GMA Casts Remake of Drama Series YAGIT

It wasn't easy to choose the next big child star says GMA Executives and Director Gina Alajar.

I remember watching this when I was a kid and it involved a lot of drama about violence about children, adoption, relationships and the normal good versus bad point of view. During a very young age you get to kind of feel what it is like to be in their condition. The street kids, they all have stories. It's one of the reasons why another installment of the soap YAGIT is going to be done by GMA this year. We were in the final auditions a week ago, they didn't know that they were up for a surprise. 

Judie Dela Cruz auditioning for the role of Josie/Josielyn

Judie Dela Cruz did her monologue and we've all seen how good she was in convincing us how poor and needy she was in a few minutes. She had a mature vibe with her and I bet she's turning into an "Ate" or older sister here without any effort. Among the thousands who joined the auditions she's one of the few who had been called back for the final screen test. There's good reason too because she registers great in the camera especially in close up. Here eyes speak, so you can feel how she delivers Josie's lines at an entire other level. 

Cute boy no?? He's JM Andres. I think he's appeared on TV and some commercials already. He's auditioning for the role of Ding Reyes. As one of the kids, I find his enthusiasm and character really effective. I bet even small girls might go gaga over him. He also is a mean dancer. I can already see him apt for Sunday All Stars or something similar to that.

She's Chlaui Malayao. She's the little girl from the noodle commercial where she said "I love my hair, my Mommy, my kuya my lolo etc.". Her innocence just put us into a trance and she even cried on the spot without any help. She's auditioning for the role of Elisa. As one of the kids, she'll definitely going to play it cute. You'll love her once you see her, I know I did. She's also very charming and can sing a tune or two. For her age, she's a prodigy. I bet she's going to be a big star soon.

One of my favorite characters back then was Tomtom. This is the same role that Jemwell Ventinilla was actually auditioning for. This kid has natural comedic timing. He made us laugh profusely a couple of times and most of them are situational. That's a hard thing to do. Even if Director Gina Alajar was trying to be serious during the screen tests, she couldn't help but laugh when this kid cracks one or two jokes in between. He also did good but needs work on some of the angles, positioning and works with the camera but that can be easily managed. I bet if he gets casted in Bubble Gang, he'll prolly pass that!

Later on, they were called into the meeting room so they would know if they passed or not. Then Director Gina Alajar asked to have their parents and guardians to go with them too. When she broke the news, the kids just broke to tears... some just was so excited!

Their parents were also overjoyed! Honestly, GMA is gambling a lot here. They are literally going to cast some lesser known kids instead of the ones that are already on their stable. Yes ladies and gentlemen, these are the kids that are going to be the next stars of YAGIT.

The next time you'll see them, they're going to be in the remake of the 1984 classic. Jocelyn, Tomtom, Elisa and Ding will be a hit and they will be a regular name in your household pretty soon. They also mentioned that GMA stars Yasmien Kurdi, LJ Reyes, Rich Asuncion, James Blanco, Frank Magalona, Renz Fernandez, Maricris Garcia, Kevin Santos, Joana Marie Tan and Wowie de Guzman will be in it too. Looks promising? Of course it is! Let's see how Director Gina Alajar and their production executes this when it starts shooting hopefully next quarter. I'll watch!

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8 Awesome Reasons To Travel North Luzon Now!

 

Now I'm no travel expert but I guess I'm a person hard to please. When it comes to traveling, sometimes I don't like places that I go to because it's too far, too crowded or the food sucks. Traveling North Luzon made me think about how this place is a little under appreciated, so I'm going to list down a few things that makes this an awesome travel spot for those who haven't done it yet!

1. The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)

Photo Bocaue Tollgate from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Luzon_Expressway)

It's easy to travel North now because the North Luzon Expressway made traveling faster and more efficient. The roads are perfect for long drives because it's maintained properly. The tollgates have EC cards which you can get prepaid so you don't have to queue. Compared to regular roads that can take you several hours to go to the north, this will cut the travel time enormously. The view is also spectacular and just needs a short turn to go to towns along it. It made everything freaking easy, I suggest you come along with friends so you can save up gas and toll fees. It'll be worth it!

2. The Festivals

7107 International Music Festival

If it's a FIESTA made for  a town's patron saint or a FIESTA made for thanksgiving, or a full pledged Music Festival with International acts no matter what genre it is, the North Luzon provinces are full of it! Our country is at least celebrating one fiesta per day, now imagine that done all throughout the year! This is the Philippines so we make it BIG!

3. The Old Churches

 

There's nothing even greater than seeing and believing in Churches as the house of God. For those who are religious, you'll be surely blessed by visiting these century old or more churches to renew faith and learn a little more about the country's history as we are around 80% Roman Catholic. You'll meet the locals in and around towns that are centered in these areas. The architecture, the details of the walls are all heavenly... surely it's something that should be seen!

4. Some of the World's Best Beaches 

You can have a view worthy of postcards even without leaving the island of Luzon. The spectacular beaches of Pagudpod of which some remains untouched and has got less commercialization just spells paradise. It's also windy up here so the Windmills of Bangui can get you electricity and supply the great part of the province without the need for other power sources that's nature friendly and safe. The water is cold while the weather is hot, perfect combination to relax in a hammock tied between coconut trees and have a beer on hand. Isn't that the perfect summer?

5. The Food

Taking a guiltless pleasure on some of the most unnoticed dishes in the country like "Dinengdeng" (Local Vegetables in Grilled Fish broth)  or the oh so crunchy "Bagnet" (Deep Fried Crispy Air Dried Pork) which is so good. Aside from that, they've also got Ilocos Empanada done in so many ways from Vigan to other cities in this province. The famous Vigan Longganisa also is the best thing for breakfast in the country. I could have kilos of this in one sitting and still want more. Do not hesitate to taste this and more when you visit the region. 

6. Cheap Accommodations

Azalea Residences Baguio City

North Luzon has varied rates for accommodations. You can opt for hotels or huge residences like this one or get cheap ones in bus terminals. You can also opt for transient homes in the suburbs for better chances to meet locals too. Just stay nice and friendly as they will return the smiles back at you. They are ample enough for those that are just passing by or to spend a few days in these provinces. It's a good thing to immerse yourself in the culture and live with the locals so you can experience what it's like in the North Luzon path. Some are cold, some humid, but all in all a spectacular place to be in when in the lovely cities you get lost in. Everyone speaks a little or more English so it's not a big deal to say you've got language barriers.

7. Vigan Vies for 7 Wonder Cities of the World

 They have now been able to get into the final 21 cities and they are vying for the final 7. Vigan has got lots of history. They have some of the most picturesque cobbled stone streets and tourist spots not seen in any Asian country. To learn more on how to vote for them, please read my article here.

8. NLEX "Tara Na Sa Norte!" (Let's go to the North!)

Going to the North is definitely one thing that anyone should try when in Luzon. Now it's going to be made even better as they'll showcase deals in travel, accommodation and their products in one venue right here in Manila. From July 25-27, 2014 they'll set up shop at the Glorietta Activity Center in the city of Makati. There will be over 100 vendors offering the best hotels, products, restaurants, small and medium enterprises from the best in the region on these dates. This is put up by the Manila North Tollways Corporation and co presented by the Department of Tourism Regions 1, 2 and 3 plus the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). This is also supported by Ayala Malls, North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB), the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Clark Development Corporation, Maynilad, PhilHydro, Cebu Pacific and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. 

Now if that isn't enough reason to go to the North of Luzon, I don't know what will!

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Anne and Jasmine Curtis Smith: Win Shopping Sprees and Facebook Freedom!

Anne Curtis and Jasmine Curtis Smith are relatively the new youth icons today. They have excelled in both their programs and have been able to inspire a lot of people even in their young age. They have been able to also stay in touch with their fans by actively engaging with them through social media. One of the channels that tops that is Facebook. Their official and non official fan pages are full of people who adore them and they take time to post updates about themselves so they won't be left behind when they need news about their idols. In the light of this need, it's a good thing the biggest network in the country just released their biggest surprise yet!

Smart Communications will let you get the chance to hang out with them in real life through their WeTime promo. This actually starts today July 18 and run until August 1, 2014. You have to be a Filipino citizen and at least 18 years old to qualify for this. Just go to http://smrt.ph/wetime and register with your Name, Mailing Address, Smart Mobile Number and E-mail address. You also need to be registered to any of their prepaid promos then add the Smart Prepaid FB2 on top of that. You can do this by texting FB2 to 6406. After successfully registering, you'll earn 1 raffle entry and get the chance to win P50,000 worth of shopping spree, P10,000 worth of pampering package, P5,000 worth of dinner package or P20,000 worth of night out package all of which will be announced on August 17, 2014. You can repeat the process of registering to the Smart Prepaid FB2 again if you want to have more chances of winning!

Remember, this is an add on promo so you need to have one prepaid subscription plan first then add this up! For another treat, here's a behind the scenes look on Anne and Jasmine Curtis Smith's journey on Facebook freedom!

So what are you waiting for? You know what to do to win that shopping spree and be with Anne and Jasmine! :)

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Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo: She's Dating The Gangster

We were able to see Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Cathy Garcia Molina and Carmi Raymundo yesterday before the premier night of She's Dating A Gangster at the Star Cinema office in ABSCBN. It was a nice to see them after a long time and they've been going through morning shows before this happened. They were a little tired but they were still game to answer questions. I loved how Direk Cathy went on and joked about Daniel sleeping while in the blog conference... we laughed profusely about that. Kathryn Bernardo was a ray of sunshine. She was really pretty and I find that very appealing. This is why she's liked by millions of youngsters today. Putting them together in a project like this was just something bound to be successful. And I just learned they did 15 Million pesos on their first day! Isn't that amazing?

Bianca Bernardino, author of the book She's Dating A Gangster

This is also the first time that the author actually attended a blogcon and she was ecstatic to tell us the story behind the book. It has sold over 70.000 copies and has gotten around 600,000 readers through Wattpad. They also made a version of the book now with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla on the cover which totally made the sales soar even more we were told. Nothing surprising though, I think them having bigger on screen appearances is now a norm!

Director Cathy Garcia Molina has several blockbusters in her belt

When asked about casting, Director Cathy Garcia Molina said that there were no other choices other than making this film all about Kathryn and Daniel. They were the perfect ones for the role and they thought about it immediately upon seeing the material. Without batting an eyelash she wanted to only see these two to play the role. Their on and off screen romance just speaks volume on how they would be able to make these roles believable... which I think actually came out good in the movie according to those who have watched it yesterday.

Then when Kathryn Bernardo was about to answer questions from us, you know what Daniel did? He removed the cable from the microphone and played with it. These guys are crazy and we find that very cute... undeniably, even if Daniel was a little bit naughty he often consoled Kathryn by being very touchy that afternoon. The small things, like stroking her hair... the little quirks he does like putting his head on her shoulder... if we're not aware, we would really thing that these two are already in a relationship. I'm sure Kathniel fans would love that!

They were quite aware of the "albularyo" comparisons on social media but it looks like they were even making jokes about it. Their roles Kenji and Athena will revolve around their unexpected love story. They will also involve the future and the past. This is where Richard Gomez and Dawn Zulueta's role come in later on in the movie. You'll love that part if you see the movie. I even saw people crying no joke. The movie also stars Khalil Ramos, Sofia Andres, Pamu Pamorada, Marco Gumabao, John Uy, Alex Diaz, Igi Boy Flores and Yana Asistio.

She's Dating a Gangster is shown in over 150 theaters nationwide and will tell you a story about love that encompasses time. Make sure you watch this 20th Anniversary offering of Star Cinema. I hear they are running a few weeks so make sure you get felt on social media as well. Star Cinema listens to your tweets and Facebook posts so make sure you do not miss this on theaters even if it's raining outside! Let's see if it can be the biggest blockbuster this year!

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