JULIA BARRETTO is really very special for Viva. Her new movie, “Expensive Candy”, won’t just be shown via streaming but will be exhibited in actual theaters on September 14.
This is “Expensive Candy”, where she plays the title role of an Angeles City hooker named Candy.
For the first time, she has Carlo Aquino as her leading man. Carlo plays Renato or Toto, a high school teacher who is still a male virgin.
One night, he goes to Area, the place in Angeles where streetwalkers can be found, and he meets Julia as Candy, who immediately senses that it’s his first time.
He finds the experience in bed with Julia unforgettable and keeps on returning to her, but each time, she charges him more, that’s why the film is titled “Expensive Candy”.
Why did she accept playing a daring character that is totally different from her usual goody-goody roles?
“I just cannot say no to Direk JP Laxamana,” says Julia. “And when I read his script, I felt I want to do this.
"My mother also read the script and she liked it. It’s time for me to come out of my comfort zone and do more mature roles.
"I’m 25 and I feel I need to grow in my craft. But it’s also important that you enjoy what you’re doing and so far, ito na talaga ang pinaka-daring na ginawa ko and I’m happy with the challenges it gave me.”
How is it working with Carlo?
“Matagal ko na siya gustong makatrabaho. We call him sa set as the icon.
"Everyone wants to work with Caloy, but for me, it should always be the right project, the right time, and hetong ‘Expensive Candy’ is the right vehicle for us and I am very happy to work with him in this movie.
"We helped each other in so many scenes.”
How did she prepare for her role as a street walker?
“Naku, ang daming beses naming nag-meeting ni Direk about my role before we started shooting.
"Nag-immerse din ako sa Angeles and we’re able to visit the actual walking street where the walkers get their customers and where we also shot the film.
"I met an actual walker and she served as my coach. Friend ko na siya ngayon.”
But “Expensive Candy” has another requirement for her.
“Yes, akala ko after ‘ASAP’, tapos na ko sa sayawan but this movie also required me to dance.
"So I had to train with G-force at napasabak ako sa workshop doing sexy dance moves na selling point daw ng movie.
"I’m now excited for the audience to watch this movie at makita nila ang mga ginawa ko.”
“Expensive Candy” is her reunion with Direk JP Laxamana with whom she did the 2019 film, “Between Maybes”, where she got positive reviews and also ignited her romance with Gerald Anderson while they were filming it in Japan.
The common belief is that this is the reason why Gerald resorted to ghosting to dump Bea Alonzo.
So some folks are saying that now that Gerald is shooting a movie with Kylie Padilla in Switzerland, it could be that he might also be ghosting Julia next.
When someone tried to make a hint about this, Julia subtly evaded the issue.
“I’ve always been very private with my personal life,” she declares. “I think with everything that has happened before, I’ve learned to be protective of my personal life.
"So, I’d like to keep that as private as much as possible and I’m just drawing that boundary between work and my personal life.”
But Gerald has already returned from Switzerland and it looks like he and Julia are still sweet to each other, while Kylie simply laughed at the fake news that Gerald got her pregnant while they were shooting.