Virgin is Tops

'Virgin' vanquishes rivals at US box office

LOS ANGELES - "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" enjoyed a second romp on top at the weekend box office on Sunday, and overall ticket sales tumbled to their lowest level since early May in the dying days of summer.

"Virgin" sold $16.4 million worth of tickets in the three days beginning on Friday, taking its 10-day haul to $48.7 million. The $26 million comedy, starring Steve Carell as a store clerk who never got around to going all the way, was released by Universal Pictures.

The top 10 contained two new releases, led by the historical fantasy "The Brothers Grimm" at No. 2 with $15.1 million. Debuting at No. 6 was the monster movie "The Cave" with $6.2 million. A third new wide release, "Undiscovered," a romance starring pop singer Ashlee Simpson, stayed true to its title, opening with just $690,000.

"Grimm," starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as the sibling purveyors of fairy tales, was directed by Terry Gilliam, the man behind "12 Monkeys" and "Brazil." It was released by Dimension Films, a division of Miramax Films.

"The Cave," about monsters who terrorize a group of adventurers, was released by Screen Gems, the mid-budget division of Sony Pictures.

The top-12 films grossed $82.8 million, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co., down 16 percent from last weekend, and down 2.5 percent from the year-ago period. The tally represents the lowest level since the May 6-8 weekend, when "Kingdom of Heaven" led a $78 million weekend.

The studios have all rolled out their big summer flicks, and will be dumping their leftovers over the next few weekends into increasingly empty theaters as moviegoers make the most of the late summer.

The rest of the top five were each down one place from last weekend: the thriller "Red Eye" (DreamWorks) was at No. 3 with $10.4 million in its second weekend; the urban drama "Four Brothers" (Paramount) earned $7.8 million in its third; and the comedy "Wedding Crashers" (New Line) pulled in $6.3 million in its seventh.

Universal Pictures is a unit of NBC Universal, which is controlled by General Electric Co.. Miramax Films is a unit of Walt Disney Co.. Sony Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp.. DreamWorks SKG is privately held. Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc.. New Line Cinema is a unit of Time Warner Inc..

"Undiscovered" was released by Lions Gate Films, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

Brand New Dad

Why Marvin is on Cloud 9
Directline By Boy Abunda
The Philippine Star

Marvin Agustin is now a proud father to twins Santiago and Sebastian who were born last Aug. 16, in San Francisco, U.S.A. According to his friend and publicist Joey Diego, "Sobrang excited siya. Kamukha raw niya yong mga bata, guapo." The twins are fraternal but they look alike. Marvin spent his first day as a young father by learning how to feed them and how to change diapers. It's the best time of his life, according to Joey. The boys stayed with their mother in the room and not in the nursery, so Marvin stayed close to his twins. He plans to stay in the US for another month.

Will the birth of Santiago and Sebastian bring Marvin and Tetet closer to the altar? We don't know yet, but the couple has decided to raise the twins in America. Marvin, one of the most hardworking actors we have, left Manila with a heavy heart, disappointed with a couple of snags in his career. I think this has something to do with the cancellation of some of his TV shows and his desire to do more, given his artistic energy. But according to Joey, when Marvin saw his sons for the first time, nothing else mattered.

"From Day One when I saw Sebastian and Santiago, all my hurt feelings vanished. Ang sarap ng feeling. So this is how it feels to be a father. I'm very happy," says Marvin.

We are truly happy for you, Marvin.

A revelation named Alcris Galura

Sixteen-year-old Alcris Galura is quite a revelation. This boy has been acting in movies since he was eight. Among his most memorable films are Mga Munting Tinig, Santa Santita, Babae sa Breakwater where he earned nominations for Best Child Actor at the FAMAS and Best Supporting Actor at the Urian.

Recently, I had the chance to speak with Marvin together with the cast and director of Pusang Gala, Ellen Ongkeko- Marfil, Irma Adlawan and Lauren Novero in my show Private Conversations with Boy Abunda, 6 p.m., Thursdays, ANC News Channel.

Since the movie dealt on genderless love, longingness, belongingness, sex, among others, and where one of the major characters of the movie is gay (played by Ricky Davao), our conversation also touched on similar topics. I asked Alcris what he thought about homosexuals. Alcris said he felt it was wrong to be gay, as it is written in the Bible. Alcris is a Baptist. He says he reads the Bible everyday. But after being involved in Pusang Gala (he plays Jojo, who was adopted by a gay novelist played by Ricky Davao), he has come to understand gays and now has a broader view about them. I appreciated this boy's boldness and honesty. He did not mince words in front of people who thought otherwise.

Pusang Gala is one of director Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil's best works. Lead actress Irma Adlawan, who goes daring in the movie, says that so far, none of her children has come to watch the movie. Nor has she invited them to see it. Irma could not have done wrong in this movie. As always, she sparkles!

British Council anniversary

British Council Philippines, on its 25th anniversary celebration, presents a grand theater festival anchored on the works of William Shakespeare this September. It also invites local audiences to savor fresh perspectives of the Bard's works through three of his most famous works.

Tanghalang Pilipino, resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, stakes its claim to masterful performance via R'meo luvs Dew-Lhiett – a whimsical jologs version of the immortal love story. The play is now running at the CCP's Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino and is set to move to Tanghalang Huseng Batute come September. It stars Noel Escondo and Catherine Racsag under the direction of Herbie Go, Tanghalang Pilipino artistic director.

Repertory Philippines, considered the foremost proponent of English language theater in the country, will stage an all-male version of Taming of the Shrew beginning Sept. 2 at Rep's Globe Theater in Greenbelt. With Bart Guingona at the helm, the cast includes Joel Trinidad, Niccolo Manahan and Topper Fabregas.

As a special treat, the British Council and its partners, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, New World Renaissance Hotel, Smart Communications, Dream Satellite Cable, ABC Channel 5, Shell Philippines Explorations, Bank of Commerce, Philippine Airlines and Pandiman Philippines have invited Scotland's Theater Babel to present its touring production of Macbeth at the CCP Little Theater on Sept. 14 and 15. Theater Babel's version is unmatched in its exploration of the corrosive effects of power and shows with searing clarity how little separates military heroism from violent brutality.

For inquiries on the Shakespeare festival, call 914-1011 to 14 or log on to www.britishcouncil.org.ph.

Kadayawan Stars

ABS-CBN stars shine in Kadayawan
By Peachy Vibal-Guioguio
The Philippine Star

Davao's Kadayawan Festival is the city's biggest annual party and this year's festivities could have not been any bigger than when a number of Philippine broadcast's biggest stars descended in this city care of your Kapamilya Network, ABS-CBN.

"This is the biggest show that has been mounted in the city so far," enthused ABS-CBN AVP George Padolina, commenting on the crowds that gathered as early as 8 a.m. at the SM grounds.

According to police estimate, there were about 30,000 to 35,000 people who trooped to the venue to get a glimpse of their favorite stars. During the press conference held on the evening of Aug. 20, Saturday at the NCCC mall, no less than the Network's executive vice president, Charo Santos-Concio, welcomed the local and the Manila-based members of the press. Concio intimated that the Network is planning something big for the local talents of Davao which was warmly received by the local press in attendance.

ABS- CBN holds the No. 1 spot for most Davao television viewers and as a way of showing appreciation for their overwhelming support, the Network's management and regional team came up with this showbiz blitz featuring the country's most admired broadcast talents coming to Davao to celebrate one of the country's most colorful and culturally rich celebration, the Kadayawan Festival. This has been the second consecutive year that the people and city government of Davao have asked ABS-CBN to be its exclusive media partner for this week-long celebration that has attracted thousands of tourists and visitors from all parts of the country as well as abroad.

According to Kim Hife, station manager of ABS-CBN Davao, the Network started to regularly bring in Manila talents last year. "We feel it's a way of giving back to Davaoeños our heartfelt gratitude for patronizing our Network," Hife explains. "Since then, we make it a point to bring a Network show here in Davao where local talents join them." Davao City by land area is considered as the biggest city in the world and is the economic and trading power-house not only of Mindanao but also in the ASEAN region.

As events have it, the ABS-CBN talents and crew were welcomed into this lovely city of fruits and flowers last Aug. 19, Friday, by a heavy downpour that lasted for almost two hours without let-up and submerged some parts of the city in knee-deep water. An occurrence which, as one local resident quipped "is very rare." The rains turned out to be a felicitous sign of welcome as the rest of the weekend turned out sunshiny all the way.

Kadayawan is a week-long festival that culminates in street dancing over the weekend in which the entire city virtually goes into gridlock as people massed into the streets. The drawing power of ABS-CBN stars were evident in the jampacked crowds that participated in live broadcasts held that Saturday at Gaisano South, SM and NCCC Mall Convention Hall. The milling crowds and the joyous response only confirm one thing: that ABS CBN is No. 1 in the hearts of the people of Davao.

Sunday morning greeted the city dwellers with humongous traffic as the city winds down its Kadayawan festivities. But it was actually the SM ground that was teeming with people who came to watch ASAP 05 and ASAP Fanatic that caused the jam. But people didn't mind. For them, standing on hours even under the sweltering sun, is a small discomfort compared to catching a view of their favorite stars. And the heavens cooperated since not a single drizzle dropped from the sky. Only luminous stars of Philippine television were up on stage and framed under the blue skies as they wowed the people of Davao.