“Grabe nga po, parang gusto nila talaga kaming paghiwalayin,” she says at the solo presscon hosted by GMA Artist Center for her in support of her first movie, “Buy Now Die Later”. “Natatawa na lang kami kasi, as of now, wala namang nabago sa amin. Nagkikita pa rin kami. Nakaka-miss din kasi two years kami laging magkasama sa taping ng ‘Villa Quintana’ and ‘More than Words’, but supportive naman ako sa paglipat niya kasi he has new opportunities for growth as an artist. Pinanood ko nga when he was introduced sa ASAP and I’m really happy for him. So, we just don’t want to dwell on the negative predictions na maghihiwalay kami.”
Some writers point out that her love team with Elmo is known as JanElmo. Now, it’s still JanElmo, but it’s for Janella Salvador. “Ay, ano raw sila, ElmElla raw sila. Kasi nga, ginamit na sa’min ang JanElmo. I’m really hoping suportahan din ng tao ang show nila.”
The passing year 2015 will be very memorable for her. “Ang daming kong dreams na natupad this year. Unang-una, at the start of the year, I prayed gusto kong magka-movie. God gave me not just one but three movies. Aside from ‘Buy Now Die Later’ for Direk Randolph Longjas sa Quantum Films, I also did ‘Lila’ for Direk Gino Santos and ‘Dagsin’ for Direk Ato Magadia. At lahat sila, entries sa local filmfests. ‘Buy Now Die Later’ is in the Metro Manila Filmfest this Christmas, ‘Lila’ is in Sinag Maynila Filmfest in March and ‘Dagsin’ is in CineMalaya in July. I also prayed to have a primetime soap at binigay rin yun in ‘More than Words’. Then I got another show, ‘Dangwa’, now being shown in the mornings. This year, I was also able to buy my own condo unit and hopefully, maayos na ang interiors at makalipat ako roon in January.”
What are her roles in the movies she did? “In ‘Buy Now’, my mom Lotlot de Leon plays Maita, who wanted to be an actress when she was younger. Through a magic cream she got from the mysterious TJ Trinidad, bumata siya. When she transforms into her younger self, nagiging ako yun. I have an unforgettable scene in ‘Buy Now’ na pinagapangan ako ng ipis sa katawan. The director asked, kaya mo ba? Ang yabang ko pa, sige, kaya ko. But when they put the ipis na during the take, napasigaw ako. In ‘Lila’, a thriller, I feel so guilty with the death of my younger brother in a car crash where I’m the one driving. I go to our Lola named Violeta or Lila, and that’s when horrifying things start happening. In ‘Dagsin’, which means Gravity, the story revolves on an old couple, Marita Zobel and Tommy Abuel. In the flashback scenes during World War II, they’ll be seen when they were young at kami ni Benjamin Alves will play their younger selves.”
In “Dangwa”, she plays a fairy who acts as Cupid to people who are falling in love. Most of the stories revolve on her guest stars in the show, but for the Christmas episodes, the story will focus on her and her leading men, Aljur Abrenica and Mark Herras. “It’s going to be a Christmas special at magiging more pronounced ang love triangle sa aming tatlo. But we’ll still have other guests like Louise de los Reyes, Derrick Monasterio, Rodjun Cruz and my Ate Matet de Leon.”
