Fun to be single

After winning the Metro Manila Film Festival best actress award for "Baler," Anne was also named recently by the USTV Awards as the country’s most popular actress for a TV series in her title role performance in "Dyosa." "Nakakatuwa nga na sunod-sunod ang honors na natatanggap ko, pero heto naman at iniintriga pa rin ako kahit ilang ulit ko na sinabing zero ang love life ko. My focus now is really my work. Life is an adventure at mas maganda palang mag-adventure ka when you’re single na walang magbabawal sa’yo anywhere you want to go. It’s much more fun."

For those who didn’t see Anne’s award-winning performance in "Baler," the most awarded entry in the last filmfest, it is now available on video as officially released by Viva. The DVD has so many added attractions: a history of Baler featurette, behind-the-scenes footage, character vignettes, a tour of the set that recreated the 1898 Baler church, the theatrical trailer, a photo gallery, TV spots, bloopers, deleted scenes, the music video of Sarah Geronimo’s theme song "Ngayon, Bukas at Kailanman," plus the main feature with English subtitles.

"Baler" is the story of star-crossed lovers, Anne and Jericho Rosales, set in the backdrop of the Philippine Revolution when the 57-man Rifle Batallion of the Spanish forces holed up inside the Baler church refusing to surrender for almost one year. It won best picture, best director, best screenplay and also best supporting actor Phillip Salvador as Anne’s revolutionary father. It’s available on VCD at P299, regular DVD at P600, and a special limited edition DVD at P1,000.

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Geoff Eigenmann took the lie detector test in the "Don’t Lie to Me" portion. Here are the questions of host John Lapus to him:

Ngayong magkasama na kayo uli rito ni Heart Evangelista sa GMA-7, balak mo bang ligawan siya uli? He said no and it’s a lie. He later explained: "Hindi ko siya niligawan noon. Love team lang talaga kami. We were very close as friends but we’re both more focused on our work. Nagkita na kami sa ‘SOP’ and I hugged her."

Nag-away raw noon sina Heart and Anne Curtis. Dahil ba sa iyo? He said no and it’s true.

"Pero ang sarap noon kung pinag-awayan ka ng dalawang babae."

His mom Gina Alajar asked him a question on video:

"Nabasted ka ba ng isang babaeng niligawan mo noon?" He said yes and it’s true. He added that it’s a non-showbiz girl.

Geoff formally signed an exclusive contract with GMA-7 last Wednesday. He’s now managed by Perry Lansigan who’s also managing Dingdong Dantes. This is a homecoming for him since he actually started with GMA. His last show with them just was "Love to Love" with Sunshine Dizon, just before he moved to ABS-CBN to do "Hiram" with Heart Evangelista more than four years ago. He says he has nothing against ABS.

"Nagpaalam ako sa kanila nang maayos kasi magaganda rin naman ang naging projects ko sa kanila and I even did a movie with them," he says. "Kaya lang, matagal na akong nakatengga. May ginagawa akong soap with Maja Salvador, pero na-shelve. Maririnig kong may bagong show for me, pero bigla akong mapapalitan. Siguro dahil mas marami silang stars doon."

His first project with GMA-7 is "SRO CInemaserye" where he assumes the role turned down by JC De Vera. "Wala namang problema sa’kin kahit second choice lang ako," he says. "I’ve read the script at maganda siya. I welcome working with Maxene Magalona, Marvin Agustin and Sheryl Cruz."

While with ABS, he was linked to Heart Evangelista and Nikki Gil but he swears he was never on with any of them. "Good friends ko lang sila. As of now, I’m unattached. Gusto ko munang mag-focus sa acting ko lalo ngayong kalilipat ko lang uli sa GMA."

Who else would he like to work with in GMA? "Siempre, si Heart, magkatrabaho sana kami uli ngayong pareho na kaming Kapuso. Also, Iza Calzado and Marian Rivera. Pareho silang magaling."

Geoff lives with his mom Gina Alajar in their Paranaque home. His elder brother Ryan now has his own house with his girlfriend while younger brother AJ is studying in the US.

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To promote his horror movie "Sundo" that opens in theatres tomorrow, Robin Padilla guested in "Showbiz Central" and was interviewed by three women who asked their questions on video. From Iza Calzado (who plays a guest role in the movie appearing in its opening scene): "Kung magpapasundo ba ako sa iyo, susunduin mo ba ko?" Robin: "Basta si Iza ang personal na tatawag sa akin para magpasundo, kahit anong ginagawa ko, iiwanan ko para sunduin siya."

Annette Abrogar Gozon (GMA Films producer): "Kung ipapasundo ka na, what legacy do you want to leave to your fans?"

Robin: "Una ‘yung pagiging totoong tao ko. Ikalawa yung pagmamahal ko sa pagka-Pilipino ko dahil kahit kailan, hindi ako nagpanggap na ako’y taga ibang bansa. Ikatlo yung respeto ko sa pag-aartista ko na lampas sa buhay ko."

The third question was from his leading lady, Sunshine Dizon: "Kung hihingin ng anak ni Nur Misuari ang kamay ng anak mong si Queenie, ibibigay mo ba?"

Robin: "Sinabi na nila ‘yan sa akin noon, pero ang anak ko ang magdedesisyon tungkol diyan. Basta ba mapapaligaya niya ang anak ko, papayag ako."

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Katrina Halili, who plays an aspiring actress in "Sundo" that provides comic relief during the movie’s scary moments, also guested in "Showbiz Central." Obviously, she warned host Raymond Gutierrez not to ask her anymore about the controversy involving her, Dr. Vicky Belo and Hayden Kho, so Raymond was very careful about this. She was asked about the new houses she bought in Quezon City and also in Palawan, where she hails from. She said she bought the house in Palawan so that when she retires from showbiz, she’d just go home there to lead a quiet life. Raymond managed to ask her if she’s still a Belo endorser and she admitted they haven’t gotten in touch with her for a long time, which is just to be expected after she had an affair with Dr. Belo’s boyfriend. Last we heard, she was trying to transfer to Dr. Manny Calayan.

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The cast of "All About Eve" took the Asian cruise on Superstar Virgo to shoot some scenes on board the luxury liner and in Singapore. The scenes of Sunshine Dizon and Alfred Vargas were shot first, followed by Mark Anthony Fernandez and Iza Calzado whose characters, Kenneth and Nicole, will meet each other on board the ship. The ratings of "All About Eve" when it started weren’t very impressive. But hopefully, now that the story will focus more on the younger characters played by Sunshine, Iza, Mark and Alfred, viewership would pick up and the show will rate higher.

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We were touched by the coverage of "Showbiz Central" on the necrological services for Francis Magalona on the last night of his wake. We cried as his kids took turns to speak and say goodbye to their dad. We remembered our own late wife and how we continue to grieve for her. In a way, Francis’ family has the advantage of saying goodbye to him. Not so in our case as our better half just collapsed while at work due to aneurysm and never recovered again. It was all so sudden we didn’t even get to say any goodbye.

But life really takes unexpected turns and who are we to question God’s plan for each of us. Francis M passed away so young at 44. In another footage, there’s a coverage of Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr. and his birthday party. He just turned 82 and has miraculously recovered from a recent stroke. His son Sen. Bong Revilla, Jr. said he’s still undergoing therapy but Sen. Revilla Sr. really looks good even if he has still some difficulty speaking. He was in good spirits and even generated his real estate property in Bacoor so that a hospital may be erected on it. As for Sen. Bong, it was earlier reported that he’s planning to run as vice president in 2010. But he said his dad told him not to rush as he’s still very young. "Mas gusto raw niyang senador muna ako," he said.

As of now, he is all set to start shooting his new "Ang Panday" movie with Iza Calzado and Rhian Ramos as his leading ladies.

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When Sheryl Cruz gave up her acting career to marry Norman Bustos and settled down in the US in 1995, she thought it would be for keeps. In 2005, she returned to Manila as she missed acting and she said it was with the blessings of her husband. But obviously, a long-distance marriage didn’t work for them and they announced that they officially parted ways in March of last year. Her daughter Ashley, now 7, stays with her and she continues to boost the image of Norman in the eyes of their son.

"Siempre, I don’t want naman my daughter to think anything bad about her dad," she says. "Kaya I will never say anything bad about him. He has officially filed for divorce and we’re just waiting for the divorce papers."

Sheryl was given good roles by GMA-7 in high-rating soaps like "Sinasamba Kita" and "Mga Mata Ni Angelita," then she moved to ABS-CBN but her shows there like "Princess Sarah" and "Your Song" didn’t do very well. She returned to GMA-7 in "Luna Mystika," which rated well, and is now cast opposite Marvin Agustin in "SRO Cinemaserye."