My Filipino connection (FC)

IN MY column marking the second anniversary of Only IN Hollywood "Constantly fishing for the Filipino connection" posted on April 9 at INQUIRER.net, I used the term "FC" for the first time . FC, short for Filipino connection, is a tongue-in-cheek term that I came up wit h to call a comment or reply from a Hollywood celeb, a line from a movie, TV sh ow, stage play, musical or anything that has to do with the Philippines that I can play up in my writing. The readers' response to my FC anecdotes was heartwarming. These encounters inv olved recent Oscar winners Helen Mirren (her late brother lived and loved in th e Philippines) and Forest Whitaker (in the country for a film shoot, he stayed in a house in Balic-Balic, Manila when the 1986 People Power Revolution broke o ut), Robin Williams (married to a Fil-Am, he cracked me up with his balut anecdotes), and director Oliver Stone (filmed award-winning movies in Iloco s Norte, Cavite, Laguna and other Philippine provinces). Some readers shared their own FC notes. Here's one from Maria Cynthia Hortelano about "30 Rock," which recently won for Alec Baldwin a Golden Globe for Best A ctor in a TV Series (Comedy): "One of the show's trailers has Alec Baldwin's character, Jack, meeting his ass istant who is usually scruffy but this time showed up for work in a pink pastel suit. He commented: 'You should dress like that everyday for work.' She shot b ack, 'Yeah, if I were president of the Philippines.' It's really funny because the dress really is very GMA."