Ghost month and other showbiz superstitions

In 2022, I was commissioned to write a book about Mowelfund, an organization that not only looks after the needs of people in showbiz but also provides training for aspiring filmmakers. The book project was scheduled to be launched in time for its 50th anniversary in 2024.

When I attended the first meeting, I found out that there had been a miscommunication. Two other writers showed up. Apparently, some board members had also contacted other people about the book. The two others were amenable to the project, and so, suddenly, there were three of us.

I would have been fine co-writing the book with one other person. But three authors? We would have killed each other midstream. I immediately declined the project but offered another one instead. Why not interview iconic movie personalities on video? Documentation, to me, is very important. The stories of these showbiz legends should be documented before their memory banks go awry — or, gasp, before they permanently say goodbye.

Mowelfund gave the project the green light in late July 2022. It was going to be called Cinema Treasures. I told its board members, however, that we should wait until after the Ghost Month before starting the interviews — and they agreed.

In the middle of the Ghost Month, however, I got a call from Mowelfund. Former actress Yvonne was in the office. Yvonne, if you must know, used to appear in “bomba” (films with simulated sex). But she was no ordinary “bomba” star. She won the Best Supporting Actress award at the very first Gawad Urian. I was told she was already based in Japan and was in the Philippines only for a brief visit.

I told the Mowelfund people to hold her there — tie her to a chair, if necessary. “But it’s the Ghost Month,” they protested. I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to interview such an iconic film personality. I rushed to Mowelfund, gathered a crew, and got a good story. The truth is, she is good copy. Seiko Films even turned her life experiences into a movie starring Sarsi Emmanuelle. The title of the film was Bomba Queen (1985).

So far, I have interviewed more than 30 film icons, including National Artist for Film Ricky Lee, but the project has yet to be launched. There have been so many obstacles. Was it because we began the project during the Ghost Month?

There are other superstitious beliefs that are observed even outside the Ghost Month. For example, peanuts are not allowed on set. Why? Well, peanuts are often served during wakes, and producers believe that munching on these crunchy treats while filming will bring bad luck to the project. The movie could bomb at the box office, for instance, or a TV show could eat dust in the ratings.

Most people in showbiz also try to wear red on Mondays because the color is said to usher in good luck that lasts for the entire week. But what if the production designer provides an actor with another color to wear on a Monday shoot? Believe me, there are movie stars I know who address this concern by wearing red underwear on the first day of the workweek. If they are also made to wear red on camera, all the better. That’s double luck for the week.

But I wonder, what if it’s a Vivamax (now VMX) project they are filming on a Monday? How can the actresses wear red when they are not supposed to be wearing anything? Would red nails do?

Producers also avoid using the words “itim” (black) or “luha” (tears) in the titles of their film projects. After all, these words are associated with death. Robbie Tan of Seiko Films, however, proved them all wrong when Snooky Serna’s Blusang Itim made a killing at the box office. So did Lily Monteverde, or Mother Lily, with Nagbabagang Luha, one of the blockbuster hits of 1988.

Mother Lily was one showbiz personality who was not at all superstitious. Her anniversary presentations were always exhibited during the Ghost Month. Maybe it was because she was born on 19 August 1938, and always celebrated her birthday during the Ghost Month. But I do remember her practicing Chinese religious rituals while surrounded by images of the Virgin Mary.

There is another superstitious belief that is strictly observed at the start of the year in showbiz. No, it’s not the practice of jumping up and down to get taller.

During Holy Week or even All Saints’ Day, stars are allowed to go on vacation. If they are part of a variety program — like Eat Bulaga! or It’s Showtime — several episodes are taped before the mainstays go on break.

But on New Year’s Day, these programs have to go live — with all the stars present. Never mind if the on-camera talents still have a hangover from all the merrymaking on New Year’s Eve. It is considered imperative for the shows to go live on the first day of the year for good luck. I don’t see the connection, but that’s industry practice. Maybe it has something to do with bringing energy into the studio on Day One of the New Year.

There is also a showbiz belief that actors who lie in a coffin for a movie scene live longer. I tried lying in a coffin for one shoot, and it gave me the creeps. To think it was a comedy we were doing. And it was an open casket, to my relief.

I suspect production people only tell actors that nothing bad will happen to them if they lie in a coffin so they can get the scene over and done with. They even tell the stars they will live longer if they do so. Whether or not the actors buy that theory is uncertain. To begin with, they have no choice. If they are instructed by the director to get into a coffin, they are obliged to do so. If they refuse, word will get around that they are difficult. That’s sure death for their careers.

People in showbiz also believe that stars who are frequently rumored to have died tend to live longer. In the case of Dolphy, rumors about his death began circulating as early as the 1970s. In the 1980s, I saw for myself how one tabloid carried this banner: “Dolphy dead.” Dolphy didn’t die until more than two decades later. He was 83.

Two weeks ago, I got a Viber message from Nadia Montenegro asking if I was okay. She didn’t want to go straight to the point, but she had heard that I had died. Why didn’t she just call me? Maybe because dead people don’t answer their phones?

Instead, she called our common friend, Jay Manalo, who didn’t believe the news of my “death.” “Mas malakas pa sa ’kin ’yon! (He’s even stronger than I am!),” Jay supposedly told the worried Nadia.

Within the hour, I got a call from a friend who is not from showbiz. “Is it true you died?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “In fact, you’re talking to my ghost!”

It was only then that my friend realized she was being silly.

But I still wanted to know how I had supposedly “died.” My friend said she had no idea and had merely read it on the online site of another daily. Bad daily!

That rumor about my death made me wonder: I only got one call from a friend outside showbiz and that Viber message from Nadia Montenegro. What?! Only two people cared?!

It could have been one of two things: Very few people read that paper, or only two people give a hoot about me. I choose to believe the first.

But let’s get things straight. I did not die. It was a beloved aunt who recently passed away. At her wake, no one asked me about the rumor. Hah! That paper should be worried about its circulation — or perhaps get its facts straight before posting anything online.

I admit it was a weird feeling to be rumored dead. I just take comfort in the thought that, with that rumor, I may just live longer — knock on wood! Oh, yeah. Isn’t that another superstitious belief?