StarStruck Rocks
By Rhonalyn Agtay

Rommel Gacho
GMA Creative Consultant

The phenomenal StarStruck started when Wilma Galvante, GMA-7�s vice-president for entertainment, mulled over the idea of discovering new stars through a reality-based search.

StarStruck was thus patterned after foreign shows such as American Idol, Amazing Race, and Survivors.

�We got bits and pieces from these shows, but it had to be very Pinoy in flavor.� GMA creative consultant Rommel Gacho recalls.

Gacho led the team that conceptualized StarStruck last July 2003. Other members of this team were Ruth Marinas of the Production Services Group and Janine Piad, program manager, who came in when the show was in its production stages.

�When we presented the concept to the management, na-approve agad,� Gacho says. Management gave the go-signal to all the proposed features and objective for the show, including the tagline: Dream. Believe. Survivce.

The search had three criteria: star potential, onscreen appeal, and versatility. To bring out these qualities, the StarStruck makers developed tests and challenges that would immerse the contestants in the real world of stars � pictorials, press conferences, tapings, the works. �No�ng dinesign namin �yong 14 weeks, me acting, singing, hosting and workshop,� says Gacho. �We also leveled them with established actors.

Auditions:

Almost a thousand youngsters trooped to the audition held last September 2003 in various venues � GMA 7 studios, malls, campuses, and gimmick places.

The hopefuls underwent screen tests where they presented their chosen talent. But talent itself was not the main point of the tests. Not yet. �Basically, we judged them sa itsura,� Gacho says rather frankly. �Kasi, iyon naman talaga ang basehan. Ano ba talaga ang itsura ng isang artista? Kung me talent, bonus na �yon. Basta dapat muna, mukhang artista.�

Gacho�s team previewed all the tapes, then selected 60 auditionees for interviewing. �Gusto naming malaman kung saan ba talaga nanggagaling �yong drive ng mga bata to pursue a career in showbiz.� The list was trimmed down to 30. In the end, 14 made it to the finals.

Many of the final 14, Gacho notes, came from broken families. �Wala halos mayaman. Si Yasmien Kurdi, walang tatay and sends herself to school. Mark Herras used to be well-off, �tapos na-pyramid scam �yong dad niya. Separated din ang parents niya.� Rainier Castillo has not seen his father. Jennylyn Mercado sang in bars where young people hang out when she was herself a young 16.

Hysteria:

The first few days of the show were uncertain times. The StarStruck staff wasn�t sure if an audience accustomed to telenovelas would go for the new format. For the first episode at the Broadway Centrum studio in Quezon City. �we had to pay an audience,� Gacho admits. �Kasi ganoon naman talaga. Maghahakot ka talaga ng manonood sa iyo.�

GMA 7 was stunned by the hysteria that followed. By the show�s second Friday, people had started pouring in. These were no longer hakot crowds. These were fans!

Along with the fans came the high ratings. �Nag-start sa 16, 17 percent. Dati pag sumasampa kami ng 20 percent, ang saya-saya na namin. �Yong last week, di na bumababa sa 30 percent.�

The show was originally planned to run for 14 weeks, with its final airing on January 30. But due to the immense public demand, the finals were moved to February 1. �When we were in Baguio, the management advised us to create a whole special for two hours at the Araneta.�

New Breed

Along the way, the show evolved away from the original structure. �We just decided later on: let�s make each Friday different from the other,� Gacho says.

Conflicts also arose among the contestants. �We also showed that friction, since we wanted to be true to the reality concept of the show.� With more out-of-town sorties, however, the tensions dissipated and the contestants� bond grew stronger.

StarStruck, Gacho says, was envisioned to develop a new breed of stars. Mission accomplished. He believes the StarStruck kids are a disciplined lot with their feet firmly on the ground: �We have produced 14 kids who know what they�re doing, sumusunod sa call times, at di lumalaki ang ulo.�

To the kids, Gacho and his team were like second parents for the entire 14 weeks of the show. They made it to a point to talk to erring contestants right after the mistakes were made: �Pag ngayon ka nagkamali, ngayon ka kakausapin.�

But now the second parents are saddened because the fledglings they cared for are ready to spread their wings: �Lagi naming sinasabi sa kanila, kayo na ang bahala sa sarili n�yo, kayo na ang magdedesisyon. Wala na kami doon na magsasabi na mali �yan, eto ang dapat.�

Hit Show

What made StarStruck such a hit? Gacho thinks it was because the show was �a mix of drive and opportunity.� It succeeded in tapping the potential of kids who are themselves seriously driven to pursue a showbiz career.

The twists and turns that the writers concocted every week also left viewers � and the contestants themselves � guessing: �Nasanay na �yong mga bata. Di na sila nagtatanong kung ano mangyayari. Alam nila lagi may surprises.�

GMA 7 has already announced that a StarStruck for the eight-and-below age group is in the works. There are no immediate plans for another StarStruck for teens, Gacho says, �Kasi siyempre, ayaw din naman naming gumawa ulit, �tapos similar sila. Gusto naming ipakita kung ano �yong mangyayari sa mga bata. Babantayan pa rin naming �yong career path nila.�

Lino Cayetano
Director

Like a ship in need of a risk-taking captain to navigate previously uncharted waters, StarStruck needed a young director with fresh ideas on how to put the concept into action. That task went to Lino Cayetano, an up-and-coming filmmaker who has a degree from the New York Film Academy. He has already written, produced, and directed four short films in New York.

Cayetano, son of the late Senator Renato Cayetano, explains that Starstruck is an entirely new concept: �There is no show exactly like this. Even in the states or in Europe.�

He admits that Friday episodes� were similar to the US show American Idol. But Monday-to-Thursday episodes were entirely different because they depicted what a real star has to undergo: �Yong artista sa atin, kelangan marunong kumanta, sumayaw, mag-host, umarte. �Yon �yong tinry naming i-achieve dito. Kailangan multi-dimensional ang kanilang talents.�

In the beginning, the problem was how to introduce the new format to the Filipino viewing public: �Kahit papaano, kelangan naming ipakita at patunayan sa manonood na this is something interesting, this is something you�ll enjoy.�

But the director and his staff knew they had a good concept, and they were all confident that the show would do well. It really picked up after the first Baguio episode on November 17, Cayetano relates: �Dahil naikuwento namin nang konti �yong kuwento ng mga bata. Nakilala sila ng audience.�

Ratings gave the StarStruck staff their first inkling of the show�s growing popularity. Further proof came in the form of the live audiences� reaction during the Survivors� mall and provincial tours.

�The first few weeks,� Cayetano recalls, �di pinapansin ang mga bata. Alam nila me shooting, pero di nila kilala �yong mga artista.� But not long after, he adds, �Sinisigaw nila; �StarStruck! StarStruck!� Then pangalan na ng mga bata. Ngayon, hindi na kami makalabas, dahil pinagkakaguluhan na sila. Ngayon, nakikita namin na hindi lang kami tinatanggap, pero minamahal talaga �yong mga StarStruck Survivors. This is very satisfying for us.�

Enri Tangon-Calaycay
Executive Producer

StarStruck executive producer Enri Calaycay was asked to join the show after the concept had been approved. The writers� pool was then formed, composed of Joseph Bolintiao, Rikki Lopez, Rey Agapay, Nelson Canlas, and Gladys Hernando. Lino Cayetano, the director, also came on board.

�I am so proud of them,� Calaycay says of her group. �During meetings, tawanan lang kami. Pero pag-uwi namin, marami kaming nabuo.� The executive producer gives a big share of the credit to GMA creative consultant Rommel Gacho: �Bilib na bilib ako sa kanya. Ang bilis mag-isip, ang gaan katrabaho.�

In one meeting last September 2003, the StarStruck team finalized the day-by-day episodes for the whole season. The succeeding weeks were filled with still more meetings and revisions, until the auditions started. All the team members were involved in the auditions, each one supervising a specific venue. They subsequently spent three nights in a hotel previewing all the tapes of the screen tests. Calaycay explains: �Una muna, tiningnan namin, physical appearance. Saka pinreview kung me potential.�

It was Wilma Galvante, GMA 7 vice-president for entertainment, who suggested that another week be added to the concept�s original 13 weeks. �Ang dami kasi naming materials, so sabi ni Ma�am Wilma, why not add another week and feature the whole audition and deliberation process.�

The show�s very first episode on Monday, October 27, 2003, featured the auditions. The rest of the first week featured the deliberations, the presentation of the first batch of 60 contestants, and the selection of the short-listed 30.

These 30 contestants were then sent to John Robert Powers finishing school to undergo a workshop on personality development and basic acting. StarStruck sponsors also made over and outfitted the young hopefuls.

The task of judging was evenly split between the StarStruck Council (composed of comedian and host Joey de Leon, GMA Artists Center head Ida Henares, and film director Joyce Bernal) and viewers who sent in their votes via text messaging, the Internet, and PLDT.

�Sa pagpili ng final 14, kasali na yong StarStruck Council,� Calaycay explains. �Binigyan din sila ng lahat ng tapes ng episodes, para makita din nila �yong progress ng mga bata.�

Exciting Concepts

The first week of the show was aired, it got a 17-percent rating. �Feeling namin, hindi nage-gets �yong show,� Calaycay recalls. �Noong bumaba �yong rating, sabi ng headwriter namin: �Tara, sabay-sabay tayong maglaslas.�� During that time, the staff prayed that if the show would not pick up, �sana me mangyari pa din sa mga bata, kasi ginambala namin sila, e.�

By a stroke of luck, and undoubtedly with the staff�s constant churning out of more exciting concepts, StarStruck earned a 26-percent rating with its first Baguio episode. That was on November 17, a Monday. The following Friday, GMA 7 opened the doors of Broadway Centrum to the public. �Noong una kasi, mga kaibigan lang at pamilya lang. The next week, kinikilabutan kami pagpasok namin, kasi ang dami. Sabi ng guard, dami pa raw nakapila, umaga pa lang.�

The growing popularity of the show emboldened that staff to create the next challenge � have the Survivors walk around SM Megamall to see if anyone would recognize them. �We said, ang yabang natin, dadalhin natin sila sa Megamall,� Calaycay recalls. �At the same time, kinabahan kami, baka walang makakilala sa kanila.�

Their fears were allayed when the fans started swarming all over the Survivors. �Sabi namin, kumakagat na, naiintindihan na nila �yong show.�

Major Stresses

Besides featuring unknown stars in new format. StarStruck was also the ultimate test of the staff�s endurance and creativity. �Every week, dalawa �yong ginagawa naimin � nag-eedit habang nag-e-air and shooting for the next week�s episodes.� They also had to juggle location shoots, guest the Survivors in other GMA shows, and book known actors as guest in mall and provincial tours.

Waiting for each episode�s rating added to the stress: �Halos ngarag na ngarag kami habang airing and shooting, naghihintay pa kami ng rating.�

To make matters worse, the reality concept entailed showing real-life intrigues and controversies. On the second week, for instance, there was a tarayan episode involving Yasmien Kurdi and Christine Reyes. There was also brewing tension because of a seeming love triangle involving Mark Herras, Tyron Perez, and Nadine Samonte. And of course, there was the usual bickering among parents, alalays, and managers.

But Calaycay adds that, while some of the Survivors had clashes, others also became close friends.

Big Dreams

Calaycay says she likes YES! editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon�s assessment of why the show was a hit. Jo-Ann was asked for her comments in Jessica Soho Reports.�

�Sabi niya, kasi daw the show is aspirational and the stars are reachable. Nagustuhan ko �yon kasi �yon talaga ang target namin.�

When the concept was presented to GMA�s marketing department, says Calaycay, that was exactly the team�s spiel � that this was a real-life drama, that it was aspirational, and that �it encourages hat if you believe in your dreams, you will achieve them.�

Calaycay believes StarStruck succeeded in what it set out to do: �Na-reach naman namin �yong objective noong show.�

Early on, one of the writers joked that the finals would be held at the Araneta Coliseum. The joke got a lot of laughs, Calaycay recalls. �Tapos sabi namin, why not? Let�s dream big!�

Last February 1, the team�s big dream turned into reality, complete with thousands of frenzied fans and sky-high ratings.

Wilma Galvante
Vice-President for Entertainment

Conceived in July 2003, StarStruck was launched the following September in another GMA show, SOP.

Wilma Galvante, GMA 7 vice-president for entertainment, attributes the meteoric popularity of StarStruck primarily to its inclusion of viewers� opinion through text messages and telephone calls: �It�s the people�s choice, the �I�m-part-of-it� attitude. If it�s like that, it becomes personal. The viewer will say, �binoto kita, me cash in ako diyan. Susundan kita.�

And being true to its reality concept, the show really looked for emotional moments: �I-magnify mo �yon, that�s why ganoon �yong reaction.�

The GMA executive also gives credit to the production group that brought the show to life: �They created the scenarios and captured the right images that captured the drama.�

Equally important, StarStruck lived up to its promise of turning dream into reality.

�We were able to show that we mean business. When we say we will make you a star, we will make you a star.�