Kris mabawi pa kaya ang titulong horror queen; Coco swerte o malas sa 2019 MMFF?

AROUND the 80s, masasabing makulay lang ang taunang Metro Manila Film Festival if there were big stars in it, most especially the likes of Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos (and vice versa).

For some reason, the Decembers thereafter didn’t see both Vilma and Nora (and again, vice versa) churning out their respective entries.

Ang inaabangan kasi ng tao ay ang gabi ng mga gabi when the participating stars would troop to the awards nights with matching their frenzied fans awaiting who the Best Festival Actress would be. Ang kategorya ngang ito ang inihuhuli among the major acting awards.

In recent memory though ay marami nang nabago. Gone are the thematic entries na pumapaksa sa family planning, birth control, environment at kung anu-ano pang napapanahong isyu.

Much later in 2000, parang generic na lang ang set of criteria although it could not be said that quality was compromised or dispensed with.

Nitong mga nakaraang MMFF, naging suki na ang mga major attractions like Vic Sotto, Vice Ganda at Coco Martin. Nagkakatalo na lang kung sino ang kanilang mga kasama, but their respective entries have become a staple.

All three boast of box office charisma with their entries yielding varying box office takes. Each of them never fails to get a large chunk of the audience sa unang araw pa lang ng commercial exhibition until the ast day in January.

Nitong July 8 ay inanunsiyo na ang apat sa traditional Magic 8 entries para sa taong ito. Very noticeably, iba-iba ang genre nito: family drama (Miracle in Cell #7), horror ((K)ampon); fantasy (Momalland) at comedy (Mission Unstopabol: The Don Identity).

A quick look at the short list would make one ask na tila walang action. At bakit hindi pumasok ang entry ni Coco?

These questions offer quick answers. Dahil sa Sept. 20 pa makukumpleto ang official list, in all probability ay isa ang pelikula ni Coco sa second batch or remaining four entries, only that all four should have reached the finish line by then.

If this proves to be a palpable sign, walang dahilan para malungkot ang mga tagahanga ni Coco, not just in keeping with the tradition.

For the record, may 22 film productions ang nagsumite ng kanilang entries totaling 26. No wonder, text nga sa amin ni Kris Aquino, little did she expect her entry alongside Derek Ramsay would get the stamp of approval from the MMFF screening committee.

For sure, may ilang horror entries which were snubbed, at ang kina Kris at Derek ang nagwagi hands down. But let’s face it, Kris Aquino—by any language—is Kris Aquino, with or without a regular TV show.

The sad part though is that she needs to secure a medical clearance kung kakayanin ba niyang mag-shoot in September given her health condition.

But knowing Kris, she might think this is the best time to reclaim what was stripped off her: ang titulong Horror Queen, ang pananatili sa public consciousness, ang pagiging back in the news again.

Pero gaano katotoo na tinanggihan na ni Derek ang horror movie with Kris dahil sa schedule ng ginagawa niyang serye sa GMA 7?