Jennifer Hudson – In Times of Grief

Jennifer Hudson's world started crumbling down Friday after the murder of her mother and brother. But the singer/actress and an American Idol alumna fought back to bring justice and at the same time, kept her hopes up in finding her missing 7-year-old nephew who was with the slain victims at the time of the crime.

To make matters worse, the boy was found, Monday, at the backseat of a 1994 Chevy Suburban that was abandoned at Chicago's West Side, dead and was shot multiple times.

As of today, police say that this crime is domestic related. The Chicago police have taken William Balfour into custody. He is the estranged husband of the mother of the slain child, Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia, although he is not the father of Jennifer's nephew.

Balfour spent almost 7 years in prison and was out on parole. He was convicted before for attempted murder, hijacking and possession of stolen vehicle. He is now being held for parole violations which were not related to the Hudson investigation. Balfour's mother denied her son's involvement with the killings.

Jennifer's colleagues in the industry and the American Idol judges expressed their support for the actress/singer. This may be a tough time for Jen. She had a lot going on for her. Her star is on the rise and she has also gotten engaged this year.

For Jen and her family, may you find peace, justice and the courage to be able to stand tall and strong and fill the holes that the tragedy has created after all these hurdles.

Still Crying Over Grave of the Fireflies

I was expecting to cry. But I did not expect that I will not easily get over the depression that it brought.

Life is a hopeless venture. This was what I deemed as the theme of Isao Takahata’s powerful animated film, Grave of the Fireflies.

I have heard so much about it and I’ve been wanting to see the film. I finally got a DVD copy. On a Sunday, I sat with my 3-year-old niece and we watched it together. I was telling to her the story all along.

We instantly got hooked. I, as an adult and the child beside me can easily relate with the protagonists love for their mother and their love for one another. The movie was set at the latter part of the World War II in Japan when times were tough and people were all hard up as to how they will get their food and how they will go on with their lives.

The focus of the film was with the journey of Seito, the big brother in his teens and Setsuko, the adorable child, who is maybe the same age as my niece and even looks slightly similar.

Every emotion was poignant. Every hurdle that the siblings face that leads to other obstacles was well-planted.

I kept on telling my niece what was happening in the film until I could no longer bear the tears. My niece asked me why was the movie so sad. I told her that because it was the kind of life that people experienced during the time of war. Towards the end of the film, I was telling my niece why Setsuko died. It was shown that the child was left by Seito by herself because the brother had to look for food so that they will not starve.

Setsuko, being an innocent one, will try to entertain herself. She will play with insects. She will create anything out of nothing. This includes make believe food made out of mud that she would eat because no one was there to look out for her when she was on the age when she still has to be constantly looked after by an adult.

But the siblings had no other choice but to do what they had done. They could have made better or wiser decisions. They could have just apologized to the family who once had made them stay at their home. But what do they know? They were only children.

I don’t want to tell you the complete story. It was a marvel to watch it, but be prepared to get really depressed. Watch it with your family. This will make you treasure the littlest things that you have in life. This will make you go on even if you think that life is difficult because you will realize that it can be worse, that it can be tougher.

Cristy Fermin is Out, Who’s Next?

The latest development about one of the most hated showbiz host, writer and reporter, Cristy Fermin, is welcome news to all local tsismosos and tsismosas. Ms. Fermin was suspended for two months as anchorperson of DZMM’s Showbiz Mismo and co-host of ABS CBN’s Sunday showbiz-oriented show, The Buzz.

If you have read my previous post, you will know that I am among the happy tsismosas these days because of what happened. Now I think that ABS CBN can focus its attention on giving The Buzz its needed boost by letting Kris Aquino (just a suggestion) grab the mic from the silenced Femin. It will also be of added value if someone who is funny will be included on the show. I wonder why John Lapuz was ever axed from it when he/she is more enjoyable to watch than Joebert Sucaldito. But who is deserving of the spot?

There are fans clamoring for Ogie Diaz’s TV comeback along with his Locomotion gimmick on The Buzz. Ogie has been recently axed on his morning show on ABS CBN, Umagang Kay Ganda, because he had conducted services as a member of the press which was in conflict to his role as a UKG co-host. Well I admit that Diaz is funny and the Locomotion is nakakaloka. But this guy has also gotten himself into trouble with fans because of his biased reporting about celebrities, including the Kapamilya stars. And this is how Cristy started to get herself into the mud. She is biased. She sticks to what she was paid to believe in and will even include innocent children to her expose just to make her statements sound true.

According to the official statement of ABS CBN that I read over Inquirer.net:

“It was deemed that Ms. Fermin did not conduct herself with due regard to social conventions and public morals. Her statements went beyond the bounds of decency as they involved innocent children who are not party to their personal dispute. Ms. Fermin's statements violated the highest standards of professionalism and journalistic integrity.”

This is a good move for ABS CBN to start cleaning up their acts and give people what they want and what they deserve. So who will be next to be voted out? I’d go for Willie Revillame and then Mariel Rodriguez. What a delight TV viewing will be if we will no longer see these kinds of people who fill the boob tubes despite the fact that people want them removed.

What happened to Cristy Fermin must also be an eye-opener for showbiz reporters and showbiz-oriented shows to be responsible with the power they were given as part of the media spectrum. You don’t know the gravity of the effects of the tsismis you bring out for all people to devour to the celebrities involved in those. Stars, despite the glitz and glamour, are also humans. They deserve to be respected and their private lives must stay private.

Mr. and Mrs. Brad Pitt - Too Good to be True?

It seems like Hollywood is all about Brangelina. What are they doing? What are they up to? They can sell their every family picture and people are actually going to buy them. It seems weird. Sometimes I envy Angelina for having hooked up with a guy like Brad Pitt (I mean in terms of looks). He is the perfect model for every brochure printing paper and other types of media as well.

But as I go about reading the entertainment pages online and read about their every step on this planet, I stop feeling envious. From my point of view, it seems like a surreal life. Big Brother is watching them and they are selling all the rights to be followed by the cameras for a price, of course. Oh well, it has been publicized that the money that they are getting from selling the photos of the beautiful members of their family goes to charities that they support.

They are beautiful. They are happy. They help save the world. And all these seem fake, well for me as a spectator of all these at least. Is this all fake or their PR people are the best in the industry?

This week, we all have read and heard about how Angelina loves Brad. She said that he is the reason why she was convinced to get pregnant. She talks about how he helps her in raising the children, how Brad loves all their children. And she has a movie that she is promoting and people cannot think of anything to ask her but about her most photographed family.

I’m sorry. I am really not a fan no matter how I try to convince myself that these are good people, if not the perfect couple. They are so perfect that they are becoming a bore. There will come a time when people would no longer care.

At least with Suri, daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, not everything is in perfect position. The child has parents who are being criticized every now and then. But despite all that, even with the issue of Scientology surrounding them, they appear more human than the family of Angelina and Brad.

In the case of Jennifer Lopez, she has finally become human in my eyes when I read the interview that she wanted to stop from getting on print. I hope that celebrities do share such facts to their fans. J-Lo revealed how she suffered from depression for a time and how she acted and resolved the problem. She shared how she was also affected of postpartum depression 10 days after she gave birth to her twins. The interview answered in a humane way why she opted to sell her babies’ pictures. Asked if she gave the $6 million that they got from it to charity, she said that they donated a little to a good cause and saved the rest for the twins.

I miss those days when Britney Spears was going all crazies and people were absorbed with all her antics. At least the news at the time was not splattered with Brangelina and all their children and how perfect they are.

It is ideal for celebrities and non-celebrities alike help out to raise awareness about good causes. But the public do not have to know every detail that goes into it. But that is just my take on this. I know that there is a clamor to see everything that is happening to this perfect family, hence the proliferation of their images may it be in print or the broadcast medium.

Jason Priestly Heads Back to His Former Home

Another original 90210-er is bound to head back home. It was announced that Jason Priestly is going to be involved in the production, but this time, he will no longer be the on-cam eye candy. Instead, he will try his hands directing an episode that is set to air this spring. Read the rest of the entry here.

Okay, I admit my mistake on my previous entry about this spin-off. So there are people who are excited about the show’s revival. But after the guest appearance of old stars like Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth, people want to see more of them and more of the old casts. They are proving that they are still worth to pose for billboards or even custom size brochures.

So will the younger and new 90210 batch supersede the fame of the original casts? All I’ve been hearing about the new babes of the show is that they look so thin that people have been clamoring for them to eat. What a way to be famous, eh?

What make the old casts special are the characters that they have given life to for the 10 years that the show aired. People want to see Brandon Walsh, Brenda Walsh, Kelly Taylor, Dylan McKay, Donna Martin and so on. If not for the show and the characters, I don’t think that people would like to see much of Jason Priestly, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Luke Perry, Tori Spelling and the rest of the grown up casts of this 90s hit show.

So am I smelling a complete reunion soon? That will be nice and something to look forward to.

GOOD SUNDAY TV UNTIL THERE WAS CRISTY FERMIN

Over the weekend, there were triumphant feats on local TV. There was the successful launch of Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson starrer, My Only Hope. The show proved to be a big threat with its attractive visuals, good story and talented leads. I wonder if this is the reason why a GMA 7 starlet who used to be a Kapamilya is hinting that Gerald is courting her and fetches her every day. And the news broke out at a time when the remarkable love team is out of the country for a series of shows. This starlet had already caused a former hit Kapamilya love team to part ways. Will she be able to do it again?

I haven’t heard this starlet say anything about the issue because I don’t watch her shows because I don’t like her. But I have read some write-ups of showbiz reporters under GMA 7’s payroll about the issue. Now, now, GMA 7, if you feel so threatened with the Kimerald team-up, you might as well work your butts out to create stars instead of demolishing the hard-earned careers of good people like Kim and Gerald. Give out groceries or what have you to make sure that people tune in from Unang Hirit to Walang Tulugan. But please, stop the demolition jobs to the Kapamilya stars.

There is really a reason why Judy Ann Santos did not leave ABS CBN despite all the efforts of GMA 7 to acquire her services. But there are still no demolition jobs being set up by GMA 7 to the young superstar. Not yet. They are still courting the actress and giving her what her home studio seems to neglect. Is GMA 7 secretly hoping to get the exclusive rights of Judy Ann’s wedding to Ryan, whenever that will finally happen? I think so. But having observed Juday's, or should I say her manager's love-hate relationship with the Kapamilya network, she might surprise us all by jumping over the bakod one of these days. A piece of advice to Juday, do that only if you want to semi retire from showbiz. See what happened to Jolina Magdangal, she is visible all right, but she fails to shine.

Back to the starlet, a little bird told me that she appeared on the late night comedy show of Joey de Leon at the Kapuso network, Nuts Entertainment, and said that only one guy is courting her at the moment. And that is none other than Deither Ocampo. So it will be better if GMA 7 will watch their own shows to set their facts straight before coming up with issues.
Okay, breathe in, breathe out. Another good thing that happened over the weekend was when Philip Nolasco bagged in the title of being the first champion of the PDA Little Dreamers. Now, now, this child has a lot more potential to be a star than the winner of the PDA adult division, Laarni something who still have to make her presence felt in the industry. But Philip, you must be warned. Once you become a star, GMA 7 might pay some tabloid reporters and create issues linking you with Kapuso starlet. Haha! Spare the child, please.

In between My Only Hope and PDA Little Dreamers, there was The Buzz. So I switched channels because I didn’t want to hear whatever Cristy Fermin would say. But oh well, it has become an item and a bigger issue than the root of all this which was… just to refresh the memories of those who have become lost with all the hullaballoo, the conflict between Gabby Concepcion and his foul-mouthed manager, ex-manager. Gosh, her existence makes Lolit Solis looks like an angel.

So Cristy, in order to get people’s attention, said something that even if it’s true or not, should not be made known to the tsismis-hungered public. My God, tsismosa ako but that is already a private matter that I don’t think people would still want to know, especially from a person who have long kissed her showbiz career goodbye.

I haven’t done the part two of my "Why Do ABS-CBN’s Ratings Keep On Plunging Down." But Cristy Fermin is definitely a big part of that. Why this liar still has a show on a good timeslot, I cannot understand. Does ABS CBN fear Ms. Fermin? That is the only conclusion that I can arrive at. Well, give her a Walang Tulugan rip off. People are talking. People are clamoring for her to be removed from The Buzz. Don’t you read her Pilipino Star Ngayon column? I don’t. But I read the comments’ section. And nobody seems to like her anymore. She has no credibility. And keeping her on the show that caused Ms. Kris Aquino to drop it off is a big mystery, since nobody likes her.

My Only Hope is for Kris to go back on The Buzz and remove Cristy on the face of local TV. And may Philip be given more projects that will make his star shine the brightest.