Why Mr. T. is flashing a multi-million-peso smile

Still basking in the phenomenal success of the AlDub movie Imagine You & Me (raking it in, now into its second week of SRO showing nationwide; total gross so far not disclosed) co-produced by his own APT Entertainment, Inc., GMA Films and M-Zet Productions, Antonio “Mr. T.” Tuviera has just raised his bankability by landing on the cover of Forbes Philippines, flashing a multi-million-peso smile sandwiched by Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, the current gold mine of Mr. T.’s noontime show Eat, Bulaga! which is produced by TAPE (Television And Production Exponents, of which Mr. T. is president/CEO).

In the cover story written by Forbes Lifestyle Editor Paul John Cana, Mr. T. doesn’t reveal how much he’s worth and you just have to read between the lines to find out. While millions are pouring into his life like monsoon rains, Mr. T., who turned 71 last February, told Paul John, “I don’t see myself really retiring because I think I’m going to get sick or I’ll die early if I retire.”

Mr. T. with Alden and Maine on the cover of Forbes Philippines magazine. — Photos by CYRUS PANGANIBAN reprinted from Forbes Philippines

Of course, the moolah is far more effective than any or all of the maintenance medication Mr. T. is taking.

How can he retire when, according to the Forbes story, Mr. T. has just recently obtained a bank loan of P500 million earmarked for the completion and furnishing of a three-storey studio on a 3,000-square-meter property in Marikina City. For years, APT has been renting the Bulaga studio in Broadway Centrum, at one time (in 2014) the rent amounted to, hold your breath, P161.7 million in one year.

Quote-unquote:

Conservative lenders usually hesitate to extend a loan to senior citizens but Tuviera’s bankers can draw comfort from the fact that they will be paid from advertising revenues generated by Eat, Bulaga!, currently the country’s most popular lunchtime television variety show that is celebrating its 37th anniversary this July.

And, if I may add, still going stronger every day. One time, the show’s profits hit an all-time high of, hold your breath again, P1.7 billion. Staggering, isn’t it?

For the full history of Eat, Bulaga! and Mr. T.’s success story (starting as a production manager earning a mere P2,000 per month), get a copy of Forbes Philippines — that is, if you are lucky enough to get one since the magazine is reportedly sold out. (Thanks to Girlie Rodis who mercifully bought one for me and another copy for Ronald Constantino.)

An AlDub fan gushes over Imagine You & Me

While we are on AlDub mode, here’s the tandem’s avid fan, election lawyer Romy Macalintal, gushing over Alden and Maine’s movie Imagine You & Me. (Trivia: so devoted an AlDubian is Romy that he and his wife Mila braved the traffic and the huge crowd to watch an AlDub event at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.)      

My wife Mila and I (photo) together with some friends watched Imagine You and Me and could now qualify as material witnesses to prove that indeed it is a must-watch movie for all — not only for Alden and Maine’s followers but for anyone who is in love, has fallen in love, has loved, and longing to be loved. It makes you feel romantic from moment to moment as if it was created for all seasons.

The movie is practically a blend of the love stories of Romeo and Juliet, a Shakespeare’s tragic romance creation, as Gara (Maine) dreamed of being in Verona where she would only have her first kiss with her real Romeo at the famous balcony where Juliet stood as Romeo professed his love; the movie Love Story that starred Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal, where, like Gara and Andrew (Alden), social differences in life are not a reason to stop two young lovers from falling in love; and the romantic film, An Affair to Remember which starred Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr where, like in Imagine, a car accident could abruptly end a love affair. While Gara was reminded that Romeo and Juliet had a tragic ending, she did not look at it as a “tragedy” but rather a victory of true love because she said “even at the end they still proved that they could be together in love.”

The scenic or tourist spots alone and the picturesque places in Italy which were included in the movie were already a magnificent bonus for moviegoers who have not personally seen these stunning creation of nature.

The twist at the near end of the movie was so unexpected that moved most of AlDub fans to tears. We are sure that those who have not yet seen the movie would not want us to tell how it ended.

Your heart may break like shattered glass, but Gara had made these assurances to all broken-hearted lovers: “Kaya nga naimbento ang glue para kahit na gaano kawasak ang isang bagay ay pwede pa ring mabuo.”

Were they able to mend their broken hearts and did Gara realize her dream of being kissed by the man she truly loves at Juliet’s house in Verona, Italy? The sudden twist at the end of the movie will tell it all.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)