shot western union’s ad with new endorser cesar montano last january.
Author Archives: paderewski
let me siomai love for you
my first tvc with filmex for tekki shomen noodles by zesto. we had a really tight budget on this one because it was originally costed to be shot on location. and then they decided for a studio shoot. how do you stock up shelves and shelves of products so that you could make a believable convenience store?
good thing zesto owned more than just tekki shomen noodles! we got boxes and boxes of zesto and sunglo juices, orchard fresh juice, quickchow noodles, zesto sodas, one iced tea and even tita frita’s ketchup and beam toothpaste! i admire knowing how the company became what it is now. it even has its own airline (hello, zestair anyone?) ! fantastic! 🙂
seforel tvc
this posting is long overdue. we did this ad for seforel october 2008. had a hard time finding an office that we wanted with the schedule that we needed to do the shoot. eventually we narrowed it down to two offices, including the revolver studios office. and i said, yes i can make something out of the lobby. so we did that. unfortunately, looks like it will also be the last time we’d shoot in the office too hehehe
that mineral water shoot
this we shot in november 2008. the shoot took place in zambales, on camara island. had to have custom-made pois done mainly because we followed a particular color scheme. logistics was tricky as the set guys had to ferry construction materials to the island to build those beach resort huts and bar 🙂
boracay 2009
had a grand time at boracay. ive been to boracay before but it felt like it was my first time hahaha
no update
waaaah, sked’s been crazy and im doing preparations for tv commercials along with jerrold tarog’s new movie. crazy crazy month. and carlo’s also touring the philippines via events work. ulcer here i come! 🙂 cheers
btw, i watched the e-heads concert and it was bittersweet for many reasons. one would be the obvious reason that this may really be their last concert together. it’s like the death of an old friend. another death would be francis.m’s. for both the eheads and francis, an era is really over. mabuhay ang 90s!
me with chantel and kiel. cheers!
zsazsa zaturnnah ze muzikal
ive seen the show before at the PETA. im a fan of the book so the musical version was not to be missed. however, jhem and i were late then so we missed out 10-15 minutes of the show. and we sat on the balcony so the experience was not that fabulous. thus carlo and i looked forward to watching it (again for me, 1st time for carlo) now that it is having another run at the CCP.
got tickets earlier in the week and incidentally it was also valentines haha (date pala itey). the seats were great as we were 10 rows away from the stage. perfect! just last week i was at the CCP backstage waiting to fit eula valdez for a commercial we shot. and a few weeks before that we also got to work with kalila aguilos on another tvc. so we were double excited to see them onstage.
despite the technical problems with the lapels, the witty and gay (happy) swordplay of words still brought the crowd to stitches. and eula definitely is still and will always be zsazsa zaturnnah 🙂 unfortunately kalila wasnt playing in the matinee show. meliza reyes played and she was good as well, really strong voice (great soprano) and she looked like lea salonga (ergo she started singing sun and moon onstage). lauren novero, who i worked with in kaleldo years ago, played dodong. his voice sounded tired but at least the song will always be memorable (ikaw ang superhero ng buhay ko). nar cabico was hilarious as didi. too bad i never saw ricci chan play didi in the original run 😦
if i had known carlo vergara would be at the theater to sign books i would have brought my copy. instead we bought the souvenir program and the cd and i had that signed by vergara, de jesus and eula herself. in the world of showbiz, i dont expect the stars to remember names as you meet a lot of people in this line of work. was thrilled and surprised she remembered my name haha (she signed the cd and wrote “to ben…” without asking me my name. ubber coolness!
oscar-time
posting my oscar winners wanna-win list. i guess there are three ways to look at a list of nominees. one would be who will win, the other who should win, and the one who must win. and sometimes it doesnt really matter because politics in award giving bodies get in the way of the real winner receiving the trophy. sometimes sentimental winners take home the trophy instead of the best best nominee. and sometimes, the mass favorite wins the trophy when there’s really a better movie in the running (or out of it). the selection process is trivial and i learned not to put my hopes on the oscar. at least not anymore.
although benjamin button (CCBB) may have gotten the most nominations this year with 13, slumdog millionaire might actually run away with the top honors (picture, director, cinematog, writing). im rooting for kate winslet to win (finally), although she would be the year’s “sentimental” choice along with mickey rourke. im thrilled anne hathaway got nominated and meryll streep gets another nomination but please make it kate this year. heath ledeger (+) hands down wins supporting actor for dark knight.
the supporting actress field is open, since kate in the reader is put in the lead actress category and she’s won in that for both SAG and GG as supporting. perhaps this time penelope cruz might actually get it. or amy adams.
there are ways on how to guess the winners for the oscars. when they win at the GG (golden globes), that’s almost 50% sure they will win the oscar. if the same recipients win in their corresponding guilds (directors guild of american, screen actors, producers guild, etc) then it’s practically theirs. of course there have been upsets but that’s all part of the game. and dont think winning in the oscars mean youre the best in the lot. politics play a great deal in awards like this that’s why nicole kidman won in the hours and not moulin rouge, renee zellweger won in cold mountain the year after instead of chicago, steven spielberg and martin scorsese didnt win the oscar until schindler’s list and the departed respectively, brokeback mountain won directing and writing but not best picture, lord of the rings didnt win best picture until the release of return of the king, etc.
ive actually mellowed down and am no longer that ubber excited whenever it’s oscar season since i started working on movies. i outgrew my childhood heroes (spielberg etc) every since i learned there was a far richer film experience outside hollywood. but this tradition of guessing winners with cuzin tootsie, as ive said, will continue as long as there are films made.
below is the full list of nominees and my guesses. cheers!
catching up
we’ve been catching up on movies, especially those lined up for the awards season. here’s a list:
doubt. for one thing (and this goes without saying), meryll streep is a force to be reckoned with. her portrayal of sister aloysius beauvier is intense. really intense. this is really an actor’s movie, based on a broadway play that already won the tony’s and a pulitzer award. doubt picks up nominations at the oscars for streep, philip seymour hoffman, amy adams and viola davis (power siya). streep already picked up the GG and the SAG for actress. let’s see if she edges off kate winslet at the oscars.
milk. fantastic. sean penn delivered one of his greatest performance as the gay activitist harvey milk. it’s fascinating to watch nuances of his character, and we’ve known him from his previous turns in “i am sam” and “21 grams.” needless to say his gayness was spot on haha also impressive was james franco as penn’s lover. im thrilled franco is getting really good work now and his acting is getting attention (he was nominated at the GG for support in pineapple express). both penn and james brolin is already up for the oscars in the lead and support actors race. sean penn already won at the SAG so that puts him in the front-runner for the oscars with mickey rourke (who won the GG).
slumdog millionaire. MY. GAS. it’s hard to write about movies that get me all excited. just like with dark knight that took me days before i could write a decent enough review, this also got me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions i cant even rave well about it days after watching it. fantastic direction, writing, performances of the actors, cinematography and prod design. love it love it love it ! pinoys have ranted over at the yahoogroups on why we couldnt produce movies like this despite the fact that we are 80% slums. i dont even wanna go there. slumdog millionare is exceptional and people should watch it to be inspired and fall in love. winner ito. aside from the GG, it also won in the PGA so sureness na ito sa oscar for best picture. kulang nalang danny boyle manalo din sa DGA para sure pa talaga hehe
the curious case of benjamin button. this movie spells out H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D. big studio flick. big stars. big budget on effects. big publicitiy campaign. and despite all this, the movie works. it does matter that the story has to be good and interesting, fascinating even. benjamin’s curious case is fascinating indeed and we are enthralled for 2.5 hours in the theater. it’s a bit forrest gump though and we’ve experienced that kind of films before. there goes its chances at the oscars. nevertheless, cate blanchett has never looked so luminous before. she really really really is beautiful. brad pitt is quirky in his film choices and i admire how he shifts from big drama and action films to indie comedies and other small films.
the visitor. cute ito. patrick jenkins, nominated for the oscar lead, plays a professor who normally keeps to himself. his life is uneventful until he meets a couple who was tricked to rent out and stay in his new york apartment without him knowing about it. he befriends the gorgeous haaz sleiman who teaches him to loosen up by beating the drum. jenkins then gets himself involved in the lives of these people and his normally quiet life is changed forever. parang foster child ang dating sa ending hehe. this indie movie is as “quiet” as the director’s previous film, station agent, but loud enough to pick up awards and nominations along its way. watch it 🙂
next up are the wrestler, the reader, cristina victoria barcelona, gran torino, bolt, etc
******
the oscar nominees are up and it’s guessing time again. it’s precious time for cuzin tootsie and i around this time as we bet on the winners and whoever gets the least correct buys a liter of coke. with the distance between us now, we no longer bully over soda but the tradition continues to this day. will post my choices soon 🙂
a bit of news
my cuzin ej’s wife jade just gave birth yesterday evening to a healthy baby boy. the name’s johann raphael. cuzin explains johann is another form for john, meaning a gift of God; and raphael, aside from being a ninja turtle, is also the name of one of God’s angels. i thought jade’s dad’s name, isagarde, would be used for the baby, something the couple teased themselves about. apparently i am told isagarde is a combination of the dad’s godparents or something. by the time titatems and i got to the hospital, the nursery viewing time was over so i guess we have to wait for tomorrow to see my new nephew. yey!
bought a hard disk multi-media player after seeing cuzin ace with his. i was bowled over the fact that i can watch my movies on tv straight from out of the hard disk. that reduces waste because i need not burn them to dvds. yey! 🙂
watched fringe episode 11 this evening. this episode was great, and loved seeing olivia dunham in action movie mode hehehe the last ugly betty episode was also hot. interesting twist on the connor-molly storyline. and betty asking guest star bernadette peters to be her mentor.
watched the swedish vampire movie “let the right one in” and brad pitt’s “the curious case of benjamin button.” benjamin button was great and should be viewed in the theater. im too lazy to write a review about it so this may be all i have to say. love the submarine scene though hehe and cate blanchet. the swedish vampire movie had a fantastic overall feel as it was eerie and surreal. the snow was itself a character and i loved that there were so few speaking lines. carlo and i also got to watch gus van sant’s milk. sean penn turned a magnificent performance here as did james franco and james brolin. as of this morning, sean penn, brolin and brad pitt are nominated for oscars to this movie. im thrilled heath ledger is also nominated for dark knight. hope he wins 🙂
finished watching the whole top design season 2, loved the works of winner nathan thomas (we’re fans). im inspired not only by his designs but also his style in clothes hahaha currently downloading stylista as well. reviews say the series is bad but i guess we’ll have to see that for ourselves 🙂 thank you bravo tv haha
benjamin padero 