Lunch at Gerry's Grill, Tagbilaran

We are met at the airport by our friends and Lakbay Amigo Bohol organizers Dieter and Cooper who whisk us off to BQ Mall and lunch at Gerry’s Grill. No faces could be more welcoming.
I’ve just read that Gerry’s Grill is expanding to the US. I hope they’ll become sponsors of AMIGO when we open there, in San Francisco and Southern California. (Gerry’s Grill, are you listening?)

Fying In to Bohol

Why do we love Bohol? Just look at what we see from the air right before we land. Recognize the channel between Tagbilaran and Panglao, Baryo/Amigo friends?

Back In Manila

We arrived in Manila on February 4- sacrificing Chinese New Year to the International Dateline-and spent two nights at the lively house of Cecille Baun. (We miss you, Tita Cecille). I put on my Ninang/Producer hat and planned a civil wedding: guess who or read on!
Our excellent Philippine distributor Origin8 has organized a screening for educators at My Cinema, Greenbelt 3, graciously offered to us by Don Jaime Zobel who is a fan of AMIGO, I am happy to say.
Bembol Roco and Joel Torre with John at Figaro’s and then at My Havana with Ronnie Lazaro an unnamed waiter (“Can I take a picture”) and Dong Alegre (producer of the hugely successful Philippine tour of MISS SAIGON.
We are so happy to be seeing our cast, who have become our friends, and grateful for their support of AMIGO.
 

We Stopped in LA on our Way

John had lots of meetings for the screenplays he is writing, and I hung out with my friends. Here we are in Orange County, seeing it Ham’s Way.  That’s Stephane Gauger,  writer Oliver Eustis, Ham Tran half-hidden, and Andersen Le next to me,  Chapman Film Prof Nam Lee,  JS Himself, and our pal  Cate Park grinning after a delicious meal at Favori and lots of discussion about marketing movies to Asian communities in the US.
Many of the group are fans of Dylan Marchetti (read on).
Cerritos, we’ll see you in August!

Long Ago and Far Away

Here in the Philippines now for more than a week, and it’s hard to remember the Winter we left behind, home in Clinton Corners. I don’t mean to gloat, friends back home, but it’s lovely to be back in the Philippines and to be warm again.

AMIGO Returns to the Philippines!

We are so happy to announce that Amigo is on tour (lakbay) in the Philippines! Amigo's commercial release is currently scheduled for July 6, just after Fil-Am Friendship Day July 4. Amigo Lakbay is our way of fueling word-of-mouth especially among educators and students. You'll see from the schedule below that among our regional partners are many distinguished universities.

• 09th -------------Bohol

• 10th-11th -------Cebu

• 12th-13th -------Davao

• 15th ------------San Beda College Alabang (1PM) / Cultural Center of the Philippines [CCP] (5PM)

• 16th ------------ANC Guesting (10AM) /  La Salle screening (T.B.D) / Fully Booked [the fort high-street] (6PM)

• 17th ------------- Holy Angels [Angeles,Pampanga] (T.B.D)

• 19th-20th --------- Baguio City

• 21st ------------- Bacolod

• 22nd ------------- UP Diliman [University of the Philippines, Film Center] (5:30PM and 8:30PM)

John and I are so happy to be back in the Philippines.  And not just because we are escaping snowstorms back home.

We will be returning to friends and familiar faces (Bohol!) And visiting for the first time places we've only heard of like Davao (Mindanao!), Baguio (everyone says it's beautiful and cold) and of course Bacolod. After so many years of stories of Joel and Mario's college days we'll finally visit the scene of the crime.

Goodbye Maritina and Art- Welcome 2011

Happy New Year, Baryo and Amigo friends. See me here in our living room, all decorated for Christmas. With me is Maritina Romulo. Maritina and her fiance Art Acuña came up for the night just as the decorating began. Art plays the assasin Locsin in AMIGO. Wait till you see hi.We are grateful to Art and Maritina for their enthusiastic work promoting AMIGO in the US. These two people are powerhouses! We'll catch up with them in Manila when we return to the Philippines in Febrary.
Stay tuned for details of AMIGO LAKBAY when we take AMIGO from province to province in February 2011.