ENTERTAINMENT UPDATES

2018:  THE YEAR THAT WAS By Direk Romm Burlat If only I could extend 2018 beyond this day, I would do it with a smile on my face. However, some good things never last. We have to leave yesterday behind. We have to leave 2018 behind. Tomorrow, we have to face another year.... 2019 which is the Year of the Earth Pig. Philippines had a lot to be thankful for in 2018. The country has produced its fourth Miss Universe in the person of Catriona Gray .  In sports,  Senator Manny Pacquiao defeated  Lucas Matthysse in the 7th round via knockout and won the WBA Welterweight title. In the modelling arena, Filipina-American model Kelse Merritt made the country proud for being the first ever Filipino to walk the  Victoria's Secret Fashion show. And Pinay singer from Cavite Bella Santiago won as grand winner of X Factor Romania. Personally, 2018 is one of my best  years. Except for a few broken friendships and issues to some people I gave my full trust to, t...

JAY-R RAMOS: The Next Important Star in 2019 by Direk Romm Burlat There are dime a dozen youngsters who want to test showbiz waters. Some have looks. Some have talents. Some have guts. Some have connections. Some may have just luck. I don't really agree with the last one. I would rather call it destiny. One aspirant who has the makings of a star is Jay-R Ramos . Some showbiz people said he looks like Gary Estrada or Mikael Daez but a lot commented that he is the next Richard Gomez. But this Saudi-born and raised actor has an identity of his own. Jay-R Ramos is a singer and plays drums, guitar, piano and ukelele. Because of his talent in singing, he qualified as a contestant in the now-defunct Pinoy Boyband Superstar of ABS-CBN. Jay-R is also a model. He did some commercials and print ads. His first TVC was for Jollibee with Sarah G and Darren Espanto . He was the  lead of Solane's Mothers' Day commercial. Moreover, Jay-R is a grand winner of Boardwalk Model s...

  A ROMMantic Rise to Stardom: Sheki, Jay-R and Ailla make waves in 2018 by Direk Romm Burlat The year which is about to close has become a successful journey to the ROMMantics . In fact, the 30th Asia Pacific Awards bestowed the Best Talent Management of 2018 to ROMMantic Talent Management. There used to be plenty of them under the ROMMantic roof but the number has been trimmed down leaving the talented loyal ones in the stable. Although the films the ROMMantic Entertainment Productions have produced and directed in 2018 were starred by ROMMantics , there are three of them who have quiet performed well this year. Sheki Arzaga , who is a singer-dancer, was a two-time daily winner of Tawag ng Tanghalan sa Showtime. But her biggest break was her proclamation as the Grand Winner of MNL48 , an all-girl sing-and-dance Filipino idol group which is the Philippine chapter of Japanese pop group phenomenon AKB48 . There were a multitude of young girls who auditioned for this c...

As expected the film that tackles an LGBTQ theme ran with 11 awards in last night's Metro Manila Film Festival's Gabi Ng Parangal. Rainbow Sunset won the Best Picture Award . It is one-of-a-kind story of an old man who comes out as gay to his children to take care of his cancer-stricken lover. The children have different ways of looking at this controversial situation. The movie pulls a lot of heartstrings but from time to time it will make you smile. Yesterday, before the "parangal", I made a fearless forecast on who will take home the awards this year. Out of the 16 categories which I considered, I got 12 of them right which means I got 75% average which was not bad at all. I considered Tony Mabesa in the lead role along with Eddie Garcia and Gloria Romero so I had Tirso Cruz III  as best supporting actor on my list. However, the MMFF judges consider Mabesa's role as supporting so he ended up getting the statute which was well deserved. For the three best ...