SHARON:  MOVIE  W/ GABBY  OKAY  BUT  NOW STILL  A  BIG  'NO-NO'  FOR  HER

MANILA, APRIL 3, 2008 (STAR) FUNFARE UPDATE By Ricky Lo - Even if Gabby Concepcion, the balikbayan of the hour (who arrived early Sunday morning from San Francisco to visit his ailing father who’s celebrating his birthday on April 4), has no qualms about working with ex-wife Sharon Cuneta, prospects are dim that such a dream movie will ever come true. It takes two to tango but, sadly, Sharon is not willing to do it, even if she admits that it’s easy for her and Gabby to work together, “even to start shooting tomorrow if there’s a good script,” but...

“...and that’s the big and most important BUT,” says Sharon in reaction to yesterday’s Funfare story quoting Gabby as saying he’s ready to do that movie even if it would mean, hmmmm, reopening old wounds and putting their private lives and those of people close to them on the (firing) line, “ we have both grown up and matured, and I am sure that he knows as well as I do that nothing would be worth doing together if it means our lives — meaning our lives with our respective espouses and children — would be disrupted, used, subjected to intrigue and pushed to the limits and turned upside-down...even if it be not of our doing and only by showbiz’s (nearly evil!) ways.”

Sharon concedes that Gabby is one of the country’s best actors and they are undeniably a beloved “loveteam” with a whole generation of moviegoers who have grown up with them.

“I’m pretty sure our fans will always be there,” Sharon adds, “ready to support whatever we do in showbiz, in our work, whether together or, for that matter, apart. I could feel their undying support now for our one and only daughter, Maria Kristina Cassandra (KC for short, who’s celebrating her birthday on April 7. — RFL) who not only looks like but is truly more like him than me in many ways,” but...

Even if Sharon’s husband, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan (by whom she has two daughters, Frankie and Miel), said that he’s leaving it up to Sharon to decide (“Because I don’t meddle in her career”), Sharon insists that it’s still a big no-no, unless, she adds half in jest, “by some miracle Kiko would say, ‘Go ahead, do it. Hayaan mo na sila at tutal naman matagal na tayong iniintriga pero sa April 28 we will be celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary.”

Kiko (and Sharon) are referring to the persistent rumor that Kiko has a “kept woman” he met while on a scholarship in Harvard and who later worked at his Senate office and with whom Kiko has sired not just one but two children.

“In this age of the SMS, MMS, e-mail and the Internet,” Sharon quotes Kiko as saying, “we have been waiting since 2001 for somebody, anybody, to produce any evidence or what the address (of the rumored woman is, said to be from Bacolod), so that we can send her sustento and whatever she needs. ‘Sabay pa nating pupuntahan ‘yon, di ba?’ Kiko was telling me.”

Seriously, according to Sharon, even if Kiko gives her the thumbs-up to work again with Gabby (who himself is now happily married, to Genevieve “Ginbee” Yatco, with whom he has a weeks-old child; they live in San Francisco), “I have my two bulilit (Frankie and Miel) to consider. They know that their Ate Tina (KC) has a papa aside from their daddy, but we are still in the process of helping them get used to it. Could you imagine how my movie with Gabby, if ever, could turn their lives upside-down! The last thing I want to happen is for people to turn our lives into a circus.”

Again half in jest, Sharon speculates that that “dream movie” could earn her — and Gabby — money that could make her “retire” and “disappear” into her life-long dream of living a quiet and peaceful existence in a province — “Somewhere where all I will do is read, write, watch DVDs and, most important of all, kiss my honey without stopping” — but no, not all the money in the world could buy the thrill of “seeing the eyes of your hubby and your children whenever they or you walk into your door when they or you get home, and get smothered with hugs and kisses. I am sure it is the same with Gabby,” says Sharon. “You know, I realized this only recently...That when Gabby’s name is brought up or I see his picture or an old video clip of him or for some reason he crossed my mind, there is no longer pain, but only good wishes for him, his lovely wife whom I appreciate for loving my daughter (KC) and being good to her, and their little angel. I pray that they be blessed enough to live the kind of life that Gabby and I could not...together. I cannot wish him less than true joy in his heart...”

Yilmaz coming but only for kids and not for Ruffa

There’s an unconfirmed report that Yilmaz Bektas is flying in from Istanbul any day now to pay daughters Lorin and Venice a visit but not his estranged wife Ruffa Gutierrez.

“Sorry but I will be on a beach at the time he is here,” said Ruffa who is unperturbed by rumors linking Yilmaz to 2006 Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico. “I’ve known about them as early as last year. I’m glad that Yilmaz has moved on the same way that I have.”

Ruffa told Funfare that Yilmaz hasn’t been sending money or any other kind of “support” to their daughters. “I have stopped asking him and/or his family six months ago after my pleas only fell on deaf ears,” said Ruffa.

Incidentally, the postscript to yesterday’s item about Ruffa and Yilmaz should have read:

Postscript: After sending her reaction, Ruffa called to tell me that Yilmaz is coming soon and staying for three days to check what their children need. Said Ruffa, “I will believe that he’s really coming only when he’s already here.”