JODI STA. MARIA Launches The JSM Channel

Jodi Sta. Maria has always been very good at her craft. As an actress, she has gone miles and bounds from being that Star Magic teen that did iconic shows Gimik, Flames, Jologs and Tabing Ilog. 

Her recent stint in doing a Philippine adaptation of Broken Marriage Vow has earned her the highly coveted Best Actress Award for a Leading Role at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, and still is eager to re-invent herself. A few days ago, she announced her newest venture... and created a new YouTube channel called The JSM Channel. Her goal is to put out light and inspirational content and she gave us a glimpse of it too.

Jodi says "How much am I willing to share? It's not going to be an open book, it's just going to be parts of my life that I want to share and only those that would give valuable lessons. If they learn something from it, then it's good! I don't want to say it's a platform for me to practice my degree, just a place to share what is valuable to me, and if someone relates to it, then it's good. If there's something to talk about, we'd do it there. For now, my focus would be the JSM channel, and I still have a few projects this year, please watch out for that. 13 years ago, the idea for this started but it was just the pandemic that happened. I couldn't say it's the right time, but life just gave me so many reasons, it's not something that was given to me in an instant. This is a dream project, and am looking forward to produce more shows in the coming months."

When they asked about Thirdy, she says "I asked my son about him guesting in one or more episodes but he's busy with school. Having a platform means you should use it responsibly, use it wisely, instead of just tearing people down, you ask yourself if it's something you can be proud of."

Jodi has 3 shows on the channel now like Live Light, Let's Drink to That, JSM Travel and Tours. She will be with AC Soriano and Cheena Crab on Let's Drink to That to give the low down on what happened in the news that week (while keeping it light). Needless to say, AC and Cheena were really fun to watch and banter with so if you are fond of that, go watch it on the JSM channel. 

ALEX CALLEJA and THE COMEDY CREW to Perform at Dubai Comedy Festival

I could have made a book out of the conversations we had with The Comedy Crew and Alex Calleja a few nights ago.  Aside from the laughs, we had a glimpse of the serious side of this emerging industry. We got schooled about how they've managed to survive the pandemic and the tough industry per se. Alex is no stranger to comedy, he's been doing this for ages that much of the comedians in his team attested they watched him when they were in primary school (emphasis on he's that old).

Aside from Alex Calleja, The Comedy Crew is composed of Israel Buenaobra, Mak Navarez, Jeps Gallon, Yuki Horikoshi, Winer Aguilar, Doc Ramon Cabochan, Anthony Andres, Dawit Tabonares, Rex Milora, Grease Junio, Schneider Maxino, Marlon Cadag, Franz Opinaldo, Victor Obera, CS Dela Pena, Professor David Blattner, Jimberly Villanueva and Trixie Corpez.

 Here's some serious stuff we talked about first during the press conference

 

Here's where Alex Calleja shared why he should tell new comedians about changing their acts and not commit career ending mistakes early on as part of The Comedy Crew

 Here's some of the jokes they cracked that evening!

Alex is behind the countless comedy shows in different networks. You could say he had his baptism of fire in the late 2000's and learned the ropes. He knew where comedians failed (shared his secrets so they don't make career ending decisions) and made sure no one is left behind. This sparked the formation of The Comedy Crew. These dudes are funny AF, and we had them do a few samples of their kind of comedy during the press conference. Yes, it's quite cerebral. I asked if they see the need to educate the Filipino crowd  but he says "First of all, it's not the fault of the audience if they didn't laugh at out jokes. The fault is ours. There's no such thing as an uneducated audience, it's our responsibility to adjust. If you know your audience, you choose a joke appropriate for them. That's the wrong mentality. It's like having them watch a movie and if they didn't like your soundtrack... it's not going to be their fault. You need to impress them with whatever genre you produce. You are paid to perform and if they don't laugh at your jokes, it's the comedians fault. It's why we have house rules at the beginning of the show. We use our voice most of the time, and we only ask for the audience's attention by turning off their phones for the duration of the show. We also tell them to tell us if they get offended in one or more acts, we also ask much of the crowd to occupy the front seats because it'll be a mess when they arrive late, we don't want that to happen. We only ask for people to be on time, and that's enough. In fact, I didn't know we were going to talk like this during the press con, I almost want to cry instead of promoting our show in Dubai."

It's so nice to see our brand of comedy will be seen on an international stage and these guys are crazy good.

For those who would want to experience their antics and kind of comedy, Alex and The Comedy Crew (Israel Buenaobra, Jeps Gallon, Mark Navares and Imah Dumagay) is performing at the Comedy Masala in Singapore from March 25 to 26 (sold out shows) and at the Dubai Opera this coming April 13 (Saturday) as part of the celebrations of Dubai Comedy Festival. You can get tickets for the Dubai event from dubaicomedyfest.ae. They also have a show in The Astbury in Poblacion on April 6 at 7PM and Laughtrip Olongapo-Subic (a tour) on March 29, 30, 31 at The Palace in Olongapo, Cork Room at Subic Bay and Source Coffee in Subic too. 

You may visit their NEW websites www.alexcalleja.com or www.thecomedycrew.com for more information about their shows. You can also follow Alex Calleja's or The Comedy Crew's official Facebook page for more details about it.

MIKOY MORALES Lands 2 Movies in Cinemalaya

It's been a while since we've had the chance to talk to Mikoy Morales. The accomplished actor, singer and comedian has gone leaps and bounds since he started his career in Protege. There has been a huge change in his persona, as he admits it has kept him a bit angry over the years. Now he's initiated to take a look at things with a perspective, to rather take a pause when talking, think over what he should say instead of the usual defensive reply and even gaslighting. He admits to being conscious about it, and the changes he's done made this year a fruitful one. In Cinemalaya alone, he's got 2 movie entries namely "Tether" and "Rookie". 

"Rookie" is about women's sports. Mikoy joins actors Pat Tingjuy, Aya Fernandez and Ms. Agot Isidro in this Volleyball-GL (Girl's Love Story) film. "Tether" on the other hand is a lot troubling, a sci-fi film where love, relationships and pain take wild turns, all with them in it. It's a bit of a stretch compared to his previous work that they had to undergo sensuality workshops to accomplish several scenes in the movie. Aside from that, Mikoy has been doing several shows on GMA including a new series (to be announced soon). His music career also has been good, as he's making scores, tracks and music for several films (some to be sent abroad for film festivals). He also has a few singles coming out soon so stay tuned for that as well.

Here's the mediacon for Mikoy yesterday, please watch and listen in about his new films!

Here's a few more about his relationships, and his realizations too.

 

Mikoy thanks his friends, family, his girlfriend about the blessings he's receiving these past few months. He attributes the nice things he has accomplished because of their trust in him. He also thanks his directors, which he feels was much serendipitous, being at the right place and right time, that in this world of second options, they chose him for the specific roles he's doing in the two projects. His artistry has no more angst and bitterness, no more they/them in the industry, and has proved effective in making him that viable actor he deserves to be. He now knows his priorities, setting it straight, and I hope more people love him for his craft. 

He's a good chap, so cheers to that!