Nagbigay ng kanyang pahayag si Annabelle Rama laban sa kanyang mga kritiko na nagsasabing flop diumano ang kanyang comeback movie na My Monster Mom.
Lately kasi ay samu't saring balita at espekulasyon ang lumalabas. Merong mga nagsasabi na humataw ang pelikula in terms of viewership and revenues, samantalang meron ding kampong nagpapahayag na malamya ang naging performance ng My Monster Mom at hindi raw nito na-meet ang expectations ng GMA Films at Regal Entertainment na siyang namuhunan sa pelikula.
Sa text message na ipinadala ni Annabelle sa PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) kahapon, July 8, ay palaban na pinatutsadahan nito ang kanyang mga kritiko.
"First of all wala, silang proof na bina-blackmail ko ang mga Gozon. Second, they have no proof flop ang movie ko! Dapat umikot sila sa mga sinehan mula nung Wednesday which is opening day, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun dahil nagbigay na ang GMA ng figures, tumawag sa akin si Ricky Lo. 25-M Wednesday to Monday, which is six days showing.
"Alam ko ‘yang naninira sa akin taga-showbiz. Di nila ma-accept na ‘Box-Office Star' ang title—‘yan ang binigay sa akin ng GMA Films. Hindi ako ang nagsabi kundi ang GMA mismo."
Sinabi rin ni Annabelle na maging ang ilang tao ng Star Cinema, na siya namang movie outfit ng ABS-CBN, ay aminado na maganda ang naging takbo at kita ng pelikula mula nang magbukas ito noong July 2.
"I went to Star Cinema this a.m. for a meeting with Richard and KC [Concepcion]. Everybody congratulated me. Sabi daw kasi ng Star Cinema booking, malakas ang movie ko."
HAPPY AND CONTENTED. Matatandaan na sa artikulong inilathala ng PEP kahapon ay sinabi ng Program Management Vice President ng GMA Films, si Joey Abacan, na "happy" naman daw ang mga producers sa early turnout ng pelikula sa takilya.
"We're happy naman sa performance ng movie and hindi kami nagsisisi in producing it," pahayag ni Mr. Abacan.
Dahil hawak ng Regal Entertainment ang booking ng My Monster Mom at kasalukuyan pa itong ipinapalabas nationwide, iminungkahi muna ng network executive sa PEP na dumiretso sa Regal para malaman ang latest revenue figures.
Dagdag pa ni Mr. Abacan, "Hindi naman kasi namin tinitingnan ‘yong competition, especially the foreign movies. Ang tinitingnan namin is ‘yong gross and performance as compared doon sa mga films that we produced in the past."
Sinabi naman ni Angel Javier, head of GMA Corp Comm, na sa kanyang pagkakaalam ay tumabo ang My Monster Mom ng P25 million sa first five days of showing nito.
"Because of time difference in Paris, Mother Lily Monteverde and Roselle [Monteverde-Deo] haven't verified the figure. If it's a co-prod between Regal and GMA-7, it's Regal which releases the figures, given that it handles booking with cinemas."
Kasalukuyang nasa Paris si Mother Lily at ang anak
nitong si Roselle, sa Paris Intlernational Film Festival, kung saan kalahok ang ilang pelikula ng Regal. Pero sinusubukan ng PEP na tawagan si Roselle para kumpirmahin
ang balita tungkol sa kinita ng My
Monster Mom sa takilya.
GMA FILMS STATEMENT. Upang mabigyang linaw ang issue ay nagpadala ng official statement ang GMA Films via e-mail sa PEP kaninang umaga, July 9. Narito ang kanilang pahayag:
"GMA Films is happy with and proud of the success of My Monster Mom, the comeback movie of Ms. Annabelle Rama. In its first 5 days, it grossed over P25M which makes it a box-office hit. It is also the number two movie nationwide, second only to the Hollywood blockbuster Hancock.
"But what makes the producers of the movie happier is the fact that we could see that the people who watched the movie enjoyed it tremendously. Those who have actually seen it, have been congratulating the producers and stars.
"The producers went around various theaters in Metro Manila during the first week and we were able to see how much laughter our movie was able to bring to the audience. This is very fulfilling for us. We are sure that Ms. Annabelle Rama is also very happy that she was able to bring laughter to the Filipino viewers especially during these hard times.
"It is very unfortunate that we have been hearing reports that some people have been maliciously trying to spread lies about the movie saying that it is not a hit probably due to their envy of the success of the movie. This saddens us because we have always believed in being supportive of the entire Filipino movie industry. It also saddens us because these people disregard the hard work and effort that everyone involved in the movie put in. Our industry is very small. We should all be happy for the success of everyone in it.
"In the end, however, we know that the true test of the success of the movie is the gross receipts it receives and the level of enjoyment it is able to bring to its viewers. We encourage everyone who have not yet watched the movie to watch it and see how much joy it can bring to them."
"AT LEAST MAGKA-LEVEL KAMI." Ilang oras matapos naming matanggap ang official statement ng GMA Films ay muling nagpadala ng text message si Annabelle sa PEP. Kumpara sa nauna niyang mensahe kahapon ay halata na medyo humupa na rin kahit konti ang galit ni Annabelle.
"Hate campaign against My Monster Mom movie," bungad ni Annabelle. "They are claiming Hancock is No. 1, pero ang GMA Films satisfied sa box-office return ng MMM and happy sila sa performance ng movie. Lahat ng nanood happy and contented. Paglabas nila sa cheeters [theaters], naka-smile sila."
Maging ang Hollywood actor at bida ng Hancock na si Will Smith ay hindi nakaligtas, bagamat humorous naman ang approach ni Annabelle sa parteng ito.
"I'm so proud ang kasabay ng movie ko ay Will Smith, at least magka-level kami. Sa lahat ng mga naiinggit, di nila ma-accept na Box-Office star na ang nanay ni Ruffa and Richard. Sori na lang sila at least kumita ang kemback [comeback] movie ko. Maraming salamat to all who supported My Monster Mom movie. Yung hindi pa nanonood, panoorin n'yo para mawala ang problema n'yo."