How Asero helped Rhian in La Lola

Pagkatapos makilala as 'Leah' sa 'Captain Barbell' ng dalawang taon, Rhian Ramos is glad na siya ay na nare-recognize na ngayon as Lola, her first title role. "When I go to the malls, no one calls me anything else now, everyone forgot Leah from "Captain Barbell!" kwento niya sa iGMA.

Gaining confidence
Inamin ng aktres na kinabahan siya nang malaman niyang siya ang gaganap bilang Lola, pero nakatulong ang mga workshop na pinuntahan nila ng cast. "When we did our first workshop together, naging mas kampante ako. Sabi ko, ‘Okay, we all look like we have pretty good chemistry together.’ It's amazing how this cast gets along. We come from all walks of life, age groups, but we really get along together. It's nice how pretty much lahat kami binagayan yung role. It's cool [that] the characters all have a piece of us in them," she shares.

Syempre, naging mas confident si Rhian nang lumabas ang ratings ng primetime show niya. "I read the script, and then at first you think, ‘Wow it's nice, but can I pull it off?’ So when [we] finally started taping, we were so proud of the ratings that we got, and then we've been proud of how the show's been going on…We haven't been beaten, and we're very happy about the response that we got about the show."

Thanks to Claire!
Rhian shares that her character Claire in Codename: Asero helped her a lot para maka-adjust sa role niya sa La Lola. Kung matatandaan niyo, si Claire ang makulit na anak ni Apollo (Ramon Christopher) na na-in love kay Asero (Richard Gutierrez).

"I think, in a way, that was a really good warm up for La Lola, because that was my first light, funny, pang-asar na role lang. Because most of my roles have either been damsel in distress or something severe! I've never really been just prancing around, being all 'Yihee!' You know, pang-asar lang?

"I don’t think I would've been as comfortable with Lola if it weren't for Claire. Even if it was so short a time that I played Claire, it was a big help. It really eased me into it."

Ikinuwento sa kanya ng kanyang dad na naka-base sa Dubai na maraming nanonood ng La Lola doon. "My dad he has this really annoying thing that he does. He has my picture in his wallet, so every time he goes to some restaurant, he opens his wallet and then he pays, makes sure that it's facing everyone, and [since] there are so many Filipinos in Dubai, they're like, 'Sir, you like Rhian Ramos? That's so weird!' And he [says], 'She's my daughter.' [Sinasabi naman noong mga kausap niya], 'Oh my God, pa-picture!' He loves that! It's so [funny]!" Rhian exclaims with a laugh.

"His favorite stores already know [about me]. So every time he goes back, they tell him, sir, we watch La Lola! And I just wanna go see the people he's met because of that! And balita ko maraming nanonood ng La Lola doon." Ayon kay Rhian, balak niyang bumisita sa Dubai ngayong Pasko para makasama ang father niya.


- Jason John S. Lim, iGMA.tv

Heart Evangelista, beautiful and emotional

Heart Evangelista is, of course, beautiful. This is precisely why Preview magazine chose her to grace the cover of its Beauty Special this November.

Preview describes her beauty as an "Oriental brand of elfin," characterized by chinita eyes and a flawless skin that elicit raves from no less than Bobbi Brown's regional director for artistry Sebastian Tardif, who does her makeup for the cover shoot.

"My main inspiration for her look today is her skin, it is just so flawless," Sebastian says. "She has nice open eyes and a generous lashline as well. Three coats of mascara and all of a sudden... boom!"

It almost seems unbelievable that she maintains such a simple beauty regimen. Heart tells Preview, "I just cleanse and moisturize around my eyes before going to bed."

But what makes Heart more beautiful nowadays is the candor with which she presents herself to the public. She arrives at the Preview cover shoot armed with a diary of answers to all of Preview's questions. "I really wanted to answer your questions well, to think about them," she tells the Preview team earnestly.

True enough, as the Preview team leafs through pages and pages of exclamation points, underlined and capitalized phrases all in Heart's own handwriting, it is clear just how much thought she has given to every question.

Preview lifts from that diary, which Heart has made out of the magazine's questions, to give readers a picture of just how emotional she really is. As she writes about the lowest point in her life and peppers it with much emphasis, it gives an idea of how wrung her feelings were during one period of her life.

She writes, "All of a sudden everything in my life changed. My career was just about DEAD, and my personal life was a DISASTER. I would wallow in self-pity. I lost my family. I lost my love and passion for life. I thought it was the end of the world."

Showbiz also reared its ugly head as Heart faced scrupulous scrutiny from the public that once adored her. "I toyed with the idea of leaving before it destroyed me," she says, "but I refused to leave the industry that way."

With her career back in full swing, it looks like Heart is not leaving just yet. "It's really what I love. The passion is really there," she says, "I'm just not over it yet, I feel it, that there's so much more to give."

Read more about Heart Evangelista in the November issue of Preview magazine, now available in newsstands and bookstores nationwide.

Jericho Rosales makes freudian slip while describing 'heavy' role in "Baler"

Binati ni Jericho Rosales ang press na dumating sa presscon ng Baler kahapon, November 13, in Spanish. Throughout the presscon, paminsan-minsan din siyang siyang nag-i-Español.

Nabanggit kasi ng aktor noon sa isang panayam na mag-aaral siya ng Spanish bago simulan ang shooting ng Baler para maging makatotohanan ang portrayal niya sa role ni Celso Resurrecion, ang half-Spaniard, half-Filipino na mas piniling kumampi sa mga kaaway at talikuran ang kapwa Filipino.

Ang Baler, na idinirek ni Mark Meily, ang entry ng Viva Films sa 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival. Katambal dito ni Jericho si Anne Curtis.

"This is an important movie," sabi ni Jericho. "It touches Filipino history dahil based ito sa Siege of Baler noong 1898. Hindi lang history ang mapapanood, may romance din."

"Heavy" ang description ni Jericho sa kanyang role. Para raw mas ma-feel niya ang kanyang character, siya mismo ang nag-research. Dumaan din siya sa matinding preparasyon, pati kung paano kumilos at magsalita ng Tagalog noong unang panahon.

"Na-trap for one year sa loob ng simbahan si Celso at mga kasamang sundalo. Ipapakita ang hirap na dinanas ng mga sundalo that whole time na nasa simbahan sila. Makikita rin kung paano nila ipinaglaban ni Feliza [Anne] ang kanilang pagmamahalan," pagpapakilala ni Jericho sa kanyang role.

Paano naka-relate si Jericho kanyang role?

"Mahirap ang pinagdaanan namin sa loob ng simbahan at ang character ni Celso ay ibang-iba. Mapagmahal siya at romantiko, at kaya kong magmahal hanggang kamatayan," saad ng aktor.

Ano ang feeling niya habang ginagawa nila ang Baler?

"Sobrang excited ako and every scene, gusto ko nandun ako," saad ni Jericho. "Metikuloso ang pagkakagawa ni Direk Mark. Na-miss ko ang ginawa ko sa Bagong Buwan na war movie rin na ipinag-enjoy ko rin. De numero ang gumawa ng giyera, para kang nakikipaglaro sa mga bata."