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| jc santos with direk irene villamor & bela padilla in their movie's presscon at Tipsy Pig |
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| bela and JC |
JC SANTOS is one of our busiest actors last year. He did several movies and TV shows, and also theatre, and he was also paired with different co-stars.
He was with Arci Munoz in the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino drama, “Open”; with Jane Oineza in the Cinema One Filmfest romcom, “Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo, and also with Jane in the mini-series “Project Feb. 14”; and with Angelica Panganiban in the iWant mini-series, “Don’t Call Me Tita”.
also did “Babae at Baril” with Janine Gutierrez, “Sunod” with Carmina Villaroel and he was part of the cast of the mammoth hit, “Miracle in Cell No. 7” playing the role of Mambo. He has likewise finished an international film, “Motel Acacia”, and did a musical play at the CCP, “Lam-Ang”.
Now, he is reunited with Bela Padilla in the “hugot” romantic drama, “On Vodka, Beers and Regrets”. They have previously done two hits, “100 Tula Para Kay Stella” and “The Day After Valentine”, both directed by JP Laxamana and both entries in the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino. This time, the director is Irene Villamor who has directed Bela twice before in “Camp Sawi” and “Meet Me in St. Gallen”.
“It was Bela who sent me a copy of the script written by DIrek Irene, saying ‘Baka gusto mong gawin ito’,” JC recounts. “When I read the script, sobrang ganda. But I told Bela na kahit sampung movies pa ang gawin namin, basta kami ang magkapareha, game ako. Gamay na gamay na kasi namin ni Bela ang isa’t isa, so everything is easy.
"We enjoy supporting each other sa mga eksena. Nagtutulungan talaga kami para mas mapaganda ang trabaho ng isa’t isa. Some people say love team kami, but we’re not the usual love team kasi yung tandem namin, never pang nagkatuluyan. Sa ending, laging parang may sugat, masakit. Pero binabalik-balikan.”
In “On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets”, JC plays Francis, the vocalist of a band who meets Bela in a bar. Bela plays Jane, a former actress who is now a has been. “Nalaos siya after being involved in a sex scandal and now, parang self destructive siya,” adds JC.
“She drowns everything with alcohol. At dun ako sa point na yun dumating sa buhay. I will try to help her recover, pero napakahirap ng proceso kasi addicted na siya sa alcohol.”
Direk Irene says the movie is inspired by the Hollywood flick “When a Man Loves a Woman” where Meg Ryan plays an alcoholic and Andy Garcia is her husband who gives her unconditional love. “Dito, si Bela ang isang messed up na tao but JC continues to love her kahit mahirap siyang mahalin.
"The movie would show if love is enough to keep their relationship going and it will also show as up to when JC will continue to support her kahit na parang ayaw niyang tulungan ang sarili niya.”
At the presscon, JC admitted that he’s already married to his non-showbiz wife named Shyleena Herrera, who used to be his schoolmate and now works as a chef. She’s now pregnant with their first child and is due to deliver the baby next month. So how does it feel to be a dad soon?
“Mixed feelings. Kinakabahan. Excited. I’m fond of kids so I look forward na alagaan ko yung anak ko. I’m of age na naman kasi 31 na ako. I was already 26 when I did my first movie after working for many years as a singer-dancer in Hongkong Disneyland and Universal Studios Singapore. Ready na talaga ako to settle down.”
“On Vodka, Beers and Regrets” opens in theaters on February 5 as a pre-Valentine presentation, with premiere night at SM Megamall on February 3. Viva’s rising star, Raphiel Shannon, sings the movie’s theme song, “Mundo”, the hit single first released by IV of Spade in 2018.
