… Megastar, magtatayo ng production outfit sa U.S.

Sa Instagram Live last Friday (May 28) ay sinagot ni Sharon Cuneta ang mga isyung naglalabasan habang wala siya at nasa Amerika.

Kasabay nito ay ipinagtapat din niya ang dinaanang depresyon bago tumulak pa-US nu’ng May 11.

Unang nilinaw ng Megastar ang tsismis na binubugbog siya ng asawang si Sen. Kiko Pangilinan kaya siya umalis ng bansa.

Ka-join nga rin niya sa nasabing IG Live ang mister at natatawa na lang sila pareho sa fake news na lumabas.

Ayon kay Shawie, ni minsan ay hindi dumapo sa kanya ang kahit daliri man lang ng asawa.

Pangalawang tsismis, kaya raw sinaktan si Sharon ni Kiko ay dahil may boyfriend siyang mas bata sa kanya.

Again, tinawanan lang ito ng mag-asawa.

At pangatlo, buntis daw siya sa batang boyfriend kaya sinaktan siya ni Kiko.

Of course, wala rin itong katotohanan kaya tawa rin sila nang tawa.

Sey nga ni Shawie, “Nakalimutan nila, hindi na ako 30s. I’m sorry, kahit cute ako, 55 na po ako.”

Pagkatapos nito ay ibinahagi na nga ni Sharon ang totoong nangyari sa kanya kamakailan na labis niyang iniyakan at ikina-depress.

Ayon kay Shawie, may dumating na Holywood film project sa kanya na labis niyang ikinatuwa at ikina-excite.

The film is produced by Steven Spielberg at sobrang honored siya because first Hollywood film niya ito at first all-Filipino cast pa na ang lead star ay ang sikat na komedyanteng si Jo Koy.

Plantsado na ang lahat at lilipad na nga sana siya sa Canada kung saan ang shooting. Pero siyempre, bago umalis ay kinailangan niyang magpa-swab test.

Laking gulat daw niya nang mag-positibo siya sa COVID-19 sa laboratory kung saan siya nagpa-test at ayaw na niyang banggitin kung anong lab ito.

The result came a day before her scheduled departure kaya naturally, hindi na siya pwedeng umalis.

“It was heart-wrenching and heartbreaking for me. I literally… nanlambot ako na para akong natunaw,” she said.

Pagkatapos daw nito ay nagpa-swab test siya ulit at umabot sa seven laboratories ang nag-test sa kanya kasama na ang mula sa ABS-CBN.

“All the seven different labs tested me negative,” ani Sharon.

“So, hindi ba naman heartbreaking ’yun? That’s why, I was depressed.”

Kaya nga raw, hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa niya mapatawad ang first lab na nag-test sa kanya with positive result na naging dahilan para mawala sa kanya ang first Holywood project.

“Syempre, hindi ko mabibili ang oportunidad, hindi mababalik sa akin dahil lang sa isang pagkakamali sa COVID test. Kasi seven labs against one, siguro naman tama ’yung pito at hindi ’yung isa at hindi naman ako nagkasakit talaga,” sey ni Mega.

Anyway, ibinalita ni Shawie na nagtatayo siya ng production company sa US kaya mananatili pa siya sa nasabing bansa.

Sobrang busy raw niya roon, Zoom meetings left and right kasama ang tumatayong manager niya roon at may mga audition pa siyang naka-schedule.

“And don’t worry because I still have commitments back home. I’m still doing a teleserye, actually, two. And ang dami kong gagawin pag-uwi, may pelikula pa ’ko,” she said.

Nag-iwan din siya ng hint na ang isa sa mga pelikulang gagawin niya ay matagal nang hinihintay ng fans at mukhang finally ay matutuloy na.

Wala mang binanggit, marami ang humuhula na ito ang much-awaited reunion project nila ng estranged husband niyang si Gabby Concepcion.

Globe Studios caters to Filipinos’ evolving needs

New platforms that provide consumers with new ways to satiate their need for fresh content have emerged over the pandemic.

The shift in consumer behavior prompted Globe Studios, Globe’s entertainment production company, to leverage its niche and ride on this new wave of opportunity.

Quark Henares, Globe Studios head, shared that going along such a direction allows the group greater flexibility in its content offerings, especially in this time of great uncertainty.

Henares was one of the panelists in a recent webinar presented by the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) titled Demanding Content — What Do Filipinos Want?

He said: “We had to pivot. We’re primarily a movie studio, so our focus was films for theaters. Because they’re closed for the foreseeable future we tried doing other things like a YouTube series (Gaya sa Pelikula) and podcasts (Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast, Endslate).”

He noted that current audiences can be very fickle in their choices of online content. Thus, Globe Studios actively listens to what its customers want so that its content line-up is kept relevant to the markets it wishes to serve.

“We have a lot of interaction with the audience. We’re very active in our social media and really make it a point to listen and even converse with our audience,” Henares revealed.

Recognizing that the consumption curve for online content bulges among the younger age groups, Globe Studios ensures that everything is kept fun, just like the way young people would like to live their own lives.

It entered the entertainment production industry in 2016. Its portfolio includes films such as LSS (Last Song Syndrome), Hintayan ng Langit and the first Filipino Netflix film Dead Kids.

Amidst the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the studio shifted gears to produce materials catering more towards YouTube audiences, beginning with Gaya Sa Pelikula, a daring Boys Love (BL) series.

“We put our ears to the ground. Like Gaya Sa Pelikula, the genre BL is doing very well in Thailand and Filipinos seem to be watching it so we decided to do that,” Henares said.

The company is in the thick of preparations for another YouTube series, this time, a reality search. It is also about to release the movie A Guy + A Girl together with UpstreamPH, the country’s newest video-on-demand movie streaming platform.

Likewise, it is home to at least 12 popular podcasts, including one that is hosted by online creators.

However, questions constantly keep Henares awake at night. According to him: “This is an exciting time. What do people want to see? What’s missing in Philippine entertainment that we can fill?”

While slowly (but surely) planting itself on solid ground in the online space, Globe Studios continues to give room for more flexibility wherever consumer whims may lead — satisfying their needs, one niche at a time.