ON JUNE 30, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) general manager Timothy “Tim” Orbos announced the first four entries for the 2017 edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) which included the return of big ticket names such as comedian/host Jose Marie “Vice Ganda” Viceral, Rodel Pacheco Nacianceno (better known as Coco Martin) and Marvic Valentin “Vic” Sotto to the film festival.

On the same day, three of the 24-member MMFF Executive Committee (Execom) resigned in apparent protest over the choice of the first four entries.

The three who handed over their resignations were scriptwriter Ricky Lee, academician Rolando Tolentino, and broadcast journalist Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala.

“Basically we respect their decision to resign despite the fact that the selection process is not yet over,” Mr. Orbos told Interaksyon.com in a text message.

Despite signing a confidentiality agreement, Mr. Tolentino in a tweet on July 1 said: “The results of the script selection speak for itself.”

BACK TO SCRIPT ENTRIES
In May, the MMFF announced changes in the criteria for choosing festival films and once again allowed script submissions to serve as entries, unlike last year where the Execom only accepted finished films for consideration.

Of the eight films which will run in this year’s festival — to be held from Dec. 25 to Jan. 7 — four films would have been chosen from script submissions while four would have been chosen from finished films.

The MMFF explained in a May 5 post that the acceptance of script-only entries was a decision made “after months of thorough and careful evaluation and deliberations, including dialogues with the different industry stakeholders,” and was “based on the stated objectives of the 2017 MMFF to pursue both artistic excellence and audience appeal that can equate to more benefits to its target industry beneficiaries.”

The annual festival is run by the Metro Manila Development Authority.

As is often the case with the MMFF, the change was met with raised eyebrows as some parties pointed out that it seemed the MMFF is “going back to its old ways” of prioritizing box-office success over “quality” films.

PANDAY OVER PALANCA
The four script submissions which were chosen as entries are: Ang Panday, a reboot of the classic Fernando Poe, Jr. fantasy-action franchise which will this time be headlined by Coco Martin who will also serve as producer and director; Almost is not Enough, a romantic drama starring Jennylyn Mercado and Jericho Rosales; The Revengers, a horror/comedy starring Vice Ganda, Daniel Padilla, and former Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach; and Love Traps #FamilyGoals starring Vic Sotto and Dawn Zulueta.

The Execom chose the four over other submitted scripts such as Smaller and Smaller Circles, a film adaptation of the F.H. Batacan mystery novel of the same name which won the Carlos Palanca Grand Prize for English Novel in 1999 which would have been directed by Erik Matti; Ang Larawan, the musical adaptation of National Artist Nick Joaquin’s The Portrait of an Artist as a Filipino with music and lyrics by fellow National Artist Rolando Tinio and composer Ryan Cayabyab, among others.

“Our selection committee had a difficult time choosing given the quality of films. We have to thank them for their exhaustive and thorough deliberations,” Mr. Orbos, who is also the MMFF Execom chairman, said in the June 30 MMFF Facebook post announcing the first four entries.

In all, 26 scripts had been submitted.

The same MMFF post noted that another four films — this time chosen from finished movies — will be announced in November as the deadlines are Oct. 2 (for early bird submissions) and Oct. 30 (for regular submission).

FRANCHISES OVER QUALITY FILMS
“To those who were wondering and asking why I resigned as an Execom member of the MMFF, the answer is simple: from the first time I agreed to join, I decided to stay only if the reforms started in 2016 continued. Considering all that’s happening, I don’t think it will happen, that’s why I don’t see the point of me staying,” Mr. Lee said in Filipino in a July 2 Facebook post.

Last year’s MMFF saw mostly independent films gracing the theaters, with big studio film franchises passed over in favor of “quality” films. The 2016 Best Picture was given to Baby Ruth Villarama’s Sunday Beauty Queen, the first documentary to ever win in the festival.

“The MMFF script selection is proof of the real divide between commerciality and quality and commercial interests are powerful… it is also proof that there’s no interest in removing the distinction between indie and mainstream [films]. Indie was removed,” said Mr. Tolentino in a series of tweets on July 1.

And it seems the decision is also not sitting well with another Execom member, Film Development Council of the Philippines President and CEO Mary Liza Diño-Seguerra. In a Facebook message sent to this reporter on July 3, she said she “feel[s] for them, our creative member who felt they had no choice but to resign because of what’s happening within the committee.

“It was a tough fight and we fought hard but there are things beyond and above us that we cannot control. [The] Execom is a collegial body, majority wins and this time, that was what prevailed,” she added.

The new Execom — whose composition was also met with controversy when it was announced in March as it removed educator Edward Cabagnot and film director Moira Lang as members — recently introduced to its ranks a 24-person committee including a representative from the mayors of Metro Manila, a representative from the theater operators, and a representative from film distributors.

“Of course [I’m not happy with the results], but I understand where each sector is coming from. Filmmaking is a business as much as it is art. The hardest part is to balance both so we can serve both of its purpose,” Ms. Diño-Seguerra said. — Zsarlene B. Chua

OVER THE span of two decades, Eiga Sai — the film festival dedicated to promoting Japanese films to the Filipino populace — has presented more than 100 films. It will now add 20 more to the list as it celebrates its 20^th year from July 7-16 at the Shangri-La Plaza Cinema 2.

Below is the list of films that will be shown on this special edition of the film festival — a healthy combination of contemporary and older Japanese films (live-action and animation) — which will be shown over its 10-day run:

¥ Her Love Boils Bathwater (2016), written and directed by Ryota Nakano. It tells the story of a terminally ill matriarch who is determined to reconcile with her estranged family in the last moments of her life.

The film has won numerous awards in Japan including the Japan Movie Critics Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Rie Miyazawa and Best Supporting Actress for Hana Sugisaki.

Mr. Nakano will be in the country for a director’s talk scheduled on July 8.

¥ The Sting of Death (1990), directed by Kohei Oguri. This period drama set in the 1950s tells the story of a couple weathering the storms of their marriage after the husband confesses to having an affair.

The film has won the FIPRESCI Grand Prize of the Jury award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

¥ Memories of You (1988), directed by Yoshiro Kojima. It tells the story of a university student meeting by chance the girl he used to tutor. The young girl only has six months to live but she is determined to live on and survive her illness to be with the university student.

¥ Departures (2008), directed by Yojiro Takata. It follows the story of a failed young cellist who decides to work as a traditional mortician. Despite crushing social prejudice, he soon learns the dignity of his new work.

The film won the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the 2008 Academy Awards as well as Audience Awards at the 2008 Hawaii International Film Festival and 2008 Golden Rooster Awards.

¥ Tsukiji Wonderland (2016), directed by Naotaro Endo. A documentary about the famed Japanese fish market, it was filmed over 16 months and shows the daily hustle of the 80-year-old market — including areas which haven’t been seen on film before — as it prepares to move to its new location in Toyosu.

¥ In This Corner of the World (2016), directed by Sunao Katabuchi. An animated film adaptation of the manga of the same name, it follows a feisty housewife as she tries to survive and live a normal life in war-torn Japan.

¥ The Anthem of the Heart (2015), directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai. An animated film about a girl who loses her voice and finds comfort and happiness in music and friendship.

¥ Chihayafuru Parts 1 and 2 (2016), directed by Nori Koizumi. The live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name which tells the coming-of-age story of friends who are brought together by the Japanese traditional card game, Karuta.

¥ Creepy (2016), directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It follows a former detective trying to figure the erratic behavior of his new neighbor while his old colleagues ask for his help in reopening a case about a missing family.

¥ What a Wonderful Family (2016), directed by Yoji Yamada. A heart-warming comedy about a family whose parents suddenly decide to end their 50-year marriage.

¥ The Magnificent Nine (2016), directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura. A film adaptation of a novel by Michifumi Isoda which was based on a true story set in the Edo period (1603-1868). It follows the tale of nine merchants using their wits and wealth to outsmart feudal lords and save their towns from poverty.

¥ The Mohican Comes Home (2016), directed by Shuichi Okita. The film follows the homecoming of a Mohawk-wearing man whose life is rocked by the knowledge that his father is dying.

¥ Sweet Bean (2015), directed by Naomi Kawase. The film adaptation of a novel by Dorian Sukegawa about a dorayaki (red bean pancake) shop owner who meets an old woman who shares her dorayaki recipe but then an unkind rumor causes the old woman to distance herself from the shop owner

The film has won in the Un Certain Regard category at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

¥ The Long Excuse (2016), directed by Miwa Nishikawa. The film an adulterous celebrity who takes on the role of the grieving husband after his wife dies in a bus accident. He then meets another grieving husband and offers to take care of his children.

¥ Poolside Man (2016), directed by Hirobumi Watanabe. The film tells the story of a lonely swimming pool lifeguard who accompanies his friend to a village plagued by an epidemic.

¥ If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016), directed by Akira Nagai. The film adaptation of an online novel of the same name about a postman diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor who strikes a deal with the devil to prolong his life by making things — like mobile phones — disappear from the world.

¥ Bakuman (2015), directed by Hitoshi One. A live-action adaptation of a manga of the same name which follows two unlikely friends as they journey towards being top manga creators. The film highlights the highs and lows of the Japanese comic industry.

¥ Sadako Vs Kayako (2016), directed by Koji Shiraishi. The film pits two of the most iconic characters in the Japanese horror genre, Sadako from The Ring and Kayako from Ju-on: The Grudge, in an Alien vs. Predator-style movie. The film, shot in a faux-documentary style, follows a student who, having watched the cursed Sadako film now has two days left to live, decides to pit her against Kayako, another ghost in a haunted house.

¥ Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections is an omnibus film produced by the Japan Foundation and the Tokyo International Film Festival, which brings together three acclaimed Asian directors who each created a segment with the theme “Living in Asia.”

The first film, SHINIUMA Dead Horse, directed by Filipino director Brillante Mendoza, is about a Filipino illegal immigrant in Japan who is deported back to the Philippines but upon his return, realizes he has no home to come back to anymore.

The second film, Pigeon, by Yukisada Isao, follows an elderly Japanese man, estranged from his son, who decides to live in Malaysia where he forms a new bond with his caretaker.

The third film, Beyond the Bridge, directed by Sotho Kulikar, is set on the actual Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge in Phnom Penh and tells the love story between a Japanese architect and a Cambodian woman who he ends up leaving behind.

Eiga Sai runs from July 7-16 at the Cinema 2 of Shangri-La Cineplex in Mandaluyong City. Each screening costs P100 except for July 14 when the festival will be screening Tagalized versions of Sadako vs Kayako, If Cats Disappeared from the World, and Bakuman for free.

For more information and screening schedules, call 370-2597 or visit www.facebook.com/shangrilaplazaofficial. — Zsarlene B. Chua

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SCENES from The Sting of Death (above), and (top to bottom) The Magnificent Nine, The Mohican Comes Home, and Sweet Bean

BAKUMAN and SADAKO VS KAYAKO

SCENES FROM If Cats Disappeared from the World (below), and (clockwise) Creepy, Her Love Boils Bathwater, In This Corner of the World, and What a Wonderful Family

LOS ANGELES — Rapper Jay-Z let his music do the talking with his new album 4:44 on Friday as he addressed cheating on his wife Beyonce, the birth of his twins and this year’s Oscars best picture.

In the title track, Jay-Z admitted in his lyrics that he “often womanize,” more than a year after R&B star Beyonce first shed light on his infidelities in her album Lemonade.

Jay-Z pens a remorseful ode to his fractured marriage in “4:44,” rapping that it “took for my child to be born, see through a woman’s eyes” in reference to the couple’s daughter Blue Ivy.

He also mentioned their twins, who were reported to have been born this month but whose arrival has yet to be officially confirmed, saying it “took for these natural twins to believe in miracles, took me too long for this song, I don’t deserve you.

Jay-Z added, “What good is a menage a trois when you have a soul mate? You risked that for Blue?… my heart breaks for the day I had to explain my mistakes.”

Fans were left stunned last year when Beyonce made accusations in Lemonade that Jay-Z had cheated on her, a rare crack in the seemingly perfect facade of one of music’s highest-profile couples.

In her song “Sorry,” Beyonce referred to a mystery woman, calling her “Becky with the good hair,” which is echoed in Jay-Z’s track “Family Feud,” a duet with Beyonce in which he raps “Let me alone Becky.”

4:44 was released exclusively on premium music streaming platform Tidal, founded by Jay-Z, in partnership with US wireless carrier Sprint Corp., which purchased a 33% stake in Tidal this year and made the album available via a six-month Tidal subscription to Sprint mobile customers.

The 35-minute album features Blue Ivy on the track “Legacy,” in which the five-year-old asks “Daddy, what’s a will?” as the rapper expresses hope that his children use their wealth to promote “black excellence.”

In “Moonlight,” Jay-Z tackles the impact of the film La La Land being named best picture at this year’s Oscars while in “The Story of O.J.,” the rapper explores black identity in America. — Reuters

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RAPPER Jay-Z presents the Video Vanguard Award to his wife Beyonce as he holds their daughter Blue Ivy during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 24, 2014. — REUTERS

LOS ANGELES — Despicable Me 3, the latest installment of the animated crime caper series, debuted at the top of the North American box office, estimates showed Sunday, but fell short of industry expectations in weekend ticket sales.

Steve Carell stars as the voice of “despicable” bad guy-turned-protagonist Gru — and his twin brother Dru — in the Universal film.

It also features Kristen Wiig as Gru’s wife Lucy and South Park co-creator Trey Parker as Balthazar Bratt, a former child star and evil villain whose fashion sense is stuck in the ’80s.

The film brought in $75.4 million in its opening weekend, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations, falling short of predictions that it would breach at least the $80-million mark.

Debuting in second place was hotly anticipated heist thriller Baby Driver, with $21 million.

Ansel Elgort (The Fault in our Stars) stars as a gifted getaway driver who suffers from tinnitus — ringing in his ears — and has to play music on an iPod to concentrate when he is behind the wheel.

Falling to third after its debut weekend at the top of the box office was Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment in the blockbuster series which raked in $17 million.

The film, which is heavy on visual effects, features actors Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, and Anthony Hopkins, and opened to what was by far the weakest debut in the franchise’s history.

Warner Bros. superhero action film Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot as the Amazonian goddess-princess, earned some $15.6 million, landing in fourth place and bringing the film’s total domestic ticket sales to $346.1 million in five weeks.

Meanwhile Pixar’s Cars 3 cruised into fifth place, with $9.5 million in its third weekend.

The animated movie features Lightning McQueen and his longtime friends fighting off a challenge from a new generation of racers, voiced by actors including Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo and Armie Hammer.

Rounding out the top 10 were: The House ($9 million); 47 Meters Down ($4.7 million); The Beguiled ($3.3 million); The Mummy ($2.8 million); and, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales ($2.4 million). — AFP

LOS ANGELES — Oscar-winning actress Olivia de Havilland filed a lawsuit against FX Networks on Friday, saying she did not give her permission to be portrayed in the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan and that her depiction in the show had harmed her reputation.

Lawyers for De Havilland, whose 101^st birthday fell on Saturday, said the network and Ryan Murphy Productions did not consult with her and that she is the only living person to be depicted in the eight-part miniseries.

De Havilland was portrayed by Catherine Zeta-Jones in Feud, which starred Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford and Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis. The series explored the complex tension and bad blood between the two Hollywood screen legends in the later years of their life, especially during their filming on 1962’s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane.

Critics warmly received the series, touting it as a strong contender for next month’s Emmy nominations.

De Havilland’s complaint was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Representative for Murphy and FX Networks, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

In an April interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy said he did not contact De Havilland because he “didn’t want to be disrespectful and ask her, “Did this happen? Did that happen? What was your take on that?”

In the complaint, lawyers criticized Zeta-Jones’ depiction of De Havilland giving an interview that they said had never taken place in real life, even though the series intended for viewers to believe it was true.

The complaint adds that De Havilland was portrayed as a “petty gossip” in the show, which her lawyers argued was damaging to her “professional reputation for integrity, honesty, generosity, self-sacrifice and dignity.”

The complaint requests a jury trial to determine damages that include emotional distress and economic losses as well as profits made by defendants using De Havilland’s likeness.

De Havilland, best known for the 1939 film Gone With the Wind, won two Oscars in a career spanning 50 movies that was also marked by a legendary feud with younger sister and fellow Oscar-winner Joan Fontaine that was worthy of a screenplay. Fontaine died in 2013.

De Havilland moved to Paris in the 1950s, where she currently resides, and has only made rare public appearances since retiring. — Reuters

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ACTRESS Olivia de Havilland is seen arriving for the Academy Tribute to Olivia de Havilland at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills, California on June 15, 2006. — REUTERS

NEW YORK — Paul McCartney has reached a confidential settlement of his lawsuit against Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC in which he sought to reclaim copyrights to songs by the Beatles.

The accord disclosed on Thursday in filings with the US District Court in Manhattan ends the 75-year-old McCartney’s preemptive effort to ensure that the copyrights, once owned by Michael Jackson, would go to him starting in October 2018.

US District Judge Edgardo Ramos signed an order dismissing the case, but agreed to revisit it if a dispute arose.

The dismissal request had been made by Michael Jacobs, a lawyer for McCartney, on behalf of the singer and Sony/ATV.

It is unclear how the accord affects McCartney’s copyright claims. The singer’s representatives could not immediately be reached on Friday for comment.

McCartney had sued on Jan. 18 for a declaration that he could reclaim more than 260 copyrights, including for songs credited to him and John Lennon such as “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Yesterday,” and “Hey Jude.”

The registrations at issue also covered “Maybe I’m Amazed” and several other songs McCartney recorded as a solo artist.

They even covered such titles as “Scrambled Egg,” which is close to the working lyric “Scrambled Eggs” that McCartney once used for the song that became “Yesterday.”

McCartney had been outbid by Jackson in 1985 for the Beatles’ song rights, which were later rolled into Sony/ATV, a joint venture with Sony Corp.

The pop star’s estate sold its stake in that venture to Sony for $750 million last year.

McCartney sued 1-1/2 months after a British court said the pop group Duran Duran could not reclaim rights to their songs, in its case against Sony/ATV’s Gloucester Place Music unit.

Changes made in 1976 to US copyright law let authors like McCartney reclaim song rights after periods of time elapsed.

In his lawsuit, McCartney said he could begin exercising his rights on Beatles songs, starting with “Love Me Do,” on Oct. 5, 2018.

The case is McCartney v Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 17-00363. — Reuters

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PAUL MCCARTNEY celebrates after performing with Ringo Starr (not pictured) during the 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio on April 18, 2015. — REUTERS

SINGER ADELE canceled the last two sell-out shows of her world tour which were to have taken place at London’s Wembley Stadium last weekend after damaging her vocal cords. Adele, 29, said she went to see a throat doctor on Friday night, who advised her not to perform. She had already performed two nights to crowds at Wembley, but said that she had been struggling vocally. “To say I’m heartbroken would be an understatement,” Adele, said on her Twitter page. One of the biggest selling artists in the world, she said she was so desperate to perform that she had even considered miming at the shows. “I’ve never done it and I cannot in a million years do that to you,” she said. “It wouldn’t be the real me up there.” Adele said refunds would be available if the shows could not be rescheduled. The Grammy-award singer has previously had to cancel concerts due to problems with her throat following vocal cord surgery in 2011. — Reuters