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Gary V’s 25th, once more!

02/17/2009

Demand is the reason Gary Valenciano will be repeating his remarkable 25th anniversary concert “Gary Live@25” at the Araneta Coliseum on Feb. 20. Many were unable to see it and those who did want to see it again. Raved as “the greatest Gary V. performance (they) have ever witnessed,” people want to be part of the whole experience... and many of them all over again.

The show was certainly magnificent. To begin with, the stage was astounding. The play of the videos and their outstanding synchronicity, the special guests and their production numbers, the repertoire, the stage direction by Rowell Santiago, the over-all genius of Gary V. who was the artistic director of the entire show — “Gary Live@25” proved to be a congruence of excellence from all directions.

There is also the angle of production cost. Divided between two shows, it will be lower and contribute to profitability. I’m sure these are the same reasons MYMP, Side A and Freestyle repeated “Back 2 Back 2 Back” as “Love 2 Love 2 Love” on Feb. 15. If there is real demand, there are benefits to be gained with concert repeats, like additional income from advertisers.

You can witness (again) “Gary Live@25’s” magnificent production on Feb. 20. His guests have been beefed up to include Jericho Rosales, Rachelle Ann Go, Laarni Lozada, Sugarfree, Itchyworms, Gloc 9, Brigada, Manoeuvres, G-Force, Philippine All Stars, Paolo, Gabriel and Kiana Valenciano, Powerplay and Karylle. Mico Aytona will be the opener.

A production of GV Productions Inc. and Manila Genesis Entertainment, the repeat is also for the benefit of the Shining Light Foundation. The Foundation has 36 scholars, supports diabetics and medical cases, as well as churches, ministries and various NGOs. Special thanks to Globe, Nokia, ABS-CBN, ASAP ‘09, MYX, BusinessWorld, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jam 88.3, Wave 89.1, Magic 89.9, RX 93.1, 99.5 RT, Yes FM, 101.9 For Life, 105.1 Crossover, dzMM, Edge Radio, Alaska, Goldilocks, Sunsilk, Universal Records, Bacchus, Star Records, Regal Entertainment, E-aji, Soundcheck, Studio V, Fideosonic, Essentuals Toni & Guy, Refill and Araneta Center.

For tickets, call Genesis at 721-4405 loc. 201/722-7850 and; Studio V at 726-4614 and Ticketnet at 911-5555 or log on to www.gary.com; www.manilagenesis.com; www.ticketnet.com.ph and share.ovi.com/garyv for the digital diary of Gary V.

When could Ruffa and Ai-Ai be no-shows in their own show?

Ruffa & Ai, Ruffa Gutierrez and Ai Ai delas Alas’ late morning show, which replaces Boy & Kris, has a little bit of a problem. When Kris Aquino guests in the show, Ai-Ai may have to be a no-show since they don’t see eye to eye. When it’s Ylmaz Bektas who is the show’s guest, it is Ruffa’s turn not to show up for clear reasons. They’re separated and Ylmaz does not want Ruffa to write the tell-all book about their marriage.

The gap between Ai-Ai and Kris started when the former commented about James Yap’s scandal involving him with Hope. That’s why when Kris joined Ai-Ai in the cast of Tanging Ina 2, James did not want Kris to join, causing their gap. The marriage issues involving Ruffa and Ylmaz were highly publicized, and logically Ruffa would not want to appear on the same show with someone who she claims had abused her.

Hosting a talk show for Ruffa will be a breeze since she’s used to hosting it. Ai-Ai is the problematic one. Since she’s used to doing comedy, she still has to master the art of sensible talk. Since the show is informative, Ruffa and Ai-Ai have to deal with community issues and problems.

Ai-Ai has started to read books to broaden her knowledge, according to the advice of business manager Boy Abunda. She’s reading Eight Secrets of the Truly Rich by Bo Sanchez. She learned from the book that the richer you get, the more you should not be proud about it. She finds this true so she has applied it to herself. She now tries her best to be humble.

Ai-Ai is learning fast. When asked how she feels about Sarah Geronimo’s selection as 2008 Box-Office Queen instead of her for the record gross of Tanging Ina Ninyong Lahat, she questioned the selection system. She identified the problem, “The award giver should clarify the rules about the cut-off period.” But she congratulated Sarah, explaining, “Anak-anakan ko naman siya at saka okay lang naman. Star Cinema naman din ‘yan kaya okay lang din.”

John Lloyd and Sarah’s tried and tested chemistry

SM Cinemas has declared A Very Special Love as the local box-office top-notcher for the period. John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo whose second film You Changed My Life will open on Feb. 26, out-grossed the tandems of Marian Rivera and Richard Gutierrez, KC Concepcion and Richard Gutierrez and Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes for 2008. Its P190 million gross take is solid proof of the team-up’s chemistry.

During the movie’s launch last year, entertainment journalists expressed serious doubts about this. Sarah would not play the love team game, refusing to claim she has a crush on John Lloyd. They said that was bad for their first tandem. As it turned out, the entertainment press was proven wrong. The movie showed it could earn tons of money for Star Cinema without fooling the public. And their movie was shown during regular screening days, not during the Metro Manila Film Festival when demand quadruples.

According to You Changed My Life director Cathy Garcia-Molina, there will be no chemistry issue to be raised in the sophomore outing of John Lloyd as Miggy and Sarah as Laida. She said, “They may not be boyfriend/girlfriend, but as the movie will show, they have a better working relationship now. They are more comfortable with each other. They will take the viewer to a different level of kilig. If part one is about reaching the dream, You Changed My Life is living the dream. Reality kicks in.”