JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

Shokot
noun
1 Fear, takot: namatay sa shokot.

Phrases
shokot na shokot: deathly afraid
nakakashokot: terrifying

I am in training for the holidays. This week so far I have hauled my antisocial self to two parties. And there has been no body count, but the week isn’t over. Last night: The Shokot Wrap and One Month Before Xmas Party.

This just wrapped: Patayin Sa Shokot Si Remington, the gay zombie horror-comedy written by Raymond Lee, Michiko Yamamoto and Jade Castro, directed by Jade Castro. They are now doing post-production and mulling over the title. I vote Shokot!

The fabulous Raymond Lee (make-up by Chus Lozada) hosted the party at Mogwai at Cubao Expo. Raymond has brought back the One Month Before Xmas Party, an annual ritual we approve of. At the last OMBXP (Was that six years ago?) we met Ettore Paterno del Toscano of Catania, who lectured us on the misrepresentation of Sicilians in American cinema. Ettore if you’re reading this, Ciao bello!

Sherad Sanchez, auteur of Ang Huling Balyan Ng Buhi and Imburnal, updated us on his Scandinavian saga.

This is a rare-ish photo of the gorgeous, reclusive Michiko Yamamoto, writer of Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, Endo, and other films that keep alive our hopes for Philippine cinema.

We are posting this picture of the acclaimed visual artist Geraldine Javier in the hope that she will cough up a painting for us. Cough up, like a hairball. We would buy a hairball by Geraldine Javier. Her next exhibit is in South Korea. Good luck!

The stars of Shokot: the great Roderick Paulate, director Jade Castro, and actor Mark Escudero who is hysterically funny as Remington the boy who lives with a curse. Apologies for the red-eye effect that makes them look like zombadings.

We have figured out what we want for Xmas: a Roderick Paulate Blu-ray boxed set including Kumander Gringa, Petrang Kabayo, and Engkantadang Kangkarot. And Alkitrang Dugo, the Nora Aunor-produced Tagalog adaptation of Lord of the Flies. (Yes, Filipino producers used to adapt books like Lord of the Flies.) And Scotch on the Rocks to Forget, Black Coffee to Remember, the legendary English-language movie by Ishmael Bernal, starring Rita Gomez. Legendary because we’ve heard of it but no one seems to have seen it.

Roderick Paulate’s imdb page is not complete. He says that according to his late father’s list, he had made 150 movies by 1986. The list does not include all the Regal comedies like Gringa, which in the late 80s opened every month. So if there are movie nerds out there with a complete Roderick filmography, help.