Article posted October 17, 2009
Rating:
Sigurado, iisang palabas lamang ang may lakas-loob na umangkin sa titulong 'longest running showbiz-oriented talk show'. And ang current hosts at creative director ng ‘Startalk’, without a doubt, ay kumalap na ng sapat na karanasan sa mga intriga during their fourteen years on-air, bilang ebidensya of the show's longevity. Text and interviews by Erick Mataverde and Jason John S. Lim. Photos by Jason John S. Lim.
Startalk has been dishing out the latest and hottest intrigues, controversies and showbiz news, week-in and week-out for fourteen long years. At tila hindi natitinag ang show na ito sa inumpisahang layunin, as it features Seven Xclusive, Xplosive and Xtreme na mga istorya sa mundo ng showbiz as highlight to their anniversary show this Saturday, October 17.
Kaya, bilang panguna, inalam na ng iGMA sa mga hosts at creative director ng longest running showbiz-oriented talk show in the country, kung ano para sa kanila ang mga pinakamaintrigang mga isyu at pangyayari na hindi nila makakalimutan sa Startalk.
Joey De Leon:
"Pare pareho lang. [Pero] siguro 'yung pinagusapan this year, 'yung mga sex videos. Pero wala eh tinabunan lahat ng bagyo eh. Tinabunan ni Ondoy lahat eh. Ke politics, ke showbiz. Ibig sabhin isa lang ang nagpapatunay niyan - anything [coming from] nature, 'yung sa mundo na, tungkol sa mundo – 'yun ang magpapatigil at tatakip sa lahat ng issues. Calamity talaga eh. Natigil eh!
“Imaginin mo kung wala si Ondoy, ang daming tsismis lalo! Pero ganun pa man, dahil sa mga talk shows na katulad ng Startalk, nagse-surface pa 'yung mga tsismis na yan. Mga pangkiliti sa utak ng tao. Kasi pag wala nang tsismis hindi na bubulong ang tao, wala na tayong sotto, puro matataas na ang boses. Importante rin yan."
Lolit Solis:
"'Yung kay Hope Centeño, 'yung kay James Yap. Kasi before I went into it, inisip ko talaga. Kasi 'di ba? Si Kris Aquino, I used to handle her with Boy [Abunda] ano. Parang, tapos siyempre, nasa Channel 2 na siya andito ako [sa 7], baka maisipan [kung ano] – it’s a story, 'di ba? Kaya nga after that, siguro mga twice nagkita kami [ni Kris] sa parlor ni Bambi Fuentes, hindi ko talaga siya binabati, dapat siya ang unang bumati, ganun eh, kasi baka mamaya batiin mo, [tapos]isnabin ka, 'di ba? Siya naman, in fairness to her, siya naman ang bumati [sa akin]. Sabi niya, 'You don’t love me na ah, you don't like me na ah, ganun ka!'"
Ricky Lo:
"For the past year, ang intriguing? Ang dami ano. Pero ang memorable siguro 'yung kay Francis [Magalona], dahil maraming revelations doon. 'Di ba? Ang dami na na-kuwento about Francis? Eh meroon pa palang mga untold stories about them. Papaano sila nag move-on, how they plan to move on. 'Yung episode na 'yun, 'yun ang pinakamataas namin[g rating] in the past year, 24 point something eh.
“Sa mga sorpresa naman ang daming mga revelations and nalalaman ko na lang sa studio na eh. Ang daming mga exclusives – mga scoops. Si Lady Gaga, kami lang ang unang naka scoop noon. Bago pumunta dito si Lady Gaga, meroon na kaming interview na exclusive mga two months before [she had a concert in the Philippines]."
Butch Francisco:
"Lahat; ang dami, kasi lahat ng namatay, lahat ng bininyagan, lahat ng kinasal—dumaan lahat sa akin 'yun. I guess 'yung pinaka-biggest achievement ko, ako 'yung nakapasok nung height of Ondoy. Tapos, Lolit came in after half-way through the show na. I had to drive through waist-deep of flood water. Wow! I think that should be my biggest achievement, nakarating ako! Kasi, that time, wala talaga. We were working with a skeletal staff of three people, kasi who else would come? But all the intriga—basta walang nakalusot sa akin.
"Kahit sa Ilocos Norte, Laoag—lahat, pinuntahan ko lahat. Marky Cielo? Sa Mountain Province, narating ko 'yun. And that time, parang below 4 degrees yata ang [temperature] doon, because it was December. We were there, at the height of talagang ang lamig-lamig. They were asking me nga to do Showbiz Central the following day, kasi walang mapaakyat na host—kasi talagang mamamatay ka sa ginaw."
Floy Quintos, Startalk Creative Director:
"How long do you have? The crisis in the hosts, the numerous changes that we've had. The goodbyes, the hellos. Because the issues will always be there every week, that's what we do. We have to learn to live with issues, and the pressure related to issues. But the people who help us expound on the issues, the people who deliver the issues—they're like family. So when you lose one, or when one goes away because of a certain reason, it's kind of earth-shaking. I would really say that the changes in the hosts have been one of the crises—for me, the most important. Because you trust these people e. You develop relationships, working with them week by week. And when they go because of adverse things, it's like—'Oh my God, how? What do we do?'
"But then, the other good thing about it naman, is that the Startalk behind-the-scenes family, we're all still alive—some of them have children, you know? A lot of them have kids na! And before they were all so young. So parang, [Startalk] is a teenager. Except for all of us behind the scenes. We really try to be young and hip, at the same time balanced. Balance, balance. It's a teenager who is young and hip—but we do want to achieve—you can't be fourteen the rest of your life, 'di ba? You do want to achieve a certain amount of maturity, that we like to think of. Maybe that's the good balance that Startalk should look for: the balance between young and hip, and the balance of being a mature adult. At least when it comes to thinking and covering these things."
Kaya huwag kaligtaan panoorin ang special anniversary episode ng Startalk at alamin ang Seven Xclusive, Xplosive and Xtreme na mga kontrobersiya in local entertainment, this coming Saturday pagkatapos ng Eat Bulaga!
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