ahoy, sexy

- I live in Berlin now.

- I'm gay now.

The Master never sleeps Published on @philstarsupreme​ 

Showbiz, amid the glitz and glamour that come with it, can sometimes be a dreary place. There are bickerings over careers, sex scandals that are deemed more interesting than corruption, streams of tears from jilted lovers, on-set fistfights, and Instagram bashing. Tonight, however, most of that takes a grinding halt to celebrate a man and his 50 years of service in the crazy world he loves most.

Wearing a sleek black suit and tie adorned with Swarovskis that would put Justin Timberlake’s sartorial choice to shame, German Moreno paces around his suite as the Supreme team assembles the shoot. “Relax, Dad,” his son tells Kuya Germs. In about an hour, Kuya Germs would step inside the Newport Performing Arts Theater, all 1,500 seats occupied with not only the biggest names in showbiz, but also the people who came along his 50-year journey.

“Well, I don’t know anything about this show,” he says softly as we sit on the edge of his bed.  “When we were planning this, I was suggesting ‘like this, like that.’ All of a sudden, they changed it and they explained it to me. It will be a big surprise for me.”

From his early days of working as a janitor to a bona fide starmaker in the ’70s, Kuya Germs has been working constantly, maneuvering through the ins and outs of showbiz to bring forth the next superstar. Perhaps to be surprised and have his family pampered for one night is exactly what the Master Showman needs.

In bed with the “Master Showman” Kuya Germs, Supreme talks about his longevity in showbiz, finding the right “vibration,” and learning how to smile even in the toughest of times.

PHILIPPINE STAR: Showbiz has not been the same as it was 10 years ago. Over the 50 years in showbiz, what was the biggest difference that you’ve noticed?

KUYA GERMS: There is a big, big difference in comparing then and now  sobrang malayo. The biggest difference? Attitudes. Being one of the stars of Sampaguita Pictures, I learned so many things especially about being professional.

Doc Perez was crucial to your becoming a starmaker. What was the most important thing that you learned from Doc Perez?

The vibrations. Kung anong tingin mo sa tao. If you see a personality or young kids. During the time ofThat’s Entertainment, isang tingin pa lang alam ko na, “May future itong batang ‘to.” Or may challenge ka naman na pwede mong gawing showbiz ito.

Fifty years is a long time to be in showbiz, what’s your secret to keeping adrift in this business?

The relationships. Your PR. Understanding the people around you and being sincere. Huwag kang plastic.Ang dami na ngang plastic na gamit, pati tao may plastic na rin.

How do you deal with detractors or those who are plastic?

Kung anong sayaw ay siyang tugtog. Pero hindi ako plastic na tao. Kaya nga lang, kailangan maintindihan mo talaga. Hindi yung pwedeng paloloko ka rin.

You’ve made stars out of obscurity and reeled hundreds of kids into showbiz, how do you manage to keep a safe balance with your stars?

You have to balance everything and walang favoritism. Although sometimes, kung sino talaga yung masipag sa trabaho, dun ka magfo-focus. Nakikita mo kasing hindi siya tamad at sumusunod kung ano yung gusto mong ipagawa para sa kanyang kabutihan na rin.

You say no favoritism but there has to be “the one” that you really cared for the most?

Wala talaga. From the first 16 kids of That’s Entertainment, the first meeting I had with them was to explain it na ganito ang gagawin natin. Kapag kayo talaga ay nagkaron ng pagkakataon na sumikat, sa inyo yan. Hindi ako manghihingi ng komisyon or anything. Walang ganon.

Do you miss the That’s Entertainment days?

Of course, I miss it. Even The GMA Supershow. Yung creation ng shows na tinanggap ng tao, yungdiscovering talents na nakita ng lahat kung gaano dumami ang artista sa industriya. I felt so bad nungtime na kinancel without any explanation yung That’s Entertainment.

However, Master Showman: Walang Tulugan! has been on the air for 17 years. It feels like an extension of That’s Entertainment.

Well, I had that problem because in a year’s time, all my five shows were cancelled. So, I asked the management, “Do you still need me?” “No, dito ka pa rin!” they told me and asked me what I had in mind. I’m still a showbiz personality, I need at least one show. Hanggang sa tinanong nila sakin kung ano angidea ko, so naisip ko yung Master Showman.

Master Showman is a success considering that it’s at a late timeslot on a Saturday night.

I didn’t know at first na ang timeslot na ibibigay sa akin ay 10:30 p.m. Everybody told me that nobody is going to watch you anymore kasi at that time tulog na yung mga tao. The experience is a challenge for me, na yung oras na patay ay bubuhayin mo. Nangyari na yon during That’s Entertainment, hapong tapat, siesta time, sinasabi na tulog ang mga tao pero nagising ko! Yung mga estudyante umuuwi ng maaga para abutan ang That’s, ganon!

Part of what makes you force people to stay up are your outfits. How did these outfits start?

Noong dinala ako ni Doctor Perez sa Las Vegas, daytime na daytime nakikita ko yung mga feathers pati yung mga kumikinang! Hindi naman lahat ng kababayan natin may kayang makapunta sa Las Vegas, sopinattern ko yung damit ko sa Las Vegas vibes. Nung una, tinatawanan nila ako. Sabi nila, “Para kang salagubang! Tanghaling tapat nangingintab ka!” Sabi ko, “Okay lang.”  Glitter is part of showbiz. Angglitter ang nakakapagbigay saya sa mga manunuod mo. Tignan mo ngayon, marami namang gumaya!

Aside from your fascination with glitter, we heard you also have a huge collection of smiling clowns, what is it about smiling clowns?

When I did Payaso, I asked some of my friends na mag-cameo sa film na walang bayad. Wala na nga silang bayad, sila pa yung nag-regalo! Hindi ko na alam kung gano karami yung collection ko, perosometimes I buy also pag may nagustuhan ako. Entertaining people is to make them laugh. Showbiz always has two faces: smiling and crying. You cannot avoid that.

Are you smiling or crying most of the time?

You can’t avoid also na kailangan mapaiyak mo rin sila para maging makatotohanan ang pinoportray mo. In my case, I don’t know kung balanse or what. Minsan nga nung nawala yung shows ko, I was alone in my room crying, bakit nangyayari yung ganito? Hindi mo naman maiiwasan yon. By means of prayernaman lumalakas yung loob ko. Hindi naman ito ang katapusan, may darating pang araw.

You’ve directed before and have acted in a couple of independent films, what roles would you like to portray in the future?

My first movie was the number 1 in the box office! The second year, I directed My Blue Hawaii  another box-office hit! After that, sabi ko ‘Teka muna, some of the directors ay nawawalan na ng assignment,’ sosabi ko kay Doc Perez, mag-aartista na lang ako. Pero sa television, they never asked me to direct ever. I have some stories, pero gusto ko pa rin na somebody else would direct it. I want to play more drama. Because I won the Best Supporting Actor for Paupahan, I’m looking forward na sana sa televisionmakapag-drama ako. Kung yung iba nagagawa yon, magagawa ko din!

What is the one legacy that you would like to leave in showbiz?

haven’t listened to that much music since around 2014 because i’m stuck in pop music hell. i just take and take and take what the radio is playing, so i’ve been mostly dead when it comes to tha latest soundz.

probably the best thing i’ve heard 2015 is yellow fang’s the greatest. i cannot understand anything from this album, but i feel the songs as if i’m speaking thai. also admitting that i’m obsessed with the dude who made this video. he also made three of the best films i’ve seen this year. his only three full-length films and i love THEM ALL.

Best part of my night happened at Raven MNL. Lauren and Martin started their DJ set and a bunch of party-starters went on stage and gyrated to the music in their skimpy outfits, waving around thick-ass glow in the dark party sticks. Obviously, Lauren was pissed. 

WELCOME TO MANILA, CHVRCHES! Come feel the pain.

I'm sorry for my country.

I just woke up from a dream and in it, I saw the first Justice League movie. Now, this is a weird JL movie because the team was comprised by Superman, Hawkeye, Rocket Raccoon, Wonder Woman and Chuy Bravo from Chelsea Lately. The first half of the movie, they just sat around in their fortress talking and arguing how they would go about their mission and I was so engrossed by how existentialist it was, and how Zack Snyder managed to get some damn good shots of the Earth from outer space. 

The cinema was almost empty except for me and my friends, so I decided to take a picture of the gorgeous cinematography. I mean, damn, you have come a long way since fucking up Sucker Punch, guy. I went back to my seat and spent the rest of the movie finding the right VSCO filter for it and worrying whether I'm going to get caught because I pirated bits of the film.

After the movie, I decided to buy the junior novelization of the film because I missed the second half. Turns out, they went deeper into outer space to talk to the calcified spider titan and bargained the fate of humanity with a lifetime supply of Whatchamacallit bars. In the end, they did save the world because of their bad-ass bargaining skills.

I was waiting for my driver (I don't even have a driver!) and went to the unisex (Am I in a ShondaLand show?) bathroom where the janitor was being flirted upon by these seriously hot twenty-something women who are all dressed up like post-rehab Ke$ha. I remember how the bathroom seemed really dirty, but it mostly smelled like cement instead of piss and human excrement.

And then I woke up.

We used to fight a lot and because I didn't knew how to deal with that, I knew that she suffered a lot. The thing about love is that you can't just keep letting the one you love suffer, especially since I feel that I've torn her away from her family just so she could be with me. There's a lot of guilt in that, but my girlfriend is such a great fucking person that she easily made me realize that it was her conscious decision to live with me and that she's terribly happy to be with me.

That feeling, the one you get when you make someone happy, I am choosing to dwell on that, making me way more happier in the process. But yeah, I was a massive prick during the first key months of our living together. Eventually, I had to unlearn a lot of things. I kept my temper always in check. I avoided my passive-aggressive behavior. I tweet less. I stopped posting about weed. I added my mom on Facebook. I focused on getting a job and ended up finding one that I really like. Tiny things that adds up to a greater whole.

Lately, I've been feeling really shitty because I ran out of weed. I tend to lash out and be all kaiju as fuck, just leaving an obvious trace of destruction and bad behavior. Right now, I'm trying to remind myself how much progress I've made by writing about it and I feel 100% already. Because that's really the thing: I just don't write anymore. 

Therefore, I'm doing it now and yay for me.