TORONTO, ONTARIO—Daily interviews with the stars whose films are entered in the ongoing film festival here netted what we’ve previously coined as FC (Filipino connection) nuggets.
When we asked singer-actress Alicia Keys, who stands out among the stellar cast of “The Secret Life of Bees” about her recent visit to Manila for a concert, here’s what she said: “The Philippines is fantastic. I had a very, very good time there. The people are amazing.
“The best thing about that visit was a massage place I could go to 24 hours. I got a massage at like four in the morning. And the last time I was there, I experienced my first earthquake. It scared me to death. So now, that Thrilla in Manila is like a part of my life.
“The Philippines is a beautiful place. I don’t feel I’ve really gotten a chance to experience it. I always kind of come in and then rush to the next place. But I do know that the people there are some of the most enthusiastic, truly passionate, loving people I’ve ever met.”
RP hit
We have to admit that our European journalist colleague gave us this FC with Ricky Gervais, who created and starred in the original BBC production of the comedy series “The Office” and who now leads a movie, “Ghost Town.” After scanning the comedian’s bio, the reporter looked at Ricky and asked, “Didn’t you have a pop hit one time in the Philippines?”
In typical self-deprecating British humor, Ricky, who formed half of the pop duo named Seona Dancing, admitted, “I was a failed pop star everywhere. But I think I had a hit in the Philippines. That’s what I’ve heard. I never went there. But yeah, I had a failed pop career. It lasted about six months. We released a couple of singles. I think ‘More to Lose’ was the biggest hit—bizarrely. I don’t know why. No, I think it’s a nice song. I co-wrote the songs. That was a fun hit. The single might have been played a lot in the Philippines but it wasn’t a long career. It was good, though. I still got the pictures to prove that I was thin once.”
The writer pressed on: “Was this during the period of Wham!?” Did you want to become like Wham!?” “That’s right,” he gleefully confessed. “It was about 1983-1984. My big mistake was wanting to be a pop star. I should have wanted to be a musician. I should have done what I knew was best. I’ll never make that mistake again.”
We followed up on this surprising FC, of course. So Ricky spoke some more of the time when he was over a hundred pounds lighter and, dare we say it—a George Michael wannabe? “Now I’m famous in a couple of places,” he quipped. “They usually wheel out the video or a picture of me 25 years ago. They always think I’m embarrassed about how I looked then. I’m not. I’m embarrassed about how I look now. Oh, I was handsome. You’ve got to remember that we did that video in a day.”
Pinoy co-star
Ricky, whom we saw last July in his solo stand-up comedy act at the Kodak Theatre, added about his musical past: “It was funny because I recorded that single as a photo session. And then as I left, I saw Pizza Hut. I’ve never looked back.” In the comedy “Ghost Town,” Ricky plays a dentist who sees dead people.
Gael Garcia Bernal, memorable in such films as “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “Amores Perros” and “Babel,” was in Toronto for “Blindness,” a Fernando Meirelles-directed drama where everyone in the world goes blind except for Julianne Moore’s character. One of Gael’s next releases is “Mammoth” which he described as “a film with Lukas Moodysson, a Swedish director. He’s very good and a really interesting guy. The film was produced by Lars von Trier but I haven’t met Lars.”
So what is Gael’s FC? He plays a New York businessman whose daughter is under the care of a Filipino nanny played by Marife Necesito. Michelle Williams, who has a daughter with the late Heath Ledger, portrays Gael’s wife. Gael told us, “I have only one scene with Marife but she has scenes in New York and the Philippines.” Marife’s credits include Lav Diaz’s “Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino.”
Also shot in Thailand, “Mammoth” has other Filipino actors in its cast, including Perry Dizon (who was recently with Lav in Venice), Martin de los Santos and Jan David G. Nicdao. According to Gael, “Mammoth” is being considered for the Berlin Film Festival next year.
Feedback
Pete Lacaba wrote us an e-mail in reaction to our column on the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) screening of Lino Brocka’s “Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim” in observance of the 10th death anniversary of David Overbey, a festival programmer who championed Filipino cinema. We mentioned that Noah Cowan, the former TIFF co-director who is now the artistic director of Bell Lightbox, the fest’s future home, and journalist Joan Dupont, whose 1981 interview with Lino was arranged by his friend David, were scheduled to participate in the screening overseen by programmer Allen Braude.
Pete, who wrote “Bayan Ko…,” began with, “In your column in today’s (Sept. 7, 2008) print edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, you quote Noah Cowan as saying that David Overbey ‘insisted that his ashes be spread on the beaches of Cebu when he died (which they were—you never contradicted David).’
“I can understand the confusion, because the place names sound alike—but it wasn’t Cebu, it was Nasugbu, in Batangas. I should know, because I was there, and I was among those who got a handful of David’s ashes and scattered them in the seawaters fronting Armida Siguion-Reyna’s beach house in Nasugbu.
“The others who were there that day were Armida herself; her son, director Carlitos Siguion-Reyna; her daughter-in-law, screenwriter-actress Bibeth Orteza; director Mel Chionglo; production designers Tatus Aldana (now deceased) and Joey Luna; film editor Manet Dayrit; university professor Martin Anderson; my son, writer and sometime actor Kris Lanot Lacaba; and two of David’s friends from Canada, who brought his ashes to the Philippines.
“This information is courtesy of Mel Chionglo, who checked out a photo that he thinks I must have taken (because I am not in it).
“By the way, the 1959 Rosa Rosal film that David loved must be ‘Biyaya ng Lupa,’ not just ‘Biyaya.’
“I hope the ‘Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim’ screening, as well as the presentation by journalist Joan Dupont, goes well. Aabangan ko sa kolum mo ang report.”
‘Bayan Ko’ screening
Unfortunately, we missed the screening due to a schedule bungling (our fault) so we asked Allen Braude for a recap via e-mail. Allen reported, “The screening of ‘Bayan Ko: Kapit Sa Patalim’ as part of the Dialogues: Talking With Pictures program at the Toronto International Film Festival was very well-attended. The evening began with a short speech by Noah Cowan explaining that the Dialogues program this year is in memory of long time festival programmer David Overbey, who died 10 years ago. He then introduced journalist Joan Dupont, who gave a very insightful and moving speech about the importance place Lino Brocka, his films, and the Philippines held in David’s life.
“After the screening, Joan shared more stories about David and Lino’s friendship. She discussed Lino Brocka’s body of work and its political nature, his importance to international cinema, and influence on a new generation of filmmakers from the Philippines. She also discussed her first meeting with Lino in Manila in 1981, and her recollection of the excitement that ‘Bayan Ko’ generated at Cannes in 1984 after the Marcos government tried to ban the film, calling it subversive.
“A very special moment came near the end of the evening when some audience members revealed that they had seen the film at the only screening it had in Manila prior to the attempt to ban it, and how delighted they were to see it again.”
Noah also shared the following via e-mail: “The screening was a great success. The theater was full. It was a mix of Filipino and non-Filipino audiences. Joan spoke movingly about David and Lino and a terrific discussion ensued about the film.”
Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
To
subscribe to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper in the Philippines,
call +63 2 896-6000 for Metro Manila and Metro Cebu or email your subscription request here.
Factual errors? Contact the
Philippine Daily Inquirer's day desk.
Believe this article violates journalistic ethics?
Contact the
Inquirer's Reader's Advocate.
Or write The Readers' Advocate:
c/o
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Chino RocesAvenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets,
Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94
![Zoom Image](javascript:popwin("http://images.inquirer.net/media/showbizandstyle/entertainment/entertainment/images/pic-09140457380352.jpg", 410, 565))
Zoom
