Marvin & Jolina reunited

MANILA, Philippines - ABS-CBN is bringing Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal back together via the drama series Flor de Liza that is set to premiere this month. The two were among the most popular Kapamilya loveteams in the ’90s with several box-office hits to their credit.

At a pocket presscon held recently, series director Wenn Deramas said he didn’t expect to work with Marvin and Jolina once again after having directed them a long time ago. The director was behind Kung Ikaw Ay Isang Panaginip, Jolina’s last movie under the Kapamilya film outfit.

“Some people thought that everything was pre-meditated because I posted on Instagram how much I missed Jolens after I got to watch (again) our last movie, Kung Ikaw Ay Isang Panaginip,” direk Wenn said. “Well, I can proudly say that even if it was my third movie, it was my favorite among the stories I have written and directed.”

Direk Wenn further said that he truly missed working with Jolina. He recalled that Jolina was always on the set ahead of schedule and very professional. “So nami-miss ko yung (mga ganong) ginagawa namin; ‘yun pala papunta na kami doon. Tapos nagmo-Moron (5.2, movie under Viva Films) kami ni Marvin, so ang ganda-ganda na parang nakialam ang universe sa pagsasama-sama naming tatlo.”

Asked how the two stars landed their roles in Flor de Liza, the director said that after he laid down his concept during a board meeting, Kapamilya executives Charo Santos-Concio, Linggit Tan and director Lauren Dyogi right away gave his idea their stamp of approval and “they suggested Marvin and Jolina to take on lead characters.”

Jolina, who recently signed a two-year exclusive contract with ABS-CBN, expressed excitement over her first TV project. “Ngayon lang ulit ako full-time sa soap.”

As for Marvin, the actor shared that Linggit phoned him and requested for a meeting. “I told Miss Linggit that we can meet by next week since it was already a Wednesday when we talked, but she asked if it’s possible for us to meet the following day since I will be doing a shoot na daw next week.”

The Marvin-Jolina tandem first appealed to televiewers when they partnered in the youth-oriented show Gimik portraying the roles of Joey and Ese. They also appeared as a loveteam in Esperanza, Flames: The Movie, Kung Ayaw Mo ‘Wag Mo, Hey Babe, Labs Kita and Gimik: The Reunion. They went on separate ways when Jolina transferred to another network while Marvin concentrated more on his restaurant businesses. Both are now parents: Jolina has baby Pele with husband Mark Escueta while Marvin is dad to nine-year-old twins Sebastian and Santiago.

In Flor de Liza, Marvin and Jolina will play more mature roles but direk Wenn assured they will still incorporate kilig moments that will bring back the sweet memories of their loveteam. “Of course, their growth and maturity as actors will be more visible.”

Does the reunion show put any pressure on Marvin and Jolina?

“I don’t want to give in to pressure. I just want to enjoy this more than anything else because I had already experienced what it’s like to work under pressure, wherein things have to be like this or that, to the point of losing that wonderful feeling of being an actor. Now, I have learned to relax when I act and I’m enjoying it more,” Marvin replied.

Jolina agreed by saying that acting won’t definitely turn out good when pressure gets in the way. “”Yun siguro ang secret ng loveteam namin, di kami nag-papadala sa pressure. All we need is to trust each other whenever we do scenes together.”

Also in the cast of Flor de Liza are Desiree del Valle, Elizabeth Oropesa, Juan Rodrigo, Tetchie Agbayani, Carlo Aquino, Edward Mendes, Lemuel Pelayo, Joey Paras, Rhed Bustamante and Ashley Sarmiento.