OEY Marquez and Alicia Mayer continue to deny that they are on but we often see them together in red carpet movie premieres meant for celebrities.
 
The two got to know each other better as they are both mainstays in the toprated sitcom "Lagot Ka Isusumbong Kita," shown Mondays on GMA-7. The show's staffers say that they often arrive and also leave together after the taping.
 
"At hindi maikakaila ang sweetness nila sa isa't isa, huh," says our informer.
 
"Joey's kids seem to like Alicia for their father as they often go out as a group. Ang mga anak nga ni Alma, sanay na rin kay Gerald Madrid, so we're sure tanggap na rin nila si Alicia, who's also divorced from her foreigner husband at nakipag-break na rin kay Edu Manzano nang matagal na. Ewan lang kung bakit ayaw pa sila umamin."

PERFECT DATE MOVIE

LAST year, Richard Gutierrez's "Let the Love Begin" beat up Piolo Pascual's "Dreamboy" at the box office. Piolo's "Don't Give Up On Us" is the first local film shown after the filmfest and it's a certified hit. Coming up next is Richard's "I Will Always Love You." Will Richard's movie outgross the box office take of Piolo's  film?
 
"I think it has very good chances of doing so," says Director Mac Alejandre, who megged both "Let the Love Begin" and "I Will Always Love You."
 
"Unang-una, sa trailer pa lang, viewers are already enthralled seeing Richard and Angel Locsin in the beautiful sights of the city by the bay, San Francisco. The setting is so romantic and the film is slated for Valentine so it's a perfect date movie for the date of hearts. At saka, ewan ko ba, iba talaga ang magic ng tambalan nina Richard and Angel. They not only look good together but they seem to bring out the best in each other. Also, the story is a heartbreaker that will certainly touch the viewers. Kung sa 'Let the Love Begin,' si Angel ang rich at si Richard ang poor, dito, the  situation is reversed as Angel is the poor but brainy girl here at si Richard naman ang wealthy playboy who falls hopelessly in love with her. I won't be surprised it'd become the biggest hit of the year again."
 
Supporting Richard and Angel are Jean Garcia as Richard's mom who comes from high society, Bianca King as the equally rich girl his mom wants him to marry, James Blanco as Angel's every loyal childhood friend who offers to marry her after she gets brokenhearted with Richard, Amy Austria as Angel's supportive mom, and the  comic duo of Bearwin Meily and Tuesday Vargas as Richard and Angel's friends who also fall in love with each other.

ON HIS OWN

JAMIE Wilson is better known as the younger brother of Monique Wilson, but he is now establishing his own career in theater and film.
 
He won the Aliw best actor award for his bravura performance as the Emcee in "Cabaret" and he is sure to be nominated for his first film performance as the syndicate boss' son who fakes his own kidnapping to get money from his own father in "Big Time", directed by Mario Cornejo. How did he get involved in "Big Time"?
 
"Director Mario Cornejo asked a friend if I'd be interested to read his script and I did," he says. "Pagkabasa ko, wow, it's so good, so I said, I'll do this. My dad (the late Johnny Wilson) never allowed us to watch his past films because he played villain roles. I'm glad I just did my first movie."
 
How was it working with co-actors Michael de Mesa as his dad, Joanne Miller as his girlfriend, and Winston E liza lde and Nor Domingo as the small time crooks who became his alleged kidnappers? "I've worked with Michael before on stage in 'Rent' and we're now together again in 'Enemy of the People' so at home na ko sa kanya and I asked him a lot of questions about shooting a movie before we started making the film. He was a big help. As for Nor, Winston and Joanne, we all had fun doing the  film. Mario Cornejo is a very inventive director."
 
He started his career at 7 as a child actor in "Pippin" for Repertory in 1980, the same time Monique started with "Annie." He's married to Annabel Bosch and they have  one daughter, Mishka, 8.
 
In "Enemy of the People," he plays a "trapo" mayor who's so insecure of his brother, Michael. "The play depicts a political situation similar to what's happening in our country today, so I urge all Filipinos to see it as they'd be able to identify with the story which is very timely and relevant," he adds.
 
The play will be shown in a very accessible venue, SM Megamall Cinema 9, from February 24 to 26, then March 3 to 5. It's adapted in Taglish and directed by Bart Guingona, nephew of former Vice Pres. Teofisto Guingona, an oppositionist to the present administration. "My family is divided into two factions," says Bart. "One group says let's just let things be, while the the other faction believes that if there's an injustice like what's happening now, it should be addressed immediately. I'm sure my uncle will enjoy the play and my own father will not."
 
Tickets for "Enemy of the People" are available at Ticketworld tel. 891-9999 or Silang Productions at 819-0458.

JULIA REPRIMANDED BY EAT BULAGA PRODUCERS FOR POSING NUDE

HOW true are reports that Julia Clarete was reprimanded by TAPE, producers of "Eat Bulaga," for posing sexy for a men's magazine? No doubt Julia's career got its second wind after she left ABS-CBN and joined the toprated GMA-7 noontime show.
 
"Pero the show is wholesome at 'yung ginawa niyang pagpo-pose nang halos hubad na ay hindi," says our informer. " Sana man lang, ipinaalam niya sa management na may ganoon siyang gagawin, like when she joined ABC-5's 'Hollywood Dream' where she won."

PROUD TO BE PINOY

ONE of the Pinoy dancers in "So You Think You Can Dance," Fridays at 10 p.m. on ABC-5, is 22-year old Melody Lacayanga from Daly City , California . Just like Jasmine Trias in "American Idol," she's proud of her Filipino roots and even wore a shirt with "I Love the Philippines " on it during one episode. She has been dancing since she's five years old and took ballet and jazz lessons for 10 years, also tap dance, modern dance and lyrical dance. Her sensational talent made her shine in the auditions when she did a jaw-dropping routine. After several gruelling weeks of exhausting eliminations, she became one of the top 16 finalists, along with two other Pinoys, Ryan Conferido and Allan Frias. She's been hailed by one of the judges as the "tiny little miracle" because she can galvanize her small body frame the way she wants to on stage and stun the most discriminating audiences. See this beautiful morena beauty perform on "So You Think You Can Dance" and we're sure that you, too, will agree that we should all be proud of her.

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