JC, Bela talk ‘Valentine’ in August
It’s too early to talk Valentine’s Day but a movie title with the name of the occasion prompts people to do so.
It’s too early to talk Valentine’s Day but a movie title with the name of the occassion prompts people to do so. Lead actors JC Santos and Bela Padilla start by putting themselves in the shoes of single men and women.
“Yeah, it’s awesome to have a date on that ‘most romantic day’ of the year but you don’t need to feel sad if you don’t. There are many advantages to being single on that day,” said she who has had no romance for some time now. “Last Valentine’s Day, I worked. And I plan to do the same next year. Work is life, you know.”
It was early this year when JC parted ways with his girlfriend of four years Teetin Villanueva. So, yes, it was a hot topic for him, too.
“There are so many things to do when you’re single. Maybe you just workout or attend Zumba classes? Sometimes it’s also nice to have time for yourself, to reflect or make yourself a better person so when the right person comes along, you know you will be a good man.” Hugot.
Friends? Friends!
“The Day After Valentine’s” is the second movie of Bela and JC together.
Asked if the two are open to being in a romantic relationship for real, Bela, seemingly parried the question by saying she and JC click.
“I’m happy that I got to work with him again because we already know our dynamics as actors. It feels nice that, you know, when you go to set, you work with someone whom you are comfortable with,” she said. JC said they are like best friends,
“pinagbiyak na bunga” he put it. Despite being paired in this movie, JC and Bela said they don’t want to be boxed as “love team.”
“We do other things as well, like, we want to achieve something on our own. JC also does theater, and I write script. That’s why I don’t see the need for us to be called a love team,” she said.
JC agreed. “Career-wise, I want to have a bigger market. I want to work with different actors. Like, I want to be JC not because of Bela, I want to be JC because of myself.”
‘…After Valentine’s’
Produced by VIVA Films, “The Day After Valentine’s” is an official entry to this year’s Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP). It will open on Aug. 15 in theaters nationwide.
The film also marks JC and Bela’s reunion with “100 Tula Para Kay Stella” director Jason Paul Laxamana. The new movie was shot mainly on an island in Hawaii.
“100 Tula” was one of the most successful films at last year’s PPP, earning millions at the box office.
Jason said he is not pressured to achieve the same for “The Day After Valentine’s.”
“To be honest, we didn’t expect ‘100 Tula’ to be successful. It was a test that actually succeeded. In ‘The Day,’ we wanted something different to offer so I’m not sure if the audience will like it. Let’s just hope for it,” he said.
JC and Bela said the two films are totally different from each other.
“Different story, different approach. I can say that this is more matured than our first characters. This is not a cute movie, it’s socially relevant in a way that it will tackle some personal issues of young people. It goes beyond a love story,” she explained.
The film is about Lani (Bela), a simple girl who likes “broken things” and “Baybayin,” Filipino ancient alphabetic writing system. JC is Kai, a guy who’s having a hard time moving on from his part relationship. On a whim, they decided to hang out together one Valentine’s Day.
Jason said the film will change the way people see love.
“The film discusses the wrong types of love. Like the biggest question here is, having spent one Valentine’s Day together, is it enough to leave a mark on someone’s life? Is it enough to heal a broken heart? Is it enough to change everything,” was how he put it.
Bela added, “I guess the take away in this film is, ‘you need to be broken first so you can fix yourself.’”
“The Day After Valentine’s” is rated PG by the MTRCB and Graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB).