin Long. The two were like teenagers madly in love.

Hollywood’s current sensations

Jon Heder, star of “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Blades of Glory,” said that, with the lull in filming caused by the writers’ strike, he is spending his free time enjoying Evan, his nine-month-old baby girl with wife Kirsten. Casey Affleck, sporting a beard, shared the happy news that he and his wife, Summer Phoenix (Joaquin’s sister), just had their second baby. Their first-born, Indiana August, is now 3 years old.

In one corner, Hollywood’s current sensations, Ellen Page and Diablo Cody, “Juno’s” lead actress and scriptwriter, respectively, took in congratulations. The two women were delighted to hear that we had arrived in our trusty old Previa—Ellen’s pregnant teenage character drives a similarly-colored van in the film. Our Previa has been so much a part of our life and family history for the past 17 years that the mere sight of the identical van in “Juno” made us laugh repeatedly, with fondness, all of the three times that we watched the film.

Jason Reitman, who directed what is being hailed as this year’s “Little Miss Sunshine,” said he wanted to buy that Previa driven by Ellen and which figures in one crucial scene.

Playing tough

Emile Hirsch, the breakout actor in the acclaimed Sean Penn-directed drama “Into the Wild,” leaned close to a patio heater by the pool. He said that the toughest part about play ing his character, which was based on a true story of a fresh college graduate who renounces the material world and hies off to the wilds of Alaska, was acting opposite a real bear in one scene. “You just don’t know what the bear would do,” said the actor to watch in 2008. “That was scary.”

Emile and Sean are collaborating again, this time as actors, in Gus Van Sant’s “Milk.” The film dramatizes the story of California’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk (Sean), who was assassinated by San Francisco Supervisor, Dan White. Emile tackles the role of Cleve Jones, a gay rights activist.

Matt Dillon, who has also grown a beard like Casey, confided that he regretted not being able to use a free cruise trip to Antarctica and New Zealand, one of the freebies in the swag given to the nominees and presenters in the 2006 Golden Globe Awards. Nominees’ quotes

The following are what some Golden Globe contenders said about their nominated performance, roles or work (the winners will be announced in a press conference today, Sunday):

Marion Cotillard, responding to a question on the unhesitating stance of her film, “La Vie en rose,” to show the “bitchy” side of Edith Piaf, whom she portrays excellently:

“When I started working on the project, I didn’t know anything about her except a few songs and the little black dress. I discovered the tyrannical behavior she could have. I didn’t understand that but one day I read the script again and I read the line that asked her, ‘Are you afraid of death?’ She said that she was more afraid of being alone. I understood that. When you’re a child and abandoned by your parents, you never want to be alone again.

“With the aura she had, she used it sometimes—not in a very respectful way, that’s true. But my aim was to understand that woman and that involved understanding her dark side. I understood her—not excuse her, but accept her for who she was.”

‘Remarkably genuine’

Ellen Page on her smart-talking teenage character in “Juno” who is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, as created by first-time scriptwriter Diablo Cody (she had to borrow a scriptwriting manual from a library): “The screenplay is remarkably genuine, funny, fluid and witty and all of those things. But at the same time, the script is so honest and clearly touches a chord with people. I think it has to do with the fact that we haven’t had a female character like this who is devoid of any stereotype. The same goes for all the characters. They’re incredibly whole and heartfelt. To read a script like that is astounding—that it can hit you on so many levels and be so completely refreshing. Diablo is hands down brilliant.”

Glenn Close on her conniving lawyer, Patty Hewes, in the TV series “Damages”: “I do think for somebody like Patty Hewes to have succeeded to the extent that she has in a world that’s male-dominated is phenomenal. Of course, she’s called a bitch and described as ruthless. If she were a man, they might not use the same adjectives.”

Director Paul Thomas Anderson on Daniel Day-Lewis’ devotion to his role in “There Will Be Blood”: “Daniel’s concentration makes him different from any other actor I’ve worked with. His concentration is unparalleled. He inhabits the character that he’s playing all the time, all day long without exception. I’ve never worked with an actor that has done that. I hope I don’t ever have to work with an actor who doesn’t do that.”

(E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, “The Nepales Report,” on www.inquirerbloggers.net/nepalesreport.)