DIRECTOR JADE CASTRO gained acclaim in 2007 for the Cinemalaya indie film, “Endo”, that won several prizes. He also wrote the scripts of Star Cinema’s “First Day High” and “My Amnesia Girl”, and helmed “My Big Love” starring Sam Milby for Star Cinema and the indie hit “Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington”. He now megs GMA Films’ “My Kontrabida Girl” with Rhian Ramos and Aljur Abrenica.
Born on August 21, 1978, he graduated from UP in 2000, major in film. He first worked as a script brainstormer for ABS-CBN. “But I really want to focus on films so I handled script continuity for Direk Uro de la Cruz sa movies he’s doing for Regal, like ‘Bahay ni Lola’, ‘Singsing ni Lola’ and ‘Bakit Papa’ with the SexBomb.”
In 2005, he helped put up UFO Films with other writers and made indie films “Sarong Banggi” and “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros”, both award-winners. In 2007, he himself wrote and directed “Endo”.
He tried doing TV soaps in ABS-CBN’s “Mula sa Puso” as second unit director. “But my heart is really in films. I’m glad GMA Films offered me this project starring Rhian and Aljur. May story na sila but I decided to change it with my co-writer, Aloy Adlawan, and we came up with ‘My Kontrabida Girl’. Rhian is the top villain in telenovelas. She does her job of oppressing leading ladies with much enthusiasm. Nagrereklamo nga ang bida sa soap niya, Gwen Zamora, dahil sa sobrang lakas niyang sumabunot at sumampal.”
How is Rhian while they were shooting the movie, considering she was embroiled in a major confict at that time? “We never talked about what she’s going through and it never became a problem on the set. Sa workshops pa lang, I already saw her energy right away. She likes her role as Isabel so much as it’s realistic. Just like in real life, the character she plays has a good and bad side, at napaglalaruan niya yun. She’s so good in this movie, napakagaling talaga.”