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Paquito Diaz, one of the country’s most popular kontrabidas, succumbed to pneumonia at 9:45 Thursday night at his residence in Daraga, Albay. He was 78.
Only a week ago, a tabloid reported that Paquito had died, prompting his wife Nena (sister of actor Bob Soler) to comment that when a person is rumored to have died, it meant that he would live longer. Paquito had been wheelchair-bound after he suffered a stroke in 2004 that paralyzed him. He was one of FPJ’s favorite kontrabida. In 1965, he won a FAMAS Best Supporting Actor award for Ang Mananandata, an FPJ starrer. His brother Romy Diaz, also a kontrabida, died a few years ago.
Introduced in Premiere Productions’ Pandora in 1955, Paquito graduated from FEU where he was a basketball player. When he was diagnosed with pneumonia, Paquito was confined at the ICU of a hospital in Albay. He got better and was brought home where he died. Paquito is survived also by his children, among them actors Cheska and Joko; and 14 grandchildren.
His remains are at the Salvacion Funeral Homes in Legazpi City. They will be transferred to the Funeraria Paz at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City tomorrow, March 6, and will be cremated.
FASTER seems like a simple revenge movie, but it really is layered with some high quality, rich storytelling. The integrity of the movie's quality is so high that it feels like up there on the level of "No Country for Old Men"
With spitting saliva and a gritting teeth, I say it with pride - "I LOVE THIS MOVIE!" It was awesome! The characters and the direction of the story, it's unquestionably applaudable. For those who love action that is grounded in realism and a good storyline, this is a high two-thumbs-up, Full Price movie.
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS is the fifth installment of the X-Men film series and will probably be best understood by general audiences as a prequel to the first three movies. The film, set during the 1960s, will focus on the relationship between Professor X and Magneto and the origin of their groups, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants.
"Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men."
The film stars James McAvoy as Professor X (you will remember him as the main character in the movie WANTED) and Michael Fassbender as Magneto (many of us saw him in the movie 300 as one of the spartan warriors). Other cast members include Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence and Lucas Till. The film is mostly being shot in England and parts of the United States. Fox envisions this film as the first in a new trilogy. X-Men: First Class is scheduled for release on June 3, 2011.
To those familiar with the comic books, when you say "X-Men First Class", it refers to the original first X-men characters; the first mutant class that went under the tutelage of Professor Xavier; namely, Scott Summers (Cyclops), Jean Grey (Marvel Girl), Bobby Drake (Iceman), Warren Worthington (Angel), and Hank McCoy (Beast). But this upcoming movie "X-men; First Class" appears that it will not focus mainly on these characters, rather it will focus on the characters of Professor Xavier and his once best friend Erik Lensherr (Magneto) when they first sought out to save mutants from the prejudices of mankind. The First Class referred in this movie will refer to characters such as Sean Cassidy a.k.a. Banshee, Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok, Raven Darkholme a.k.a. Mystique, & Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast, as well as lesser known characters such as Riptide, Darwin, and Azazel. The villains in this movie will be the aristocratic mutant group The Hellfire Club.
The X-Men Universe have a rich history, and it is actually a good thing that this new "reboot" of the franchise goes back to its roots in order to tell its great stories properly and with a hopefully decent continuity and faith to the source material.
In April 2006, one month before the release of X-Men: The Last Stand, writer Zak Penn revealed he was contracted to write and direct a spin-off. He later explained in 2007 that "the original idea was to have me do a young X-Men spin-off, a spin-off of the young X-Men characters. But someone came up with a pretty interesting idea; it was this guy who worked with me named Mike Chamoy, he worked a lot with me on X3. He came up with how to do a young X-Men movie which is not what you'd expect." Penn compared the idea to the comic book series X-Men: First Class, and Josh Schwartz was writing the screenplay in May 2008. Schwartz's writing assignment also included the possibility of directing of X-Men: First Class, but Fox approached Bryan Singer, director of X-Men and X2, in October 2009. The original idea was to green-light the film depending on the success of X-Men Origins: Magneto, but Singer added elements of the Magneto spin-off, merged into a new script by Jamie Moss. In addition to Moss, Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz were hired to rewrite the script. Miller compared it tonally to Singer's work on the first two X-Men films. Singer dropped out of the director's position in March 2010 due to his commitment to a Jack the Giant Killer adaptation. He formalized his duties from director to producer. Matthew Vaughn signed on as Singer's replacement in May 2010. With his hiring, Fox announced a June 3, 2011 release date, and Jane Goldman was hired for another rewrite. Vaughn wanted to model X-Men: First Class after the 2009 Star Trek film, taking the franchise in a new direction with a fresh, young cast. An action scene that was to have been set in a dream sequence with revolving rooms was scrapped after the release of Inception. The 1960s setting of X-Men: First Class will be technologically inspired by the James Bond films of that era, also adding to the international feel of the characters. The X-Men costumes will look much more as they did in the original comics compared with the first three films.
Fox envisions X-Men: First Class as the first film of a new trilogy. Donner compared the franchise plans to the darker, more mature content of the Harry Potter film series. X-Men: First Class is scheduled for release on June 3, 2011.
Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that Henry Cavill will play Clark Kent/Superman in the Zack Snyder-directed Superman movie:
Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.
The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”
Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.
Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
So how about the Female Lead?
Alice Eve, Diane Kruger and Rosamund Pike have emerged as the three actresses being considered for the unknown character, says the trade. Variety is reporting that these three actresses are in contention for the role - though it's not Lois Lane.
Not Lois Lane? Latino Review's insider information states that Lois Lane will still be in the movie but perhaps a smaller role? They're probably saving her up for a sequel. Since this Snyder-directed movie is under the watch of Chris Nolan, it's possible that they're having the same route with Nolan's Batman Begins, where they created the character Rachel Dawes, a character made only for this movie version, to play off the main hero's character development in the origin movie. But Latino Review says that the three actresses cited were auditioning for the role of Ursa, who Superman fans will remember from the 1980 sequel Superman II as General Zod's second-in-command. Snyder has mostly denied that General Zod would appear in his movie although that may have changed since he was last asked, and the choice of a European actress would follow in line with her casting in the earlier sequel in which she was played by British actress Sarah Douglas. I personally think that's borderline ridiculous, but hey, if Nolan is involved there's that assurance that it wont be all that bad.
Filming is expected to start this summer for a December, 2012 release.
Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Christopher Nolan stated, "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story."
In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, "I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies."
Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven.
The Dark Knight Rises is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
THE SINENG PAMBANSA Iloilo Film Festival 2011 report
by Reymundo Salao
The City of Iloilo and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) have launched, this week, the first major Philippine film festival outside Metro Manila, the Sineng Pambansa Iloilo Film Fest 2011, the first of what is destined to go on as an annual series. This film fest showcases the country's best films made by the "indie" film community. The screenings of the Film Fest is actually FREE ADMISSION, you don’t have to pay a single centavo to watch these movies. Regular audiences would get to watch internationally acclaimed Pinoy movies like Himpapawid, Bakal Boys, Yanggaw, and many more.
According to the chairman of the FDCP, Briccio Santos, there are plans to make this event an annual series, with a wider scope that would include short films and ilonggo films, additionally the next festival will also possibly one that would include international films, and would include workshops and symposiums to go along with it. He is very much happy that the FDCP has this mutual cooperation with the city government to make this event possible.
The event formally opened last Wednesday January 19, 2011, first with a press conference at Hotel Del Rio in the afternoon, then on that evening was a red carpet event and cocktail party which was followed by an opening program that formally launches the event. That program featured a number of impressive musical numbers both locally here in Iloilo, and from Metro Manila as well. The movie that was screened directly after the program was Jim Libiran’s HAPPYLAND. The entire Film Festival will be a series of screenings of various films on SM Cinema 2 and 3, from January 19, 2011 up until January 21, 2011. The Festival closed in the late afternoon of January 21, 2011 with the closing film EMIR by Chito Rono, which was greeted by an overwhelming number of audiences that it literally filled up the SM Cinema 3. It even kinda reminded me of the good old days of moviewatching, when audiences would literally sit on the floor because the moviehouse is really filled up. A fitting ending to what is a milestone event for our city and for Philippine Cinema, of what is destined to be a great film festival that will continue for generations.
The Sineng Pambansa Iloilo Film Festival 2011 will be held from January 19, 2011 to January 21, 2011. The venue of the event will be on SM City Cinema (specifically Cinemas 2 and 3). Several Movies will be shown on the said dates, and on some specific dates, the screening will be coupled with a Question and Answer segment between the audience and the Director/Producer/Stars in attendance.
Here are the Screening Schedules of the Festival:
DAY 1 - January 19, 2011 Wednesday
Cinema 2
10:30 am - Lola
12:30 pm - Bakal Boys
2:30 pm - Red Shoes
4:30 pm - Halaw
Cinema 3
11:00 am - Sigwa
1:00 pm - Kano
3:00 pm - Himpapawid
6:00 pm - [Reception/Cocktails]
7:00 pm - Festival Opening Program (Filipiniana Attire) / Featured Film: Happyland
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DAY 2 - January 20, 2011 Thursday
Cinema 2
11:00 am - Red Shoes (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
1:30 pm - Sigwa (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
4:00 pm - Lola (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
6:30 pm - Kano (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
Cinema 3
10:30 am - Happyland (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
1:00 pm - Sampaguita (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
3:30 pm - Himpapawid (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
6:00 pm - Yanggaw (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
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DAY 3 - January 21, 2011 Friday
Cinema 2
11:00 am - Lola
1:00 pm - Red Shoes
3:00 pm - Yanggaw
5:00 pm - Sampaguita
Cinema 3
10:30 am - Bakal Boys (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
1:00 pm - Halaw (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
3:30 pm - Sigwa
5:30 pm - Festival Closing Film: Emir (Director/Star in Attendance + Q & A)
The Iloilo City government will host the screening of some eleven independent films for free in Cinemas 2 and 3 of SM City Iloilo starting January 19 to 23, 2011.
The critically acclaimed indie movies are the feature films in the “Sineng Pambansa Iloilo Film Festival 2011”, a project spearheaded by the city government in cooperation with Film Development Council of the Philippines which is under the Office of the President.
The 11 films include “Lola”, “Sigwa”, “Red Shoes”, “Bakal Boys”, “Halaw”, “Himpapawid” (Manila Skies), “Sampaguita”, “Yanggaw”, “Kano”, “Happy Land”, and “Emir”.
According to the Iloilo City Information Office “Yanggaw” of Richard Somes is the sole Ilonggo feature included in the film festival.
The City Information Office said that Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog worked out the realization of the film fest following his meeting with FDCP Chairperson, Usec. Briccio Santos as part of his efforts to show the Ilonggos’ awareness in movies, culture and arts. Likewise, the event will highlight the city’s capability to host film event and draw art patrons.
Some of the dignitaries invited to attend the formal launching and grand opening program on January 19 are the Ambassadors of France, Italy and other European countries.
Also, expected to perform during the program include renowned Filipino pianist Raul Sanico and popular Ilonggo artists.
The three-day event will be a prelude to this year’s Dinagyang Festival on January 21 to 23. (PIA)
