Is James ready for more ‘solo’ projects?

MANILA, Philippines — James Reid has gone “solo” in his upcoming film Miss Granny, working without his perennial love team partner, Nadine Lustre.

Prior to starring in the Viva Films-produced comedy-drama, the 25-year-old star said that he has been onscreen partners with Nadine for roughly five years. They’ve been a real-life couple for two years now.

“I’ve done movies without Nadine before. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that though,” James told The STAR in the one-on-one interview on Tuesday at Seda Hotel in Quezon City to promote Miss Granny, which opens in theaters on Aug. 22.

“I was nervous at first because I was comfortable having her on the set. For how many years, it was just the two of us, together every day so… (But) I got used to it. It just felt weird at first not having Nadine around,” he added.

Asked if his newest film signals the start of more individual projects for JaDine, or as fans call their popular love team, James said, “We’ll see. Right now, she’s shooting another movie without me. Then after this, I’m doing Pedro Penduko. Actually, she’s going to be part of it… We just let things evolve as we go. We give each other mutual support.”

Directed by Joyce Bernal, Miss Granny is the Philippine adaptation of the South Korean blockbuster of the same title, which has also spawned other — and equally successful — versions in China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Germany, et al.

In the film, James is Jeboy, the aspiring musician grandson of Nova Villa’s character, the 70-year-old pensioner Fely who magically transforms into her 20-year-old self as Audrey, played by Sarah Geronimo.

James can easily relate to his Miss Granny character, who is pursuing music dreams

“My role here is Jeboy. His nickname is Jebs (laughs). It’s a very smelly name but that’s the point. And he’s the apo of Tita Nova (Villa). When she becomes Audrey, she joins his band, a heavy metal rock band, and then, he changes everything, their looks and their sound (into pop). It’s also really funny, their relationship ‘cause Jeboy is falling for her, but she knows that she’s my lola, so it’s really funny and awkward.”

To prepare for his role, James watched the original film. “That’s the first thing I did,” he said, adding that the whole movie is “Filipinized… The script itself is very similar to the original. It’s just that some themes were made more Filipino, like in terms of (the relationship with) family and loved ones.”

Miss Granny differs from his previous big-screen projects in the sense that “I mean, this is not a rom-com, this is more of a comedy. There’s no real romance here.”

What does he like (or dislike) about his latest film role? “I can’t really say there’s nothing I like about him, or I can’t really say I don’t like this, because his flaws make him real. So, as he grows, he becomes better. Things that I don’t like about him or things people won’t like about him make him good,” he answered.

Nevertheless, James can readily relate to Jeboy “because he’s a musician and I’m also a musician.” And his character, he added, develops from someone who doesn’t know what to do with himself to one who pursues his dream to be a songwriter. “The challenge in every role is to really get across the character’s message to the audience. In here, it’s about realizing his dreams and realizing what he’s supposed to be.”

In real life, James is realizing his own music dreams as well. He’s CEO of the music label Careless Music Manila. And under his record company, he financed, executive-produced and wrote all of the songs on his 2017 album Palm Dreams, including the single Cool Down which became a huge hit on the radio and MYX music charts.

“We have several artists now, seven artists. We’re making a mixtape and we’re releasing it this September. It’s just a lot of songs, from pop, R&B, to hip-hop and trance. It’s pretty broad. Some of the songs I’ve released already. I’m really excited, it’s something I’m into for a while,” James said.

“I really just want to develop my music. I want to see a change in the mainstream music... to see it evolve. I’m happy to be part of it.”