“Sa bahay, kapag kasama siya ng anak kong si Luis, normal na tao si Gel,” she says. “But dito sa movie, pareho kaming artista, so kung ano ang suporta at respetong binibigay niya sa’kin, yun ang ibinabalik ko sa kanya. Suportahan kami rito. About Xian, I heard negative things about his acting. But sa story con pa lang, ang basa ko agad sa kanya is he’s such an educated person. Basta kapag napanood nyo itong movie namin, ipagmamalaki nyo si Xian Lim.”
What can she say about the character she plays, Vivian, who’s a very strict and overbearing boss? “Impakta si Vivian, e. But at the end of the day, may puso rin siya. Baligtad kami, kasi ako, gracious, mahaba ang pisi, pero lumalaban din ako. The role of Vivian means you should not just judge a person right away.”
And how is Joyce Bernal, who directs her for the first time? “Si Direk, I love her. Kasi jologs siya, e. Wala kang mararamdamang tensiyon sa kanya. First time ko sa kanya and it’s memorable. She really guided me at magaling siyang mag-motivate ng artista. Sa set, noong first shooting days ko with Angel and Xian, ayaw niyang makausap ko sila bago mag-take. Bawal. Para raw hindi kami maging familiar sa isa’t isa. Nire-rehearse niya kami nang solo-solo para pag take na, parang noon lang kami talaga unang nagkita-kita. After this movie, I want her to be my friend, hindi lang habang nasa shooting kami. Totoo yan. Barikan na kami.” (Barikan is Batangueno word for social drinking.)
We have some questions for Ate Vi but we were not given the chance to ask her anything during the Q&A. So we hope she reads this and replies to us later. How does she feel that some folks say her acting in “Everything About Her” is obviously inspired by Meryl Streep’s similarly tyrannical boss in “The Devil Wears Prada”?
It’s the second time for her to play the role of a woman dying of cancer in “Everything About Her”. The first time she did this kind of role was in 1989 in the late Ishmael Bernal’s “Pahiram ng Isang Umaga”, where she won best several best actress awards. What’s the differences with the characters she plays in these movies and what insights did she gain in playing them?
