Because Joshua plays a sick boy, some folks are saying the story is culled from the Hollywood flick about cancer patients who fall in love, “The Fault in Our Stars”, but the director, Antoinette Jadaone, says the story of “Love You to the Stars and Back” is actually very different.
“Hindi maaalis na mag-isip sila ng ganoon because of the cancer factor but the characters played by Joshua and Julia in our movie have a totally different journey and which is more of a road trip,” she adds. “Yung first meeting pa lang nila, ibang-iba na. Nagkakilala sila when they both answer the call of nature sa talahiban on the roadside. Nagkagulatan sila at nasagasaan ni Julia ang paa ni Joshua and eventually, naging friends sila. Tapos, Julia here believes so hard in the existence of aliens and she’ll try hard to make Joshua believe na hindi impossible ang aliens. But the real point of the movie is masarap magmahal, pero mahirap. At kahit na masaktan ka, masarap pa rin.”
What’s her experience in working with Julia and Joshua? “I’m very happy and satisfied na sila ang gumanap sa sinulat kong characters na sina Caloy at Mika kasi they both give sincere and sensitive performances. Ang personal problems ng dalawang kabataang ito sa story is not the usual problems encountered by most teenagers and yet they come out totally believable in their roles. Matindi rin ang chemistry nila on screen kaya yung love element in the story, very natural lang na lumalabas from them. Very collaborative din sila kasi while shooting, I usually ask them kung ano ang take nila sa eksena, and they give their own suggestions para maging comfortable sila in their interpretations of the characters na sinulat ko. At nagtutulungan sila in motivating each other para mas mapaganda ang bawat eksena nila. Their acting comes from within, so when you watch them on screen, you feel na they really inhabit the characters of Caloy and Mika. I can no longer imagine any other actors playing these roles.”
“Love You to the Stars and Back” also stars Cherry Pie Picache, Carmina Villaroel, Ariel Rivera, Maricar Reyes, Edgar Allan Guzman and Eda Nolan. It will open in theaters nationwide on August 30, with the song “Torete” as its theme song. After this, Joshua will go solo as he plays the title role in Dreamscape’s production of the new TV drama, “The Good Son”, which was formerly titled “Kung Kailangan Mo Ako”. The story is about a dad, Albert Martinez, who has a secret second family. Also in the show are McCoy de Leon, Elisse Joson, Jerome Ponce, Nash Aguas and Eula Valdes, directed by Manny Palo.
