Dreams Get Real for McJim's Three Winners!

Who would have known that in the end of grueling eliminations and auditions that three (3) talented performers would end up as Grand Champions of McJim Classic Leather's "Dreams Get Real: The Search for the Next OPM Star!". The finals ended with an epic twist at the Teatrino Promenade in Greenhills. Now, the band Fifth Dynamics, trio JBK and Neo Domingo will fully enjoy their win and get OPM back on track as their singles have been heavily appreciated by the public. It was a decision they had to make because now, McJim will be supporting them all as they embark on achieving their dreams as OPM artists. They all have received cash prizes, gift packs from the brand and a recording + management contract plus a chance to film and release their own music videos. Isn't that awesome?

Neo Domingo and composer Urie Tesorio on this shot upon receiving the DJ's choice award.

Fifth Dynamics accepting their Championship trophy

JBK proudly shows off their Critic's choice award and the Championship trophy too.

Neo Domingo, solo artist also got his own Championship trophy. A worthy winner.

This Filipino company only knows how much talent there is in the country and they are just barely scratching the surface. Chris Cahilig their adviser adds that he's so proud to see how they've already been able to encompass performing in small clubs and now they're being seen and heard even on tv and radio. They will soon have more and the guys were so thankful for the feat. This has opened so many doors and opportunities for them. They promised even better material and compositions too. I've heard they also have gotten great nods from Jim Paredes who has listened to some of their singles during this competition. 

Kalye Pop artists 1:43 has gotten thousands of fans and just like them, these guys would probably get more airplay and seen in TV stations. As we speak, 1:43 has been able to also get tapped by networks so their songs can be used in their home grown programs and shows too. You probably heard of "Hayop Sa Ganda" (Animalistic Beauty) which has been played countless times in stations here and other provinces. Some even topping the charts, pretty cool no?!

I can't wait to see these artists be appreciated with the material that they have and I say, I hope everyone would be able to appreciate what new kind of OPM music is out there. The public surely deserves the best!

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Richard Gutierrez and Lauren Young for Overtime: The Premier

Stars of Overtime Richard Gutierrez and Lauren Young

I haven't been to a Filipino movie since a few months ago when I was actually forced to watch that corny comedy film (that will remain unnamed), I felt it was a product of run of the mill hype and I didn't like it. I felt like I lost hope in the film industry. A few days ago, we were invited to attend the premier of Overtime, a film directed by Wincy Ong and Earl Ignacio under GMA Films. I didn't expect much because of the previous one I watched, I just don't like films that are not well thought out. This however surprised me (genre wise) and the rest of the people who watched it that evening, I'll tell you why.

Other stars such as the gorgeous Thea Tolentino, good looking and tall Juancho Trivino, crooner Mikoy Morales and the stunning Ms. World and sister to the lead star of this film Megan Young was also there showing their support.

Without spilling any beans on the story, Overtime is about a hacker terrorizing a lady at work. He doesn't believe in their cause, nor does he think they are doing the right thing. The beginning of the story delves around establishing their relationship first. The exhilarating and suspense filled sequences followed (when he wanted to do something about where Jody works) then a dollop of comedy antics hit every turn (a must see is Bearwin Meaily and Mitch Valdez). We thought we were watching a different movie because it wasn't a full suspense film anymore but more of a dark comedy. I haven't seen anything made that way in Philippine cinemas so that alone is a good thing. Other than that, Richard would be totally different that even if you are a fan... you'll hate and curse at him a bit. That's how good he is. Lauren too did so good, she also registers so gorgeous on screen. It's like an indie film to tell you honestly because they did experiment quite a bit. The plot could have had minor adjustments to make it real but I think it worked out pretty well for their purpose. The story is fast paced and we did attentively listen to it. It's not boring. You'll be at the edge of your seats on some instances and turn blue on some very deadly but funny scenes. You have to find out what I'm talking about by watching it this July 2nd on cinemas nationwide!

How can you not fall in love with a face like this. Proud Mom to Zion, Ms. Sarah Lahbati was there to fully support her husband Richard Gutierrez.

Raymond Gutierrez

Ms. Annabelle Rama and Eddie Gutierrez

Richard plays Dom and Lauren is Jody. Lovers at first turned hostage, good samaritan turned kidnapper. 

Please don't hesitate to watch the movie "Overtime" this July 2 on cinemas nationwide! This is under GMA Films. A thing that might make you hate Richard Gutierrez... but it's gonna be all worth it!

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The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom Launch

If you had money to burn and wanted a gadget that would better fit your phone and photography needs, you might want to look at Samsung's newest called the Galaxy K Zoom. It's got this 4.8 inch long and 1280 x 720 AMOLED screen (which looked so impressive and colorful at this pod) powered by an Android 4.4 Kitkat OS, a 20.7 Megapixel camera, a 10x optical zoom, 2GB ram and a 2430 mAh battery which would last quite a while. This is more of a phone rather than a digital camera but the convenience of having both gadgets in one is just convenient.

In the event, they did lend us a few units so we can see how it fares with regular smart phones. It did give us a significant amount of excitement because the market they probably want to sell this to is us bloggers and IT media; who's involvement in social media is just natural, fast and has got a huge turnover. You'll get rid of the trouble editing, posting and updating information on channels because everything's there. The picture quality, honestly I had a debate running on my table because we had many qualms on having it qualify as a full blown camera which it isn't. In comparison, this is still digital zoom and it isn't using mirrors which DSLR's usually do. For the output, it does give really good photos and the effects embedded on the phone is something to be really proud of. Samsung has gotten pro suggestive filters and effects enabled on the menu and a half press on the clicker.

Mr. Eric Sulit, Head of Samsung Philippines Digital Imaging says that you can't beat the convenience of the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom because you don't have to lug around huge DSLR's anymore during coverages. It also has the Geo News Feature which is sent to all similar Samsung devices. My friend even showed me his GEO NEWS Message that he received containing details of the recent earthquake which happened the day before this event. He also mentioned he received it minutes from when it happened, that's a pretty useful thing to have so you wouldn't be second guessing news on Twitter. 

It was raining hard and we had fog all over 71 Gramercy  on that day but they asked us to shoot using the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom using its features. We did good and I must say, the thing is easy to understand and use even if I'm not an Android lover.

The colors can also be retouched and the possibilities of making your photo be "what you want it to be" is endless. That's something you can't really get with just an ordinary phone. Now it's more powerful and can do a wide variety of applications even if it's this small. I couldn't even say it's bulky because you need that lens for the shots you need to take. Battery wise, I think it could last you the whole day or even more because your Android can opt to choose power saving modes on it. For those who want to get a phone and a worthy camera, this is perfect. See? We even uploaded the photos on the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom via Instagram. It retails for almost 25K in the Philippines. Make sure to test it out first through vendors nationwide!

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Director Andoy Ranay, Dingdong Dantes and Maricel Soriano for "Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real"

It was a great day to get to know people from the show "Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real" which is one of the great prime time offerings  in GMA. I've written about Lovi Poe in the past and this time we'll get to know them (people in front and behind the cam) a little better as we got to talk with Director Andoy Ranay, Dingdong Dantes and the Diamond Star Ms. Maricel Soriano.

Director Andoy Ranay

Direk Andoy Ranay has been working behind the camera for years now and just recently, he has been the talk of the town because of the hit movie "Diary ng Panget" (Diary of an Ugly) which catapulted the career of James Reid, Andre Paras, Nadine Ilustre and Yassi Pressman. He said that the ready market of readers was one of the reasons why it became successful and he also attributes that project with VIVA getting the rights on it. The second one he's making isn't really a sequel but another book being made into film just like when they used to do it with Filipino comics in the past. It was a big surprise because he says these unknown actors were all lucky as fans of the book immediately supported the movie. The second project "Talk Back And You're Dead" is also banking on the fan base but they're also glad that they are also working with a giant production such as Star Cinema. There are going to be new actors and he knows the material is very good even if it was written by young ones. He adds "This is more serious and intense. I need to know how to get their psyche and know them as a person. Their life experiences are not much but the friendly approach is being done so I can get something from them". Direk Andoy also says "Working with veteran actors is easy, more so if you are in the leagues of the people you're working with in "Ang Dalawang Mrs Real". I still want to learn a lot, that's where I came from... the theater. My passion is acting too. I impart what I learn from that to kids... but working with Maricel is a dream. I watch her during the early years but I try so hard to also not be overwhelmed. This project was offered to her but we only knew each other as friends. Now as a director, she asked for a dinner so we can get to know each other. She assured me that she will give her respect, talent and everything to me. Her presence really is like that so I try not to be star struck every time we meet on the set."

With regards to the show, comparisons he says was not too present because he knows he's telling a different story. The legal wife was on the point of view of the wife. This one's more on the guy's side and the issue of bigamy. This is where they concentrate and not too much on the other women in his life. They are concentrating on the families and the three big actors on the project. You can expect that there will be a big confrontation soon and he mentions that they are brewing that right now. Maricel will release or unleash her madness soon. Direk Andoy says he is inspired just to work with Dingdong, Lovi and Ms. Maricel. He also says he appreciates how much effort they put into this and even better on the next few taping days. It only takes them a few takes because they really know how to do it already. They don't really give any inputs because they want Direk Andoy to take charge. If they did that, Direk Andoy would have given them the Director position..  and we laughed a bit about that. 

Direk Andoy was a joy to interview and he was very nice too. He didn't give out that aura of being too strict while we were there and says the rumors before were really not true. I've seen it myself that evening.