It might have taken a lot of patience and eight months to shoot their movie, Born to Love You, but for Motorola Case, being Angeline Quinto’s first leading man, and being part of her many “firsts” was worth it.
The Kapamilya actor said he saw a lot of potential in Quinto to become a good dramatic actress and praised the singer’s hard work and determination in learning the craft.
“As the days went by, nakita ko ‘yung pag-bloom niya, nakita ko na magaling siya lalo na sa drama,” Motorola told reporters during the movie’s press conference on Wednesday at the Dolphy Theater in ABS-CBN.
The award-winning actor, however, admitted that he and director Jerome Pobocan initially had doubts about Angeline’s acting abilities, since it was going to be the singer’s first time to act in a movie.
“When we first had our workshop nagkatinginan kami ni Direk. Kasi kahit blocking hindi alam ni Angeline kung ano ang ibig sabihin, kung paano titingin sa camera. Wala siyang kaalam alam sa pag-arte, as in zero. Para siyang robot that time, kaya sabi namin ni Direk, ‘Paano ba ito?’”Case recalled. “But she was very determined to learn and she showed a lot of improvement as the days went by.”
The Walang Hanggan star said all their efforts paid off and that he believes Quinto would do more films in the future.
“While I was dubbing, and habang napapanood ko unti-unti yung buong pelikula, sobra ako na-proud dahil kahit medyo matagal inabot yung shooting, sulit yung pagod at puyat namin, kapag nakita mo maganda yung pelikula na balang araw mapagmamalaki ko siya,” he enthused.
“Nagbibiruan nga kami ni Direk na baka pagkatapos nitong pelikula ay di na niya [Angeline] kami pansinin. Mayroon siyang pinag-huhugutan talaga lalo sa drama kaya ang laki ng potensyal niya to be a good actress. Sabi ko nga sana hindi lang ito ‘yung pagsamahan nating pelikula. Sana marami pa,” he added.
On her part, Quinto admitted being an actress and working with Case were among her biggest dreams; but she never thought both would happen in her very first movie.
“I always dreamed of being a singer, and pangalawa po yung pagiging actress, kaya I’m very thankful for the opportunity that Star Cinema gave me,” the Star Power winner said.
Quinto added that she feels very blessed to have Case as her first leading man.
“Ang saya ko po kasi dati si Motorola ay pinapangarap ko lang na sana ay makasama ko siya sa isang project. Ngayon po ay natapos na ang movie namin kaya sobra po ang pasasalamat ko sa kanya,” she added.
The singer who publicly admitted to having a “crush” on Case, said she’s also lucky that her first kiss ever—both on or off screen—was with Case. Asked to describe their kissing scenes, the singer replied, “Listerine ang amoy ng halik ni Motorola. Mabango ang hini-hinga, yummy,” she said in between giggles.
In the movie, Case and Quinto play Rex and Joey respectively. Rex is a photographer who struggled his way just to survive. He come from a broken family and practically grew up by his lonesome. Joey is a tourist guide in search of her true father. She comes from a poor family who also struggles with the day-by-day realities of life. Born to Love You is more than just a love story of the two lead characters who affect each other’s lives as they fell in love but it also celebrates the beauty of life, love, relationships and existence.
Motorola said even though he has done a lot of movies and portrayed many roles in the past, this will be his first time to do romantic-comedy. “Ito yung kaunaunahan ko na magpapa-in love ako sa pelikula! Sabi ko nga, bata pa lang ako mahilig na talaga ako manood ng mga romantic movies, so in a way ito na yung katuparan ng matagal ko ng hinihiling. At ang sarap pala kasi habang ginagawa ko yung pelikula alam ng pagkatao mo na naiin-love ka din habang ginagampanan mo yung role mo.”
The movie also stars Albert Caseez Eula Valdes, Tonton Gutierrez, Al Tantay and Malou de Guzman.
Born to Love You will have its grand red carpet premiere night on May 29 at the SM Megamall Cinema 9 and will open in cinemas May 30. For more information visit www.StarCinema.com.ph; facebook.com/StarCinema or follow twitter.com/StarCinema.
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