AT THE PRESSCON: YASMIEN KURDI, ALDEN RICHARDS, BEA ALONZO, JERIC GONZALEZ
‘START UP PH’ is really special for GMA-7 as they hosted a big presscon-preview of the show’s pilot.
For the press, a Q&A with the stars was first held then, in the screening at Robinsons Galleria, they invited the fans of Alden and Bea who were screaming with glee each time their idols would appear on screen.
The pilot episode is quite impressive. It has classy, glossy production values and it’s obvious GMA left no stone unturned for it to match the success of the Korean original.
Both Alden and Bea are extremely good looking on screen and those who say they don’t have good chemistry should watch the show to see that they do look very good together.
They are ably supported by Yasmien Kurdi as Bea’s estranged sister, Jeric Gonzales as the guy Alden asked to pretend to be him, Gina Alajar as their understanding Lola Joy, Jackielou Blanco as the owner of the Sandbox company that helps young entrepreneurs,
Lovely Rivero and Nino Muhlach as the parents of Jeric, Boy2 Quizon and Royce Cabrera as the best friends of Jeric, Gabby Eigenmann as Yasmien’s evil stepdad, Kevin Santos as Alden’s assistant, Ayen Munji and Neil Sese as Bea and Yasmien’s parents, plus Kim Domingo and Tim Yap.
Alden plays Tristan or Good Boy in “Start-Up PH” and some folks are wondering because in the original Korean version, Good Boy is just the second lead as he’s someone who is quite cold and distant, which is far from Alden in real life as he’s always warm and easy going.
“Kaya nga nagustuhan ko kasi it’s something new for me,” he says.
“In my past shows, usually, ako yung kawawang-kawawa, naaapi sa simula. E, dito sa ‘Start-Up PH’, masungit na agad ang character ko.
"But I like Good Boy kasi kahit gaano siya ka-cold at mukhang suplado, deep inside, he has a good heart. Nag-enjoy naman ako na magmukhang masungit.”
He quickly qualified that his character is not really a bad guy.
“It’s just that meron siyang problem on how to express himself in a more cordial manner kasi ang dami niyang pinagdaanang challenge nung bata pa siya.
"He finds it hard to express himself kaya hindi siya showy sa emotions niya at nami-misinterpret tuloy siya ng mga tao.”
He adds that in the local version of “Start-Up”, Good Boy will be more lovable.
“Mas malalim yung hugot ni Good Boy, e. Our writers, mas pinalalim nila ang character ni Good Boy rito, as played by Marco Masa as a young boy.
"Mas madetalye ang background niya, unlike sa Korean version na pinadaanan lang in passing yung mga ibang detalye. Nabigyang linaw ang dahilan why Good Boy is behaving that way when he grew up.”
“Start-Up” became a worldwide hit when shown in 2020. It follows a group of young entrepreneurs who all have their own big dreams to have successful business careers.
It tackles such valid themes like hard work, getting over your humble beginning, love and heartbreak.
The show has two top directors no less, Jerry Sineneng and Dominic Zapata. How is it working with them?
“It’s fantastic working with them kasi parang two great directors, nagkaroon ng alignment in their goal to make our show work. They’re both very collaborative.
"We’re all so happy kasi lahat kami sa cast, staff and crew, nagtutulungan. There was an alignment of our visions and inputs to make ‘Start-Up Ph’ a really beautiful experience for all our viewers.
"Talagang napakasarap sa pakiramdam and we’re all proud of our work.”
The show will start showing on September 16 at 8:50 PM, right after “Lolong”. “What We Could Be” would be shown right after it.
