Photo from Instagram/@ianveneracion1
POPULAR showbiz leading man Ian Veneracion recently celebrated his 40th year in showbiz. He seems to be enjoying doing various things, including movies, teleseryes and concerts.
The actor revealed in a PEP.ph article that fame and fortune are not the reasons why he has lasted this long in the biz, but other things like passion, professionalism, and shaping the characters he plays in different mediums.
“I’m never in it for the fame or for money,” he emphasized.
“I think if you’re gonna be an actor just because you wanna be rich or famous, I think you won’t succeed. I think, if you enjoy telling stories, if you enjoy acquiring different shapes and trying different characters… There are many games that you can play as an actor, internal games, and it all happens inside your head and I really enjoy that. I think that’s why the people I’ve worked with enjoyed themselves because it was fun, I have so much fun doing it. I take my fun seriously and my games seriously,” he related.
Having lasted this long in showbiz, Ian knows that he must come on time and be prepared.
“Being professional, of course,” he mentions as a reason for his longevity. “I don’t want people to say that I arrived late or that I went in not knowing my lines, or I arrived on set with a hangover – noting like those.”
“I think it pays off. You gain a certain reputation for being reliable, and maybe I’m reaping the benefits now from my peers,” he added.
The tall, mestizo actor is busy with a couple of projects.
Ian is back as an action star in his new project “One Good Day,” which will be seen in Amazon Prime Video.
“I am happy and excited because I’ve done action movies before. This is like home court for me, so I’m very comfortable with the physical aspect of it and, of course, the acting part of it. Preparations? Martial arts, fight scenes. We had to do training with the stuntmen and also the camera works because the camera is involved in the choreography,” he said, as he described the project as a cross between John Wick and James Bond.
Aside from the series, he is busy with the concert entitled “Kilabotitos,” where Ian is joined by Ogie Alcasid.
“The reason I am able to do the concert is that there is no teleserye. I can’t imagine myself doing a teleserye, then having a concert, shooting a movie or short series,” he stated. “But I enjoy the different platforms today. And I’m thankful that there are many platforms where I can creatively express myself, and perform in different mediums.”
“It’s a good time to be an actor, it’s a good time to be alive, because we have different channels. You can even make your own channel. Like this one (referring to “One Good Day”), it’s great that people can watch it not just here, not just in the local theaters, but also our kababayans overseas, and hopefully we get to have a foreign audience too,” he further said.
Ian is happy with his situation right now, where he is not tied to one project like a full-length TV series, and there are offers coming from different TV stations.
“I would prefer to do movies and short TV series because I don’t want to tie myself down for a full-length serye,” he revealed. “And what about the concerts? Right now, I can perform in a concert not just in Manila but in the provinces, also abroad like in the States or Europe… there are many options now. I really like it, instead of doing just one thing and you’re tied to that project.”
Ian is lucky that he has not had a major scandal attached to his name in his 40 years in the entertainment business.
“Nothing,” he noted. “And if there are intrigues, that’s part of the job, part of being an actor.”
He revealed that he prefers real interaction over chatting online.
“Especially now that there are so many fake accounts,” he said. “That’s why I really value people, real connections, real conversations, real people. I am not that active online because you don’t know who you are chatting with.”
On the recent major news that Senator Jinggoy Estrada is suggesting banning Korean series from being shown on local TV to give priority to Filipino movies and teleseryes, Ian has his own opinion.
“Well, of course, I’m not a lawmaker, I don’t know the data, but in my own humble opinion, I’m not towards prohibiting anyone. I think competition is good, and I think we have to step up and raise the level of our game, the quality of our movies. Hopefully, we get the support of government and the people also so we won’t let the Filipino [entertainment] industry die,” he said.
“Just like basketball, when your opponent is strong, we can’t limit them. We have to get better, we have to practice, challenge accepted,” he added.
“I really believe in the Filipino talent, if we’re just given support, we can do a lot of things. Just like how good we are in music, wherever you go, similar to a cruise ship, Filipinos are the ones performing in the hotels in other countries. We love the arts, so we really have good actors, writers, director and cinematographers. There are many great ones here who have not been given a break because of budget constraints,” he further said.
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Thai billionaire Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip is now the owner of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO), becoming the first woman to own the franchise. Jakrajutatip is the CEO of JKN Global Group PCL, a position she assumed in 2018.
The Thai transgender beauty was congratulated by Miss Universe Thailand via social media for the honor, according to an article in PEP.ph.
MU Thailand also posted the joint statement of CEO Amy Emmerich and MUO President Paula Shugart about Jakrajutatip buying MUO.
“We are excited to continue the evolution of The Miss Universe Organization with JKN. Our relationships with global partners and brands have never been stronger; and our progressive approach continues to position us at the forefront of our industry. We would like to thank IMG for providing us a foundation to realize our aspirations for the brand,” the statement read.
Jakrajutatip, who has a bachelor’s degree from Bond University in Australia, reportedly purchased MUO from the Endeavor Group Holdings for $14 million, about $6 million less than the first price in the market offered by Ari Emmanuel on September 2022. The Thai billionaire told the Bangkok Post that her company, JKN Global Group, and Endeavor had an agreement in place.
According to the same article, JKN Global Group will establish a company, JKN Metaverse Inc. in the United States which will preside over the transfer of MUO shares to different companies: IMG Universe FranchCo, Miss USA BR Production, MUO Productions and Miss USA Productions OH.
When the process is complete, a couple of the companies will be renamed to IMG Universe and IMG Universe FranchCo.
