Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza
They are currently number 1. Reaping in a whopping P214 million just five days into the ongoing Metro Manila Film Festival, the combined forces of Box Office King Vic Sotto, Queen of Comedy Ai-Ai delas Alas and the Phenomenal Love Team of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, popularly known as AlDub, was positive about how they would play out in the annual battle at the box office.
Facing the competition head on, the foursome’s natural chemistry and flair for comedy are proving to be what sets them apart from the entries of the same genre.
Aside from making a killing at the tills, their hit film, “My Bebe Love #Kiligpamore,” also got three awards at the MMFF Awards: Third Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Maine Mendoza, and the coveted Gat Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award.
In a press interview in Cebu prior to the showing of their hit movie, Vic Sotto, Ai-Ai Delas Alas, Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards together with director Jose Javier Reyes were all having fun, ribbing each other while trying to give the lowdown on why the audience should watch their feel-good offering.
A director who doesn’t mince words and easily spews out a mouthful of quotable quotes, a comedic doyenne proving that there is no one like her in the industry, a well-loved teamup taking a step further, and the boss coming full circle—here’s comedy at its finest. (NRG)
PHOTOS: EDD BUENAVIAJE
Additional photos: “Eat Bulaga” Facebook page
Ai-Ai delas Alas and Vic Sotto
How does it feel to be working again with Ai-Ai delas Alas?
Vic: We have worked before, ‘yung “Enteng ng Ina Mo” and supposedly gagawin namin as follow up ‘yung “Enteng Ina Mo Rin” at yung pangatlo ‘yung “Enteng Ina Nyong Lahat” pero hindi natuloy for a couple of years. Nagpa-plano kami as to the project at walang nangyari kasi may problema sa kontrata and then finally and fortunately natapos na ‘yung kontrata, natuloy na rin ang aming pagsasama at tambalan. Nabuhay ulit ‘yung AiSing (Ai-Ai and Bossing). Kung may AlDub meron ding Aising. Masarap magtrabaho kung ‘yung kasama mo ang Comedy Queen, wala na eh, mag isa lang siya. Pag kasama mo siya, madali ang trabaho at tawanan lang kami nang tawanan, tapos kasama mo pa yung magaling na director at ang unang pagtatambal ng AlDub.
How about you, Miss Ai?
Ai-Ai: Siyempre naman, palagi ko tong sinasabi sa mga interviews ko na dalawa lang ang idol ko dito sa Pilipinas—si
Vilma Santos at saka si Vic Sotto. Biro mo ha! Sa dami ng artista, siya lang! Pero sandali, love na love ko ‘to, hindi ako iniwan nito. Hanggang kamatayan hindi ko din iiwan to kahit ayaw na niya ako ma-partner, ipipilit ko ang sarili ko sa kanya! Siyempre masaya kasi vibes kasi kami. Alam na alam ko ang mga kiliti niya. Kayang kaya ko pasayahin yan tsaka bwisitin ganun, at the same time. So I am happy that we are back in each other’s arms.
Who coined the term, AiSing?
Ai-Ai: Nakuha namin ‘yun sa mga fans dahil supposedly it was AiVic tapos sabi nila: Miss Ai, AiSing na lang po para mas sweet. Ed di wow!
Vic: Wow ka diyan!
And to work with two of the hottest young stars today …
Vic: Alden has been in the business for a few years at hindi mo na pwede kwestyunin ‘yung kanyang alam sa pag-arte. Ang pleasant
surprise for me is Maine Mendoza. As I’ve mentioned din sa other interviews, Maine is a natural. Kumbaga wala pa siyang preservatives or fertilizer —organic ang kanyang dating. She has a very healthy acting career ahead of her. Hindi mo masyadong makikita sa trailer pero pag pinanood mo ‘yung film makikita mo her talent sa acting, pwedeng sa drama, pwede sa comedy. Sa comedy naman napatunayan na niya sa “Eat Bulaga” and this is her first acting piece and I am very proud of her. ‘Yung AlDub fans will be proud of these two guys, I assure you that.
Alden Richards, Maine Mendoza and Ai-Ai delas Alas during a production number for ‘Eat Bulaga’.
Ai-Ai: With the phenomenal loveteam, kagaya nga ng sinasabi ni Bossing, this is the first time ng AlDub for a movie and si Maine hindi siya nakapag workshop. Kumbaga raw talent ‘yun at sinalang siya agad at nakakatuwa naman dahil marunong siya talagang umarte.
Maine: Actually hindi po ako makapaniwala sa mga sinasabi nila everytime may magbigay ng compliment sa akin. Ang hirap po akong ma-convince. Ewan ko kung bakit, baka sobra na akong nega! Di po talaga ako makapaniwala pero sobra akong happy na it would come from Bossing Vic because I always make it a point to ask for their feedback para ma-assess ko naman what else can I do for improvement.
Alden: Uy, napanood mo na pala!
Maine: Hindi pa. ‘Yung trailer pa lang. Huwag ka nga … KJ ‘to!
Vic: Ngayon lang ako nakapansin ng masyadong focus sa mga loveteam because in most of my films walang love team eh. The thing is, this is my first romantic-comedy movie dahil noong araw mostly ‘yung ginagawa namin ay fantasy-comedy. As a matter of fact, yung unang pagtatambal namin ni Ai-Ai ay ‘yung “Enteng Kabisote” which is fantasy. This is a very different and beautiful experience for me and I am very proud of this film.
Direk Joey, on a scale of 1 to 10, what rating will you give Maine’s acting?
Joey: 8.5. Tama ‘yung sinasabi ni Bossing that the phenomenon of AlDub is mostly because of its rawness. It is organic, it is not planned, it’s not a product of marketing by a network. Most loveteams are pre-planned and started with focus groups and all that and it works to a certain degree because they are products. But with AlDub everything was a spontaneous combustion, it happened. That everything is true, the kilig is true and that makes a whole lot of difference. And Maine is not really a neophyte because she is a dubsmash sensation sa internet that’s why she was noticed. And besides for you to make faces in the internet you must not have the inhibition. Just having fun with yourself and going as far as making yourself look funny and unglamorous. Unlike most actresses who obsess with making themselves look pretty. But that’s not an actress, that’s what you call a magazine cover. I don’t believe in workshops – ‘yung ibang artista 12 years na nagwo-workshop flat pa rin.
Maine, how was it acting in a movie for the first time with Direk Joey?
Okey naman siya dahil ginagabayan naman po ako all throughout – actually hindi naman po ako naghirap. Hindi ko pa siya napanood sa kabuo-an and I am looking forward to it.
So what treatment did you give for this film?
Joey: Kasi I am known to do romantic movies di ba mga recent ones I did for MMFF was “Kasal Kasali Kasalo” as well as “House Husband.” Hindi talaga ako nananakot sa horror. Ang kaibahan lang is this is the first time that I will be working with Bossing all these years. And what I tried is to give a different appeal of Bossing because this is the first time na magro-romcom siya.
So, who is your peg here when it comes to directing Bossing?
Joey: Si Richard Gere, di ba! ‘Yung sexy maturity ‘yung peg niya dito. Tapos si Ai-Ai naman, hindi pa siya artista kilala ko na siya. Matagal na ang aming pinagsamahan tapos ang bonus pa, adding to the blessing, is I have AlDub. Ang pinagkaiba lang siguro, alam mo sa paggawa ko ng movie ito iba ‘yung pinagdaraanan ko, nag multiply several four times ‘yung Twitter followers ko, dumami as well yung Instagram followers ko and I hope after this movie, hindi sila mawawala sa akin. (laughs) Everything is just phenomenal with this film and ang major kaibahan lang siguro doing this movie is the pressure. Hindi ko na kailangan mag diet, iniisip ko lang mga mangyayari and with that nagbalik simbahan ako!
How did you deal with the AlDub fans?
Joey: You listen to them because they mean well and if wala naman ‘yung fans, wala naman kami dito diba. And ang higit pa sa mahalin mo sila ay respetuhin mo sila and I did take into consideration their suggestion both the AiSing and the AlDub. Isa ngang consideration na pinoint-out ko is that this will not ba a movie that’s pa art-art. This should be a Christmas movie gift to a family or everybody and it should be enjoyed. Everyone should be happy in this season of sharing and loving. Di ba ang ganda!
The original title for the movie was “RomComin Mo Ako.” How big was the change and how much did you have to adjust especially when AlDub was included in the cast?
Vic: Halos wala ‘eh. My character is still the same as well as Ai Ai’s. Alden was in the original script and si Maine lang ang last addition and that time bago kami mag umpisa, that was the time na painit na painit na yung AlDub. Sort of surreal nga ‘eh during that time at tsaka kung may inadjust man kani sa script was konting konti lang pero yung flow ‘yung story, still practically the same because with MMFF, may mga rules, bawal ang magpapalit ng mga ganyan and if ever magpalit ka ng title you give them a deadline. Hindi ka pwede magpapalit ng storya and if ever with the main plot, you can’t change it, the subplots pwede pero still you cannot do away with the main plot. Kami sumusunod kami sa mga regulations, ‘yung iba hindi, dahil kami ay hamak na hampaslupa. Mga pogi’t magagandang hampaslupa! Umaasa kami sa good karma.
You’ve always had Tony Reyes as your director in most of your MMFF films. Why did you pick Direk Joey for this project?
Vic: Naging iba na ‘yung director ko. Last year was Marlon Rivera. Si Binibining Joyce Bernal and then comes Direk Joey Reyes. I have worked with Direk Joey during Regal days and that was ‘yung Tito, Vic and Joey days pero he was the writer before he became the director. Most of our movies were written by Joey, and another trivia, magkaklase kami sa elementary!
Joey: Sino yung teacher mo?
Vic: Si Centeno, si Marabot, magkaklase tayo. Natatandaan mo ba na may nagtutumbang preso, ako yun!
Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza more popularly known as Aldub.
Joey: Ay ikaw pala yun!
Maine, around this time last year, what were you doing and where were you?
Last year nasa States ako and kakatapos ko lang ng six month internship ko. I am not bragging! Hahaha! Papauwi pa lang ako nun last year at nag-aantay lang ako ng graduation ko nung February. Last year pagala-gala lang ako sa New York! Wow!
Alden, the last time you were here a month ago you said na you were just getting to know Maine. How far has your friendship gone and what have you discovered with each other?
Alden: Since doing this movie and we have been doing few commercials now …
Vic: Few pa lang? Totoo ba yun? Nasulot na nga yung iba ko ‘eh.
Alden: Bossing naman ‘eh!
Vic: Isa lang ang hindi nyo masusulot, ‘yung Republic Cement. Subukan nyo! Hahaha! Joke lang!
Alden: Love ko si Bossing! Kung ano ang nakikita ko niya dati onscreen sa kalyeserye, yun din yung personality niya.
Did you give Maine acting tips or pointers?
Alden: Hindi naman. Acting for me is very sensitive. Acting is mahirap ‘yung sobra and mahirap ‘yung kulang and no need na to give her tips because she is good na with how she does it. I just told her to relax everytime kasi for me with acting there’s a thin line between doing good, if you’re doing enough or if you’re doing it badly. So you feel the moment, you fulfill the requirements and not overthink. Because if you over think you destroy the moment.
How was it working with Direk Joey?
Alden: Grabe si Direk. I mean I have worked with a lot of directors before, and this is my first time working with him. Just a little background on how I met Direk. He blogged kasi about me and Maine, and sa first day of shooting I really rushed to see Direk Joey and introduced myself because nothing can be put into words on how I felt when he wrote that blog about me and Maine. Parang we are very honored to be working with one of the very few best directors and everything was so easy for the rest of us. There were no demands, what direk would just do is blocking lang and whatever it is that we can input into that scene, he let us do it. Lahat ng makikita nyo sa movie is very natural – parang there’s no acting acting.
Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza
What should be the reason why you’re having that pimple?
Alden: Puyat po. Well, basically I am happy with everything that’s going on right now kahit gumagrabe ‘yung pimples ko. So very happy and with all the blessings that’s coming my way.
Direk, is there tremendous pressure on you end?
There is always that pressure to reinvent Vic, and there is the pressure to bring back to the forefront Ai Ai as the Queen of Comedy. And the expectation from the AlDub Nation, it’s like they’re giving me pointers na, direk kailangang ganito, direk kailangang may ganyan. Alam ko na I may disappoint some because they have set an expectation in mind, you know they mean well but the pressure is just very great. It just come to such point na you just enjoy the blessing that have come along your way because in my age and after all these many movies, you just choose to enjoy doing it because the movie will come out great if you just enjoy doing it.
Miss Ai, did it ever occur to you that there was a need to reclaim your title as Comedy Queen?
Modestly aside wala pa naman pero I think what Direk means was matagal na kasi ako hindi nakapag filmfest and I would like to add that Bossing is the King of MMFF. Lahat ng filmfest (movies) niya naging number one. ‘Yung dating magkalaban kami … ‘yung ako parati ‘yung second sa kaniya. Dumating din ‘yung time na binugbog nila ako ni Senator (Bong) Revilla. ‘Yun ang ibig ipahiwatig ni Direk Joey na para ibalik ako sa MMFF dahil dati kasi parati akong lumalaban sa kanila.
How good is the movie?
Vic: Me and Ai Ai, we are positive that we have a good product and I am positive that people will love it. Hindi ko na inisip na maging number one or number two — it’s just a number. Ang pinakamaganda is for the people to support the festival kasi marami namang natutulungan ang MMFF so the industry in general will benefit from it. So, no pressure.
