‘Pogi’ points

ULANG. Tops noontime tilt.

“EAT Bulaga” recently held the finals of its latest “Mr. Pogi” search, with frisky, boy-next-door types from all over the land striking the tilt’s signature “cute James Bond” pose—cocking an imaginary gun under their grinning faces.

The competition has acquired some heft and clout due to the fact that one of its past winners was Jericho Rosales, who has made a name for himself as one of the TV-film scene’s best young-adult actors, and is a fair singer, to boot.

Will John Edric Ulang, this year’s winner, or some of the runnersup be similarly successful in their bid for stardom? The answer to that question is qualified by a lot of ifs and buts, but they sure aim to give it a good try.

Predominance

What was instructive about this season’s “Mr. Pogi” finals was the predominance of tisoy types among the finalists. In fact, some of them even had foreign-sounding names.

—No surprise there, given our “colonial” preference for imported standards of beauty, and TV-film starlets and stars who look not like you and me, but like those dreamboats and yummy screen lovelies from Holly-golly-folly-wood.

We must point out, however, that the local entertainment scene is wall-to-wall overcrowded with “imported”-looking starlets, so this fresh batch of frisky gents will have a hard time fighting their way to the front row of the madding crowd, unless they have well-heeled backers who are willing to invest a lot of money in their stellar bids.

It would help, therefore, if aside from the “pogi” points that their looks have already scored for them, new stellar wannabes develop other aspects of their performing persona—like their acting talent, perhaps?

In an industry where many unknowns have made it on sheer good, tisoy looks alone, that would appear to be an irrelevant afterthought—but, the entertainment times have changed, the competition is heating up, and viewers’ preferences now include exceptional talent, as well.

So, the facile ploys and entry points of the past are no longer enough, which is why acting workshops have mushroomed all over the place. Trouble is, many of those so-called workshops are quickie, easy-breezy courses that don’t really turn out good actors, so newcomers are strongly urged to snub them in favor of longer, more in-depth lessons that require them to really work.

By our reckoning, it takes at least six months of continuous mentoring for a newcomer to really learn how to act, so genuinely interested aspirants should be prepared to go for the long haul rather than the quick-fix sessions—in which nothing much really happens.

The bottom line is, there are already too many mediocre or downright lousy actors in show biz, so a fresh batch won’t get anywhere, fast!

Singing and dance lessons are also potentially helpful, but the right mentors have to be found, and starlets should realize that it takes even longer to produce a good singer and dancer than a proficient actor. It takes years to do the job. —So, no “overnight sensations” need apply!