AI AI De Las Alas just returned from a religious pilgrimage at the Holy Land with the group of Catholic preacher Bo Sanchez. “We went to Nazareth and Jerusalem, 110 pilgrims kami,” she says. “But I had to go home ahead of them kasi magsisimula na ako ng taping for my new show, ‘Wako Wako’, a fantaserye about mga lamanglupa at ako ang reyna nila. At least, tuluy-tuloy ang trabaho ko. After ‘Maria La del Barrio’ and ‘Binondo Girl’, ibinigay naman sa’kin ng ABS itong ‘Wako Wako’.”

What about movies? “Di ko pa alam kung matutuloy kami uli ni Vic Sotto for the filmfest after mag-topgrosser kami sa last one. But before that, I think they plan for me to have another movie to be released by August or September.”

Ai Ai invited us and five other writers to a sit down dinner at her splendid 7-bedroom home in Ayala Hillside. Her eldest son, Sancho, 21, who’s about to graduate from his culinary arts course at CCA (Center for Culinary Arts), prepared a 7-course meal for us that starts with a great  appetizer and escalates to soup, bread, salad, salmon, with a huge slab of rib eye steak as main course. We weren’t able to eat the steak anymore as we’re so full. We just went straight to the dessert of peached pears with mantecado pannacotta dipped in red wine and garnished with rainbow cotton candy. It was to die for.

It was raining heavily that Sunday night but the warmth of Ai Ai as our very friendly host more than compensated for the coldness of the surroundings as the table was set in her spacious garden surrounded by well lighted palm trees. She’s currently rumored to have a new boyfriend who’s only 28 years old.

“Totoo,” she admits and shows us her picture with the guy. “O, di ba kamukha ni Bong Revilla? Sinama ko sa comedy bar at naloka ang mga bading. He works sa Kia Motors. 20 years older ako sa kanya pero hindi naman halata, di ba? Wag nyo na lang masyadong usisain ang buhay niya kasi private person siya.”

We wish her romance this time will be more fulfilling than her past ones. She deserves it.

JOSE AND WALLY DESERVE TO BE AT THE BIG DOME

MALOU Choa Fagar salutes Jose and Wally for being such hard workers. “Kahit puyat sila doing shows sa Zirkoh at night, the next day they report sa ‘Eat Bulaga’ on time,” she says. “It’s our boss Tony Tuviera’s idea that they’re ripe to do a big show at the Araneta Coliseum after eight years in ‘Eat Bulaga’.”

Their concert is entitled “Jose & Wally, A Party for Every Juan” on March 2, 7 p.m., directed by Philip Lazaro and with Jimmy Antiporda as musical director. “Nagpapasalamat kami sa tiwalang binigay ni Mr. Tuviera pero talagang kinakabahan kami at ni hindi pa namin ma-memorize ang songs na kakantahin namin,” says Jose.

“Hindi pa rin kami makapaniwala na sa Araneta na kami magso-show na puro bigatin pa’ng aming guests like Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, Ai Ai de las Alas, Regine Velasquez, Dennis Trillo, Aiza Seguerra, Gary Valenciano, Solenn Heussaff, Ciara Sotto, Aljur Abrenica ,” adds Wally. “Ibang-iba ang gagawin namin dito kaysa sa shows namin sa Zirkoh.”

Jose is Ariel Manalo in real life. He grew up in Tondo and sold cigarettes and rosaries in Quiapo as a boy. He started as a bit actor in the original “Valiente,”  playing a houseboy, then he became a production assistant and floor director in “Eat Bulaga”. Soon he’s also performing as a comedian on cam.

Wally, who’s a hit playing gay roles and appearing in drag, is Walter James Bayola. He grew up with a priest in Bicol, who’s a relative. His mom was working abroad while he never saw his dad. He studied as a radiology technician and quickly got married. Later on, he’d get to meet his biological father, a doctor in the U.S.

He first became a sing-along master in Naga and later joined a band, Mixed Nuts. It was Mamu Andrew de Real who gave him a break after seeing him perform with Allan K in Bicol. He became a stand up comic in Mamu’s Library. Malou Fagar saw him and got him as one of “Eat Bulaga’s” Dabarkads where he became popular as a comedian. His wife was interviewed in “Showbiz Central” and proclaimed him as a superhero in her eyes and that of her kids. Tickets to Jose & Wally’s concert range from only P320 to P3,180. Call 911-5555 as the tickets are selling so fast it’s almost soldout.

NEIL'S BREAK COMES

AFTER his memorable portrayal of the villain Simeon in “Munting Heredera”, Neil Ryan Sese is now managed by their director, Maryo de los Reyes. “Matagal na ako doing stage plays and appearing in small roles on TV and in films,” says Neil. “Pero dito talaga ako nakilala sa show ni Direk Maryo. Up to now, people still call me Simeon when they see me in public.”

“I saw him as Jesus in a senakulo in Lucban, Quezon,” says Maryo J. “Ayun, we cast him as Simeon at nag-click siya sa tao.”

Neil took up theatre arts in UP. He’s 32 and admits he has a wife and one child. He also appears in indie films like ‘Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros’ and ‘Tsardyer’. He just finished ‘Hindi Natatapos ang Gabi’ with Director Ato Bautista where he he did full frontal nudity. “The material and the role are good so I did it. First time ko. I’m also in the movie about Abu Sayyaf ni Dante Mendoza, ‘Captive’, now being shown at the Berlin International Filmfest with French actress Isabelle Huppert.”

He’s now in the toprating “Biritera”, Maryo J’s new soap that replaced “Munting Heredera”. “Ako 'yung real father ni Roseanne Magan, na siyang ‘Biritera.’  Nagkahiwalay kami kasi seaman ako, tapos naging chef, yumaman at nagkaroon ng chain of restaurants. Si Angelika de la Cruz ang nagpalaki sa anak ko and later, magkakaroon daw ng romantic development between us.”

REGAL LOOKING FOR NEW TALENTS

ROSELLE Monteverde says Regal Entertainment plans to produce more movies this year so they’re looking for new talents. Here is an announcement from her: “Gusto mo bang maging Regal Baby? Ito na ang chance mo. Magbubukas ng auditions ang Regal Films para sa iyo. Para sa lahat ng interesado, ihanda na ang inyong acting, singing, at dancing skills and go to Regal Entertainment Office at Unit 808 Tycoon Center Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City on February 24, 2011 Friday. 3 – 6 p.m. only. Open to all male and female ages 15-25 years old. And please bring your portfolio. For more information you can call us at 910-0501 to 03 loc. 8208 and look for Sheilfred Andes.”

REVIEW: HUGO

‘HUGO’ is a master work from Martin Scorsese, who has won acclaim for films like “Raging Bull” and “The Departed.” It’s about an orphan boy but it’s not really a movie just for kids as it pays tribute to one of the pioneers in cinema, Georges Melies. Based on the 2007 illustrated historical fiction, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brain Selznick, it’s set in the early 30s and happens mostly in the Montparnasse train station in Paris. The opening sequence alone introducing the station and with the camera following the main character, Hugo (Asa Butterfield), rushing down halls and staircases is already worth the price of admission. You’d wonder how they executed this one long “tuhog” shot. Hugo is good in tinkering with machines, something he inherited from his dad (Jude Law) who died in a fire. He now lives alone in the clock tower of the train station, winding its huge clock that’s the job of an uncle (Ray Winstone), the official timekeeper who suddenly went missing. He subsists by stealing bread or fruit from passing vendors. He has a special project, repairing a robot (they call it an automaton) left behind by his father. For this, he steals gears and other stuff from a cranky old man who owns a shop inside the train station (Ben Kingsley) who is hostile to him.

The old man turns out to be Georges Melies, one of the fathers of French cinema whose works were thought to be extinct. Hugo befriends Georges’ goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloe Moretz of “Kick Ass”, “Let Me In”), who helps him rebuild the automaton with a special heart-shaped key that she keeps. Hugo has a foil, the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), who wants to arrest him and send him to an orphanage.

Beautifully designed, Scorsese created a beautiful vision of Paris making it a real City of Lights as romantics around the world described it to be between the two world wars. Hugo's world inside the ceilings and catwalks of the train station seems isolated and lonely but it gives him the chance to view everything happening in the station without being noticed. Scorsese pays tribute to early French cinema, like “Arrival of a Train at the Station” by the Lumiere brothers. Melies is a master of the silent era and he made more than 530 films before the First World War erupted in 1914. The war affected him and his movie business so he was forced to sell it. He considers himself a failure. One of his films, “A Trip to the Moon” (1902) survived and one of his ardent fans manage to research and restore copies of about 80 other films, enough to pay Melies a tribute and insure his place in the history of cinema.

Asa Butterfield “(The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”) is perfectly winsome and endearing as Hugo. He’s superbly supported by Kingsley as the aging Melies, Moretz as his chief ally, Helen McCrory as Melies' wife who starred in his past films, Baron Cohen as the villainous station master, and Christopher Lee in a short role as a kind bookshop owner.