| Live Show | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jose Javier Reyes |
| Written by | Jose Javier Reyes |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Eduardo Jacinto |
| Edited by | Vito N. Cajili |
| Music by | Jesse Lucas |
Production company | Available Light |
| Distributed by | Regal Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | Philippines |
| Language | Filipino |
Live Show, originally titled Toro, is a Philippine erotic drama film directed and written by Jose Javier Reyes.
The film depicts the lives of poverty-stricken young men and women, called torero and torera, [1] forced to the trade of performing live fornication on stage of Manila's nightclubs in exchange for money. [2]
In 2000, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairman Armida Siguion-Reyna ordered a ban on Live Show. After the first ban was imposed, a "second (expanded) review committee" was created and subsequently overruled the decision and voted to give the producer, Regal Films, the permit to exhibit. [4]
The film, however, was not shown in public theaters in the Philippines until the second week of March 2001 after its original name, Toro, which means pay-per-view sex in local slang, was changed. [5] [4]
Live Show created a public outcry in the Philippines. [4] The Catholic Church severely criticized the Philippine government for allowing the screening of the film, which shows upper frontal nudity. [5] After running for about two weeks, then President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal Arroyo suspended Live Show's run in theaters and ordered the creation of an appeals committee, which includes representative of Macapagal-Arroyo and the film industry, to screen a review. [6]
The banning of Live Show triggered a debate over the freedom of expression and the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. [5] On March 22, 2001, Nicanor Tiongson, Siguion-Reyna's successor, resigned from his post, and accused the Church and Macapagal-Arroyo of religious bigotry. [2] He was replaced by Alejandro Roces. [7]
Macapagal-Arroyo elicited criticisms for banning a film she had not seen. [8] The ban also provoked fierce protests from the film industry, which accused Macapagal-Arroyo of buckling under pressure from Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin, the top prelate at the time. [2] On March 23, 2001, director Jose Javier Reyes, along with Klaudia Koronel and 2,000 others working in the entertainment industry, marched down Mendiola Street to protest the ban. [9] Macapagal-Arroyo decided to watch the film, and kept the ban in place. [10]
A three-man committee, which normally has five members, reviewed the film March 26. [4]
On April 3, 2001, the Malacañang appeals committee ordered the permanent ban of Live Show from exhibition in local theaters. Then presidential chief of staff Renato Corona, a member of the three-man committee disclosed that members of the committee voted for an outright ban of the film while one member voted for extensive cuts on both scenes and dialogues. [4]
Live Show was exhibited at the Berlin Film Festival in 2000 and was shown in 12 other festivals in North America, Europe and Australia, where it earned praise for its brutal realism. [2] [4] [5] Variety film critic Dennis Harvey praised the film's acting and cinematography, but said it "treats its sex worker theme with a heavy-handed seriousness while simultaneously milking exploitable aspects to the max". [11]
After watching Live Show herself, Macapagal-Arroyo called it "a well-made soft-porn film." [4] In a bid to appease members of the movie industry fighting for the freedom of expression, the President cut the amusement tax by 50 percent to 15 percent and vowed to go after video pirates and said the tax rebate would no longer give producers an excuse to resort to making quick return-on-investment movies that cater only to the baser instincts. [4]
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo, often referred to by her initials PGMA and GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who previously served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest serving president of the Philippines since Ferdinand Marcos. Before her accession to the presidency, she served as the 10th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001 under President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, making her the country's first female vice president, despite having run on an opposing ticket. She was also a Senator from 1992 to 1998. After her presidency, she was elected as the Representative of Pampanga's 2nd district in 2010 and later became the Speaker of the House of Representatives on 2018 to 2019. She was also serving in the congress as a Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2017 and from 2022 until 2023. She is one of the only 2 Filipinos to hold at least three of the four highest offices in the country: vice president, president, and house speaker, alongside former President Sergio Osmeña.
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