Tito, Vic and Joey
It’s not the end of “Eat Bulaga.” It’s just a pause before a fresh start. The severing of ties between Tito, Vic and Joey with TAPE Inc. reminds me of what my mom (Inday Badiday) used to say, “In show biz, there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. Only permanent interests.”
LJ Reyes (left) with Philip Evangelista
LJ Reyes’ new beau
As LJ Reyes got engaged to Philip Evangelista, it just dawned on me that her fiancé has something in common with her two exes, Paulo Avelino and Paolo Contis. All their names start with the letter P. Finally, the real P (Prince) of LJ’s life is going to lead her to “happy-ever-after.”
Coco Martin (left) and Julia Montes
‘Off-key’ revelation
Coco Martin’s big reveal about his 12-year relationship with Julia Montes only goes to show that it’s better for celebs to keep their love life low-key so it won’t go off-key.
Val del Rosario (left) and Mikhail Red
New studio meant to future-proof Viva’s content
After the box-office success and multiple awards of Viva Films’ horror flick “Deleter,” directed by Mikhail Red, the movie company and avant-garde filmmaker have joined forces in creating Evolve Studios (ES).
“Viva knows great talent when it sees one and with our partnership with Direk Mikhail, we hope to future-proof our content offerings across genres and over different platforms,” says Valerie del Rosario, senior vice president for Content Creation and Development for Viva Communications.
ES will tap Red’s bottomless reservoir of creative juices. ES’ initial titles are “Nokturno” and “Helel.”
The former is about a primal and supernatural curse that haunts a rural family and the daughter who left them to live overseas. It will be headlined by Nadine Lustre. The latter is a sci-fi spiritual horror film set in the near future about a Filipina astronaut who encounters the devil.
Asked about his vision for Evolve, Red says, “We want audiences to associate our studio with quality genre films that entertain and engage. We will foster genre talent and collaborate with new and established artists to reinvigorate the industry, help diversify film output and go global.
“We will make our film slate sustainable so every success creates a chain reaction to finance more films. We will create more ambitious material to cater to a growing audience with a different appetite due to exposure to international streaming platforms.”
Hail, hail Mikhail!
Edgar Mortiz returns to recording
After 35 years, Edgar Mortiz (aka Bobot) has rekindled his passion for singing. “While I was spinning records before my birthday last year, it suddenly hit me that I wanted to record an album before I turn 70,” Bobot shared. “So I sent my sample music to Rudy Ty and Narciso Chan of Curve Records and they liked it.”
His album, called “Going Standard,” is slated for release in July or August. Some cuts from it are already streaming on Spotify. “I recorded eight songs with a full orchestra,” he said. “All are anthems of mine during my bachelor days.”
What about reviving the Vi and Bot tandem by doing a movie with Ate Vi? “I’m not up to it,” he said, chuckling. “Because I’m no longer the boy-next-door type.”
Hopefully, Bot won’t shut the door on their iconic love team, even just for throwback’s sake.