Following up on the story AlyCat broke yesterday, GMA News reports that will start filming Wapakman this July. Said to be a comedy in the style of Kung Fu Hustle, the film also stars half Filipino actress, Nicole Scherzinger of the music group, The Pussycat Dolls. Scherzinger may also be familiar to wrestling fans because she sand the National Anthem at Wrestlemania this year.

Watch this video on the GMA News website

And read the accompanying story… in Tagalog Come on Pinoy Fans, can anyone translate this for us, please?

Batista escorting Manny Pacquiao

‘PacMan’ to Star in Movie With Pussycat Dolls Singer
June 25, 2009

By Angelo Cantera, The Manila Times, Philippines

Jun. 25–Half-Filipino entertainer Nicole Scherzinger recently agreed to star in a superhero movie with boxer Manny Pacquiao, Solar Entertainment announced Tuesday.

Wilson Tieng, president of Solar Entertainment, said in statement that the film was currently under the working title Wapacman and was aimed to debut at the Metro Manila Film Festival, which is normally held during the Christmas holidays. Tieng will produce the film.

In the movie, Pacquiao plays the role of a single father who is suddenly imbued with super powers, and Scherzinger will be his leading lady. Tieng added that there was a possibility of including star professional wrestler Dave Batista, a Filipino-Greek, in the cast.

Scherzinger earned considerable recognition in 2003 as the lead singer of the burlesque girl group Pussycat Dolls. Responsible for popular singles like “Don’t Cha,” “Buttons” and “Stickwitu,” the group released its debut album PCD in 2005 and garnered worldwide success shortly after.

In 2008, the Dolls released its second album Doll Domination, which included “When I Grow Up,” I Hate This Part,” and the soundtrack of the Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire, “Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny.)”

Currently working on her solo career while still performing with the Dolls, Scherzinger also modeled for a number of brands in the Philippines and abroad. She also made a number of short appearances in television shows like the comedy My Wife and Kids and a cameo appearance in the film Love Don’t Cost a Thing.

In June 2009, Scherzinger returned to the Philippines with three members of the Dolls for a one-night show at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

In interviews held during her visit, she revealed her admiration for Filipino Tony Award winner Lea Salonga as well as a number of other Filipino talents currently prominent in the States. She also expressed her desire to sing the Philippine National Anthem for Pacquiao’s upcoming bouts saying that he is her inspiration.

Should Wapacman push through, it will be the first film where Scherzinger would play a lead role.

Pinoy champ

As a boxer, Pacquiao is the current International Boxing Organization (IBO) and Ring Magazine light welterweight champion. Often dubbed as “The People’s Champion” in the Philippines, he has defeated highly respected fighters such as Erik Morales, Oscar de La Hoya and, recently, Ricky Hatton.

During his rise, Pacquiao eventually ventured into the entertainment industry as a recording artist and an actor. He acted in films like Anak ng Kumander [Child of the Commander] and Lisensyadong Kamao [licensed Fist]. He is now starring in the GMA television series Totoy Bato, which literally means “Totoy Stone.”

Source: Doghouse Boxing

No word from the Batista camp if he has seen or accepted the offer so this isn’t official,  but I thought I’d post it just in case.  Since Big Daddy’s injury, the pickin’s been kinda slim when it comes to new stories.

Wrong Side Of Town

Housekeeping stuff out of the way first, the Gallery server was down for most of the week so apologies for the inconvenience. We’re back up and running and loaded with Monday’s screencaps.

Ricky Hatton Fans in Masks

As promised, here is a short (5 min) audio clip with DJ, our resident boxing fan. He discusses the reaction Batista got at Saturday’s fight, his impressions of the appearance and answers the all too pressing question, “What did those pants really look like?”. You can hit play on the flash player below to listen or try the direct link to the .mp3 file if that works better. Enjoy!

Direct Link: Live Batista Pacquiao Fight Recap

Batista escorting Manny Pacquiao

I wonder how many new fans Manny Pacquiao picked up because of Batista’s involvement and vice-versa?  I know I wasn’t all that familiar with Pacquiao or Hatton but ended up taking a crash course on them as I followed the fight coverage.

The fight was a start-studded event featuring Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, Jack Nicholson, Tom Jones, Mariah Carrey, Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and more.

Name checks: Batista got mentioned in the Sports Illustrated fight blog coverage. He also got ink on the FightHype site and on The Sweet Science.com During the televised broadcast none of the HBO announcers mentioned Batista but he was very much a part of the story during the Filipino network  GMA broadcast.

Posted some quick photos of Batista as part of the entourage escorting Manny Pacquiao to the ring for Pacman’s 2nd round knock out of Ricky Hatton.  WWE.com has posted pics. Visit the thread in the forum for additional links.