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Subject: The buzz on Boy Abunda Author: By Nini Valera / Inquirer News Service [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 14:19:25 06/18/05 Sat Author Host/IP: 203.213.223.157 In reply to: By Nini Valera / Inquirer News Service 's message, "Boy Abunda: ‘Father’ of talk shows!" on 14:11:18 06/18/05 Sat The buzz on Boy Abunda First posted 08:33pm (Mla time) June 18, 2005 By Nini Valera / Inquirer News Service THE BUZZ on Boy Abunda is that he's finally wedding a woman and having children through artificial insemination. Of course, this is a big joke, and Boy is the first to laugh. But Boy takes "The Buzz," his entertainment talk show on ABS-CBN, more seriously than he does himself. "This business has been very kind to me," Boy told Inquirer Entertainment in an exclusive interview on Friday. Looking back on six years of "The Buzz," Boy noted that every year, the face of show biz news changed constantly. "The stories have become bigger," he said. "It's not a formula. There are so many stories that are very big [but] involve not very big stars. The implication is that entertainment talk show stories are no longer superstar-driven." He cited the story on escort girls last year as an example, with the until-then-nameless, faceless Keana Reeves as the whistle-blower on a sex scandal that, she alleged, involved elected officials. "It had nothing to do with any big star but it impacted society," Boy said. "The story was the star." A shift in perspective has done the show biz talk show genre a lot of good, according to Boy. "It has become more research-based. When we did escort girls, we had to do research." He added: "The other big stories that come to mind are the death of Rico Yan, when I did the controversial interview with Claudine Barretto in 2002, the feud of the Barretto sisters last year, the Osang saga." But he contended that the biggest stories in entertainment still come from Kris Aquino, his flamboyant "Buzz" co-host. "Anything that involves her is a big story," Boy said. "She's Kris. She cuts across various sectors. There's a national fascination for her. I love that woman. She's a very complex, extremely brilliant woman, and extremely generous. I don't have any excuse for loving her. It's like, why do I love my mother? I love her because I love her. I just love that woman. Kapatid, e. Sinister sisters." Deep connection The basis of this friendship? "We always talk. The connection is really very deep, it's almost spiritual, though not in a religious sense." But before Kris there was Rosanna Roces, another "sister," his partner in "Star Talk" before he moved to "The Buzz." "The only thing about her (Osang) is, I'm not able to see her or speak to her," Boy said. "Kris and I work together and walk the same corridors. Even so, my feelings for Osang have not diminished. Kapatid, e. I'd like to think that we're still close, even if I'm not close to her physically." Then there's Cristy Fermin, the other "Buzz" co-host, who's as personality-driven as Aquino. "I'm comfortable with both of them," Boy claimed. "Both have very, very strong opinions. I can't imagine how they deal with me; I don't deny I have very strong opinions, too. I don't balance. I just listen to both of them. I don't even reconcile these opinions. I just stay in my space. Wala kaming problema." "Cristy has never denied her humble beginnings. Neither have I. I am also proud of being a certified social climber, so I'm comfortable with the Cojuangcos and Aquinos. For the show's anniversary celebration today, "The Buzz" will feature six exclusive and explosive news stories, according to Boy. "We're constantly re-inventing the show, adding new portions," he said. "Some work, some don't. We always evolve." But one thing is a constant: "My individuality," Boy proclaimed. "I pride myself in being an interviewer. Talk shows are not a new concept in television. It's my style, my individuality, that makes me different." ================================================================== Editor's Note: Published on page A4-1 of the June 19, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. ================================================================== [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

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[> [> Subject: More Buzz on Abunda Author: m.i.b. internet research [Edit] Date Posted: 09:58:30 06/27/05 Mon Author Host/IP: 203.213.221.163 More Buzz on Abunda The affable founder of Backroom Inc., the agency that manages or at the very least guides the careers of talents as diverse as comedienne Ai-Ai de las Alas, veejay-model Belinda Panelo, actresses Ara Mina and Gretchen Barretto, directors Bobby Garcia and Laurice Guillen, among a starry lot, is not shy about facing the magic mirror. Although he hasn’t used it lately, the mirror had become his trademark, a way of putting his television guest of the moment on the hot seat. He is on the verge of laughter as the tables are turned on him. What does he see? “A smalltown boy having a good time in the city but who will eventually go home a happy boy,” replies Eugenio Abunda the Second. Born and raised in Borongan, Eastern Samar, he earned the nickname “Boy,” not “Junior,” even though at heart he felt like a girl! His father and namesake was in the copra business and local politics. He wanted Boy to become a lawyer, so when the younger man graduated from high school at the Seminario de Jesus Nazareno, he was sent to Manila where he studied business management at the Ateneo University. Boy had no big ambitions of his own, although he was already a movie fan who loved to look at fashion pages and read magazines detailing lives in tinseltown. To support himself while he was an undergraduate student he went house to house selling sets of encyclopedia and fire extinguishers. He also took odd jobs like assistant cook and receptionist at a Japanese restaurant. One job landed him in the 1970s at the Manila Metropolitan Theater. As production assistant, he took charge of calling actors to rehearsals. He saw to it that costumes and props were in their proper places. In some performances, he was a chorus boy. His reputation grew for being polido (polished) in his backstage work and reached the attention of producer Conchita “Conching” Sunico. Summoned to the Manila Hilton, Boy, who knew of Tita Conching’s reputation of surrounding herself with beautiful people, wondered what she wanted from a plain Joe like him. She invited him to join her public relations (PR) department. “ What is PR?” the Samareño asked innocently. The grand dame answered, “I will teach you.” Since his job as a publicist required his presence in Manila, he cross-enrolled at the Lyceum of the Philippines for his accounting, math and political science subjects. He failed to graduate, but from Tita Conching, he said, “I learned everything about life, especially about courage. She taught me not to be afraid to learn, not to be afraid to commit mistakes. I realized that if I wanted to move on in life, I should seize the moment.” He left the Met and took a gamble in putting up Backroom which did publicity for Martin Nievera, Kuh Ledesma, Zsa Zsa Padilla and Regine Velasquez. He would sit down with their respective managers, dis-cuss how to package and project their proteges whose musical careers had just taken off. After that, it was an easy leap to his becoming a talent manager and, later, a much-sought after talent himself. Boy called this development “a natural progression. Things happened, some of which I am still doing today. I love the business with a passion. I know it can be tiring. It causes burnout. But I am comfortable in this landscape.” While serving as a consultant at ABC Channel 5, his executive friend moved to GMA-7 and planned a talk show for Gretchen Barretto. Boy was asked, “Are you interested in doing TV?” Since he was the original guy who just couldn’t say no, a meeting was set up with Gretchen so their rapport could be observed. He recalled, “I blindly went along and enjoyed the moment.” Gretchen did “Show and Tell” with him for a season but dropped out when she got pregnant, leaving him to go on with a different co-host every week until the station settled on Anjanette Abayari. Boy said, “Malakas ang loob ko (I strengthened my resolve). I am not the calculating type who worries about what others think. I even apologized to the audience. I told them, ‘Give me four shows, and I’ll know what I’m doing.’ I carried my Waray accent proudly. We were doing the show live which was good training. I am not used to Take 2 or cuts.” He had no intention of making TV his career. As a manager, he was aware that TV has a short shelf life. He wanted to make use of his gift for gab and convinced the producers to include the segment “Inside Out.” His first guest was Kris Aquino. Those who’ve watched the two in ABS-CBN’s “The Buzz” marvel at their ease with each other. The friendship is for real. With Kris still estranged from older brother Noynoy, she asked Boy to march her down the aisle, should that wedding day ever dawn, and he accepted. What does a sensible guy like him tell Kris when she falls in love madly? “ Kris is a sensible girl,” Boy averred. “But we don’t make sense when we fall in love. She has repeatedly said, ‘Ayaw ko ng bagets (I don’t like young guys). I like older men.’ I say my piece, but I am not the type who punishes a friend because she disagrees with me. I love Kris for what she is. I guess I shall never be able to define what makes her happy. I have no right as a friend to dictate what’s right and what’s wrong.” Few people know that these chatterboxes can stay together in a room for hours without exchanging a word. Their activity? Reading! While Kris goes for bestsellers, Boy is into non-fiction and poetry, especially by Maya Angelou. He has reread Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude three times “because you would not suspect it’s fiction the way he details that novel.” When he prepares for on-cam interviews, he bones up on his subject. No matter how late he arrives home, he spends two hours reading before going to sleep. He admires broadcaster Barbara Walters and journalist Oriana Fallaci for their thoroughness and fearless-ness in asking uncomfortable questions and eliciting newsmaking confessions. Despite the stature he has attained, the probinsiyano in him dies hard. He has a beachhouse in Borongan, a resthouse in Lipa, Batangas, where he tries to be on his day off (Monday), and is building a small bungalow in Quezon City. He said, “I don’t want to grow old in the city. I’ve saved and invested in real estate so I have money to buy medicine when the time comes. The city is not kind to old prostitutes.” http://www.planetphilippines.com/archives/april1-15/current/features_current/feature3.html [ Post a Reply to This Message ]