With egos as big as the Philippine arena, should it still come as a surprise that show business is the most disunited among Filipino industries? Lately, political beliefs have been dividing entertainers. But political alliances shift and so the entertainment landscape may someday just change.
What’s the entertainment profession’s dictum again? In showbiz, there are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies — only permanent interests.
From the time movies were produced in the Philippines, it was always to each his own. Not even during the golden era of the Big 3: Sampaguita Pictures, LVN and Premiere Productions. These film studios were run by honorable men and women of the first order — and yet, they never came together to unite for the good of the film business.
Today, there are already organizations that try to oversee the concerns of movie workers. These are the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the Film Academy of the Philippines and Mowelfund. These three groups are trying to keep industry members united.
Nonetheless, there are behavioral traits already inherent in man that cause disunity among movie people — and these are beyond the control of any film organization. Misbehavior is not distinct to showbiz practitioners alone though. But everything an on-cam talent does is always magnified — on high definition, at that.
Below are some of the negative characteristics of the entertainment population that keep the movie industry perpetually divided:
Being prideful and egoistical
Pride and ego are cousins. But having pride is not always bad. One can take pride in one’s work. But not to the point of being boastful — or believing in an image created by the studio. (Is that you, Willie Revillame?) For that can lead to a bloated ego.
Ego can be one’s worst enemy. A person full of ego no longer listens to the opinions of other people, leaving no room for improvement. One should constantly be aware of criticisms, especially constructive criticism.
Show business, whether here or abroad — sadly, is a sea of inflated egos. Fortunately, there are still iconic stars open to correction. Vilma Santos, for one, is willing to be corrected — perhaps over a decision she had not thought of carefully or even a grammatical mistake.
Even the late, great Fernando Poe, Jr. listened to suggestions. All his films were part of a collaborative effort. The idea for the 1979 blockbuster hit Mahal, Saan Ka Nanggaling Kagabi? came from actress-wife Susan Roces. Roces, in turn, got the inspiration from the Imelda Papin hit song of the same title.
FPJ, of course, was not without ego. But he knew how to temper it.
Unfortunately, show business is full of egos, big and small, but egos nevertheless. Even those without talent and who have not proven anything drown in their own egos.
Those with enlarged egos are difficult to work with. Egos have been known to cause delays and resentment among production people. It fosters hate in the place of work. So, pride and ego should definitely be listed as among the reasons why there is a lack of unity in show business.
Envy and jealousy
Again, envy and jealousy are relatives — this time, probably second cousins. Since showbiz practitioners are always being compared by the press and the public, envy and jealousy are easily formed within the entertainment community.
In the 1990s, Regal Films’ Lily Monteverde gave Richard Gomez a jet ski. The late Lolit Solis (may she rest in peace), therefore, also had to ask for a jet ski for her favorite ward, Gabby Concepion.
Lolit, of course, was just being protective of her talent. But in the eyes of showbiz observers, she was simply being envious. To her, though, it was her job as a good talent manager.
Jealousy usually kicks in when an “artista” (celebrity) on top of the game sees a newbie also getting a lion’s share of public attention. That is cause for worry because the newcomer has become a potential rival.
Rivalries can be good, though, especially if it became a healthy competition. But that can also be counterproductive. It is so difficult to put rivals together onscreen. First, there is the matter of billing. And then, there is a provision that has to be equally divided.
A decade or so ago, ABS-CBN tried to reunite rivals Susan Roces and Amalia Fuentes in Muling Buksan ang Puso. It was a nightmare for production. Everything had to be equal — from clothes to bouquets given out during promo tours of the two movie queens.
In the end, Amalia decided to back out and leave the show and was replaced by Pilar Pilapil. So, there went the reunion project of the two big queens of Philippine movies. The prospect of reuniting the two already excited their fans. But it was not meant to be. It is useless to do finger-pointing now, but as early as the pre-production phase of this program, envy and jealousy had already reared their ugly heads.
Greed
What’s in it for me? That is usually the question asked by a showbiz practitioner when asked to take part in any activity. What is the talent fee? Would that be good for my career?
Rarely would anyone ask: Will this be good for society and the rest of humanity? Even for benefit shows, there will be questions like: How am I going to be billed? Am I going to be the finale?
Those concerns will be raised even if the event is meant for charity. But then, that is part of human behavior and still acceptable.
Unfortunately, there are greedy and selfish members of the profession who will always try to make money off an unsuspecting talent. It is called exploitation.
Nora Aunor fell victim to that. Early in her career, one really evil producer made her do three films for the price of one. That experience hardened her and made her suspicious of the motives of people in the industry.
And then, there are the fly-by-night producers. Even the iconic female villain Bella Flores became a victim of those unscrupulous businessmen, many times over. She had been made to work on movies. But after the shoot was done and the film had already been released, poor Ms. Flores often found herself engaged in a hide-and-seek game with the producer, who, when found, still gave her the runaround.
Basic wickedness
There really are just bad people in showbiz — like anywhere on earth: blackmailers, lechers and sadistic bitches. These are just bad seeds who were born to make life miserable for others.
Unfortunately, if we take out people with these negative traits, show business will be a dull, dull world. After all, one needs to have a screw loose to be able to survive this crazy profession called entertainment.
So, will the show business ever get united? Well, not with all these cuckoos running around.