VICE GANDA’S INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT AQUINO WILL NOT AIR AFTER ALL

December 27, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Vice Ganda, left, in a scene from the film, 'Praybeyt Benjamin 2.' — Vice Ganda, left, in a scene from the film, ‘Praybeyt Benjamin 2.’

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The much-talked about one-on-one interview by Filipino comedian Vice Ganda with President NoyNoy Aquino will not be airing on January 4 as originally scheduled.

The reason? Vice Ganda’s entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), ‘Praybeyt Benjamin 2,’ did not win any award at Saturday’s closing ceremony. Aquino’s nephew, Bimby, son of presidential sister Kris Aquino, also stars in the film.

In the film, Private Benjamin “Benjie” Santos (Vice Ganda) has been promoted to colonel in the Philippine army and has made a name for himself as a modern day national hero. But when Benjie starts taking his reputation and his duties for granted, he is forced under the service of General Wilson Chua (Richard Yap) to try and thwart a terrorist plot to bomb areas around the Philippines. It just so happens that the only person who knows where the bombs are is a young boy named Bimby (Bimby Aquino).

The interview with President Aquino was arranged by Kris as a way to promote the film and gain favor with the film festival jurors.

Immediately after the announcement of the film festival awards — in which ‘Praybeyt Benjamin’ failed to garner a single award — Malacañang (the presidential palace) announced that it was withdrawing permission to Vice Ganda to air the taped interview.

“We don’t want the Filipino TV viewers to be reminded about the poor performance of the film,” said Kris Aquino.

The taped interview was all about the film and how President Aquino feels about his actor nephew. No other topics or issues of national and international concern were discussed.

The big winner in the MMFF was the film about one of the Philippines’ great heroes, ‘Bonifacio.’

Film and TV, The Media

CNN’S DON LEMON NAMED ‘ANCHOR OF THE YEAR’

December 26, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Atlanta, Georgia (The Adobo Chronicles) – CNN has added another feather to its cap when one of its news anchors, Don Lemon, received a prestigious recognition from a prestigious journalism entity, the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR).

CJR‘s “Darts & Laurels” blog released its annual “worst” review on Monday, handing out its dubious “DART” awards to outlets like Rolling Stone (for its infamously bungled UVA rape story), CBS’ 60 Minutes (for failing to interview a single local for a piece on African Ebola), and Fox & Friends (for its insensitive jokes following the Ray Rice elevator video).

But CJR reserved the most sought-after award to Lemon for his great contributions to the field of journalism in 2014. In naming Lemon as “Television New Anchor of the Year,” CJR said:

“On March 20, he asked guests whether Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could have been swallowed by a black hole: “I know it’s preposterous, but is it preposterous?” He later compared spanking children to training dogs and probed similarities between the release of US Army POW Bowe Bergdahl and the Showtime series Homeland. When an alleged Bill Cosby rape victim appeared on his show on Nov. 18, he lectured, “You know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn’t want to do it…Meaning the use of teeth, right?” Less than a week later, as protests turned violent in Ferguson, MO, he described the scene: “Obviously, there’s a smell of marijuana in the air.”

CNN celebrated the honor with a champagne and cheese reception for Lemon at the penthouse of the cable network’s Atlanta headquarters.

“Next, we hope Don receives a Pulitzer Prize for his great work,” CNN said.

Film and TV, LGBT, Politics

GAY COMEDIAN VICE GANDA SCORES RARE INTERVIEW WITH PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT AQUINO

December 25, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Forget Sony Pictures’ The Interview. There is a more talked-about interview in all of Asia, and the world.

Everybody knows that it takes more than an arm and a leg to score an exclusive, sit-down interview with Philippine President NoyNoy Aquino. But somebody did just that: Vice Ganda (Jose Marie Borja Viceral in real life).

Vice Ganda is a Filipino television host and actor best known for his stand-up routines, in which he uses observational comedy, situational irony and sarcasm in pertaining to Filipino culture and human sexuality. Many are wondering why Aquino agreed to be interviewed by a showbiz personality instead of any of the respected journalists and television anchors who have been trying so hard to interview the president.

The openly-gay Vice Ganda, who is a friend of the president’s sister Kris Aquino, sat down with the older Aquino in Malacanang Palace, the Philippine equivalent of the White House.

The Adobo Chronicles learned from very reliable sources that Vice Ganda scored the interview by agreeing to certain rules dictated by the president and Kris Aquino:

The interview will be conducted only in Tagalog, which is the President’s language choice when making speeches
There will be no questions about the pork barrel scam
There will be no questions about Aquino’s snub of actress Nora Aunor for National Artist
There will be no questions about the president’s political nemesis, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who remains in hospital arrest
There will be no questions about Manila’s MRT (light railway) or traffic problems
There will be no questions about the recently-discovered luxury jail cells of drug lords at the New Bilibid Prison (National Penitentiary)
There will be no questions about where all the donated money for last year’s typhoon Yolanda relief went
Aquino will not be asked who he will be endorsing in the 2016 Philippine presidential elections
The president will not be asked about his love life (Aquino is a bachelor)
The president will need to take a break from the interview every 10 minutes so he can light up a cigarette.

All other questions are okay, but a list must be provided to the president 48 hours in advance. The taped interview will air on Vice Ganda’s regular TV show, with schedule to be announced.