LJ’s handler implies posing for sexy mag to boost career

Richard is also celebrating his seventh anniversary in showbiz. He started as a child actor but he went back to showbiz only when he was 17 and introduced by GMA-7 as a teen actor in "Click." His camp is also jubilant because his show "Kamandag" easily defeated "Lobo," the show of his former partner Angel Locsin in the ratings game. It also promotes his Valentine movie, "My Best Friend’s Girlfriend."

The entire Gutierrez family was there led by their proud parents, Annabelle Rama and Eddie Gutierrez. Eldest sister Ruffa was there. People asked if she’s moving to GMA-7 and she said: "I’m still with ABS-CBN. I’m just here as a guest to support my brothers."

Richard did the opening dance number ala-Justin Timberlake. Then there’s a mini-fashion show with JC De Vera, Alex de Rossi, Francine Prieto, Ehra and Michelle Madrigal, Bubbles Paraiso, and Wendell Ramos, with the two Richards (Gomez and Gutierrez) doing the finale. Janno Gibbs and Ogie Alcasid gave a special rendition of their "Sobrang OJ Pare" portion in "SOP." Joey de Leon was a special guest as he co-starred with Richard and Raymond when they were only 5 years old in "Knock, Knock, Who’s There?" Also on hand to dance with Richard were Chynna Ortaleza (his first ka-love team), Rhian Ramos, Isabel Oli, Bianca King and his leading ladies in "Kamandag": Maxene Maga-lona and Jewel Mische.

An interesting portion shows Ray-mond interviewing Richard, who admitted he’s more scared of their dad than their mom. "Si Mommy, lagi nang galit kaya sanay na ako," he explains. "E, si Dad, quiet lang, kaya pag nagalit tiklop kaming lahat, pati si Mommy." They both took the lie detector test with each of them questioning the other. It was revealed that Raymond doubled for Richard in "Sugo" and he’s peeved each time people tell him he should lose weight.

Richard was surprised when two Kapamilya stars greeted him with a VTR message: ex-girlfriend Anne Curtis who said he’s sweet and caring, and rumored crush KC Concepcion. Did ABS-CBN give them permission to do this?

Of course, Marian Rivera has a special participation as she’s Richard’s leading lady in "My Best Friend’s Girlfriend." Marian has nothing but praises for Richard. "Napakasarap niyang katrabaho dahil kahit pareho kaming pagod sa taping ng respective shows naming ‘Marimar’ at ‘Kamandag,’ very high pa rin ang energy kaya you’d be inspired to give your best in each scene with him," she says.
***

Directors Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos initially gained acclaim for their first effort, "Ilusyon." The two are partners even off cam and they now come up with their sophomore work, "Selda," which is a love triangle film between Ara Mina, Emilio Garcia and Sid Lucero.

"As filmmakers, Ellen and I want to explore various themes and forms of love," says Paolo. "Part na rin ito ng exploration ko of my own sexuality in the past. But we don’t want to label it as a gay film. Hindi ito kabaklaan lang. We want to focus on the more substantial aspect of two straight men who make a connection, maybe not love but emotional affinity. It’s about sexual politics."

The film won the Best Actor Award for Sid Lucero and the Best Supporting Actor Award (tie) for Emilio Garcia and Michael de Mesa (as the abusive jail warden) in the Gawad Tanglaw, an award-giving body partial to gays as they gave the same awards to Rustom Padilla and Chokoleit last year for "Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah."

How did Emilio feel when he did the kissing scene with Sid? "I was so tense kasi first time ko gagawa ng ganun sa kapwa ko lalaki," he says. "Tinutukso nga nila ako ni Ara kasi hindi ako makakain. They told mag-imagine na lang akong si Ara ang hinahalikan ko. Maganda naman ang execution at hindi malaswa."

***

After her breakup with Alfred Vargas, the sweet "Starstruck" teen star LJ Reyes said she’s ready to pose for FHM, as suggested by GMA Artist Center to give her career an extra boost, like what happened to Kat-rina Halili and Iwa Moto. But she has since changed her mind and at the thanksgiving party for "Zaido, Pulis Pangkalawakan", she said she won’t do the sexy pictorial anymore.

"Ayaw talaga ng family ko," she added. "Even our relatives in the States told me na whatever FHM would pay me, tatapatan na lang daw nila ng gayunding halaga. To begin with, hindi naman talaga ako makakalaban kina Katrina at Iwa dahil wala akong big boobs na gaya ng sa kanila. Happy na rin ako sa takbo ng career ko at’ di ko kailangang sumikat sa pagpapa-sexy."

***

Heart Evangelista reveals that she and Jericho Rosales have already planned their wedding.

"There will be two weddings," she says. "One will be a simple beach wedding na intimate family members and friends lang ang invited. The other is a big church wedding which will be more bongga. He’s the one who wants us to have two weddings. Sa dami raw ng pinagdaanan namin sa buhay, kailangang maging magical experience ang weddings namin. But this will not happen in the near future. Ang target date naman is sa 2011 pa so we’ll wait for three more years para mapaghandaan namin nang husto and by that time, I’d be 26 na and be really ready to settle down and start our own family."

Heart is also excited about her four-episode stint in "Your Song" in the story titled "Muntik na Kitang Minahal" airing Sunday afternoon on ABS-CBN. "It’s a beautiful love triangle story about conflict and sacrifice. Yung pagpaparaya alang-alang sa minamahal mo. I’m sure a lot of people who have experienced pain in love will be able to relate to it."

***

Melissa Ricks is happy that the first movie of her love team with Matt Evans, "Shake, Rattle & Roll 9," was a hit during the Metro-Manila Filmfest. "Ang sarap ng feeling mapabilang sa isang top-grossing movie," she says. "When we watched it at punong-puno ng tao ang sinehan, we really felt proud lalo na when they were screaming with fright during our episode."

Melissa turned 18 on January 9 and she had her debut right in "ASAP" where her close friends in showbiz danced the traditional cotillion with her. "It was really a memorable birthday celebration for me and I’d like to thank my ‘ASAP’ family. Later on, I held a get-together with my friends and then I went to the Bethlehem Orphanage in Baliwag, Bulacan. After I joined ‘Star Circle Quest,’ talagang ang daming dumating na blessings sa akin. I did the hit show, ‘Pedro Penduko,’ with Matt where I played Reyna Hiyas. I also did ‘Your Song’ at nagka-movie pa ako, kaya I felt I should share it with the less fortunate kids in the orphanage.

***

Connie Francis, America’s "Sweetheart of Songs" in the ‘60s, will have a Valentine concert at the Araneta Coliseum on February 14. She popularized songs like "Where the Boys Are" (it became a hit movie), "Al Di La," "Wishing it Was You," "Who’s Sorry Now," "You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me," "Mama," "High Noon," "Where is Your Heart," etc. Connie had a horrible experience in 1974 when she was raped by a black man in Long Island who was never caught. Because of that, she had a breakdown and had to seek therapy until 1981. She wrote about it in her autobiography, "Who’s Sorry Now," that became a bestseller. She now wants to turn it into a movie starring Gloria Estefan.

"I wasn’t able to sing for nine years and it’s the most terrible period in my life," she says. "My life was never normal after that. I was all alone in my hotel room and he threatened me with a knife."

She’s excited to perform in Manila. "I’ve been to Japan, Malaysia, Hongkong but never in the Philippines. And I just love Filipinos. I met a lot of Filipinos working in hotels and hospitals and they’re the nicest people in the world, so I’d love to sing for Filipinos."

Her show is titled "The Connie Francis Greatest Hits Show" with the Philippine Orchestra accompanying her. Get your tickets from Ticketnet (911-5555) and SM Mall ticketrons.

***

The whole cast, staff and management team of "Lobo" are ecstatic with the overwhelming response of the whole country to the show that features the first television team-up of Piolo Pascual and Angel Locsin. It’s the No. 1 show among the three new programs that just started on ABS-CBN. Even on the eve of the widely-anticipated teleserye, the show’s stars, promotion group, and top honchos of Star Television already got hundreds of emails, comments and text messages from friends and viewers expressing their excitement for the program. And to their amazement, more congratulatory messages came right after the said program. The performances of Sheryl Cruz, Agot Isidro, Diether Ocampo, Irma Adlawan and other stars in the initial episodes that establishes the story proper all got positive feedback, making viewers eagerly anticipate the appearance of Piolo and Angel. "It means so much to us that a lot of people are sharing our excitement for ‘Lobo’ and we promise to make all future episodes even more thrilling to watch," says "Lobo" directors Cathy Molina and FM Reyes.

***

Someone from the US e-mailed us about our item on Paolo Ballesteros. This is from myetlb@yahoo.com: "Please relay this message to Paolo Ballesteros immediately. Thanks. I read in your column about Paulo’s dad being sick in New York. He is a long lost friend. I really want to get hold of him or the family here in the US. I want Paolo’s dad to know that my kids and I miss him and that we’re praying for him. Please help me get a phone number from Paolo. He can email me in this address. Thanks so much for your help."

(mmhannah143@yahoo.com)

***

Editor’s note: Mario Bautista is on indefinite leave. His column will not appear for a while.