Actress twice dropped from TV soaps for being ‘big’

An actress is supposed to be part of the cast of a forthcoming drama series in a big network. In fact, she already taped many episodes for the show. It not only keeps her busy, but it also puts food on the table, although she is not really wanting in money.

The network wants all forthcoming TV projects to have many episodes in the can in preparation for possible delays caused by uncontrollable scenarios such as typhoons, if they happen to shoot the series on location.

The series was about to air, so the network’s big bosses viewed the finished pilot episode. They were shocked to see how “big” the actress looked on screen. True, appearing on TV adds ten more pounds to someone’s physique, that’s why most TV stars opt to maintain a slim figure. To the horror of the big bosses, the actress doesn’t look appealing on screen with her enormous size.

What happened next was disheartening. Even if she already taped many episodes, the network bosses decided they couldn’t allow the actress to be part of the series with her current figure. So they informed the actress that they have no other recourse but to take her out of the project and replace her with someone sexier.

The actress had no choice but to heed management’s wishes. She was urged to lose weight and if she gets back to fighting form, she will be cast in a new teleserye. After a few months of trying to shed pounds, the actress got a call slip to report for work on a new drama series. It seemed the bosses were told she was in better shape.

Naturally, the actress was so glad to return to work. But when the network bosses saw the pilot episode for the new show, they were dismayed to learn the actress was not exactly “slim” as they thought she already was. In fact, they felt she was even bigger compared to her last size.

Sadly, the actress was once again replaced in the new teleserye that she was making. It was a case of double jeopardy because of her size.

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The members of the entertainment press got a real treat at the get-together arranged by former President-turned- Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada and his showbiz colleagues whom he hadn’t seen for a long time. There was no announcement about Mayor Erap’s political plans since the event was primarily a party among friends.

Among the stars who graced the event were Ms. Celia Rodriguez, Daisy Romualdez, Annabelle Rama at Eddie Gutierrez, Ms. Gloria Romero, Delia Razon, Gloria Sevilla, Barbara Perez and Robert Arevalo, among others.

Of course, the movie press wouldn’t let Erap go without him entertaining questions. He was asked who among the three possible presidentiables he would be supporting. Will be it Mar Roxas (who was formerly a member of his Cabinet), Senator Grace Poe (who is his godchild) or Vice President Binay (who was his running mate in the 2010 elections)? Erap said he will choose on the basis of what their government programs will be.

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Robin Padilla on Wednesday issued a statement on his Facebook account after former adult film actress Maria Ozawa called him “unprofessional” after he withdrew from their upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Nilalang.”

According to his manager Betchay Vidanes, the action star decided to pull out of the project in order to take care of his wife Mariel Rodriguez, who is pregnant with triplets. Mariel is having a difficult pregnancy and Robin wants to personally take care of his spouse, who suffered a miscarriage just last March.

Robin’s withdrawal from the project did not sit well with Ozawa, who expressed her dismay on her Instagram account, saying “no other celebrity would cancel [his] job 10 days before the shooting starts.”

She added that she is still hoping that the producers will find a replacement lead actor, despite the film already being shelved.

Robin’s decision to pull out of the action horror film “Nilalang,” which would have been his third straight Metro Manila Film Festival entry (after “10,000 Hours” and “Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo’’), also caused a private investment group that claims to be the “main funding partner” of the company that’s producing the film to withdraw from the project.

In a statement that was released to the media, Joyce Ramirez, spokesperson and lead publicist for the MFT Group, said that a letter had been furnished to Haunted Tower Pictures confirming that “after much deliberation,” MFT will no longer finance the production of “Nilalang.”

“Given the proposed working budget for the film, the non-participation of Mr. Padilla means that MFT (being the main funding partner of Haunted Tower Pictures) no longer believes that the project has a bankable actor as its lead and the absence on an immediate alternative means that the production will be delayed to an extent that ‘Nilalang’ will not be released in time for the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival,” Ramirez said in behalf of the MFT group.