Cesar Montano mounts 3rd painting exhibit

Top actor, director, singer and sportsman Cesar Montano is passionate about his art, not only in film and music, but also in painting. The Boholano star opened his third solo oil painting exhibit on April 27 at the historic artisanal and pugod-style 77-year-old Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City.

The actor is showcasing his diverse creations which express his love for nature and life. His first solo exhibit was at the Glass Wing of Ayala Museum in 2009, and the second was held in California. He was appointed commissioner of UNESCO in 2005 to serve as Philippine representative for culture and the arts. He is also a customer of Kamuning Bakery Café.

Gracing the ribbon cutting of Cesar’s exhibit was Regal Films producer Lily Monteverde. One of Cesar’s early film projects as a newcomer was Regal’s box-office film “Broken Marriage” which starred Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon under the direction of Ishmael Bernal.

“There will be no Cesar Montano if not for Regal Films,” said Cesar whose remarks warmed the heart of the lady producer.

And it must have been Cesar’s lucky day. Mother Lily liked one of the actor’s paintings in the exhibit and paid for it in cash. We were seated close to where Mother Lily was and we saw him hand Cesar the money in cash! Cesar even told us and another writer who was interviewing him that we should talk more often because we might be his lucky charms as he suddenly got a windfall. For her part, Mother Lily said Cesar is a great actor and artist.

Cesar said he has been painting for some 20 years now but it has been on and off. It is only now that he has been finding time to paint again. “Dati kasi, ang nasa isip ko baka wala pa akong karapatan na ipakita ang mga trabaho ko. Baka hindi pa ako hinog sa pagpipinta,” said Cesar.

He said he had to hone his craft as a painter first. Just like when he began acting, Cesar equipped himself by joining various acting workshops and also dabbled into theater. Now, there is no question that he is one of our finest actors.

We asked Cesar if it’s true that a problematic Claudine Barretto was the reason why his recent TV5 soap was axed. He said he never had a problem with Claudine when it came to her working attitude. Just like Claudine, he comes to the set early because he has a cut-off time. Besides, since he is running for a congressional seat via a party list group, he is barred from being seen on TV during the campaign period.

Cesar is running under AANGAT Tayo party list. Among its advocacies are the health and welfare of children. He is also a supporter of Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who is the current frontrunner in the presidential race based on the survey by Pulse Asia. He said we ought to be vigilant and think about the future of our country and our children’s children. He will sing in the last rally of Mayor Duterte on May 7 to be held at Liwasang Bonifacio.

On the TV front, Cesar will be seen on a new show titled “The King of Masked Singer” to be aired in July. He was offered a role in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsiyano” of ABS-CBN but he was not able to accept it because of the Comelec ruling regarding candidates.

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It’s a big hit. We are talking about the online portal D5 STUDIO (http://d5.studio) which was launched recently. This gives internet addicts the opportunity to watch entertainment shows online.

Included in their program lineup are “Tanods” by Jun Sabayton, “Jinrirelationships” by Jinri Park, “Phenoms” by Kiefer Ravena and Alyssa Valdez and the controversial “Good Times with DJ Mo Twister.”

Also a big hit is “Forever Sucks” topbilled by Jasmine Curtis-Smith who plays a vampire masquerading as a call center agent. Jasmine was among those who attended the launch of D5STUDIO at Shangri-La Fort held last week.

“It’s a new experience for me. We already have a regular following in ‘Forever Sucks’ and we are happy with it. For me it doesn’t matter if I am seen on free TV or in an online show. I always give my best in whatever I do,” said the younger sister of Anne Curtis.

According to D5STUDIO Vice President and Head Lloyd Manaloto, “Our D5STUDIO Originals showcases a new breed of digital programming that is braving the online content landscape with unconventional show themes and formats.”

So far, according to Mr. Manaloto, some of the shows have gotten more than a million views, particularly “Forever Sucks,” which only runs for 30 minutes per episode, so it is a very engaging watch. And they can do the shoot in one day for every episode.

Aside from D5Studio Originals, D5Studio also has other components like GG Network, uLOLs, the humor platform of D5Studio, and as an added treat, D5Studio partnered with Hopscotch, a mobile platform developer for events, sports teams and brands.

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Appearing in “Bubble Gang” tonight are Michael V, Paolo Contis, Antonio Aquitania, Boy 2 Quizon, Sef Cadayona, Gwen Zamora, Roadfill Macasero, Betong Sumaya, Mikael Daez, Valeen Montenegro, Kim Domingo, Arra San Agustin, Arianne Bautista Denice Barbacena, Arny Ross, Aljur Abrenica, Diego Llorico and more.

Among the featured segments are gags at the pool, seminar (an employee attends a seminar by her boss who talks about her poor performance at work), sexy models (a director auditions sexy models for a sexy pictorial), beach tips (how to enjoy summer at the beach alone), and relax ka lang (because of too much stress from work, a mother did not enjoy their family outing.)

“Bubble Gang” airs Fridays after GMA Telebabad.