MANILA, Philippines - Picture this. Boy Abunda, one of the most influential show biz personalities today, begging his producers to allow him to host a program similar to that of his idol, American writer and poet James Lipton.

Boy has finally got it. The award-winning TV host announced this to a small group of writers at the launch of ?Inside the Cinema,? his new show on the Cinema One channel.

?I?ve always wanted to do a show similar to ?Inside the Actor?s Studio.? Hindi pa sikat si James Lipton, pinapanood ko na s?ya,? he said. Boy hastily added, however, that he?s no Lipton clone: ?He is a revered teacher. He?s erudite; I?m not. I?m an interviewer. I ask questions. I?m okay to be similar to him, but in terms of style, ibang-ibang kami. Hindi naman masamang gayahin ang maganda, because I know I will always have a way of owning the show.?

?Inside the Cinema? will air every second Tuesday of the month. The pilot episode on March 11 (9 p.m.) will feature actress Chanda Romero. Other future guests include show biz icons Pilita Corrales, Michael de Mesa and Joel Torre.

Is it true that you?re very hands-on in the production aspect?
It?s a work in progress. We?re discovering a lot of things as we work on the show. We hope to have more audience participation.

Our director, Oscar Nava, 28, is an independent filmmaker. He?s responsible for the regional film ?When Timawa Meets Delgado.? He has very interesting quirks.

Our first four episodes were shot in Iloilo and Cebu. There were many interesting side lights. [For instance] we learned that in her first movie, Pilita Corrales was Susan Roces? double. As a young actor, Joel Torre vowed to never take off his clothes onscreen. But while he was working with Celso Ad Castillo, he got so involved in one scene ?di nya namalayan na hubo?t hubad na siya.

Can you name some dream interviews?
I?ve stopped dreaming. I used to dream of interviewing the late Fernando Poe Jr. But you see, bawat isa may storya. For example, why did Pilita become so famous in Australia? Not many of us know that it was because she joined a cruise, got stranded and was forced to stay on an island there. A street has been named after her.

In the show?s teaser, you said ?a lot of things can happen inside the cinema.? Can you be more specific?
If I were not as visible on TV as I am, I?d probably have more fun inside the cinema (laughs). We debated on this. The production team wanted to use ?Inside Cinema? para daw mas academic ang dating. I said no, I want the title to be more lascivious (laughs).

You mentioned that this is similar to Lipton?s show. But how is it different in terms of script and production?
Senedy Que, writer: Of course the subjects are local. The actors are very appreciative because they are given a venue to talk about their lives. As Boy said, it?s a work in progress. We?re still looking for our niche. Basically, the script structure is chronological. But we do not limit our guests. It?s a free-wheeling, yet very insightful conversation.

Chits Jimenez, executive producer: I guess the difference lies mainly in the set design. The set of ?Inside the Actor?s Studio? is very simple. We try to make our set as lively and busy as possible.

We are assuming that you will be interviewing mostly the veterans.
We don?t have a strict requirement, but yes. We want to feature actors who have been in the business for 20 years or more. I would love to do the likes of Caridad Sanchez, Anita Linda, and directors, writers, production designers. If I interviewed Chanda 15 or 20 years ago, it wouldn?t have been this inspiring.

What was the first movie that you saw?
I don?t remember the title but I?m sure it was Susan Roces and Dolphy?s. I watched it in the only theater in our hometown in Samar.

How did it affect you?
Masaya. Parang ang ganda ng mundo nila. Tawanan sila nang tawanan. Ang gaganda ng kutis nila at ang puputi ng mga paa.

(Email: mcruz@inquirer.com.ph)