Richard, Marian mark second team-up with passionate kisses

Curtain-raisers:

• Good news for followers of the TV5 show Face To Face: New mom Amy Perez (photo) is returning as host on Monday, April 8. Gelli de Belen did a good job (take a bow, Gelli!) as the replacement during the absence of Amy when she gave birth to her third child Isaiah Joaquin last Jan. 2, her second child by her beloved Carlo Castillo. “He would have been our third child,” said Amy, “had I not suffered a miscarriage.” Amy and Carlo have been together for seven years and they are planning to get married as soon as Amy’s marriage to Brix Ferraris (formerly of South Border, father of Amy’s first child) is annulled. “That’s what Carlo and I have been praying for,” added Amy.
• Confirmed: Guess who’s the big (literally!) Hollywood actor who’s coming in May for the press junket of his latest movie, together with the director Justin Lin. Clue: The actor once went on a date with a Filipina actress when they bumped into each other by chance at a bar in L.A. The actor’s twin brother is married to a Filipina. The STAR has featured the actor twice. During a Hollywood junket, he playfully invited a beauty-queen-turned-TV-host to sit on his lap but she politely said, “No way; I have a boyfriend” (whom she married but eventually separated from).
• Haven’t you noticed that an “imported” model-actor suddenly disappeared from the showbiz scene? Well, he has gone back home where he sired a child with his girlfriend — just when he was saying that he wanted to stay in the Philippines for good after he won a big amount in a TV contest. Incidentally, did you know that his colleague and kababayan, tagged as a “heartthrob,” is very much married?

Last seen in a movie (Regal Films’ My Best Friend’s Girlfriend) five years ago and in a TV show (GMA’s Extra Challenge) recently, Richard Gutierrez and Marian Rivera are back together in a movie, Regal Films/GMA Films’ My Lady Boss (showing nationwide starting on Wednesday, April 10).

“Naging masaya ang samahan namin ni Marian,” said Richard, “and we’re comfortable and relaxed with each other. We can laugh together even after shooting a dramatic scene. We can talk about everything. She’s professional and she loves her job, even if she lacked sleep. Ang taas ng energy niya; I don’t know where she got it.”

Returning Richard’s compliment, Marian added, “For the first time, pumayag na akong makipag-kissing kay Richard, not just once or twice but many times…maraming takes. We don’t hide anything from each other, napaka-open namin sa lahat ng bagay. By that, I mean lahat ng puwede namin pag-usapan.”

In the romance-dramedy directed by Jade Castro, Marian plays a strict lady boss referred to by her employees as “Queen of Hell,” and Richard plays Marian’s assistant brand manager. At odds in the beginning, they end up as lovers.

Of course, everybody knows that Marian and Richard are both spoken for, she with Dingdong Dantes and he with, well, with a girl who’s miles away and making Richard oh-so lovesick. (Is she going to surprise Richard with a special gift when she comes back before end of the year?)

They are like Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon, and John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo whose love team clicks even if their romance is make-believe, credibly so. It’s the chemistry and the kilig factor, yes!

“Before, pa-smack-smack lang,” Richard said about his and Marian’s kissing scene in their first movie. “Now, our love scenes are more passionate, more daring.”

Asked how many kissing scenes they have in My Lady Boss, Richard said, “Di ko mabilang.”

“Basta marami,” volunteered Marian, “kasi gusto ni direk Jade shot from different angles, kaya paulit-ulit.”

It’s presumed that neither of them has to ask the permission of their respective partners.

“Once the cameras start rolling,” explained Marian, “siempre, hindi na ako si Marian at si Richard hindi na si Richard. We are already the characters we are playing.”

Incidentally, Richard and Marian spent the Holy Week apart from each other, understandably. Richard was in Cebu with the rest of the Gutierrezes and they helped campaign for his mom, Annabelle Rama, who’s running for congress. Marian and Dingdong were in Japan where they visited all the places they had been wanting to see, including seeing the ephemeral Cherry Blossoms (Sakura) in full bloom.

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