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Nestor de Guzman, Gordon Doria, Art Barbadillo, Bibsy M. Carballo,
Ricky Lee, Maru Cusi Tatco, Jonathan Catunao, Gilbert Guy Ferrer
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By:
BIBSY M. CARBALLO
LIVE
FEED
The
Philippine Star Entertainment
November
21, 2012; Wednesday
Page
E-3
If there would be
any word that could describe Nora Aunor then and now, it would have to be “unpredictable.” From the day she was born, the bronze
superstar called Guy appeared to follow the disposition of the moment, breaking
many rules but getting away with them.
Her love life and her misbehavior are fodder for gossip to this
day. Her awards in film, recording and
theater are too many to enumerate. She
had close to 30 homes; her earnings would have run into the multi-millions, yet
she has little to show for it.
In the acting
field, her awards have come from Brussels, Cairo, Berlin Cannes, Singapore,
Green Planet (Hollywood) and the recent Venice Film Festival. Obviously, there is no Filipino award-giving
body that hasn’t given her a Best Actress award and even a Lifetime Achievement
trophy. She is not called the Superstar
for nothing.
But even
superstars have their downside. Nora
left for the US sometime in 2004 and stayed there for eight years. Perhaps, she enjoyed the life of an ordinary
person away from the problems of a celebrity.
It is rumored she got into trouble with the US Immigration, asked to
serve community service, was released with all cases erased and wonder of wonders,
given a 10-year US visa. People were
astounded. Walang himala?
Guy returns
home. TV5 had offered her a contract;
the late Mario O’Hara directed her in a mini-series; Cannes Best Director
Brillante Mendoza’s film Thy Womb
brought her an award in Venice; the same film will compete at the Metro Manila
Film Festival (MMFF); and ABS-CBN is launching the newly-restored film Himala with a book Ricky Lee was
commissioned to write. Guy is happily
where she belongs.
The restored Himala film will be launched on Dec. 4,
4 p.m., at the Shangri-La Plaza Cinema 1, together with a documentary titled Himala Ngayon by sari Dalena and Keith
Sicat. Ricky’s coffee-table book Sa Puso
ng Himala has the full screenplay, English translation, more than 100
full-color photographs and interviews with cast and crew. The 1,000 hardbound copies at P1,000 each are
almost sold out. A softbound version
limited to 4,000 copies at P500 with exactly the same content will be available
at the launch (for details, call 426-4961, 928-9557 or 0917-5331948).
When informed by
Leo Katigbak of ABS-CBN’s Film Archive and Special Events of the plan for the
film launch and the book in early December, writer Ricky thought it would be a
cinch. No sooner had he agreed to the
project when voluminous problems arose.
Director Ishmael Bernal had long been gone; cinematographer Ike Jarlego
had just died; those on the set including this columnist as line producer
couldn’t remember details from 30 years back; and Bernal’s assistant director Warlito
Teodoro could not be traced. What was
Ricky to do?
He went to the
Noranians, the Manila core group of Nora Aunor advocates in various parts of
the globe who call themselves ICON and NFF (Nora’s Friends Forever) who promote
the legacy of the superstar as a world-class artist. It was the best decision he ever made.
According to
Nestor de Guzman, a workshopper of Ricky in 2002, it is this group that went
work quickly and efficiently: On Aug. 2,
relates Marie Cusi Tatco, they met with Ricky who asked them to assist in the
research. Mari searched for the root of
the Himala story, the apparition in
Cabra of the Virgin to a girl named Belinda Villas, and spoke to her and her
husband.
Gilbert Ferrer and
Jonathan catunao went to the National Library and Mowelfund to photocopy every
material that had to do with Himala. NFF members helped in transcription – among them
Michael Obenieta in Kansas; Deogracias Antazo in Saudi Arabia; Marites de Vera
in Dubai; Ellen Alejano in Autralia; Nikos dacanay in Thailand; Glorina Tugade
with Bayer Philippines; and Gordon Doria in the Philippines.
Jonathan and Mari
followed director Trina Dayrit to Antipolo on Aug. 9 to interview her
in-between takes of her teleserye and the reached out to Baby K. Jimemez
through Internet. They waited two weeks
while Manila was “underwater” because
of the habagat rains to interview
Imee marcos, head of Experimental Cinema (ECP) that produced Himala.
Meantime, Ricky’s
efforts were gaining ground. Charlie
Perlata of Roper’s studio, official Himala
photographer, submitted photos rescued from 30 years of flood and
fungi. Joel Lamangan, crowd director of
the stampede scene of 3,000 extras, found Bernal notes of that scene. At the wake of his brother Ike, Edmund
Jarlego willingly shared memories from his brother of Himala. Ernesto Enrique sent
be Virgie Moreno’s UP Film Center to Ilocos to document Himala had information
to share. Jun Arvin Gudoy, current chief
tourism officer of Ilocos, introduced them to some extras in the stampede which
led to the actual spot of the tree in the movie where Elsa saw the Virgin. The sineguelas
tree was still in the spot they left it.
Waiting for another Himala?
