Kapuso Afternoon Prime Takes Over Supremacy in ‘Traditional Drama’

Kapuso Afternoon Prime Takes Over Supremacy in ‘Traditional Drama’

GMA Network adds “traditional” drama to its portfolio of aces in the continuing race for dominance in the local television ratings. This claim is backed by the Kapuso Network’s strong performance in its drama-filled Afternoon Prime block, which runs weekdays from 2:30pm to 6:30pm.

As of March 16, data from the more trusted ratings data provider Nielsen Television Audience Measurement (Nielsen TAM) show that GMA’s Afternoon Prime was a leader in the National Urban Philippines (NUTAM) from the beginning of the year with an average household rating of 14.6 pts. and an average audience share of 36.9%. ABS-CBN, on the other hand, got an average household rating of 10.9 pts and an audience share of 27.5%. Lagging further behind is TV5 with an average household rating of 6.6 pts and an audience share of 16.8%.

GMA’s Afternoon Prime programming block begins with Hiram na Puso, which stars Gina Alajar, Gardo Versoza, Ayen Laurel, Candy Pangilinan, Wynwyn Marquez, Marc Acueza, Ana Marin with Mark Herras, Polo Ravales, Bela Padilla and Kris Bernal. The program has been winning nationwide since its pilot airing on March 5. From March 5 – 16, it gained an average household rating of 14.1 pts., while its counterpart only got 9.1 pts.

The Good Daughter, top-billed by Kylie Padilla, Rocco Nacino, LJ Reyes, introducing Max Collins with Raymond Bagatsing, Alicia Mayer, Dion Ignacio, Ervic Vijandre, Angelie Nicole Sanoy and Ms. Luz Valdez, also did good in ratings across the country. It received an average household rating of 14.6 pts., while its competitor only got 11.5 pts. (February 13, pilot episode – March 16 data).

Broken Vow, on the other hand, was ahead of its competitors by an average of 5.5 pts. since it launched on February 6 (period ending March 16). It reaped an average nationwide household rating of 14.1 pts., while its competing program only got 8.6 pts. Broken Vow stars Gabby Eigenmann, Luis Alandy, Rochelle Pangilinan and Bianca King. They are joined by Celia Rodriguez, Pancho Magno, Jace Flores, Lou Sison, Juan Rodrigo and Carmi Martin.

Even GMA’s fantasy-drama series Alice Bungisngis and Her Wonder Walis is a favorite especially among younger viewers. Alice stars Jean Garcia, Janno Gibbs, Sheena Halili and Tweenstars Lexi Fernandez, Derrick Monasterio, with Jake Vargas and Bea Binene. Also included in the cast are Irma Adlawan, Buboy Garovillo, Roy Alvarez, Alicia Alonzo, Benjie Paras, Sef Cadayona, Lenlen Frial, and introducing Marc Justine Alvarez. Based on data gathered since its launch on February 6 to March 16, Alice has reaped an average household rating of 14.1 pts. in Urban Luzon, while its counterparts Maria la del Barrio and recently, Wako Wako got 12.5 pts. and 12.1 pts., respectively. Alice’s lead was more profound in the viewer-rich Mega Manila area, where it got an average household rating of 14.1 pts., while its competitors only got 11.6 pts. (Maria la del Barrio) and 11.2 pts. (Wako Wako).

GMA’s Afternoon Prime has also catapulted previously newbie stars into full-blown artists ready for a coveted spot in TV primetime. These stars include Kris Bernal, Jackie Rice, Sarah Lahbati, Kylie Padilla, Rocco Nacino, Barbie Forteza, Joshua Dionisio, Bea Binene, Louise delos Reyes, Alden Richards, Jake Vargas, among others.

Don’t miss the tears and thrills brought about by every sequence of GMA’s top-rating Afternoon Prime programs, airing weekdays beginning 2:30pm on GMA-7.

New Actress Taylor Schilling Plays Lady Luck in “The Lucky One”

New Actress Taylor Schilling Plays Lady Luck in “The Lucky One”

Actress-on-the-rise Taylor Schilling takes her first feature lead role as Zaf Efron's love interest in Warner Bros.' emotionally charged romantic drama, “The Lucky One.” Directed by Oscar-nominee Scott Hicks, the film is based on Nicholas Sparks' No.1 bestseller of the same title.

In “The Lucky One,” U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault (Efron) returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he credits with keeping him alive - a photograph he found of a woman he doesn’t even know. Discovering her name is Beth (Schilling) and where she lives, he shows up at her door, and ends up taking a job at her family-run local kennel. Despite her initial mistrust and the complications in her life, a romance develops between them, giving Logan hope that Beth could be much more than his good luck charm.

Taylor Schilling plays the woman in the photograph, who becomes a talisman for a man she doesn’t even know exists. “I got a feel for the character right off the page. They’re both living with a duality of tremendous loss and potential joy. Whether it’s their destiny or not, it’s incredibly romantic.”

Zac Efron offers, “Just the act of finding the picture directly saved his life. He was in the right place at the right time and after that he seems to survive situations he shouldn't be surviving, while others around him aren’t as lucky, so it takes on special meaning.”

Logan is unable to shake his curiosity about the woman in the photo, who inadvertently saved his life. Deciding he must try to locate her, he scours the internet to identify the lighthouse in the background, and finds the match. Soon he embarks on a trek from Colorado to Louisiana, with his dog Zeus at his side.

The filmmakers’ own search to find the object of Logan’s quest began and ended with actress Taylor Schilling, who was cast as Beth Green. “Taylor conveys a complexity of emotional expression that is really extraordinary,” Hicks says. “You read in her eyes so much depth and detail.”

When the filmmakers put Schilling and Efron together, their on-screen chemistry sealed the deal. “That’s always the great unknown,” notes Hicks, “the question of what it’s going to be like when you put your stars together. Is there going to be any chemistry? From the first moment, the connection between Zac and Taylor was apparent.”

However, when Beth meets Logan, there’s immediate distrust. “They’re both broken in a way,” Efron acknowledges. “She’s guarded and he can’t tell her the real reason he’s there.”

In the photo, Beth is smiling, but the woman Logan first encounters “has obviously experienced tremendous loss,” says Schilling. “She can’t help but bring all of her baggage to the table: her grief, her defensiveness, her pain, her vulnerability. Whether she’s ready or not, Logan shows up and presents an opportunity for her to heal. I so admire in Beth the courage and strength to go for it, even though it’s scary.”

Producer Denise Di Novi adds, “Beth is a divorced single mother who put her dreams on hold until Logan comes into the picture and she begins to realize that maybe she does have a right to be happy and have love in her life again.”

Schilling will next be seen in Ben Affleck's latest directorial effort “Argo,” in theatres in September. She will star opposite Affleck, in the role of his wife, Christine, in the film that centers on the real-life C.I.A. plan to rescue a group of diplomats from Tehran after the 1979 Iranian revolution.



Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, April 19, “The Lucky One” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Singer's Dark Past in Holy Week TV Special "Wasak"

Singer's Dark Past in Holy Week TV Special "Wasak"

On Black Saturday, April 7 at 5:00 p.m. on GMA, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Asia brings WASAK, the story of Jonaver Luklukan, played by actor/host Icko Gonzalez. It is about a gospel singer who’s dark past involves being hooked up with sex and drug addiction.




“Jonaver was sexually-abused as a child so he grew up with a distorted view of love and sex. Because his family is poor, he uses his talent in singing to earn money as a singer in an afternoon show and eventually, became a Papuri singer. But temptations lure him back to his immoral lifestyle and vices, drugs, money and sex became his closest companions,” explains Icko.

Wasak is backed-up by veteran theater actors John Arcilla and Roselyn Perez. It also stars Gerard Pizarras, Minnie Aguilar, Jacque Oda and Tricia Jimenez among others.




He may be used to acting in front of an audience and seeing himself on TV because of his background in theater and his stint as “Kuya Bok” in Sineskwela, but Icko admits that he still has much to learn from his co-stars John and Roselyn who are both adept in the field of acting.

“I have always admired and respected both actors. It’s such a thrill and an honor to work with two top caliber actors from the industry. John is effortless. Roselyn is intense. Both very intelligent actors, we discuss a scene before we shoot it, they don’t just memorize their lines in the script, they ask so many questions to make sure that the scenes are real to them. Actors should be life-long learners, while creating Wasak, I grabbed the opportunity to learn from them,” he shares.

Aside from being the lead actor in Wasak, Icko also wrote the script together with Don Gonzalez. The episode is directed by Derrek Adapon.

Icko also believes that this episode will encourage those people who have been silenced for years by their past abuses. “I hope Pastor Jonaver’s story will become an inspiration to many people who have been abused, whose lives have been broken, including mine, who need to hear that God wants to set people free and He wants to restore broken lives.”




Watch Icko as he plays the role of Jonaver in the Wasak episode of TANIKALA: ANG IKAAPAT NA YUGTO, on April 7 (Black Saturday), 5:00 p.m. on GMA.

TANIKALA: ANG IKAAPAT NA YUGTO is the Holy Week special of CBN Asia, the producer of weeknight inspirational TV program The 700 Club Asia. “LIKE” its official Facebook Fanpage www.facebook.com/tanikala4 for regular updates on Tanikala.

‘Hotel Transylvania’ Trailer Released

‘Hotel Transylvania’ Trailer Released

Sony Pictures Animation has just revealed the first trailer of its upcoming animated comedy, Hotel Transylvania featuring the voices of Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez.

Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s (Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world’s most famous monsters – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more – to celebrate his daughter Mavis’s (Gomez) 118th birthday. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

The film’s voice cast also includes Andy Samberg, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Cee-Lo Green, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon and David Koechner.

Opening across the Philippines in September 2012, Hotel Transylvania is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.


Hotel Transylvania - Trailer:

Shaina Magdayao Covers Metro Magazine April 2012 Issue

Shaina Magdayao Covers Metro Magazine April 2012 Issue

John Lloyd Cruz' real-life girlfriend Shaina Magdayao is fashionably electrifying on the cover of Metro Magazine for the month of April.

Wearing a Salvatorre Feragamo creation, Shaina Magdayao banners the magazine’s “Sexiest Trends to Wear” special.

Aside from Shaina, this issue also features interesting articles like “Men of Summer” featuring the UFL Footballers, The Philippine Volcanoes, Enchong Dee, Enrique Gil, Kean Cipriano and Xian Lim.

Metro Magazine April 2012 issue is now available at all magazine stands and selected bookstores and supermarkets nationwide.

Aga Muhlach to Run for Congress in Camarines Sur

Aga Muhlach to Run for Congress in Camarines Sur

www.showbiznest.com

Kapatid actor Aga Muhlach decided to follow the footsteps of Joseph Estrada, Bond Revilla Jr., Vilma Santos, Herbert Bautista, etc as he announces his plan to seek a seat in Congress for the 4th district of Camarines Sur.

Aga, on Monday, registered as a voter at the Commission on Election office in San Jose, Camarines Sur. The actor is also reportedly building a house in San Jose to establish his residence.

When asked if his action relates to his plan of going into politics, Aga said: "Yeah, of course! Why not? Taga-roon kami."

Regine Velasquez Defends Son Nate From Internet Bashers

Regine Velasquez Defends Son Nate From Internet Bashers

Bashing celebrities on Twitter seems to be the rage these days, with singer Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and her four-month old son Nate being the latest targets of so-called Internet "trolls."

Posting on Twitter at around 5:10 a.m. on March 14, Regine wrote, "Tinignan ko 'yung instagram ko kanina, may nag comment ng 'pangit mo' sa picture ni Nate sana para sa 'ken 'yun."

Instagram is an application exclusively for Apple touch screen products which allows its users to share photos, functioning like other photo sharing websites such as Twitpic and Yfrog.

The Songbird said that she's "okay" with the name-calling targeted toward her, "pero wag naman si Nate."

She then posted a series of tweets further expressing her sentiments:

"Kung pangit ang paningin n'yo sa kanya ok lang din 'yun pero sana 'wag n'yo na ilathala pa.

"Alam n'yo marami nanaman ang namimintas sa 'kin Hindi ako pumapatol kaya lang no'ng si Nate na parang ang hirap naman palampasin.

"Bilang nanay syempre proud ako picture picturan yung anak ko feeling ko ang gwapo syempre anak ko eh."

After, she apologized to her followers for expressing her "sama ng loob" and left a message to the commenter, which read, "God Bless pa 'ren sa'yo sana maging masaya ka sa buhay mo. 'Yun lang;-)"

Moments after, Regine thanked her followers for their kind words and advice for her to just ignore the comment.

"Hindi naman talaga ako pumapatol eh hindi 'ren kasi ako marunong pumatol, kaya Lang si Nate kasi, I guess kasalanan ko 'ren nilabas ko 'yung pictures n'ya. Hay Gaya nga ng sinabi ko God Bless at sana masaya s'ya:-)" she posted.

Among those who consoled her were her friend and fellow diva Jaya and songwriter-composer Raul Mitra.

"mare marami man ang mamintas sa'yo at sa ginagawa mo, marami parin ang nagmamahal sa'yo at inggit sa'yo. 'Wag ka papatol.

"jst remember how blessed u are with everything esp u have Nate, eh sila anong sitwasyon meron? God Bless na nga lang talaga," Jaya tweeted.

For his part, Raul said, "momming mommy ka na Reg! :) Dati maski anong tira sa 'yo, let it go Now isang tira kay Nate, laban! Welcome fellow parent! :)"

Regine's latest tweet relating to the incident, posted at 7:26 a.m., on the same day read, "Mga friends ok na, super ok na ko thank you sa inyong lahat. At least ngayon alam ko ng marunong pala akong lumaban basta para sa family ko."

Source: mb.com.ph