Toasted bread

Netnet Camomot .

“A STAR is Born” should be renamed A “Star is Reborn” since it’s now on its fourth remake with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga as the lead stars. In 1976, Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson were the movie’s singing lovebirds. In 1954, it starred Judy Garland and James Mason. In 1937, it had Janet Gaynor and Fredric March—who are they? I have no idea. Anyway, all these prove that Hollywood is running out of ideas and now relies on remakes, prequels and sequels to earn more moolah.

So, where do we go before “A Star is Born’s” October 2018 release? Well, to “Ocean’s 8,” a spin-off of the “Ocean’s” series which, by the way, began in 1960 with “Ocean’s 11.” The more the merrier. Yay!

But the Pinoy did watch “Citizen Jake” and “Sid & Aya: Not a Love Story.”

“Citizen Jake” may have lessened its impact when director Mike de Leon and star Atom Araullo began posting their respective sentiments on social media, mainly aiming at each other on topics that could be the result of being lost in translation while filming their movie. De Leon has revealed some interesting tidbits about his expectations from Araullo but was later disappointed when those expectations were not met. “Blessed is he who expects nothing for he shall never be disappointed,” English poet Alexander Pope supposedly once said, which De Leon should adopt as his mantra for his next movie.

His revelations about Araullo, though, have been like this: Say, it’s after midnight, you’re trying to fight off sleep to meet a deadline for some work, so, you open the fridge thinking it has apples, roasted peanuts and banana chips which you’re not craving for at the moment, and then, you notice there’s something behind the pack of peanuts, and it’s—surprise! surprise!—toasted bread! The crunchy kind loaded with sugar and what you wish is butter and not margarine. That’s what de Leon’s social media posts could do to you, too—digesting the unexpected but only to satisfy your curiosity.

We, the madlang pehpohl, did read their rants, only to wonder if it’s part of the movie’s promo strategy. And then, we remember Communications Undersecretary Mocha Uson posting a video where she tells Kris Aquino, “This is not about you.” Whew. We don’t need rants; we need “Citizen Jake.”

“Sid & Aya,” on the other hand, has neither director nor actor posting issues on social media, enabling the audience to focus on the movie.

Well, “That’s Entertainment,” as the TV show of the late German Moreno reminded us daily once upon a time. It had Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday groups which featured Ian Veneracion, Lea Salonga, Karla Estrada, Ruffa Gutierrez, Sunshine Cruz, Aiko Melendez, Carmina Villaroel, Piolo Pascual, Carmi Martin, Rufa Mae Quinto, Lotlot de Leon, Isko Moreno, Judy Ann Santos, and many others whose showbiz careers eventually soared to infinity and beyond, even managing to remain relevant in this age of Facebook Live and the walay kahumanan nga teleserye.

And that’s basically what showbiz is all about—entertainment. But when Gretchen Barretto and her friends posted a video where they’re laughing while reading a letter requesting for help from her, that’s not entertainment anymore. We cringe as we remember why Barretto is now living the good life and it’s not exactly because of an overwhelming success in her showbiz career.

“There’s got to be a morning after/If we can hold on through the night/We have a chance to find the sunshine/Let’s keep on looking for the light.” Ang karaang tawo ra gyud ang maka-gets ani nga song. Haha!

There’s the morning after watching the videos of Kris, Mocha and Greta. And there’s that morning after North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un had his first public selfie while strolling in downtown Singapore on Monday night last week. Did he stop by a resto for some Hainanese Chicken Rice? Hmmm. That’s the question.

Travel includes discovering international cuisines and that must be the reason the late Anthony Bourdain said, “I have the best job in the world.”

But a cuisine does not always have to be the international kind. Thus, Hotdog’s Dennis and Rene Garcia were at Via Mare waiting for their order when its patrons burst into song with the band’s classic hit, “Manila.” Dennis Garcia then posted its video on Facebook, and it was so refreshing to watch that in the midst of all the rants and sad news peppering our news feed lately.

Wannabe stars are indeed born daily but only Hotdog has “Manila.”