Direk Ted impressed with VKJ stars

MANILA, Philippines - Director Theodore “Ted” Boborol said the apprehensions he had for the filming of Vince & Kath & James (VKJ), with Joshua Garcia, Julia Barretto and Ronnie Alonte starring in it, disappeared as soon as they started shooting. Vince & Kath & James is Star Cinema’s entry to this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

“At first, it was really unexpected to be included in the filmfest because when Star Cinema assigned me to do VKJ, the aim was to launch the film careers of the three actors,” direk Ted told The STAR after the presscon of the movie that is set to open on Dec. 25. “But, of course, the challenge is in their being newcomers and they are not established yet as a loveteam. So nanggigil kaming apat kasi we wanted to prove to Star Cinema and to everyone that we deserved the break. When the management saw the rushes, I think they liked them so they submitted it for the filmfest.”

Coming from several hit movies and TV series — the last being Be My Lady — direk Ted added that his apprehensions made him ask himself if the bosses were sure about pushing through with the project knowing that the Kapamilya movie arm usually prefers popular actors or established loveteams as topbillers. “This one is different, they believed in the three new stars and gambled on them so, in a way, I told myself that I should also believe in them at ‘yun ‘yung chinallenge ko sa tatlo when we first met.”

His first directive to the three stars was to show their ability to act. “I told them, ‘Wala pa tayong napatunayan, tayong apat dahil ako baguhan lang din na direktor at kayo first film roles n’yo ito, so let’s prove to everyone that we are capable of coming out with a very good film.’” They didn’t disappoint. Direk Ted was impressed. The three came to the set well-prepared; his fear that he might have a hard time working with them instantly disappeared. “I was surprised. They are newcomers yet I saw in them the passion (for the craft) and I was very thankful for the smooth work flow.”

They finished the shoot in 20 days. It helped that everyone involved in the movie was focused on his role. Direk Ted shared the relaxed atmosphere on the set helped the actors get into their characters. There was rapport between Joshua and Julia. “Their chemistry is perfect meaning hindi daya; hindi fake. It was so real and maybe that’s what the selection committee members also saw and that the movie is very sincere in its storytelling.”

Vince & Kath & James is derived from the hit online romantic series titled Vince & Kath written by Jenny Almocera. The original online series presented its plot in the form of screenshots of text messages between its main characters making it viral and popular social-serye to countless online readers. Star Cinema acquired the rights to the series and decided to add a twist by including James as one of the main characters in the movie version. Joshua plays Vince, Julia is Kath and Ronnie is James.

Direk Ted revealed they had no acting workshop prior to the start of shooting. But Joshua, Julia and Ronnie sat down with him for a one-on-one session. “I asked them a few questions and the writers were also there. Then from there, binuo namin ‘yung characters because I wanted the whole process to be collaborative. In the first place kasi I am not a millennial; sila ‘yun so gusto ko as a director who believes in the concept of living set, meaning everything could possibly change after seeing the location, it is a must to collaborate with the actors. That’s what I learned from one of my mentors, direk Marilou Diaz-Abaya, and I am applying it now as a director. In a way, it also encourages actors to be more passionate of the craft and share their ideas.

“That’s why, ang dami kong mga first impression na na-break once we started shooting. Their heart and mind are open and ready to embrace anything.” All three have learned to supply the right emotion to their characters.

“At first, I felt there’s this wall in Julia so I told her she should be true to herself. I mean in acting kasi, one should be natural in order to act out the role convincingly. Actually, Julia said in one of her interviews na sinabi ko sa kanya na bawal maging maarte at simple lang dapat and I’m glad that she listened to me. I really saw the gigil and passion in her during our first taping day.”

Equally passionate with acting are Ronnie and Joshua. In fact, the latter received praises from the MMFF screening committee member May Paner a.k.a. Juana Change and head Nicanor Tiongson. Paner was impressed with Joshua’s acting that she even predicted him to be the next Piolo Pascual. Tiongson, on the other hand, commented that he was amazed by Joshua’s intelligent acting and his ability to shift emotions.

Would Joshua be nominated for Best Actor?

“Whether he wins or not, for me, Joshua is my best actor because as a young actor, sobrang lalim ng hugot n’ya, sobrang napakatotoo n’ya at sobrang dedicated at passionate n’ya sa acting,” direk Ted said.