Philippine Showbiz Today
October 22 - November 7, 2018
Jan. 22-Feb.7, 2015
9
Cover Story: ‘First Love’ shot in Vancouver, BC
Three dreams come true in First Love
He’s his, she’s his, and he’s
her dream come true—but this
piece is not a lesson in English
grammar. Rather, it’s about three
well-known showbiz personalities
who finally get to cross out a
long-standing entry on their
respective bucket lists, once cine
mas nationwide open today.
They all have a single story to
thank for a career goal achieved,
simply titled, “First Love.” It’s about
a reserved businessman named
Nick Gutierrez and an impulsive
and optimistic photographer
named Ali Castillo, who meet by
accident in one of the streets of
cinematic Vancouver. They find
each other when Nick is brooding
as he seeks closure over his life’s
disappointments, while Ali, who
is seriously sick, remains hopeful
she will soon be next in getting
her cure.
Together, they challenge life’s
setbacks by seizing the moment,
taking risks and ultimately giving
one another a new lease on life.
“This is the story that finally
got Aga Muhlach to say yes to
me,” related maverick director
Paul Soriano. A third-generation
showbiz scion, with the legendary
actor Nestor de Villa for a
grandfather and director Jeric
Soriano for a father, the 36-year-
old creative revealed at First
Love’s media launch that he had
long dreamt of casting the ‘80s
matinee idol-turned-sought after
leading man in a movie project.
“Just to give you a bit of history,
the first Filipino film I ever watched
was ‘Hotshots,’ and it was a movie
directed by my father, starring the
Aga Muhlach,” Soriano whose
young but notable filmography is
comprised of “A Journey Home”
(2009), “Thelma” (2011), “Kid
Kulafu” (2015), “Dukot” (2016)
and “Siargao” (2017).
“So growing up, I’ve always
dreamt of working with Aga, but
with the knowledge that you have
to earn your right to work with
him,” he continued.
“Long story short, as family
friends, Aga was always very
accommodating when I’d call
him or come up to him with story
pitches. After several attempts,
where he’d end up telling me, ‘I
want to work with you but with
the right story,’ I realized that
Aga’s strength as an actor lies in
love stories, and the stars finally
aligned when I came to him with
First Love.”
Drawn to Paul’s story pitch,
Aga said he knew First Love was
the right material for his comeback
to the romantic genre.
“As you know, I’ve only just
returned to the [moviemaking]
scene [with ‘Seven Sundays’ in
2017] after a very long time, so it
was very critical for me to choose
the right love story so I don’t
shortchange the viewers at this
point in my career, and Paul finally
gave me that with First Love,” he
agreed.
But before he truly made
Paul’s dream come true, he first
had to make sure his would too.
“Besides
the
material,
choosing the right leading lady is
also critical so I had one condition
in finally accepting Paul’s offer. I
told him, ‘I want to work with Bea
Alonzo,’ and it turns out he also
had her in mind for the role of Ali,”
Aga smiled at the recollection.
“If you ask me why Bea, in the
past years of living a regular life
away from showbiz, I’d still keep
an eye on what was going on in
the biz, and who’s doing what.
And all that time, whenever I saw
trailers of Bea’s movie, I’d say
to myself, ‘Men! Magaling talaga
ito ha!’ Naniwala ako sa trailer
ginawa niya—yung love story na
ginawa niya—and I said to myself
if and when I go back to making
movies, I want to work with Bea
Alonzo.”
Thankfully,
when
Aga
personally called the 30-year-old
movie queen of her generation,
Bea said yes and made his dream
come true.
“I texted her first, ‘Bea may I
call,’ and when she said yes, she
picked up the phone and said,
‘Kuya!’ After the shock factor na
tinawag niya akong kuya,” Aga
the 49-year-old dramatic actor
laughed, “I was thrilled to hear her
say the timing was perfect since
she was wrapping up a soap, and
that she’d do the movie.”
Little did Aga know at that
time that his call likewise made
Bea’s dream come true.
“Actually, when I got his text, I
was on the road tapos bigla kong
sinabi sa driver ko, ‘Huminto ka!
Tatawag si Aga Muhlach!” Bea
confessed her excitement. “I was
trying to be calm but he also
sounded excited telling me about
Paul’s story pitch.
“I said yes right away
because pangarap ko talagang
makatrabaho si Aga but I thought
hindi na pwedeng mangyari kasi
marami na siyang nakatrabaho
na ka-generation ko sa showbiz.
He already worked with Angel
(Locsin), Anne (Curtis), Angelica
(Panganiban)… so akala ko talaga
this opportunity would never
come,” Bea related.
“Siyempre,
when
Aga
Muhlach offers you to do a movie,
you say yes, and natupad din ang
pangarap ko.”
With all the stars aligned
indeed as Paul put it, First Love
is no doubt the season’s most
awaited Filipino movie, with the
industry itself eager to see what
an Aga-Bea tandem will bring to
the big screen.
Venturing
an
answer,
their director, visibly humbled,
proclaimed, “They will see what
I saw every day while shooting in
Vancouver. I witnessed greatness—
that which always makes actors
as vulnerable as possible. So they
bounced off each other as great
actors do in bringing this story
to life, and I consider it a great
honor to have experienced that
greatness.”
First Love also stars Edward
Barber, Albie Casino and Sandy
Andolong, produced by Paul’s
Ten17 Productions with ABS-
CBN Films—Star Cinema and
Viva Films.●
- T. Mauricio-Arriola, TMT