Monday, April 23, 2018

Get infected with ‘THE CURE’ beginning April 30 on GMA Telebabad

TRUE to its mission of showcasing compelling and world-class entertainment, GMA Network brings its loyal Kapuso viewers another ground-breaking concept with its upcoming primetime series, The Cure, beginning April 30.


The Cure’s premise is set on an experimental drug that kills cancer cells. However, its side effect causes a deeper problem—the mutation of a dangerous and highly contagious virus called the Monkey Virus Disease or MVD wherein anyone infected begins to have seizures and becomes rabid and violent. Soon, law and order is non-existent as the disease spreads not only in the city, but also throughout the entire country. Now more than ever, it is crucial to find the very thing that would save everyone—a cure.


The series is under the helm of esteemed director Mark A. Reyes who is excited for the viewers to witness a new genre in primetime. “It’s very exciting, a story of survival—survival of humans, survival of family, survival of two people in love, it’s a bigger picture. It’s fresh, it’s new, and the whole essence of a suspense-drama is here. I knew from the start it was going to be big,” he shares. “I’m approaching this cinematically; I’m using film cameras for our taping." To make the series more interesting, Direk Mark said they incorporated a gorilla to the storyline and used Animatronics.


Ultimate Star Jennylyn Mercado and multi-talented actor Tom Rodriguez headline the series as Charity and Gregory Salvador, a happily married couple. Charity used to be a registered nurse, but she left her job to focus on her husband and only daughter, Hope. Greg is the family provider, working as a Clinical Research Associate in an international pharmaceutical laboratory. They both live a peaceful life, until Greg’s mother is diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.


Playing equally vital roles are respected and multi-awarded TV and movie actress Jaclyn Jose as Dr. Evangeline Lazaro, head of the Research and Development Team in the same pharmaceutical company Greg works at and the one who discovered the experimental drug that created a nationwide epidemic; homegrown Kapuso actor Mark Herras as Darius, a one-track mind man who is ruthless, strong, skilled in physical combat, and relentless in getting what he wants; award-winning Kapuso actress LJ Reyes as Katrina, the company’s Clinical Research Associate and Greg’s friend from college who is secretly in love with him; and with the special participation of versatile Kapuso actor Ken Chan as Josh, the only son of Dr. Lazaro. He is a top doctor who would rather serve the poor than private hospitals.


Completing the powerhouse ensemble are Jay Manalo as Fernan, the pharmaceutical’s fearless lead security officer who forms a survivor colony in the midst of the epidemic; Irma Adlawan as Agnes, Greg’s mother and the first patient to be infected by MVD; Ronnie Henares as Eduardo, a selfish and cruel board member of the pharmaceutical company; Glenda Garcia as Lorna, Charity’s mother who never really cared for her until they reunite during the outbreak; Diva Montelaba as Suzy, a video blogger who disseminated the news about the stolen experimental drug which mutates into a horrifying virus;Arra San Agustin as Anna, a smart and dedicated doctor like her boyfriend, Josh; Leanne Bautista as Hope, Charity and Greg’s jolly and intelligent daughter. 


Set in a world succumbing to the worst, The Cure is an action-suspense drama which shows that our daily battles are worth fighting, as long as we are fighting for our loved ones and our family.


Behind the series is the creative team composed of creative director Roy Iglesias, creative head RJ Nuevas, creative consultant Denoy Navarro Punio, headwriter Richard Cruz, writers Luningning Ribay, Glaiza Ramirez and Lobert Villela and brainstormers Tina Velasco and Pam Miras.


The Cure is created by the GMA Entertainment Content Group under the supervision of Senior Vice President for ECG Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Vice President for Drama Redgie A. Magno, Assistant Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, Senior Program Manager Cathy O. Perez and Executive Producer Winnie Reyes.


Don’t miss The Cure’s premiere this April 30 on GMA Telebabad.


Kapuso viewers abroad can also catch The Cure via GMA’s flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV. To check the program schedule for each territory, visit their official website at www.gmapinoytv.com





Huge Filipino Delegation set to Conquer Udine, Italy

IN celebration of the One Hundred Years of Philippine Cinema, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) will be leading a big delegation of Filipino filmmakers, artists, and members of the academe with the Philippines chosen as the Country of Focus in the Far East Film Festival happening on April 24 to 29 in Udine, Italy.


Set to compete in the Festival are "Si Chedeng sa Si Apple," "Smaller and Smaller Circles" and "Ang Larawan," while restored Ricky Lee classics, “Himala” and “Moral”, directed by the well renowned late director, Marilou Diaz-Abaya will be showcased at the restored film classics feature.


With the opportunity to showcase our very own filmmakers in Far East Film Festival, FDCP is bringing in select filmmakers and speakers for Sandaan: Philippine Cinema Centennial Talks.

Speakers include Mr. Ed Lajano, Festival Director of QCinema, Bianca Balbuena, CEO of EpicMedia, renowned actress Elizabeth Oropesa and FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza DiƱo for Filipino Popular Cinema to be moderated by Mr. Max Tessier on April 26.


Film Historian and documentarist Mr. Nick Deocampo will talk about Discovering the Past: Asian Film History - Filipino Cinema during WWII, to be introduced by Mr. Roger Garcia, Festival Director of Hong Kong International Film Festival on April 27.

Aside from these, FDCP is also proud to announce that three Filipino film projects made it to the 14 titles selected by Focus Asia, the Far East Film Festival Project Market dedicated to genre cinema. These projects in development will be presented to more than 200 professionals made up of panels, one-on-one meetings, projections and networking opportunities.


These are “Belen” by Quark Henares, produced by Bianca Balbuena and Bradley Liew, Epicmedia Productions Inc., “Quantum Suicide” by Mikhail Red, produced by Micah Tadena, Media East Productions and Taro Imai, Harakiri Films, co-produced by Japan and “Wilderness” by Nadira Ilana, produced by Nadira Ilana, Telan Bulan Films and Pamela Reyes, Create Cinema and Panuksmi Hardjowirogo, M'GO Films, a co-production between Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore.


On the other hand, Filipino Producer Monster Jimenez of Arkeo Films with her film in development, “Return of the Owl” by Martika Ramirez Escobar made it to the 15 selected projects for the tenth edition of Ties That Bind, the Asia-Europe co-production workshop, bringing together Asian and European professionals in the development of film projects. These selected films will have the opportunity to meet numerous producers, financiers and distributors present on the Focus Asia days for potential partnership in the development of their film.



Saturday, April 14, 2018

DOTGA: Da One That Ghost Away – the ultimate barkada film of the season!

GEAR up for the most exciting barkada movie of the season – Star Cinema’s latest offering, DOTGA: Da One That Ghost Away. 
Directed by Tony Y. Reyes and written by Danno Mariquit, Daisy Cayanan, and Dip Mariposque. DOTGA is this summer’s ultimate adventure-horror-comedy movie that whole barkada and the entire family will surely enjoy. 
DOGTA revolves around paranormal expert wannabe Carmel (Kim Chui) who teams up with her best friend Jeje (Ryan Bang) in forming a squad of ghostbusters with their misfit friends in order to save the house of her grandmother from being sequestered. Carmel meets a rich architect and dashing eligible bachelor who hires her and her squad to exorcize his house of real malevolent ghosts. Despite their fear, Carmel, Jeje, and their squad accept the job. Little do they know that this will entrap them inside the house with extremely pesky and spiteful ghosts as they scream and run for their lives, and with Carmel ultimately facing the horror of a truth long hidden from her.
As an adventure-comedy-horror film, DOTGA is a brand new film genre for Kim Chiu who is one of the most talented and most accomplished young actresses in the industry today whose last full-length movie was supernatural horror film The Ghost Bride which was shown in November 2017. DOTGA is also a departure from the dramatic projects that Kim is known for, most notably the recently concluded morning drama series Ikaw Lang Ang Iibigin which successfully aired for three seasons from May 2017 to January 2018 on ABS-CBN. 
DOTGA also showcases the versatility of Kim who is an excellent actress who excels in almost every genre – from drama to hard core comedy to light romantic comedy.
It should also be noted that this is Kim’s very first major collaboration with Pinoy Big Brother alumni Ryan Bang, theater and teen stars May May Entrata and Edward Barber who are romancing the nation as the industry’s forever-loving-in-tandem tandem as well as theater and TV actor Pepe Herrera who marks his first major film role in this movie. 
Completing the ultimate laugh team of DOTGA are Enzo Pineda, Lassy Marquez, Moi Bien, Matet De Leon, Cai Cortez, Chocoleit, and veteran actresses Marissa Delgado and Odette Khan. 
Can Carmel, Jeje, and their squad laugh their way out of the spookiest house they ever entered? What will Carmel ultimately discover in the end? Join the fun and excitement and find out all the answers in DOTGA – the wackiest film adventure this summer.
DOTGA: Da One That Ghost Away is showing in all cinemas nationwide starting April 18.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

KEVIN HART HEADS BACK TO CLASS IN FIRST “NIGHT SCHOOL” TRAILER


UNIVERSAL Pictures has released the first Night School trailer for the upcoming comedy starring Kevin Hart and Girls Trip breakout star, Tiffany Haddish.

Check out the trailer at https://youtu.be/libJ8_Sy9gw and watch Night School in Philippine cinemas soon.

Star Kevin Hart and producer Will Packer, who partnered for the hit Ride Along and Think Like a Man series, bring their signature style to Night School. The comedy from director Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip) follows a group of misfits who are forced to attend adult classes in the longshot chance they’ll pass the GED exam.


Co-stars Tiffany Haddish, Rob Riggle, Taran Killam and Romany Malco join Hart onscreen for the film that Hart produces for his Hartbeat Productions, and Packer via his Will Packer Productions.



Night School is distributed in the Philippines by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

“JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN” IN HILARIOUS FIRST TRAILER


BRITISH intelligence has changed. But Johnny English plays by his own rules. Watch the first trailer of the spy comedy Johnny English Strikes Again which has just been released Universal Pictures.


Johnny English Strikes Again is the third installment of the Johnny English comedy series, with Rowan Atkinson returning as the much loved accidental secret agent. The new adventure begins when a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all active undercover agents in Britain, leaving Johnny English as the secret service’s last hope. Called out of retirement, English dives head first into action with the mission to find the mastermind hacker. As a man with few skills and analog methods, Johnny English must overcome the challenges of modern technology to make this mission a success.


Johnny English Strikes Again stars Rowan Atkinson, Ben Miller, Olga Kurylenko, Emma Thompson and Jake Lacy. Directed by David Kerr, the frilm is written by William Davies and produced by
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Chris Clark.

In Philippine cinemas soon, Johnny English Strikes Again is distributed in the Philippines by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.


“SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY” LAUNCHES NEW TRAILER AND POSTER

LUCASFILM has just released the official trailer and poster for Solo: A Star Wars Story which may be seen below.


The trailer clocks in at over two minutes and shows more of the movie than ever before, including great Han-and-Chewie moments, a super-cool Lando and the equally super-cool droid L3-37, and some kinetic Falcon action.

The poster is an earth-toned, Western-movie-style image, featuring beautifully-painted takes on the main characters, with a definite retro vibe.



About Solo: A Star Wars Story

Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in Solo: A Star Wars Story, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a seres of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.

Directed by Ron Howard, the film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Thandie Newton, and Paul Bettany.



In Philippine cinemas May 25, Solo: A Star Wars Story is distributed by the Walt Disney Company (Philippines).