Eric John Salut, then head of Star Magic publicity and promotions and .jpg)
now with Deo Endrinal’s Dreamscape, asked me to interview director Wenn Deramas during a press conference when I was a newbie entertainment writer, and I am glad I did. Published here in the Daily Tribune, it turned out to be a humorous unraveling of a gay director who loved his mother so dearly as he exposed his commitment to his art.
This started an association with him including being privy to his romantic relationship with DJ Durano that they did not admit publicly. They agreed to make an album with the record company that I used to be associated with that told me how much he cared for his professional growth.
In an interview with ABS-CBN news, DJ spoke about how the death of his former boyfriend caught him by surprise.
“Nagulat talaga ako. I was scrolling on Facebook at doon ko nalaman. Noong una ayaw kong maniwala. Then I called Direk Wenn’s driver tapos sabi niya na it is true. Hindi ako makapaniwala kasi naalala ko siya na full of life,” he shared.
DJ credited Deramas, with whom he worked in numerous television and movie projects, for paving the way for him to realize his dream of working in the entertainment industry, and recalled some of the biggest lessons he learned from the director.
“Hindi nila alam kung gaano kami ka-close ni Wenn. He was my mentor. He managed my career for quite some time,” he said.
“Si Direk Wenn, master iyan sa lahat eh. Alam niya kung paano ang career path mo. Tinuruan niya ako kung paano maging...kung paano makisama — hindi lang sa kapwa artista, pati na rin sa kaillit-liitan na crew. Tinuruan niya ako kung paano maging professional, paano aralin ang script, at tinuruan niya akong maging grateful.”
Asked for his message for Deramas, Durano said: “Sayang; marami pa tayong mga gagawin, marami ka pang ibabahagi sa industriyang ito, hindi lang sa amin.”
“Masyado pang maaga pero kapag tinawag ka na talaga ng langit eh lahat iyan may rason — everything happens for a reason. God has better plans for all of us. Sabi ko nga, nagkulang na mga anghel sa itaas kaya tinawag na siya.”
I will miss Direk Wenn. I just wonder if Eugene Domingo visited his wake. They were also close, and he considered her as his lucky charm. He once intimated she was devirginized by a now out gay director.
BOYCOTTING THE 2016 OSCARS. That early morning of the 2016 Academy Awards in the Philippines, I still did not get the usual Oscar fever. And to think I’m supposed to be an in-the-know entertainment writer.
Why? I used to have the hang from the major play-up on the subject by exclusive broadcaster ABS-CBN. Multimedia artist Elvert Banares gave an update when he posted on Facebook his annual “fearful” predictions that Monday morning. As no local network had aired the coverage, he told me to tune in to HBO, which narrowcasted it exclusively. Displeased by the unwelcome suggestion, I told him of my boycott.
ABS-CBN had always been a viewer-friendly carrier of the awards ceremony, an outstanding broadcaster. Aside from information dissemination, it held Oscar-related promotions. To top these, it showed the ceremony in two channels, ABS-CBN and Lifestyle Network with same-day and off-day replays. Can HBO beat that?
Now I could not watch it as I use an analog television that airs only free TV channels and not cable-linked. Although our other TV has it, mine was not by choice. I found the HBO exclusive deal too elitist and insensitive as not all Filipinos are cable-connected. So rather than view it from my mother’s TV, I decided to boycott.
This is the first time in years as I had been a regular viewer. I used to be an early viewer, from the pre-red carpet moments up to wrap. Trouble with my boycott, I seemed not to miss anything when before I was starstruck. Damaging shift!
This appeared like a sympathy with the boycott called by minority nominees led by Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee, but it was not. Nielsen did not immediately have any ethnic breakdown of Oscar viewership.
True enough, the boycott seemed to have affected viewership in the US. Viewership meters registered a dip to its lowest level since 2008. The popularity of movies being honored tends to be the biggest factor in whether the audience for the live telecast is up or down.
Nielsen buzzed preliminary estimates showed 34.3 million people watched the telecast, where Spotlight won best picture. Last year’s show was seen by 37.3 million people, a hefty double digit decrease of 10 percent. Revenant or even Leonardo Di Caprio did not turn out as viewer pullers, more likely as audience pushers.
Since 1990, only two Academy Awards telecasts were flops: No Country For Old Men won best picture in 2008, and Chicago was honored in 2004. The peak came when Titanic won in 1998 and gathered 55 million viewers.
This year’s Golden Globe and Grammys also saw ratings drops. The Globe that prides film and television were watched by 18.5 million people, down from 19.3 million in 2015. The Grammy telecast registered a seven-year low in viewership.
For sure, the same appeared to be true as in my case. I think it was a wrong business decision to go HBO exclusive. This shows cracks that the Oscars is not a must-watch annual global event. It better learn from this experience. If the Oscars got choices, the same is true with viewers.
The Oscars has nobody to blame except itself and its voting members. Let this be a wake-up call unless it suffers more reversals next year.
BTW, Elvert correctly forcasted seven out of eight major awards!
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