Julia ready for her ‘moment’

MANILA, Philippines - Julia Montes is excited at turning 18 very soon and is planning to celebrate it with a fairytale-themed debut party.

“I will have a debut party. (It will have a) fairytale theme, Cinderella-type. I just want to feel like a princess for once,” Julia said during a recent presscon for the Star Cinema movie A Moment In Time, which reunites her with her Walang Hanggan loveteam partner Coco Martin.

As we know, a debut can be a big deal for many a young Filipina, and Julia is no different. What she looks forward to the most when she becomes 18 “is seeing all the people special to me, supporting me on that big day. For me, it’s the first big event in the life of a woman and I’m excited to experience that.”

Also at the presscon of her first movie with Coco as a follow-up to their tandem on the hit ABS-CBN soap, Julia was cornered into asking Coco to be her official escort.

Coco said that he’s been hearing talk from common friends that Julia has been considering on getting him as her escort.

Julia shyly confirmed that she has not directly asked Coco “because I don’t know if he’s free on that day because he’s so busy.”

“Actually, I’m also expecting to be asked,” Coco said, then teasing Julia, “If I’m going to be your escort, there’s a possibility na maging tayo.”

With that, both Coco and Julia were asked if their wide age gap is getting in the way of any real-life romantic possibility. Coco, who’s in his early 30s, said that Julia is, indeed, still young. When pressed for more comment, he also admitted that “sa haba ng pagsasama ninyo (on the set), hindi masamang ma-in-love. It’s impossible not to have some feelings. When Walang Hanggan ended, honestly, (I was hoping) that I would do a movie with Julia because I still wanted to spend time with her.”

Co-star Gabby Concepcion, who plays the father of Julia in A Moment In Time, then jokingly asked Coco what are the chances of him pursuing Julia. In answer, Coco mused, “Tayo ay paabang-abang lang, kumbaga waiting for the right time.”

Co-star Cherie Gil also offered her observation of the two. “I have to say though that behind-the-scenes, they have a very wholesome camaraderie; they’re like bestfriends.”

Julia admitted that Coco is her closest guy friend at the moment. She said she also likes how Coco treats her grandmother, who was the one who raised Julia. “I don’t know if my lola approves of him (as a potential suitor) but Coco is close to my lola maybe because he was also raised by his lola.”  

Julia also said that just because she’s turning 18 (the age when one is usually allowed to formally accept suitors), it doesn’t mean she’s ready for a relationship. “I don’t know if I’m ready to enter into a relationship...(It will happen) in God’s perfect time.”

If she were to be wooed though, she likes the traditional way — written love letters and the harana.   

She understands that when a person is in a relationship, one gets distracted. Can she afford to be distracted at her age and with her career becoming more promising than ever? “If ever my attention gets diverted, it has to be (for) the right person.”

Julia has been lately playing characters older than her actual age. Is she still open to doing teenager roles?  

“I’m still open but for me, the way I look at it, I think I’m given mature roles because (they’re) challenging…In Walang Hanggan my role got married. So, I don’t think it will be believable if I still do really teenager characters. But I think it’s going to stay at this level. I don’t think it will get any more mature than this.”

In A Moment In Time, Julia is Jillian, the object of Patrick’s (Coco) affection. They accidentally meet during one train ride, and Patrick is smitten right away and pulls out all stops in expressing his feelings even if unrequited (at first!). Conflicts arise that will send the two on their separate ways, leading the story through scenic scenes shot in Amsterdam and Paris.

A Moment In Time is helmed by Emmanuel “Manuel” Palo as his first mainstream movie. (He directed Coco in the 2012 Cinemalaya indie film Sta. Nina, which recently won the major award at the 17th International Film Festival of Kerala in India.)

A Moment In Time also features seasoned actors Gabby and Cherie as the loving and wealthy parents of Jillian, who will do everything to protect their daughter and want only what’s best for her.

Interestingly, the movie “resurrects” the ‘80s pairing of Cherie and Gabby, and this time, “I’m no longer the kontrabida,” Cherie said with a laugh. “I’m now the wife, finally! We’re even holding hands in the film. Just no kissing scene!”

Cherie related that Gabby is a family friend even way back, and that they entered showbiz at the same time and then did several movies together. “So, we’re very comfortable with each other.”

Also appearing in the film are Zsa Zsa Padilla, Ella Cruz and Joseph Marco.

A Moment In Time hits cinemas nationwide on Wednesday, Feb. 13.