Ogie, Regine planning
a quiet wedding?

Regine was asked about this at the presscon of "Are You the Next Big Star," but she says she can’t say anything about their wedding as everything is still hanging in the air until Ogie’s previous marriage to Michelle Van Eimeren gets annulled. But someone insists all the wedding arrangements are already in place and it will be a go as soon as the annulment papers have been released.

So doesn’t Regine miss Ogie since her co-host in "Are You the Next Big Star" is Keempee de Leon?

"Hindi naman puedeng lagi na lang kaming dalawa. It’s good to do separate things so we’ll also miss each other. Right now, ang dami na niyang ibang ginagawa. May ‘Hole in the Wall’ pa siya with Michael V. But we’ll be together again in the next season of ‘Celebrity Duets.’ I’m also happy to be working with Keempee as he’ll give a different flavor in the show."

How will she compare Keempee with Ogie?

"It’s not fair to compare them. Both have their own style although they’re both of the same height and both funny."

Someone asked why she has hosted several talent searches but there’s no one yet who has really made it big?

"It doesn’t mean naman that when you win, superstar ka na agad. It’s just the beginning. You really have to work hard. The network can back you up with exposure, but it’s still up to you to push yourself."

But we beg to disagree that someone has yet to make it big. In "Star for a Night," the winner was Sarah Geronimo and, as we all know, she’s now not just a top singer but also a "Box Office Queen," a status that Regine herself has yet to achieve.

"I’m optimistic that the new batch of contenders will produce big stars," adds Regine. "Kaya nga patuloy ang search natin kasi napakaraming talented singers sa bansa natin. In this batch, talagang maraming magaling, mga 16 years old at ngayon pa lang natin mapapakinggan. I’m really happy to be hosting this kasi sa ganito rin ako galing. But when I won in ‘Bagong Kampeon,’ walang network na sumuporta sa’kin. Suwerte nga ang winners ngayon kasi sinasali sila agad sa ‘SOP’ at binibigyan ng album."

More than 10,000 hopefuls joined their initial screenings and 150 made it to the audition phase. This will be shown at the show’s start this Saturday after "Pinoy Records." The contestants will then face 15 weeks of challenging tasks, workshops and weekly live performances to sharpen their abilities. In the end, there will be two big winners, one male and one female, getting P1 million cash from SM Supermalls and a GMA exclusive management contract and recording contract.

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We guess most writers presume that teeners today are all wild and profligate since they can’t seem to believe that the "Giggerboys" who star in ABS-CBN’s remake of "Boystown" are still virgins.

"Wala pa po talaga kaming karanasan sa sex," says "Pinoy Big Brother: Teens" recruit Robi Domingo, 19, who really looks innocent. "Puede nga kami tawaging ‘Virgin Boys’."

A college freshman at the Ateneo, he says he wants to lose his virginity only with the girl he’s going to marry. "I want to have a long-term relationship na magiging masaya ako habambuhay. I don’t live just for the moment. I think of the long-term effects of my action. The sex act for me is very sacred at gagawin ko lang ‘yun sa tunay na minamahal ko, kaya important din for me na virgin ang mapapangasawa ko. Very conservative po talaga ako."

And we want to commend Robi for having such good values. His co-stars in "Boystown" are the equally innocent-looking AJ Perez, Sam Concepcion, Enchong Dee, and Chris Gutierrez, and the not-so-innocent-looking Dino Imperial and Arron Villaflor.

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What can Jomari Yllana say to the claim of some writers that after he joined "Zorro," Pops Fernandez became one of the judges in "Are You the Next Big Star"?

"Ano ba kayo, pati ba pagiging judge ni Pops dun, lagyan ng ibang meaning?" he laughs. "Siguro, she got a good offer, kaya tinanggap niya, but I don’t think sinundan niya lang ako sa GMA."

How come he became silent after Martin Nievera’s reaction to his statement in "Cool Center" came out?

"Nasabi ko na ang gusto kong sabihin so tapos na ‘yun. I don’t want to carry negative feelings inside of me. I’m not the type. I believe in turning the other cheek. I spoke up dahil may kailangan akong sabihin about his making sawsaw in the Pops issue. Kung magsasalita pa uli ako, mas hahaba pa. Basta I will still look up to him as the ‘Concert King’."

What will he do if sees Pops in the GMA grounds?

"I’ll greet her. Hindi kami nagkakausap but there’s no bad blood between us."

Is it true he’s now dating another girl?

"No. I don’t have the time at hindi rin ako naghahanap. Trabaho na lang muna. I’m still busy with ‘Zorro’ and producing my next concert project with the two Davids."

In "Zorro" this week, Donya Catalina (Pinky Marquez) forces Lolita (Rhian Ramos) to marry Antonio (Richard Gutierrez) but Lolita is in love with Zorro. Don Roberto (Joel Torre) has learned that Antonio is not really his son and he’s mad about this. Antonio is driven out of their house and he stays with a friend of Nana Maria (Sandy Andolong). But Don Roberto later realizes that Antonio is a good man even if he’s not his real son, unlike Ramon (TJ Trinidad) who seems to be in a hurry to get his property. Ramon and his mom Chiquita plan to kill Don Roberto who they pushed off a cliff. Chiquita tells the guardia civil that it’s Antonio who is the culprit and Ramon arrests Antonio, who denies the accusation. What they don’t know is that Roberto has not really been killed.

People called Taong Pula succeed in helping Antonio escape from jail even if he’s wounded. Chiquita tells their tenants that Ramon will now manage their hacienda.

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We somehow pity Katrina Halili. She must be crying torrents right now. The last time we talked to her, she said she feels relieved that the furor over her and Hayden Kho has simmered down and the public seems to have forgotten about it. But now that someone posted her video with Hayden on the internet and everyone can view it, the issue was revived with a vengeance. So who is the malicious person who posted it on the net? Is he really intent on ruining Katrina’s career?

In fairness, Katrina demonstrated how good a dancer she is while in her bra and panties. The video is said to have been taken while they were rehearsing for their "Careless Whisper" sensual dancing number in "Celebrity Duets" almost two years ago. People speculate that what happened between them after that sexy dance must be even more incriminating.

This should be a stern warning for all celebrities. If you’re doing a "crime," don’t record it anymore as it will only haunt you later.

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A martial arts film you should not miss is "Ip Man," the filmbio of the pioneer in Wing Chun fighting who became the grandmaster of the legendary Bruce Lee. It’s such a big hit in Asia that a sequel is now already being made.

The movie starts in 1935 just before the Sino-Japanese War erupts. In Foshan, Guangdong province, there are plenty of martial arts training schools, but the top fighter is no doubt Ip Man, a model of humility who fights those who challenge him behind close doors so they can be saved from public humiliation after he beats them up. The Wing Chun style is not aggressive or violent, so many say it’s effeminate since it was initially created by a woman. But in the hands of Ip Man, it becomes a deadly weapon.

The action scenes are cleverly choreographed with humor and inventive style by top action star Sammo Hung who starred in the American TV series "Martial Law." When Japanese forces invade Foshan in 1938, Ip and his family became impoverished. When his wife (Lynn Hung) gets sick, the formerly rich Ip has no choice but to work at a coal mine with other former martial arts experts who are exploited by the Japanese commander, Gen. Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), who offers them rice for them to fight his Japanese fighters. When Liao is killed, Ip is forced to fight ten Japanese guys who he subdued quite easily.

The movie works mainly because Donnie Yen is perfect as Ip, portraying the role brilliantly with dignity, grace and Zen-like calm as the first person to openly teach Wing Chun Kung Fu to the public and which was first displayed in films by Bruce Lee. The movie is capably directed by Wilson Yip and nothing is spared to recreate Foshan in the 1930s, from the busy street scenes to the period design of the cotton factory. All in all, we can say "Ip Man" is comparable to the best kung-fu flicks we’ve seen, like Jackie Chan’s "Drunken Master" flicks and Tsui Hark’s "Once Upon a Time in China" with Jet Li. We can’t wait to see its sequel which will featu re the character of the young Bruce Lee as Ip’s student. We wonder who they’ll recruit to play the young Lee.

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