Ako Si Kim Sam Soon

Ako Si Kim Sam Soon debuted last Monday with an amazing 33.8% rating in the Mega Manila TV Audience Measurement (MegaTAM) conducted by AGB-Nielsen. To date, viewers are already getting hooked with the new toprater from GMA 7. It seems as if it was a worthy of the remake of the original.

Regine Velasquez stars as the hideously funny--and chubby--pastry chef Kim Sam Soon and Mark Anthony Fernandez partners Regine as the tough and insensitive Cyrus.

What's your opinion on the remake? Post your ideas in the shoutbox, or post a comment.

Ako si Kim Sam Soon

A new trailer for the GMA remake of the classic Korean drama is now being shown over GMA. Funny but witty, viewers have high hopes for Ako si Kim Sam Soon as early as now. Here are some of their comments:

Oops, unti-unti nang nagsi-sink in sa akin yung chemistry ni Mark & Reg. Nakaka-excite...
- kapuso4evermore

Regine is great in comedy, hindi OA.
- RZAblvr

i think mark's perfect for the role of cyrus...
- 2beautiful2lie

me and my friends are excited na sa KSS pag pinalabas dito sa GMAPTV...
- shimmer23

Philippine Kim Sam Soon Cast Revealed

GMA Network recently revealed the cast of the Philippine remake of My Name is Kim Sam Soon. A couple of months back the network had disclosed that Regine Velasquez will be spearheading the cast of one of the most popular Korean dramas of all time. She will be playing the role of Kim Sam Soon, a role first popularized by Kim Sun Ah all over Asia. In a similar fashion, she is set to gain weight to look the part, as Kim Sun Ah had done previously.

Mark Anthony Fernandez portrays the male lead Cyrus (Hyun Jin Heon in the original Korean) popularized by Hyun Bin while hunky doctor Hayden Kho Jr reprises the role of Daniel Henney as Dr. Henry Kim. Nadine Samonte plays the role of Hanna Yoo (Yoo Hee-jin in the original series), a part first played by Jung Ryu Won.

Other members of the cast include Wendell Ramos who portrays Harvey Min (Min Hyun-Woo in the Korean version), Ms. Tessie Tomas, Carmi Martin, Jennica Garcia, Mart Escudero, Pauleen Luna, Marky Lopez, Arthur Solinap, Sheena Halili, Maureen Larrazabal, Kevin Santos, and John ‘Sweet' Lapus.

Insiders reveal that the show is set to replace Joaquin Bordado in July.

Urduja

Starring
Regine Velasquez as Urduja
Eddie Garcia as Lakanpati
Johnny Delgado as Wang
Allan K as Tarsir
Michael V as Kutkot
Cesar Montano as Lim Hang

This year, the first Philippine full-length animated film premieres in cinemas around the metro.

Produced by APT Entertainment, Urduja is a retelling of the famous warrior-princess recognized as a heroine in the Philippines. The film stars Regine Velasquez in the title role as Princess Urduja. The Asian Songbird apparently agreed to the film producers even without being paid her regular talent fee.

Cesar Montano, Eddie Garcia, Johnny Delgado, Michael V. and Allan K. are other voice actors who will be giving life to the other characters in the film.

Music for the film will be written by Ogie Alcasid. Regine Velasquez will also sing the singing parts of Urduja in the film.

Korean Drama Remakes

I am a fan of Korean dramas. I seriously am. Korean stories are way better than tried-and-tested Filipino and American scripts, and the actors in Korean dramas are so damn good with their craft.

The recent news about Regine Velasquez who almost transferred to ABS-CBN 2 created quite a stir in showbiz. She is after all, the Philippines' biggest singing star and she has stayed with GMA 7 for more than a decade. Apparently, Regine was enticed by an offer by the network to portray the role of Betty, La Fea in the network's own version of the show. GMA 7 countered the offer of rival ABS-CBN by offering her to star in the local remake of widely popular Korean drama, My Name is Kim Sam Soon. Looks like Regine is staying with GMA. Couldn't wait to see her don the chef suit soon.

Now that reportedly, GMA 7 is doing the remake of Kim Sam Soon, another Korean drama up for a remake under the network is Full House. This too, sources say, is to be top-billed by Regine. I'd personally go for Marian Rivera instead of the 40-year old diva. Her personality is as bubbly as that of Jessie Han's, first portrayed by Song Hye Kyo. As for the role of the cold-hearted young actor, I'd like to see Billy Crawford fill in Rain's shoes. After all, Rain is to Asia as Billy Crawford is to Europe and Justin (Timberlake, that is) is to America.