Joey files for divorce vs Alma

Wednesday last week in an interview with Funfare as he appealed for "sobriety" and at the same time shielding estranged wife Alma Moreno from further thrashing from the media, Parañaque City Mayor Joey Marquez mentioned in passing that he and Alma were trying to sort things out and, who knows, despite the "other guy" romantically linked to Alma, their marriage might still be saved.

These days, Joey is singing a different tune altogether. He isn’t exerting any effort, not even lifting a small finger, towards reconciliation. As far as Joey is concerned, he has reached a point of no return, no turning back. Yes, he has slammed the door on Alma whose presence at the Parañaque City Hall is as unwelcome as her pictures which have been torn down upon orders not by Joey as per reports but by Alma herself to her alalays (factotums).

A few days ago, Joey flew to the US for some "business matters." While there, he’s filing a divorce against Alma whom he married in Las Vegas in late 1989 on the ground of, among others, "irreconcilable differences." When he comes back, Joey will file a petition for annulment of their marriage which was solemnized here in the early ’90s. According to a Funfare DPA, Joey would petition the court for the custody of their children (Yeoj, Winwyn and Vittorio Joey, and adopted child MM), citing Alma as "an unfit mother."

Reports have it that the break-up was caused by Alma’s having a lover, identified by The Buzz (and other talk shows and tabloids) as one Julian Say, said to be a production assistant of NBC radio in Cebu. Julian denied having an affair with Alma when interviewed by The Buzz, saying he barely knows Alma. Neither is it true, said Julian (who spends time in Papua New Guinea where his father was assigned), that Alma gifted him with a Honda or is giving him money, hinting that his family can afford all those luxuries.

But an apparently pro-Joey DPA said that Julian actually knows Alma very well and that their "friendship" started way back in mid-2000 when Alma did a concert in Cebu. "Everytime Julian would come to Manila," the DPA added, "the two alalays of Alma would fetch him at the airport and check him into either the Grand Boulevard or the Hyatt. When Vandolph was recuperating at the Makati Med last December, Alma and Julian even saw each other. Right after Alma checked out of the Makati Med middle of last year (when she was diagnosed to be suffering from Multiple Sclerosis), she flew to Cebu at nagkita sila ni Julian."

Oh, well, just like the twists and turns of any real-life "love triangle," the Joey-Alma-Julian story is turning up all sorts of subplots.

All that Joey is saying now, addressing Alma, is this: "See you in court!"

Yes, it’s our Billy

Just when I was starting to wonder whatever happened to Funfare’s Canada-based "international correspondent" Ferdinand Lapuz (intriguingly silent these past several months), I got an e-mail from him about Billy Crawford having clinched a role in the Hollywood movie The Exorcist.

Here’s Ferdinand’s letter-report:

I came across an article in The Hollywood Reporter, dated Jan. 23, 2002. It said, quote-unquote, "Ryan Phillippe, onscreen in Robert Altman’s Gosford Park, is in final negotiations to join John Frankenheimer’s untitled prequel to The Exorcist franchise for Morgan Creek Prods. Shooting begins in the spring in the United States, United Kingdom and Africa. Phillippe joins a cast that includes Liam Neeson and Australian actor Billy Crawford in the story of Father Merrin (Neeson) and his first encounter with the devil while doing missionary work in post-World War II Africa. While there, Merrin suffers from the horrors of war and loses his faith in God. When he meets the devil, he has to fight to save his beliefs. Phillippe would play Father William Francis, a young priest who does not understand how Merrin can lose faith in God. Francis later faces the devil, with devastating consequences."

I read from the local dailies and tabloids that the former Billy Joe Crawford has won this role over hundreds of aspirants. I just want to know if this Australian Billy Crawford is the same Billy Crawford who was the former That’s Entertainment star, Seiko Films jewel and the son of Vilma Santos in 1989’s Pahiram ng Isang Umaga. Are the film’s publicists trying to market Billy Crawford as an Aussie in order to join the elite Australian forces in Hollywood today? It is quite common knowledge that Aussies are a strong force in Hollywood today. The likes of Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Mel Gibson and adopted Aussie Russell Crowe who was born not a ‘Kangaroo’ but a ‘Kiwi.’

Maybe, Kuya Germs can clear this matter. It is possible that Billy’s handlers are pushing him as an Aussie because it will be easier for him to get roles in La La La land.

Also, I came across a report in the Toronto Star that director Steven Spielberg and his Minority star Tom Cruise are reuniting in another WW II film, Ghost Soldiers. Guess what? The story is about the survivors of Bataan Death March, who remained in a Japanese prison camp for three years after being freed by Allied Forces. I just hope this Bataan is the province in the island of Luzon and not somewhere in Australia. If this is true, maybe some scenes will require the real Bataan as its location. So, expect Steven, Tom and company soon.

More for you soon!

(Note: Yes, Ferdinand, that Billy Crawford is our very own Billy Crawford who confirmed the good news during a recent interview with Kris Aquino and Boy Abunda on The Buzz. I don’t think Billy’s publicists, as you call them – I doubt if he has any – make it appear that Billy is Australian; I guess the Hollywood Reporter writer simply presumed that Billy is from Australia. Anyway, let’s rejoice that Billy got into the cast of The Exorcist and look forward to Spielberg, Cruise and company shooting in the Philippines some scenes — the Bataan Death March — of their World War II movie. Please send more juicy items. Hope to hear from you soon!)