“Just like with ‘Anna Karenina’, I opted not to watch the original para hindi ako maimpluwensiyahan nito,” she says. “They just gave me the story and I want to a fresh new vision and reinterpretation of the material. Ang importante, yung core nito about a Romeo and Juliet love story tungkol sa isang mahirap at isang mayaman that start in the generation of Sunshine Dizon, Paolo Contis and Raymart Santiago, mauulit doon sa mga anak nila, sina Janine Gutierrez, Elmo Magalona and Juancho Trivino. May mga characters kaming inalis at dinagdag. Sa original, there’s Donya Agueda played by Carmen Enriquez, wala na yun dito. Ang dinagdag namin, characters ni Marky Lopez and his wife Kyla, na siyang magiging parents ni Juancho. Ang lalayo lang ng location namin. Yung hacienda ng Villa Quintana, we tape it in San Miguel, but the mansion is in San Rafael, and we also shoot in Pulilan and San Ildefonso, all in Bulacan.”
Is there good chemistry between the two leads, Janine and Elmo? “When I saw them together on screen, kinilig ako. I did a two-day workshop with them and they’re good, they’re fine, pareho silang masunurin and I don’t foresee having any problem with them as they’re both excited and willing to learn.”
The roles of Janine as Lynette and Elmo as Isagani were originally played in 1996 by Donna Cruz and Keempee de Leon. The roles of Sunshine, Paolo and Raymart were then played by Chanda Romero, Joel Torre and Pen Medina. Joel’s wife then, Isabel Rivas, is now played by Maricar de Mesa. Mia Gutierrez as Amparing, the real mom of Lynette then, is now played by Tanya Garcia. The family patriarch played by Tony Mabesa then is now played by Roy Alvarez. Also in the cast now are Dexter Doria and Anna Marin, with Mark Bautista singing the theme song, “Sa Villa Quintana”.
We ask Gina how her son Geoff is now doing? “Ayun, pumayat na. He did in only two months. Magagawa naman pala, hinintay pang lumaki muna siya nang husto. I think he’s being considered as the leading man of Kylie Padilla in ‘Adarna’. May nagsasabi namang baka si Marian Rivera ang makasama niya sa bagong show nito. Well, let’s just wait and see kunsaang show nga siya ilalagay ng GMA management.”
