STAR Cinema has been in a bid to bring back the glorious days when lovers ruled the silver screen. In the old days, “it” couples like Rogelio dela Rosa and Carmen Rosales, Gloria Romero and Luis Gonzalez and Susan Roces and Eddie Gutierrez dominated the movie scene.
The “love team” lives
on with stars like
John Lloyd Cruz and
Bea Alonzo, who
star in the film
Now That I Have You.
In previous products like Kung Ako Na Lang Sana, the producers at Star Cinema have been “experimenting” on this loveteam genre by casting major stars as unlikely couples. For instance, in Kung Ako Na Lang Sana, Aga Muhlach was paired with Sharon Cuneta for the first time. Kailangan Kita, on the other hand, had Muhlach romancing Claudine Barretto. In All My Life, it was Kristine Hermosa that Muhlach chased.
Piolo Pascual has long been identified with Judy Ann Santos but he co-starred with Claudine Barretto in Milan. In Tanging Ina, Ai-Ai de las Alas didn’t have one but three leading men—Tonton Gutierrez, Jestoni Alarcon and Edu Manzano.
Casting directors are still at it. At present, they’re grooming John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo as the next “it” couple. The two young actors had first worked together in the TV soaps Kay Tagal Kitang Hinintay and It Might Be You. They were also one of the two featured pairs in My First Romance. The other couple was John Prats and Heart Evangelista.
With Now That I Have You, currently showing in theaters, Cruz and Alonzo get to headline their own movie. The film puts the so-called “loveteam”—and movie loveteams in general—to the box-office test. Directed by Laurenti Dyogi (he directed Muhlach in All My Life) and penned by Jose Javier Reyes, the movie has the stars meeting on an MRT train on their way to work.
According to ABS-CBN, both Cruz and Alonzo proved to have chemistry and audience appeal in the network’s previous projects. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be betting a fortune on Now That I Have You. For director Laurenti Dyogi, he says making the movie was very fulfilling. He had directed the pair in a soap and since then had hoped to direct the couple for the big screen. “Sa akin nagsimula ang loveteam nila, so I feel responsible for them. John had already done other shows but with Bea, I really molded her. The two are actually my babies,” he said.
Yet surprisingly the stars themselves admitted the sparks didn’t fly when they first met. They didn’t feel comfortable with each other, they claimed.
“John Lloyd would keep to himself in one corner during taping breaks,” recalled Alonzo. “He was such a loner.”
Cruz was reportedly dating the actress Ciarra Sotto at the time he first worked with Alonzo. He admitted that Alonzo helped him get over that relationship. “I’m more open now. I feel more comfortable with her now. I guess we have found our common wavelength,” he told the press.
Source: Manila Times, Aug 12 2004
Submitted by: Sabrina
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