More than luck
MANILA, Philippines - When you look at both Jericho Rosales and Bela Padilla, the term “beautiful” comes to mind much more naturally than anything else. Rosales is as handsome as ever — his boyish good looks punctuated by that killer smile and those dimples that have carved helpless dents into young girls’ hearts for years; and Padilla, with her alabaster skin and long, raven hair, destined for wind machines and long, languid gazes. It is often the curse of the beautiful, because God and nature are just that, they are destined to be mainly that: beautiful, and not much else. But with Padilla and Rosales, it seems that the heavens had other plans in mind.
Rosales and Padilla top bill a film in theaters now, the Dan Villegas-directed Luck At First Sight. It is the story of two polar, headstrong opposites: Rosales’ Joma is a gambler and true believer in every manner of luck, and in his quest for a “life charm,” runs into Padilla’s skeptical Diane. The two, both in the midst of managing difficult personal circumstances, come to find that whenever they touch, magical things happen. It is slated to be an unconventional romantic comedy that just barely makes it into the genre, but is hoping to deliver something different than your usual formulaic cinematic experience.
And if we’re talking about things being different, few things are more unique than a film’s lead actress having a huge stake in the development pie. The animal that is now Luck At First Sight was actually initially Padilla’s concept, not the kind of thing one expects from an ingénue, especially in the local film industry. “I try to use what I do as an advantage,” says Padilla. “I hear people say, ‘It’s unfair, because she writes scripts and she comes up with concepts.’ And I think it’s unfair if I can and I won’t use it to my advantage. I get TV work that I like, but I want to work in films also, and since I don’t get the right material for films that I love, that moves me: I make my own. And I don’t make my own just for myself; I make it for my friends, and I would like to hope that one day I get to make jobs for other people as well.”
It’s quite a different attitude to what we’re used to seeing from so many actresses who have run the gamut, mostly at the mercy of an industry that makes or infinitely crushes thousands of dreams a day. How often does one come across one like Padilla, who comes right out and says, “Do I just wait at home for the right script, or do I write the script if I can?” Her involvement in Luck At First Sight’s development also allowed her to cherry pick her co-star, and, having been an admirer of his work, Padilla named Rosales. (I mean, wouldn’t you?)
Rosales, on the other hand, was very keen to work with Padilla because she was contributing to the film in more ways than one. The project also reunited him with Dan Villegas, under whose direction Rosales took home the Best Actor award at the 2015 Metro Manila Film Fest for the picture Walang Forever. Villegas, himself a critically acclaimed director of photography as well as a screenwriter, brought a sense of fluidity to the manner of filmmaking that excited a seasoned actor like Rosales. There were no set scripts, actors were asked to improvise certain scenes, and the actual set seemed to come alive, prescribing what was needed for the script pages and what wasn’t in them that needed to be. It was electric.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
“Inabutan ko pa yung 35-millimeter film and shooting in film,” says Rosales. “Wasting film felt so good, and everyone respected that beforehand. Everyone valued that. Everyone wanted to be close to the camera and see what the camera saw. One day, I entered a set and the cameras were so small, and everyone was moving so fast, but no one knew what was happening. Walang plan, walang may alam kung anong mangyayari sa shoot today — everyone was lost, and I didn’t want to be an actor that day. I felt so bad about the industry. But now, you see how passionate people are, and I just keep thinking about Dan Villegas. He’s so passionate about filmmaking. He’s a romantic, he loves it, and you can see it in his eyes.”
When asked if they believe whether luck has figured into their personal successes, they simultaneously frown, saying it’s not of their belief. Rosales says that being an actor is mostly about preparation and being open to opportunities that are bound to come. “I believe in your purpose as an artist. What kind of films you want to be a part of, what stories you want to be involved with, then work will come. You have to set a goal for yourself and work hard, always think about other people, and the good stuff will come back to you.”
Padilla, at 25, has a slightly more ambitious slant. “I would like to believe that I’m here because I worked my ass off. You pay your dues, you get somewhere. You do the work, don’t complain, be professional. (They say) your last project is your calling card. You do well, and you hope it gets into the right hands for your next project.” She adds, “That’s what I want other girls to think, too. I hear of all these other actresses who say, ‘I want to do this, I want to do that.’ So speak up, so ask how, talk to the right people. I walk into the offices of our bosses in Viva, not knowing if they’re going to slam my projects or ideas, but I try. I don’t want to leave anything for the swim back; I don’t want to wake up when I’m 30 and say, ‘I should’ve done that when I was 25.’”
Waiting Game
Still, Rosales maintains the need to pursue interests outside of his passion for film. He talks about the thing most people don’t discuss when you have a career as storied as Rosales’: that an actor’s life is largely made up of waiting. Rosales says that it was the waiting for projects to come in, waiting for shoots to start, waiting to be called in for work, waiting and waiting for everyone else that would eat him up. “Pag wala kang ibang ginagawa, it diminishes your self-worth, your ability to adapt, your ability to push yourself, your ability to believe that you can do anything and survive this world. Iba yung kung masira lahat ng sinehan at TV sa mundo bukas, kaya mo pang mabuhay.” So these days, he keeps busy with his cool, hipster-bait barbershop in Cubao X called Talas, and maintains a lifestyle site called Mr. Manileño, which has a particular focus on surfing and motorcycles among other things.
Padilla, on the other hand, took nine years to learn that lesson. “Up until last year, I was super obsessed with my work. It’s my 10th year in showbiz this year, but I’ve only been getting good roles for the last three, four years. I was just focused on work; if my call time was 7 a.m. or if it’s 2 p.m., it’s the same thing. I’m just waiting for my call time. But I’ve learned that life is not just all about work, so now if my call time is at 2 p.m., I can go to the gym first. Imagine how long it took me to learn that!” Rosales laughs, but adds in all sincerity, “I believe it’s important to create a balance for yourself and create an atmosphere for yourself that makes you happy.”
Both actors agree that at some point, the work is out of their hands. They do the best that they can, they each bring what personal experience and skill they have to the material, and hope that what they’re able to do communicates something more than what’s up onscreen. They hope to encourage people to step out of their comfort zones and try to do things that require some sort of risk, and see the great rewards; not only as a lesson from the film, but from seeing actors who are also multi-faceted personalities with other passions and interests. It seems, at the end, that these two are more than just beautiful; they’re passionate people who put in the time and the effort to create good, and it’s more than just for personal fulfillment. Padilla, possessing such a soft smile for such a strong will, puts it all in a convenient little nutshell, saying. “I hope that someone out there is helped by our stories, whether personally or in the film. I hope we do something right.”
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Photo by REGINE DAVID
Produced by DAVID MILAN
Makeup by JAKE GALVEZ
Grooming by EJ CARO
Hair by FIDEL TANGO
Bella Padilla’s
Styling by CARVEY SAM
