PIA Guanio interviewed co-host Rufa Mae Quinto on the phone in “Showbiz Central” last Sunday. Rufa Mae was absent as she’s busy shooting “Temptation Island” on location in Ilocos. But today, it’ll be Pia who’s absent as she’s with the “Eat Bulaga” Dabarkads doing a show in Vancouver, Canada. Rufa Mae will be present at the studio as she’s back in Manila for Easter then returns immediately to Ilocos for the resumption of the “Temptation Island” shoot.

In Pia’s interview with Rufa Mae, she didn’t have any qualms asking about the latter’s alleged love affair with Fabio Ide,   Rufa Mae’s co-star in “Dwarfina”. Rufa Mae gamely answered all Pia’s queries, but when she tried to turn the tables on Pia to inquire about her non-showbiz BF named Steve Mago, Pia suddenly became evasive and ended their interview. So it’s okay for Pia to grill her co-host but not the other way around?

Pia has been very secretive about Steve but recently, photos of them kissing  while having dinner in a restaurant in Makati appeared on the net via fashionpulis.com. Still, she refuses to talk about him. But Pia is lucky as she’s the only ex-GF of Vic Sotto who stayed on in “Eat Bulaga” even after their breakup. Other exes of Vic who were also co-hosts in the show eventually left, like Coney Reyes and Christine Jacob. They’re now together hosting “Eat Bulaga” in Canada and we’re told they have a good working relationship since they’ve both moved on. It’s not only Pia who’s into a new relationship but also Vic. His latest conquest is a non-showbiz pretty flight attendant who, so we heard, he even brought with him to Canada. Just like Pia, Vic has yet to admit that he has a new sweetheart.

COCO ENVIED

COCO Martin is aware that many actors are envious of him because of his very challenging dual roles in ABS-CBN’s “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin”. His tour de force performance in the show is indeed being praised by a lot of people. The Guillermo Mendoza Memorial also named him Prince of Philippine Movies for his movie “Noy”.

“Nagpapasalamat po talaga ako at napapansin naman ang mga trabahong pinaghihirapan ko,” says Coco, who’s also now in demand as an endorser. For those who missed the initial episodes of ‘Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin’, you’re now given the chance to watch it via a marathon special this Holy Week which goes until tonight at 8:30.

SATURDAY TALK SHOWS TROUNCED

THE people behind GMA-7’s “Startalk” and ABS-CBN’s “Entertainment Live” should really be alarmed since they’re not really rating that well. Has the interest of viewers in such entertainment shows waned? In contrast, the ratings of TV5’s Hollywood movies translated into Tagalog shown on that slot in their “Sabado Sineplex” are rating very high. Last Saturday, their Tagalized version of “Stuart Little” rated a high 6.4% at AGB Nielsen surveys, compared to only 3.6% of “Startalk” and the dismal 2.3% of “Entertainment Live”. And to think that last Saturday, it was even the special birthday presentations of Startalk host Ricky Lo and E Live host Luis Manzano, whose natal days are both on April 21. Ricky was greeted by the likes of Lea Salonga and Ogie Alcasid, while Luis had no less than his mom, the legendary Vilma Santos, as his guest in the studio who even interviewed him on air. Still, they were trounced in the ratings game by a film about a talking mouse.

Looks like there’s really a market among viewers for Tagalized Hollywood films. After “Stuart Little”, TV5 showed Ben Stiller’s “Night at the Museum” in Tagalog and it rated 6.6% versus GMA’s “Wish Ko Lang” that got 5.2% and ABS-CBN’s “Failon Ngayon” that only got a measly 2%. Even on primetime weekdays, they replaced the suspended “Willling-Willie” with Primetime SuperSine also featuring Tagalized Hollywood films and it’s rating even higher than Willie’s show. Their recent airing of “Snakes on a Plane” in Tagalog got a high 8.9%, something that Willie’s show doesn’t achieve anymore since it was eclipsed in the ratings by “24 Oras” and “TV Patrol”. And mind you, the production cost of these canned Hollywood films is definitely much cheaper than that of producing expensive live shows like “Willing-Willie”, “Startalk” and “E Live”. Don’t be surprised if other networks will  soon also come up with their own Tagalized versions of foreign flicks. Full length local films also rate high when shown on TV but now that the production of new local films has dwindled to just one or two films a month, the networks have no choice but to just translate Hollywood blockbusters into Tagalog.

FILMS TO CULTIVATE FAITH

HERE are more films to help you cultivate your faith this Lent. There’s a collection called The TNT Bible Stories from Turner Pictures that are all well produced and well acted. Check out the following: “Abraham” – This is the Old Testament story about the man God chose, an old shepherd who has great faith, to be the father of Israel and is tested by God to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. It stars Richard Harris, Maximillian Schell and Barbara Hershey.

“Jacob” – Isaac has two sons: Esau and Jacob. This is the story of Jacob played by Matthew Modine. Others in the cast are Lara Flynn Boyle, Sean Bean, Greek actress Irene Papas and Italian actor Giancarlo Gianini. “Moses” – The story of the prophet who took the Israelites out of bondage from Egypt, starring Ben Kingsley and Frank Langella.

“David” – About the young lad who killed Goliath (Gideon Turner) who later became King of Israel (Nathaniel Parker). This also stars Leonard Nimoy as the prophet Samuel, Jonathan Pryce as Saul and Sheryl Lee as Batsheba. “Jeremiah” – Before he became Dr. McDreamy in “Grey’s Anatomy”, Patrick Dempsey played the prophet Jeremiah in this Biblical film, supported by Oliver Reed and the German actor Klaus Maria Brandauer as Nebuchadnezzar.

Another film worth checking out is “God’s Outlaw”(1987), the true story of William Tyndale who was burned at the stake for what’s considered then as a crime: translating the Bible into English and publishing it for his countrymen. This happened during the time of King Henry VIII in the 1600s. Keith Barron plays Henry VIII, Bernard Archard is Sir Thomas More and Oona Urich is Anne Boleyn. This is an intense drama that’s fairly well written, well acted and has good production values. It concerns valid issues like injustice, corrupt religious establishment and scheming international politics that exist up to now.