Dingdong, Karylle very
much in love

"Is this the reason why he’s so thin?

"Kain naman ako ng kain, pero hindi talaga ako tabain. I don’t even have time to go to the gym now. Malakas lang siguro talaga ang metabolism ko."

Isn’t Mariel worried about his being so slim?

"No. Mukha lang akong payat tingnan but when I take my shirt off, muscle naman ang lalabas diyan."

Mariel gifted him a camera when he left for the US, was he able to use it?

"Ubos na ubos nga ang memory. It was my first trip to the US and I’d like to thank all our kababayans who watched our shows. Very warm sila at tuwang-tuwa sa musical numbers na ginawa namin. The trip became very memorable for me as I was able to visit my father and siblings who are now based in New Jersey. So nagka-reunion kami doon. I was gone for two weeks and when I came back, kayod uli sa araw-araw na tapings."

How long has he been on with Mariel?

"We don’t know. Wala kaming anniversary kung kailan naging kami na. Basta kami na."

Will she be the woman he’ll take down the aisle?

"We haven’t talked about settling down yet. Pareho naman kami, career muna ang priority. She knows I’m still helping my family at marami pa kong gustong ma-achieve sa career ko."

***

In a taped interview with Boy Abunda, Marjorie Barretto, currently a councilor in Caloocan, denied the rumor that she’s four months pregnant and having an affair with Calooocan Mayor Recom Echiverri. Boy earlier plugged that Marjorie would finally reveal why she broke up with hubby Dennis Padilla, but no such thing happened. All she said was it’s caused by him and whatever that cause is irreversible, which is the reason their annulment was quickly granted. She added she’d rather not reveal what that something is to protect Dennis, and also for the sake of their children.

Is it true she now lives in a P15-million house given to her by the mayor?

"No, I still live in the same townhouse I acquired during my marriage," she says. "It’s still on loan and I’m still paying the monthly amortization for the next ten years. They can check with China Bank."

She added that the rumors are being circulated by someone who wants to run as mayor and is bent on ruining the reputation of Mayor Echiverri. "Nadadamay lang ako kasi wala silang maipukol na ibang issue kay mayor."

***

After winning so many awards as "Magnifico," Jiro Manio, now 16, gets to play another title role in "Tambolista," a Cinema One Original digital movie directed by Adolf Alix now being shown at Robinsons Galleria’s Indie Sine. He plays a teener in the slums who loves playing the drums (tambol) and, in his desire to buy his own drum set, he gets accidentally involved in a crime, along with his brother and friend (Coco Martin and Sid Lucero) that accidentally kills an old woman (Anita Linda). For this, he and his brother have to pay a very high price and the film’s climax shows Jiro chasing Sid along Aurora Blvd. in Cubao after Sid ruthlessly stabs Coco inside the Coronet Theater.

All three of them give very competent performances and the film itself is one of the better works of Adolf, whose movies lately are getting from bad to worse.

Lucero won the Cinema One best actor award for his performance in "Tambolista." "It’s a powerful movie and I’m glad to be part of it," says Jiro, who’s graduating from high school in March and plans to take up hotel and restaurant management, majoring in the culinary arts, when he goes to college. "Mahilig po kasi akong magluto. I just follow the cookbook then I invent my own recipes na nagugustuhan ng family ko. My passion for cooking is now as intense as my passion for acting. Someday, I intend to put up my own restaurant."

***

Like what we’ve predicted, Inaki was the scholar expelled from "Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2" last Saturday night. He left along with honorary scholar Poy whose stint inside PDA has also ended. The probee scholars who got the lowest scores are Sen and Van, both of whom have star quality. You can now text your votes to save Sen or Van.

Sen is a 24-year-old balikbayan from the US, while Van is an 18-year-old band singer from Cebu. Our wish is for Van to stay as he seems to have a bright future ahead of him in showbiz. Between the two of them, he’s also the one who’s the real newcomer, as Sen has performed in "SOP" before. As of now, the only remaining scholars aside from Sen and Van are Laarni, Cris, Liezel, Miguel and Bugoy. The show will have its finals by the third week of September, to be replaced by "Fear Factor." Meantime, Cesar Montano cannot leave yet for the US as the show he’s hosting, "The Singing Bee," is extended again due to consistent high ratings. It’s supposed to end last Friday but now, it’s extended again for another two weeks. Two of its undefeated champs who won millions, Rachel Alejandro and Aiza Seguerra, are now staging their back to back concert at the Metro Bar on West Avenue this Friday, August 29, called "Avenue Bee" because, aside from being "Singing Bee" champs, both Rachel and Aiza also performed together in the hit Broadway show, "Aveue Q"

***

Karylle proved that she’s such a good sport. In "SOP" last Sunday, she was only seen in the opening number then willingly made herself scarce to give way to boyfriend Dingdong Dantes and his screen partner, Marian Rivera, who helped host the entire show to promote "Dyesebel" and their birthday powwow at the Big Dome.

"Baka nga naman maasiwa pa sina Dingdong kung eeksena pa siya dun," says one observer. Karylle has previously told us that she’s very supportive of Dingdong’s love team with Marian and she acknowledges the fact that his career turned for the better after he did "Marimar" with Marian and, now, "Dyesebel." Dingdong, in turn, remains faithful to her in spite of the public’s support for his tandem with Marian. We’ve seen Karylle and Dingdong several times on their own and it’s obvious they’re still very much in love with each other. Dingdong is likewise very supportive of Karylle’s career. In the Broadway musical she’s doing now, "West Side Story," she has several kissing scenes with leading man Christian Bautista and this is just perfectly all right with Dingdong.

***