The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

MANILA, Philippines—For an indie film shot in the flooded communities of Malabon City and the dingy, dead-end streets of Quiapo, Manila, Brillante Mendoza’s “Lola” has come a long way.

Eighty-five-year-old screen legend Anita Linda couldn’t believe that at her age, she could still win a best actress trophy from an international film festival.

“Oh my goodness! Who knew that our little movie would go this far?” she told the Inquirer Sunday.

Over the weekend, Linda’s so-called little movie, “Lola,” scored two victories in two festivals in Europe—two “triple triumphs” in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, and in Fribourg, Switzerland.

“Lola” tells the story of two grandmothers who find themselves on opposite sides of the criminal justice system. As one lola (played by Linda) struggles to bury her grandson, another lola (essayed by Rustica Carpio) tries to raise money to get her own grandson released from prison.

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BRILLANTE MENDOZA’S “LOLA” WON the Grand Jury Prize in the World Competition of the 27th Miami International Film Festival held in the US city on March 13.

The film was awarded $25,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The fest’s web site commended the film’s star, “cinema icon Anita Linda,” and its story for offering “an earnest, compassionate study of forgiveness and redemption.”

The RP film bested 13 other entries from countries as diverse as Russia, Brazil, China, Bolivia and the Netherlands.

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Due to brownout threats, power generators will gain prominence in the country as the Filipino boxing champ Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao steps into the ring to face Joshua Clottey in the United States this Sunday (Manila time).

A report on dzBB radio on Friday said many local governments, including those in Metro Manila, are setting up generators in preparation for possible brownouts.

In Manila’s Tondo district, the report said the city government arranged for generators to be installed at the Tondo Sports Complex where the bout will be shown for free.

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MANILA, Philippines – Derek Ramsay has denied accusations of verbally abusing her actress girlfriend, Angelica Panganiban.

Ramsay said he is clueless how the allegations came about, but he said what’s important is that he, Panganiban, their respective families and friends know the truth.

“I don’t know where they’re getting these stuff from, but it’s okay. It’s part of the job. If they want to throw more things at me, it’s okay,” he told ABS-CBN News.

He also maintained that his relationship with Panganiban has seen many obstacles, but they are “better than ever.” In fact, the couple and their friends are already preparing for their 3-week vacation in South Africa.

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A Filipino will battle it out with contenders from Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong for the first-ever “The Biggest Loser Asia” title when the reality television series’ finale takes place on Tuesday.

Professional chef Carlo Miguel, 32, will go against Indonesian David Gurnani, Malaysian Aaron Mokhtar and Martha Lai from Hong Kong.

Miguel had a starting weight of 132 kilograms. His last weigh-in on Week 13 before going into the final was 90 kg.

He belongs to a family of foodies and chefs. His great-grandfather was a pastry chef, his mother is a cook with a catering business while his older brother is a chef as well.

Miguel has cooked in Luke Mangan’s Salt Restaurant and David Rayner’s Vault in Sydney, Australia. At present, he is the executive chef of Sala Bistro and Sala Restaurant in Manila.

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MANILA, Philippines — Director Joel Lamangan tapped real-life activists for “Sigwa,” a film based on true accounts of students who fought the Marcos dictatorship in the 1970s.

Big-name actresses Dawn Zulueta, Zsazsa Padilla and Gina Alajar lead the cast of the indie production, one of five finalists in the “Directors’ Showcase” category of the 6th Philippine Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

“This project doesn’t seem like an indie film at all,” said production manager Dennis Evangelista, who also worked with Lamangan in “Dukot” and “Sagrada Familia.” “We have about a hundred extras per shooting day, and have a lot of big scenes to shoot.”

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THE TOP TWO PRESIDENTIAL rivals for the May 10 poll agree on one thing.

One presidential candidate vowed to challenge it before the Supreme Court. Another slammed it as a violation of the freedom of expression. One celebrity said he was saddened by it, while others cried it was unfair.

This was the storm stirred up Thursday by a Commission on Elections (Comelec) threat to throw the book at celebrities and mass media personalities who would endorse any candidate during the current election campaign, unless they resign or go on leave from their radio or television shows or media outfits.

“Did (American TV show hosts) Oprah (Winfrey) and Ellen DeGeneres lose their shows on account of their presidential candidates? This is a democratic country and celebrities have the right to choose their candidates,” Angeli Valenciano, wife of singer Gary Valenciano, said.

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MANILA, Philippines – Don’t put it off until the last minute— not if you want to avoid those long lines.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) yesterday reminded the public to place their bets early for tonight’s 6/49 Super Lotto draw in which the jackpot is expected to reach P165 million.

PCSO spokesperson Dr. Larry Cedro said no one guessed the winning number combination of 3-27-38-35-14-25 in Sunday night’s draw which had a jackpot prize of over P153 million.

However, 120,717 players won more than P23 million in consolation prizes after they got three to five of the numbers right.

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Kris Allen

MANILA, Philippines—“Singing live on television is the worst thing in the world. I’d rather do concerts,” said “American Idol” Season 8 champ Kris Allen in a press conference at the Eastwood Mall Park in Quezon City a few hours after arriving in Manila on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old singer-songwriter, who came with his four-member band, is performing in two shows dubbed “Musicfest 2010” starting tonight at the SM City Cebu North Open Parking 2, and tomorrow at McKinley Hill Open Grounds in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. The gigs will also feature the acoustic rock group Boyce Avenue and “America’s Best Dance Crew” Season 1 winner Jabbawockeez.

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The famous “Dancing Inmates” from Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, a maximum security prison in the Philippines, were recently treated to a visit by Michael Jackson’s long-time choreographer Travis Payne and dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid to learn performances from This Is It.

Sony Pictures’ Fritz Friedman tells USA TODAY’s Mike Snider, “We thought it would be a great idea to pay homage to MJ on the occasion of the release of This Is It by going to Cebu and having Travis work with the dancers to create this piece which is from the film.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t done in time to go on the DVD and Blu-Ray discs, which are out today. But Sony Pictures DVD did post this on YouTube.

The Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” only showed the King of Pop dancing to “They Don’t Care About Us” with a computer-generated army for his backdrop. But with the help of the famous inmates in Cebu, that army comes to life.

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