What a difference the last quarter of 2002 made!

This is it. After being absent for roughly three months, I’m back to writing a weekly column. I am definitely older, debatably wiser, but eager to try again. What a difference the last quarter of 2002 has made on my life, and my choices. Basically, that’s it, I have a new venue to express my opinion, and a fresh vantage point to do it from.

Just one successful film can be life-changing. In my case, an unexpectedly lauded performance has made it possible for me to re-invigorate my movie career. Tempting offers came my way, and it felt unwise to not walk through the re-opened doors.

My inclusion in the film Mano Po was a last-minute decision of my producer Mother Lily as well as my director, Joel Lamangan. I stepped into the role of Juliet Go, which was earmarked for Ara Mina, after she took over the role of Richelle Go from Assunta de Rossi. My participation was confirmed three days before they started filming and just a week and a half before I was to start.

In show business, it has been proven countless times that second or third choices end up reaping glory whether in the box office or in the acting awards derby. Just recently, I saw Halle Berry on a Dateline NBC yearend interview being asked if she regretted not having done Speed which became Sandra Bullock’s star-making film. She was a good sport about the whole thing, saying that all the good things that happened to Sandra after Speed were meant for her, because Halle related that had she done the role way back then, she’d "just have been the black chick driving the bus." It is easy to be generous when you’re now an Oscar award-winning actress.

Now that the final tally is out, a lucky star must have really been shining down on me for me to be included in the festival’s top-grossing film, with the matching acting recognition. Controversial though the near sweep of all the awards may have been, at the end of it all, regardless of all the hoopla, Mother Lily not only has the trophies, she has also impressively enriched her bank account.

There have been many people blessed by the just-concluded Metro Manila Film Festival. My kumpare, Bong Revilla, not only did exceptionally well at the tills, but by giving his son Jolo a major role in Agimat, he has pulled off a rare achievement in Philippine show business, the launching of a third generation star to reckon with. After the success of Agimat, the Revilla acting dynasty is assured of longevity.

Tito Dolphy’s Home Alone Da Riber was shot on a relatively modest budget, that’s why as producer by virtue of still being able to make the Filipino audience laugh, he’s now laughing all the way to the bank. Jolina Magdangal, who played Tito Dolphy’s daughter in the film, has proven her continuing bankability, regardless of which television network she now belongs to.

Piolo Pascual, who won the Best Supporting Actor trophy for the film Dekada ’70, has proven that he isn’t just a matinee idol, or the other half of a popular love team, but a sensitive and highly effective actor as well.

Vic Sotto’s Lastikman was shown on January 1st, yet it still managed to land at No. 2 in the final box-office tally. It must have felt awful to not be part of the initial seven films that got to open on Christmas Day, but what a vindication the moviegoers gave him!

My director, Joel Lamangan, has been flooded with offers, and he’s booked solid for the entire year. He’s slated to begin shooting Walang Kapalit, a Sharon Cuneta-Richard Gomez romance for Viva Films, at the end of this month. He has firmed up his commitment to helm a historical drama that’s scheduled to be shot in June, which will also be a contender for the 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival. Hopefully, he’ll be able to squeeze in our re-team up – an adult, contemporary, non-fairy tale love story to be produced by Regal Films.

On my part, I start filming on Monday, Jan. 20, my first film team-up with Robin Padilla to be produced by FLT Films and directed by Jose Carreon. I play an eye surgeon who has to restore the sight of Robin who was partly responsible for the killing of my sister during a violent kidnapping. I accepted this assignment primarily because in all the years of knowing Robin, I have never been his leading lady on film. On a television sitcom, yes, and during our youth in real life, too, but I’ve never acted with him on a movie. It was flattering to be asked, so I said yes.

The other movie project that we’ve given a firm commitment to doing is a romantic comedy for Star Cinema with Vic Sotto as my leading man. Shooting for this film is slated for this summer. The film is tentatively titled Kung Ako Na Lang Sana, based partly on Bituin Escalante’s Himig Handog grand prize winning song. To give you an idea of what the story will be like, here are a couple of lines from the song’s refrain, Kung ako na lang sana ang iyong minahal, di ka na muling mag-iisa. Kung ako na lang sana ang iyong minahal, di ka na muling luluha pa. Di ka na mangangailangan pang humanap ng iba, kung ako na lang sana.

During our meeting with Star Cinema big bosses Malou Santos and direk Olive Lamasan, together with their creative pool, the egos of Vic and mine got gratifying boosts when we were told that they envisioned us to be the Pinoy versions of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, respectively. With a pitch that flattering, how could we say no?