Ace from his IMDb profile 
Ace directing Michael Madsen in "Outrage " 
That's me (2nd from left) standing next to Ace after the shoot of "Marcos Buddha" for abc's "Unsolved Mysteries" in 1991. Watch these guys on Youtube. Click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty43S7Nc8r4 for Part 1 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhlJeqmCRpE&feature=related for Part 2.
*added pictures from the shoot are shown at the end of this blog post.
Ace Cruz! Is this the same Ace Cruz I briefly worked with in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1991?
Last week, while I was doing the laundry, his name suddenly caught my ears. He was on TV Patrol and the correspondent excitedly announced Ace's presence on Philippine soil. He is here to promote his biggest movie ever, " Outrage". The film won the Best Sci-Fi Movie in the Cannes Film Festival. It stars Michael Madsen who will be arriving on August 12 . The red-carpet premiere of the film is scheduled on Aug. 14 at the SM Megamall Cinema 10. Ace, of course, will be there.
I remember... someone named Brock Smith left a message on my phone telling me that he was from ABC's "Unsolved Mysteries" and he wanted Ritchelle de Leon Blanco ( hey, that's me, I was single then) to report for some work regarding the Marcos Buddha. I did not know what to expect. After planning how I would divide my time attending my classes at Hawaii Pacific University and my program at KNDI Radio, I found myself in an office seated, sandwiched by two Americans, a lady and a gent. I was in a 3-man panel which auditioned Filipinos and half Pinoys who wanted to be in the cast of " Marcos Buddha", a documentary film for the TV show "Unsolved Mysteries". I then realized that my agent recommended me to work with them primarily because I was a Filipino, an Ilocano...and I could help look at the script and pick out the actors ( extras). It felt funny when one of those who auditioned shook my hand, thanked me, and asked if I was the producer. Might have been my being Pinay and the fact that the story was about Marcos.
The next day, I was in a van with the UM crew. I was asked to take a look at the script while waiting for the actors to arrive. We set up the shoot in a rustic place similar to Mt. Province in the Philippines. They informed me that if the lady who played Roger Roxas' wife would stand us up, I would be thrown in for the role. I ended up helping some in the cast rehearse some scenes before the director, Bob Wise (I hope I got the name right) would actually say "Action!".
The lead actor was Ace Cruz ( Roger Roxas in the docu) who flew in with his special friend, Jackie Castillejos (yup, the sister of ABS-CBN's sportsdame Dianne). The shoot went smoothly. In between breaks, Ace and Jackie would eat with us. Ace was quiet, Jackie was more spirited. Jackie even climbed a mango tree and picked some fruits. She tasked me to catch them with my shirt. I don't know if she still remembers this but I am still keeping photos and the business card she gave me. I had a brief talk with her on the phone when she was back in LA and I moved to Hayward, CA. and worked as a columnist in a Fil-American newspaper, aptly-named, "Maharlika". She was a trainer in lawn tennis and a stage actress ( Jackie, correct me if I'm wrong but that's what is on your card).
I'm back here in Laoag teaching and only my family knows I had a close encounter with Ace Cruz. After I saw him on TV, I had to look for my old files to prove to myself that, indeed, the guy who is taking media attention nowadays is the same guy I briefly worked with. It's OUTRAGEOUS!!!!The following pics were taken while we were setting up for the scene showing Roger Roxas (portrayed by Ace) and his friend removing the head of the golden Buddha. Of course, you know that the Buddha allegedly contained diamonds.
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