MMFF Parade of Stars goes on — rain, mud and all

In previous years, the rain had been nothing but an occasional nuisance to celebrities and revelers who flocked to the streets for the Parade of Stars—the glitzy motorcade that opens the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which is now in its 44th year.

On Sunday, however, moderate to heavy showers persisted throughout the afternoon.

And for a moment, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the organizing agency behind the MMFF, considered postponing the parade to Monday.

But the show, as the adage goes, must go on—rain, mud and all.

“We talked about it (possible postponement), but we found out that the weather forecast for tomorrow will be more or less same … We have didn’t have a choice but to push through,” MMDA Chair Danilo Lim told the Inquirer at Santana Grove in Parañaque City, the parade’s starting point.

Still, Lim said he was positive that people would go out of their homes to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars.

The float of Jessy Mendiola and Jericho Rosales’ romantic drama “The Girl in the Orange Dress” (left) resembles the horse-drawn carriage in
Disney’s “Cinderella”

Fan turnout

True enough, hordes of giddy fans braved the downpour and trooped to the venue, crowding around and taking photos with the eight eye-catching floats representing the eight entries to this year’s festival: “Fantastica,” “Aurora,” “Jack Em Popoy: The Puliscredibles,” “Rainbow’s Sunset,” “Mary, Marry Me,” “The Girl in the Orange Dress,”  “Otlum” and “One Great Love.”

While actress Max Collins of “Rainbow’s Sunset” felt “sad” that bad weather marred her first Parade of Stars, she said she wasn’t going to let it spoil her fun.

“People are waiting for us … no matter what, so I’m still looking forward to it,” she told the Inquirer.

Her costar Sunshine Dizon said the people’s effort to see them despite the elements wouldn’t go unnoticed.

“It’s very much appreciated,” she said. “I just hope everyone stays safe and that no one gets sick.”

The 83-year-old veteran actor, Tony Mabesa, also of “Rainbow’s Sunset,” said he would be on the float “come rain or shine.”

Sinking in mud

While the motorcade did trudge on, it was inevitably plagued by significant delays.

The steady downpour turned the soil on the parking ground into thick mud, causing many of the floats to sink in it.

Things were expected to get moving at 1 p.m. But as of 5 p.m., only the floats of “Fantastica,” “The Girl in the Orange Dress,” “One Great Love,” “Mary, Marry Me” and “Jack Em Popoy” had departed.

Others remained stuck and were still being pulled out by MMDA tow trucks.

While waiting for the parade to continue, many diehard fans in the area hounded the stars’ holding vans and nearby restaurants where they dined.

And every time a celebrity went out to smile and wave at the crowd, earsplitting shrieks erupted from under the gaggle of umbrellas lining Soreena Avenue.

The float of the fantasy-comedy film “Fantastica,” starring Vice Ganda, Richard Gutierrez and Dingdong Dantes, is a carnival-inspired tent
decked with colorful giant pinwheels. —PHOTOS BY RICHARD A. REYES

Colorful floats

Led by Vice Ganda, Richard Gutierrez and Dingdong Dantes, the float of the fantasy-comedy film “Fantastica” was a carnival-inspired tent decked with colorful giant pinwheels.

The float of the horror flick  “Otlum” was fashioned after the decrepit, sinister-looking orphanage in which the story is set. Its stars Jerome Ponce, the collegiate basketball player-turned-actor Ricci Rivero and Danzel Fernandez.

Anne Curtis and Marco Gumabao of the suspense-thriller “Aurora” were supposed to mount a float that looks like a haunted passenger ship that had crashed into a rocky shore.

“Forty-eight years na,” Curtis said in jest in an Instagram story she posted while stranded in her vehicle. “Hindi lang barko ang lumubog, pati float. (It was not only the ship that sank, even the float.)”

“I think we’re going to have to skip the parade and meet everyone at the end point,” she added in a later Twitter post. “It has been hours already and most of the floats are already too far ahead … So sorry to everyone who waited.”

Ancestral home design

The LGBTQ-themed drama film “Rainbow’s Sunset” had its stars, Eddie Garcia, Mabesa, Collins and Dizon, riding a truck modeled into a green ancestral home lined with Christmas garlands and lanterns.

The main cast of the romantic comedy “Mary, Marry Me,” sisters Toni and Alex Gonzaga and Sam Milby, regaled their fans from atop a float that, quite aptly, depicted a wedding—swathed in drapery and flowers.

“I remember Alex and I going to Santa Lucia [shopping mall] when we were little girls—we weren’t actors yet—and we would be lining up to watch the movies,” said Toni, who’s joining the MMFF for the first time after 16 years in show biz.

The float of Jessy Mendiola and Jericho Rosales’ romantic drama “The Girl in the Orange Dress” evoked whimsy and resembled the horse-drawn carriage in Disney’s “Cinderella.”

Vic Sotto, Coco Martin and Maine Mendoza of “Jack Em Popoy” abandoned their stranded “Transformers”-esque float, and instead hopped on an armored car and a police truck.

The float of Kim Chiu and Dennis Trillo’s “One Great Love” was a makeshift luxury yacht.

Network crossovers

In an industry where network wars reign for much of the year, the season-ending MMFF is a respite of sorts, which allows otherwise “competing” contract actors to collaborate with each other.

And this year’s edition noticeably features more of these crossovers.

“This festival is all about entertaining the Filipino audience, whether you’re a Kapamilya or a Kapuso,” said Sotto, who joined forces with “Eat Bulaga!” cohost Mendoza and “Ang Probinsyano” star Martin for their entry “Jack Em Popoy.”

“We’re so thankful we’re able to work with each other—something that doesn’t happen all the time. There’s no network war here,” he said.

Dantes, who’s regarded as GMA 7’s “Prime-time King,” is sharing top billing with ABS-CBN’s prized host and comedian Vice for “Fantastica.”

“This is such a special opportunity for me,” he said in a previous interview. “It really shouldn’t matter which network you’re from.”

Trillo, another GMA 7 talent, related that it was a “great feeling” to have Chiu, one of ABS-CBN’s top actresses, as his leading lady for “One Great Love.”

“It’s always good to discover new talents and work with good actors outside the confines of your network … I hope to learn new things from her,” he said of Chiu, who described their Kapuso-Kapamilya love team as “new, exciting and refreshing.”

The parade followed a route that traversed Dr. Arcadio Santos and Ninoy Aquino avenues, Kabihasnan, Quirino Avenue, MIA Road and Macapagal Boulevard. Final stop was on Bradco Avenue, where a short meet-and-greet event with fans was held.