Valeen Montenegro savors her ‘Write’ moment
savors her ‘Write’ moment
‘It hits the reality that heartbreak happens in every relationship.’
It hits the reality that heartbreak happens in every relationship.
While the entertainment industry has always been difficult to enter, there are actors who never gave up on their dreams, scoring big break later in their careers.
Count actress Valeen Montenegro among them.
Starting her career as part of Star Magic in 2006, Valeen has been in the industry for 15 years now doing mostly supporting roles on TV and in films.
The actress’ years of struggle and persistence have finally paid off as she starred on her first-ever lead role in the comedy film “The Write Moment.”
“It feels surreal,” she told Bulletin
Entertainment in Filipino. “Not all people are given a moment to shine. I feel so happy because all the hard work, all the efforts (have finally paid off). I really feel this is the right moment for me. And I’m very thankful for all the blessings.”
For Valeen, longevity in the business is largely determined by one’s dedication to and passion for the craft.
“I didn’t realize that I’ve already spent 15 years in the business because I really enjoy what I’m doing. For me, I never expected anything, like, I should be famous, I should be known,” she explained. “Like what I’ve always said, I’m ready for anything, regardless if it’s a big or a small role. I just love acting that’s why I continue.”
On the premise of “The Write Moment,” Valeen leaves an intriguing question: “What will you do when the love of your life, the woman you dream of growing old with, suddenly breaks up with you for the most cliché reason of simply growing tired of your relationship?”
Directed by Dominic Lim, the film was an original entry to last year’s QCinema International Film Festival.
“Relationships do not guarantee you 100 percent happiness. There will always be highs and lows,” she shared. “Actually, I can relate to my character here in this film because it hits the reality that heartbreak happens in every relationship.”
According to her, the lesson audience will learn from the film is the art of letting go.
“If the person needs to go, he or she will go and you have no control about it,” she said. “I mean for me, it’s already valid excuse especially if there’s no spark anymore. Why would you insist it, right?”
Asked to give some sort of advice to those who experiences heartbreak, she said: “Do yourself a favor.”
“If the relationship doesn’t work anymore, don’t force it. Time heals after all, you have your friends, your family, who help you cope.”
The ‘unusual’ loveteam
Valeen stars in “The Write Moment” alongside Jerald Napoles as his love team partner.
In it, Jerald is Dave. After he and girlfriend Joyce (Valeen) broke up, he writes a screenplay about their imagined happy ending – then surprisingly finds himself living out his written story with a mysterious twist.
Unlikely as their pairing may be to some people, this ordinary guybeautiful girl team-up has proved to be an effective combination.
Valeen has no problem if Jerald does not possess the boy-next-door image.
“Before we even started casting, from the time I heard his name as my possible love team partner, I was already excited. I trust him and I’m so happy that we have a movie together,” she enthused.
The two have an “almost” love scene. Did she feel awkward about it?
“No. He’s my friend. Maybe a bit nervous,” she explained.
Jerald, who was seated behind Valeen during the interview, said
he made sure to be careful in doing the love scene as he didn’t want Valeen to feel she was being taken advantage of.
Produced by The IdeaFirst Company and Viva Films with CMB Films, “The Write Moment” is now in theaters.
Happily in love
With their undeniable chemistry onscreen, many think Team JerLeen – the love team of Jerald and Valeen – could become real. Well sorry, folks, Valeen is happily in love with her non-showbiz of nine, take note, nine years. He is Selu Lozano, a Filipino-Spanish trainer and football player. When will they tie the knot, we asked. “Though we talk about marriage sometimes, it is not our priority at the moment. I just want to enjoy it because this is the first time I’ve been in a long relationship,” she said. Va l e e n r e i t e r a t e d t h a t t h e i r relationship stayed strong amid controversies in the past. Note that her name was dragged into a third-party issue some time in 2016. “Of course, he asked me about the issues like, why did it come to that, what happened? But he understands that it’s the nature of my work and we can’t control the minds and the interpretations of other people,” she said. “I mean, that is their opinion so I just take it lightly and partly as constructive criticism that at least, I’m getting noticed. At the end of the day, you just have to deal with it.”