June 2007 Archives

GOOD news -- it turns out that Iza Calzado still has a chance to star in Yam La ranasâ US remake of his own much-lauded Filipino thriller, "Sigaw." While English actress Amelia Warner has indeed been tapped to play the girlfrie nd role in "The Echo," Iza is still being considered for the battered wife char acter, which she played convincingly in "Sigaw." Iza's performance contributed to the filmâs success.

WE have reports, still to be confirmed by director Yam Laranas, that Amelia War ner has been cast as the female lead in "The Echo," the US remake of his acclai med thriller, "Sigaw." We know that Yam was hoping that Iza, who starred in "Sigaw," will reprise her role in the Hollywood version. Amelia, a Liverpool native, is the daughter of B ritish actress Annette Ekblom. The 25-year-old Amelia appeared with Charlize Th eron in "Aeon Flux" as Una Flux. Her other screen credits include "Quills" and "Mansfield Park." Jesse Bradford ("Flags of our Fathers") was announced earlier as the male lead.

"COLMA: The Musical," a film which features all-original music written by a Fil-Am, H.P. Mendoza, opens in San Francisco this weekend. H.P. also stars in the film as Rodel along with other Fil-Am talents, including L.A. Renigen. We first met L.A. and her director, Rich Wong, at the Independent Spirit Awards held in Santa Monica, California earlier this year. Rich was up for the IFC/Ac ura Someone To Watch Award, which was won by the directors of "Cavite," Ian Gam azon and Neill Dela Llana, in the previous year. Here's a photo of L.A. Renigen. Also nominated this year, but in a different category (Best Foreign Film, which is a directorâs award), was Auraeus Solito, for "Ang Pagdadalaga ni (The Bloss oming of) Maximo Oliveros." At the after-party, we wanted to talk some more -- and we were still hungry -- so we all drove to an LA café owned by a Fil-Am, Lem Balagot. Over tapsilog (yes, Lem will serve you that Pinoy breakfast item late at night if thatâs what your heart desires), we discussed "Colmaâ¦" and Auraeusâ new fil m, "Pisay," which he was going to shoot on his return to the Philippines. Rich told us that "Colmaâ¦" will be released in summer, which seemed so distant then. But suddenly, summer is here, and "Colma" is opening this weekend at The Embarcadero Cinema Center in San Francisco. In his e-mail to friends and suppo rters, Rich wrote, "I hope any of you who can go will make it and help support the film on this very critical weekend. It sucks to say that the last two years of my life boil down to this weekend's ticket sales, but it kinda does. Films like âColmaâ are rare to even get to the screen, and that's because the industr y doesn't believe there is an audience for them. We were so lucky to have Roads ide Attractions take the leap and the risk to release this film, and I am so gr ateful and thankful for that. But now it's our turn. We need to show the film i ndustry that there is a need for films like this and that people will go see th em! Please come out and help us tell as many friends/family/neighbors/strangers as you can! If you know people in SF, give them the heads up!" "Colma" is described in the filmâs website this way: "Ever been to Colma? It's that little town right n ext to San Francisco. No? Well, its claim to fame is that the dead outnumber th e living 1,500 to 1 (because of its cemeteries -- don't get any crazy ideas). B ut it's really just like any other sleepy town that rests in the shadow of a hu ge progressive city -- New York's got New Jersey, Philly's got Cherry Hill, San Francisco's got Colma, the list goes on and on. And in these towns, there are kids, and one day, these kids must grow up -- or at least start to. "Best pals Rodel, Billy, and Maribel (H.P., Jake and L.A.) live in Colma and th ey love it! (Not really.) After graduating from high school, the trio find them selves in a state of limbo; fresh out of high school, they are just beginning t o explore a new, unstructured world. Like most kids, they are on the brink of s elf-discovery, but aren't in much of a rush. What is the rush, anyway? They are having too much fun doing nothing or crashing college parties. But when newfou nd revelations and romances challenge their relationships with one another and their parents, the trio must assess what to hold onto, and how to best follow t heir dreams. "Oh, there's one more thing -- they sing. âColma: The Musicalâ boasts 13 musica l numbers featuring all original music by H.P. and is Richardâs feature directo rial debut. It has been awarded the Special Jury Prize at the San Francisco Int ernational Asian American Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festiva l and San Diego Asian Film Festival. It was honored with nominations for the Go tham Award (Best Film Not in a Theater Near Youâ) and the Independent Spirit Aw ard (Someone To Watch Award)." Rich added, "H.P., Jake, LA, Paul Kolsanoff and I will all be out there on Frid ay and Saturday night for the 7:30 pm and 10:00 pm shows for Q & As and als o to mingle and say âHiâ and âThank youâ to everyone we can. Please come and ha ng out with us. We'll likely be at some of the other shows too. This is a speci al weekend for us, so I hope that you can come and be a part of it!" So, San Francisco, how about a show of support for a project that features seve ral outstanding Fil-Am talents?

THIS is Jesse Bradford, the Hollywood actor recently picked to star in the US remake of Yam Laranas' acclaimed thriller in Tagalog, "Sigaw." Jesse, whom we interviewed last October when he played one of the leads in Clin t Eastwoodâs World War II drama, "Flags of Our Fathers," tackles the role playe d by Richard Gutierrez in the original movie. The photo was taken during our pr ess con with him at the Warner Bros. lot. Our congratulations to Yam -- he gets to direct the American version, "The Echo ," as well. It's a tribute to the filmmaking talent he displayed in "Sigaw." An American director could have been chosen to helm "The Echo." For Hollywood to give him the job, thatâs a significant achievement. Yam, way to go! For a change, it is nice to hear that Hollywood is doing a rema ke of a Filipino film and not the other way around. Let's hope the American fil m industry taps more Pinoy stories and talents.

A SURPRISE treat for Joseph Henares and his fellow finalists in the recent Scripps National Spelling Bee championship w as a trip to the White House. "It was surreal," Joseph said to us via e-mail. "Right after the semifinals, we were told that we had an appointment to meet with the First Lady. We were led straight to a waiting bus. With sirens blaring and Secret Service vehicles fol lowing our bus, it was really cool. Mrs. Bush graciously welcomed us in the Blu e Room and spoke with us for about a half hour." For Joseph, however, the highlight of his national Bee experience was "placing in a three-way tie for third place," quite an accomplishment since he was "a fi rst-timer in the nationals." And the most tense moment? "Hearing âaniseikoniaâ (the word that eventually eli minated me from the Bee) because I never heard it before and the etymology was confusing," the 14-year-old Fil-Am boy wrote. When asked which three new words he learned at the Bee were the most interestin g for him, he rattled them off: "Punaise, triticale and aniseikonia. These were my words in the finals, and I've never heard of them before. The first two, I was able to break down and spell correctly. I was not as fortunate with the las t one." And what was the most enjoyable part? "It's hard to pick one," he answered. "It was the whole Bee week, from the Memorial Day barbecue on Monday to the Awards Banquet on Friday. It was an incredible experience, one of the best weeks of m y life. I made a lot of new friends there." As for Joseph's proud parents, John and Jean, they admitted being "extremely ne rvous" while their son was competing. Joseph and his three siblings are being h omeschooled by the couple in Connecticut. "We wanted him to succeed because we know how hard he prepared for it," John said of Joseph. "He had to be perfect e very time he spelled. There was a lot of pressure and no room for even the slig htest slip. Fortunately, he kept his composure the whole time." John added, "We're so proud of Joseph's accomplishment. He was able to concentr ate and focus on what he had to do, i.e. taking it one word at a time and just spelling it right. We're very pleased he went that far." Here's a photo of the Henares family -- Marian, Joseph, Jean and John -- courte sy of Scripps National Spelling Bee. Here's Joseph with his proud dad, John. < img src="http://www.inquirerbloggers.net/nepalesreport/wp-content/uploads/2007/ 06/josephandjohnhenaresdscn0848.JPG" title="josephandjohnhenaresdscn0848.JPG" a lt="josephandjohnhenaresdscn0848.JPG" height="320" width="440" /> And here's Joseph proudly wearing his third place ribbon.

JOHN HENARES, the proud father of Joseph Hen ares (who tied for third place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee champio nship finals held Thursday in Washington, D.C.), e-mailed us about his family's experience: "We had such a great time in the nationals that we are encouraging Joseph's 12-year-old sister, Marian, to take us there again next year." John, who is homeschooling Joseph, Marian and two other children in Connecticut with his wife Jean, quipped, "No pressure on Marian though." John grew up in B acolod City while Jean was raised in La Union. John added, âMy dad in the Philippines just texted me saying that he has seen y our write-up in the front page of the Inquirer today. He told me that his cell phone is busy with congratulatory greetings! One thing though that I'd like to clarify is that Joseph is not eligible to do Spelling Bees anymore. The rules s tate that eligibility is limited only to 8th graders and lower. Joseph is in 8t h grade this year." Well, that puts more pressure on Marian. Here's a photo of Joseph Henares (right) and runner-up Nate Gartke (not eventua l champ Evan O'Dorney, as posted earlier) during a break in the prime time broa dcast of the Scripps National Spelling Bee championship finals in Washington, D .C. Joseph, 14, landed in the top five in his first time at the Bee finals. (Editor's note: Photo courtesy of Mark Bowen/Scripps National Spelling Bee)