LOS ANGELES??I?m overjoyed and ecstatic!? Dante Mendoza shared with us via text message his reaction about his film, ?Serbis,? making it to the competition category in Cannes, which is considered the most prestigious film festival in the world.

Dante added, ?It?s my second film in Cannes but, this time, I?m in competition. I?m excited to walk on the red carpet with my actors because I?m representing not only the film but our country as well. We plan to wear national attires.?

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Even Calista Flockhart, who has been in a long-term relationship with Harrison Ford, claimed that she had not seen the latter?s ?Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,? which is this year?s most-awaited film.

In a press con for her TV series, ?Brothers & Sisters,? Calista laughed when a reporter quipped that she and ?some guy we?ve never heard of? make a romantic couple. ?Yeah, some guy,? said the star, who became popular as TV?s Ally McBeal. There are unconfirmed reports that Calista and Harrison, who met at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards, are set to marry this year.

What is sure is that Calista will walk down the red carpet with Harrison in the hottest ticket event at the Cannes Film Festival next month?when the latest Steven Spielberg-directed installment of the blockbuster ?Indiana Jones? series makes its world premiere on the Croisette. ?We are going to Cannes,? she stated. ?It will be fun.?

Harrison, 65, recently paid tribute to Calista, 43, by calling her the best mom in the world. The actress has an adopted son, Liam. In an interview that appears in the May issue of the Reader?s Digest, Harrison said of Calista: ?The best in the world. She?s a mother by choice?she adopted Liam before we met, as a single parent, which is an awesome responsibility to take. She?s devoted herself to Liam and has done a really wonderful job raising him. I?m happy to now have a part of the job.? The returning Indiana Jones star added that helping raise a child ?made me just a bit less self-centered.?

More praises

Harrison spoke more about Calista in the article: ?She?s brought a child back into my home. My youngest, other than Liam, is 17. It?s a wonderful opportunity to be part of a child?s growing up, which is always an endless springtime. You see the blossoming and the growing and the nurturing and the payoff.? The actor has three other children from two previous marriages.

Calista, who announced to us that her son ?just turned seven,? explained that being a mother enhances her acting. ?Having a child really does inform your work,? she stressed. ?Of course, any experience does but being a mother fills you with so many different rich experiences that you can draw on.?

Calista has been displaying her dramatic chops and getting good reviews in ?Brothers & Sisters,? a drama about five brothers and sisters who come together to run the family business upon the death of their father. The series also stars Rob Lowe and Rachel Griffiths. After our press con with her, Calista posed with the rest of the cast for photos.

Asked how the writers? strike, which forced the show to go into a hiatus for several months, affected her, Calista answered, ?I became a full-time mom. It was actually nice for me to have that time.? Saying that Harrison ?was around, too,? she described a typical day during that lull: ?I got my son ready for school and took him there. I volunteered a lot at the school because I had time to do it so I was at the school a lot. I picked up my son at school and then took him wherever he has to go that day. I went for hikes with my dogs.? We got the impression that she loves this routine, writers? strike or not.

Is Liam a budding actor as well? ?My son hasn?t shown any interest in acting so far but if he chooses that path, of course I?ll have to support him,? she replied. ?He?s more into baseball now. He also likes to swim. And he loves school.?

And no, even with Indiana Jones in the household, Liam ?is not good with the whip.?

And when will she resume acting in the movies? ?There isn?t a lot of time for that,? she said. ?We work 10 months out of the year. The two months that I have off, I really want to spend time with my son and not go to work.?

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport