Alex Gonzaga, Joseph Marco test their box-office clout

Regal Entertainment brings together Alex Gonzaga and Joseph Marco in the romance-comedy “My Rebound Girl” directed by Emmanuel dela Cruz.

Direk Emann is the man behind the award-winning “Sarungbanggi” starring Cannes Best Actress Jaclyn Jose and the comedy flick “Slumber Party,” an entry to Cinema One Originals which featured RK Bagatsing, Archie Alemania and Markki Stroem.

Direk Emman is thankful to Regal Entertainment for entrusting to him “My Rebound Girl” which is the first movie teamup of Alex and Joseph who did several teleseryes together.

The director believes “My Rebound Girl” is the type of rom-com movie that you can watch with your friends and family members as well.

The production went to Benguet to shoot in a coffee plantation since in the movie, the character that Joseph plays owns a coffee plantation.

 “I guess you’d want to make a movie to tell a good story. We have yet to see if Alex and Joseph have the potential to be box-office stars and hold a movie of their own. Just like any producer, Regal wants to do a good movie. We want do a rom-com because it is the ‘in’ thing. You want to do a rom-com because gusto mo kiligin but we also want to bring something to our audience,” said Direk Emman.

 He said he wants to do movies where each character has a specific story. “It’s hard to write a love story because I feel you really have to experience the feeling that your characters are experiencing in the story. You have to be involved in the story yourself. When you watch it onscreen, you will ask ‘Is that really how the characters feel?,” he said.

 “Ang mga writers ko, they fell in love during the writing phase and then they broke up. Kaya organic ang process. Natuwa kami kasi very supportive sina Roselle. Kumbaga, may drama ang rom-com na ito. Based sa story namin tatlo. Habang dine-develop namin may mga pumasok na personal na hugot,” he added.

 Direk Emman added that they didn’t want “My Rebound Girl” to look like a love story done by Antonette Jadaone or Dan Villegas, two directors who have brought us hit rom-coms like “That Thing Called Tadhana” and “#Walang Forever.”

 “We all love this genre. When we did this movie, we want those who love rom-com to love this genre even more. Sa trailer pa lang maganda na so I guess they can sense that both Alex and Joseph play endearing characters.”

 According to Direk Emman, “My Rebound Girl” is story-driven but it asks the question, if you are in love and you know it’s love on a rebound, will you choose it? Or, because you love the person, will you fight for it?

 One thing that makes the movie work so well is the wonderful chemistry of Alex and Joseph, said Direk Emann. “At times, I thought it was a bonus that my actors have chemistry but what surprised me, individually, Alex and Joseph gave so much to the character. And I feel that is one thing that will be appreciated so much by the audience,” he said.

 “Minsan pag naisip mo, rom-com eh ang dami ng rom-com. Magandang pelikula ang gusto kong gawin. Sumakay sila sa idea na iyon. Huwag muna natin isipin kung nakakatawa ito o nakakaiyak. Abangan ninyo ang scene nila sa kama kasi nag-iyakan talaga sila kasi yun ang puso ng movie. Paano kung hindi ka pa naka-move on? Paano mo sasabihin doon sa tao na mahal ka na magtiis dahil magpapaalam ka? Early on makikita mo na yung husay nila.”

How would the director describe Alex and Joseph as actors? “Sobrang committed. Kasi pareho silang galing sa TV. Baka mahirapan ako kasi TV acting pero actually, hindi eh. Magaling sila sa character work kasi galing sila sa soap so kailangan ko na lang gawin is to make it more subtle or ipakita ang ibang aspect ng character. Hindi mo ito kailangan i-act. Iparamdam mo lang sa audience how you feel.”

 “Individually, si Alex, kalog talaga iyan. Kilala ko iyan so parang madali sila parehong katrabaho. Hindi ko sila ma-differentiate kasi magkadikit sila. Pareho silang makapamilya. Pag tapos ng trabaho alam mo they go home to their families. Wala ka iisipin na baka pag dumating ito sa set, baka lasing ito. O baka puyat. Galing man sila sa TV show nila or meron man silang segue, alam mo talaga na trabaho talaga ang una nilang iniisip. Very professional sila.”

 Direk Emman says this movie may not be as big when compared to the rom-com movies done by Star Cinema but this didn’t stop them from making the most of what they have to come up with a good film.

 “When you commit yourself to do a good movie, no matter the obstacle or hardship, you will do your best. We waited for quite a while before deciding if we were going to Benguet to shoot in a coffee plantation because of budget considerations. It was a two-day out-of-town shoot and it was not a simple request. But Regal supported us because they knew the potential of the movie,” shared Direk Emman.

 “My Rebound Girl” opens today in cinemas nationwide.