ISABEL Oli was tongue-tied for a while when she learned that her ex, Paolo Contis, had gotten his girlfriend, Liane Paz, pregnant. After recovering from the initial shock, she blurted out, ?I?m happy for them. Walang halong kashowbizan yan.?
Doesn?t she secretly wish it was her? ?I?m so over Pao,? she quipped. ?Time will come when we can really be friends again, We haven?t talked since our breakup. I saw him from afar at a party. He was onstage; I don?t think he knew I was around. Dyahe naman ako lumapit. Siyempre siya una dapat lumapit kasi siya yung lalaki.?
So near, yet so far. How many heartbeats away are there from love to friendship?
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My best guy friend, Cesar Montano, is mounting his first solo painting exhibit at Ayala Museum on Nov. 14. Check out his awesome masterpieces and buy one for your art collection. Most of the proceeds will go to Panaghoy Children Foundation?s scholarship program. Among Buboy?s pieces, my favorite is his painting of two Igorots that?s displayed in his Italian resto, Bellisimo. Passion is in everything Buboy does, on cam and off.
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I had a blast at the launch of my online show on PLDT myDSL?s Watchpad, ?My Foursome,? with beloved colleagues whom I all look up to?Ricky Lo, Shirley Pizarro and Isah Red (log on to www.pldtwatchpad.com and get your free user name and password). The launch was held at Jill?s and Establishment at the Fort. Since the four of us write for different broadsheets, our swapping of juicy show biz inside stories is quite a gabfest. May the ?4? be with you!
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I immensely enjoyed hanging out with Maru Sotto during that launch. We were with PLDT?s super cool boss, Gary Dujali. If only I could write all the juicy stuff we talked about! Maru?s revelations about some of our colleagues jolted me. I thought that I was shock-proof, having grown up in the biz.
Let me share with you the bits and pieces of that conversation which were not off the record: Maru told me that his brother Vic Sotto and Vic?s girlfriend Pia Guanio are vacationing in Africa. He also said he has remained friends with his ex, Ali Sotto, who?s now based abroad with her diplomat husband. They keep in touch via Facebook.
I teased him. ?In your younger years, who had the most women?Tito, Vic, Val or you?? He chuckled. ?Believe it or not, ang mga Sotto, hindi babaero. Lapitin lang kami ng chicks! Pag nagpakita ng motibo ang girl, game na!? Who can resist the Sotto charm? Tito, Vic, Val and Maru don?t seem to grow older; only handsomer.
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Speaking of the Sottos, my son IC and I had so much fun as contestants in Eat Bulaga?s ?Pinoy Henyo.? Since it was my first time to play the game, I was very nervous. Vic even teased me, ?Do you wanna go to the bathroom before we start??
Joey de Leon had watched me grow up, so seeing him on the show brought back a lot of happy memories. My mom was Tito Joey?s first boss on AM radio. I?ll never forget something he once said: That my mom is one of the people who taught him discipline.
After the game, I got to chat with Tito Sen. It was such a delight to see him. He?s always been so fatherly to me. Even if IC and I didn?t win the game, the joy of seeing the inimitable TVJ is more priceless than all of ?Eat Bulaga?s? prizes combined.
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After receiving international recognition for the horror movie ?Sigaw,? Richard Gutierrez reunites with renowned director Yam Laranas to deliver another hair-raising movie, ?Patient X,? which opens in local cinemas Oct. 30. Fresh from Hollywood, Direk Yam incorporated high-class concepts for his new horror masterpiece that he acquired while co-directing ?The Echo,? the American version of ?Sigaw.?
FHM?s sexiest woman of 2009, Cristine Reyes portrays the dreaded Patient X. With her convincing performance, another Cristine is born. It?s bound to be a ?HalloWINner!?
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Studio 23 launches ?Catch Up TV? beginning today (www.studio23.tv) with the season premieres of ?Grey?s Anatomy? and ?Desperate Housewives.? It?s the first free online streaming service by a TV network that allows surfers to watch Studio 23?s local and foreign programs via the Internet. No need to worry if you miss your fave show on the Kabarkada network?you can now view it online whenever and wherever. ?It?s perfect for our tech-savvy Kabarkadas who are always on the go,? says March Ventosa, managing director. ?They can just click on the episode they missed and watch it free of charge.
E-mail: wateringholeshangrila@yahoo.com