Potential Runaway Winner "GREEN BONES" is GMA's Entry for MMFF 2024

"Green Bones" stars during the premiere night (photos by Kapuso PR Girl on FB) 

While I was not able to watch the screening or participate in Green Bones press conference a couple days ago, I'm quite sure they're bringing their guns out for GMA's entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival 2024. Why? The cast includes Dennis Trillo and Ruru Madrid, not to mention an ensemble cast of award winning actors like Alessandra de Rossi, Michael de Mesa, Iza Calzado, Nonie Buencamino plus the same people who worked on hit film "Firefly" that won Best Picture and Best Screenplay last year. Top caliber actors like them would just have this for a snack because no doubt, Dennis Trillo will surely perform above and beyond expectations. He plays the role of Domingo Zamora, a man who got jailed because of the murder of his own sister. Ruru on the other hand will be depicting Xavier Gonzaga who's a committed prison guard who ultimately wants Zamora to remain locked up, no matter what it takes. 

While the story would have begged for action sequences, it delves more into drama surrounding the myth behind green bones, where their remains become the measure of their goodness/virtue. Ruru's character won't be believing Zamora's change, because he's got history with matters of senseless crimes, as his own sister was a victim of it. 

This will be quite interesting to see because from the looks of those who have watched it in advanced screenings, people were trying their best not to cry, but failed miserably. This is the handy work of the same "Firefly" director Zig Dulay who's undoubtedly done remarkable pieces on TV with the likes of "Maria Clara at Ibarra" and "Sahaya" amongst his stellar work that won awards in different festivals here and abroad. Not to mention the work poured in by GMA Public Affairs' JC Rubio, legendary writer and National Artist Ricky Lee and last year's Best Screenplay victor Anj Atienza. They are also with some of my favorite actors Mikoy Morales, Royce Cabrera, Kylie Padilla, Victor Neri, Ruby Ruiz, Sofia Pablo, Sienna Stevens and Enzo Osorio plus more on their ensemble cast. I wouldn't be surprised why this was already tapped by Columbia Pictures which is the flagship distribution unit of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. They'll be handling international release for it which just tells how qualified this Filipino film is in winning even more categories this year!

This is in celebration of the 50th year Anniversary of the MMFF, congratulations GMA and to all the artists! You've got something special coming out this Christmas and the whole family can watch it as it is rated G!

SPARKLE with Sanya Lopez, Gabbi Garcia, Ysabel Ortega, Bianca Umali, Derrick Monasterio, Ruru Madrid, Miguel Tanfelix, Khalil Ramos and Mr. M

Spent the evening with some of GMA's brightest stars as they talk about the huge change that happened with GMA Artist Center, they now call it SPARKLE. This was launched during the Kapuso Countdown which is their annual new year's celebration. Today, Mr. M chose a handful of them so we could get to know them more.

Sanya Lopez says "Of course when Sparkle leveled up, I'm more excited to also level up our talents. The name might have changed, but we continue to grow, they will be there to guide us all. It's a little nerve wracking, but I hope I get to work with the others because I've only worked with Gab, Ruru and Derrick. For me, I believe if you are a good person, that's already a Sparkle. Your attitude, your being humble, you feel that grow through other people because you have a good heart. For me, First Yaya I feel made me Sparkle the most.


Miguel Tanfelix on the other hand adds "If I would say something to my younger self, I won't spoil anything. I'll just say you're doing good. Being part of this will make it better, they're there to guide us to work on our craft and to constantly push us. They will drive us to even better things. I want to also work in a film with Khalil, I really learned a lot during our talks off cam. I am grateful and excited. I feel people forget what we do, but if you do it wholeheartedly with the right intentions, you'll inspire people."

Ysabel Ortega says "We're working hard to level up ourselves, super excited to be part of this family. They will make us level up as well, to meet that standard, to work hard, inspired and motivated. I have only worked with Miguel, so seeing them here I want to work with them all."

Good looking man Khalil Ramos adds "Put all your money in bitcoin. I'll tell my younger self to brace for the ride of your life, to look at your beginnings and spend more time with family. In this evolving industry, it's nice to have a team with Sparkle, they believe with I do and the skills I posess. In terms of work, I now have a lot of people to work with. I look forward to have a productive year with Sparkle. The one I have only worked in this group is Gabbi, hopefully that will change and perhaps create content one day, we have a lot of things to do.

Bianca Umali says "To all the dreamers, we all want you to know that anything is possible. This is a milestone for all of us, we have our own paths, but they're not here to change, but to lay more roads and have more discoveries which we cannot do alone. I have nothing but a grateful heart, I want to work my compatriots here because I've only had work with Miguel and Derrick, so it's going to be a nice opportunity to do that now. Aside form Mano Po, I have a series with HBO, hopefully to premiere this year so I hope people watch that. I'll also have a soap by the end of the year, and I've launched my own YouTube channel so I can share more of myself with everyone. I hope I get to work with Ruru."

Gabbi Garcia shares what she feels sand says "I'm excited to see more collaborative work. Us 8 we are pretty close off cam and I'm excited to grow this year! They give us the right direction and I am blessed to be part of this group. I am grateful for my team for trusting me, it's a big deal, I want to work more with them in a show, I haven't worked with Miguel, Bianca and Ysabel. I've known them for years, but haven't had the chance to do that, hopefully this year. Encantadia for me was where I sparkled the most, because I was the youngest there. After that, I was stronger, a lot better because I learned from them."

Ruru Madrid says "If there's something that I would say to my younger self, is to never stop dreaming. Even if you fail, you'll get there, you'll never stop learning. It's just a challenge and you'll appreciate it more when you get it. It's a challenge for all of us, because it's  a huge thing to trust us with this. We need to give our 100 percent in inspiring more people, entertain them, and give us the challenge to step up. The ones here are very talented in their respective shows, it's a big thing to be here, it's a challenge to prove myself, I want to explore more with the projects that I accept and I'm sure with Sparkle it'll happen. I haven't worked with Bianca, Khalil and Ysabel, I am excited if we could do that, it'll be something fun. Lolong is a really hard project, I have prepared for that a lot. I made my YouTube channel a venue to talk to my co actors, to learn from their hardships and struggles, to put up businesses, to inspire people. Hopefully I'd be able to work with Bianca because she's very talented, very professional and I'd like to learn from her too. It's a challenge for all of us to leave something for people who watch our shows, I want to show something different everyday. I don't want to stop learning, to only live with what I have, I want to give inspiration to others and even other artists of Sparkle. I was initially shocked about being part of this project, for me, I just want to bring back their trust, to work harder, there are a lot more good looking people out their but they gave us their trust."

Derrick Monasterio says "This is just the start for us. All I know is that I'm here to improve, and hopefully it will show in my new projects and movies. I have almost worked with all of them except Khalil and Ysabel, hopefully it'll be easy now to do that in one show, soon. Calling someone by their name, it impacts them, it's something personal, smile at them, these simple ways can make their day change, and it'll be something that could also benefit us in the future. I was driving earlier when I found out that I'm part of Sparkle 8 and I thank the Lord that he gave me strength to be part of this. Hope we flourish in our own little ways."

Mr. M "Get a nice light and put lot of shiny things on you (he kids), you have to do more work, you have to make it shine. We want to rebrand Artist Center and give it a face lift, give it more vigor, make it younger and better. It was already good, but we just want to be more with these artists. We're raring to have more quality work, I suggested it a couple of months ago and Lorenz Tan came up with the name. When I look at someone, I see a spark, you see the garbo, and it's something special, you just feel it when you see someone. After a while you get to know their work, their passion, their commitment and discipline, like these 8 guys and gals, even then I've seen how they have grown in GMA. I've seen that in Dingdong Dantes and Alden Richards. These days, you need to have something in them that make them love their profession. These young men and ladies are just the start, we want to revitalize Artist Center and I think Sparkle just does that. It embodies that change, you can expect a better quality of work from these artists and this system that we work will have them in rigorous training and workshops so we can see them as GMA's brightest stars this year. I don't think things changed with social media, the formula has been the same. We still don't know if it's better or worse, because it has given us more opportunities to enhance the progress of the artist, but also, there are some bad things about it. The system will stay the same, you have to look for the Spark, we try and work with them to complete that. It helps, but sometimes it's buwisit! (he kids)."

There's nowhere to go but up as you see these SPARKLE artists shine even brighter this 2022. Hope we get to talk to them more soon!

LEGAL WIVES Showcases Cultural Differences on GMA

They've been doing good these past few days and with good reason. This is drama, severely cultural and depicts a relationship that isn't much of a norm in conservative Philippines. One man, married to three women, this is a series called LEGAL WIVES. This stars Dennis Trillo, Ms. Alice Dixson, Andrea Torres and Bianca Umali.

We got to talk to the cast a few days ago including Dennis Trillo who plays Ismael Makadatu. In a nutshell, polygamy is something that's a bit of taboo in the country. It's much of a cultural difference really, of understanding how society and these ladies to accept that they can be loved by one man. Aside from that, they're showing a couple of things that are a bit controversial like the harmful "Rido" wherein one clan tries to eliminate the other because of their differences. It will be explained in this series a bit, but not in whole because this isn't a documentary or news item. This also stars Derrick Monasterio, Ashley Ortega, Al Tantay, Juan Rodrigo, Irma Adlawan, Maricar de Mesa, Tommy Abuel, Bernard Palanca, Ms. Cherie Gil, Abdul Raman, Mon Confiado, Shayne Sava, Kevin Santos, indie actor Kiko Matos, Jay Arcilla and Brent Valdez. This is directed by Zig Dulay who also did Bianca Umali's Sahaya in the past.

Watch the show, maybe you'll see how something so crazy like this makes sense.