MMFF cheers and jeers: Nadine Lustre wins big, while film by ‘most powerful celebrity’ suffers First Day/Last Day curse
There’s plenty for netizens to rave and rant about the 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival, but the hottest Twitter abuzz revolves around the contrasting fates of two of the biggest stars participating in this year’s festival.
On one hand is Nadine Lustre, the outspoken, highly regarded actress who isn’t afraid of taking chances career- (and some might even say lovelife-) wise. The star of the psychological horror-thriller “Deleter” bagged the Best Actress award on Tuesday night’s Gabi ng Parangal awards.
With four other acting awards under her belt, Lustre is already widely considered as one of the best actresses of her generation. On top of that, “Deleter” is currently the second highest grossing movie among the MMFF films, hot on the heels of the Ivana Alawi-Vice Ganda starrer “Partners in Crime.” “Deleter” has been given a serious box-office boost after it swept major awards in last night’s Gabi ng Parangal, that it is starting to gain ground on “Partners in Crime.”
On the other hand is Toni Gonzaga, the actress-host-YouTube influencer who has had a few misses recently, mostly stemming from her strong association with President Bongbong Marcos and her perceived arrogance about her celebrity status. In September, online shoppers threatened to boycott Shopee for choosing Gonzaga as its brand ambassador. Gonzaga appeared to have been quietly deleted from Shopee’s promotional banners shortly after.
Adding to Gonzaga career woes is the dismal box-office performance of her MMFF entry “My Teacher,” a heartwarming comedy-drama co-starring Joey De Leon. Netizens have observed that Gonzaga’s film has been pulled out from several cinemas after its first day of exhibition due to low ticket sales. Snarky netizens couldn’t help but gloat over First Day/Last Day curse befalling the “most powerful celebrity” in the Philippines, that is, according to her husband Paul Soriano, film director and presidential advisor on creative communications.
It might be useful to point out that Lustre came out in support of former Vice President Leni Robredo’s presidential campaign, while Gonzaga was a staunch follower of President Bongbong Marcos.
Whatever your political affiliations may lie, one thing’s clear: the movies are back in full force! Here’s to more vibrant and creative Philippine cinema in 2023!
