Toni hopes for theatrical release of My Sassy Girl Phl remake
MANILA, Philippines — Toni Gonzaga recently shared an update about the Philippine remake of the 2001 South Korean film My Sassy Girl.
Toni plays the title role originated by Korean superstar Jun Ji-hyun (My Love From The Star, Legend of Blue Sea, Kingdom: Ashin of the North) in the hit romantic-comedy that also starred Cha Tae-hyun as the love interest. Actor-comedian Pepe Herrera is the leading man in the Filipino version.
Directed by Fifth Solomon, the movie is being co-produced under the actress-host’s TinCan Films, a production unit under her director-husband Paul Soriano’s independent film company Ten17P.
“Tapos na siya. The dream is to air it in cinemas. That’s the goal for My Sassy Girl. But so far we have finished filming,” Toni told The STAR in a virtual one-on-one.
“That’s also something that I’m really looking forward to when the world is okay. Sana mapapanood siya sa mga sinehan kasi ang ganda ng material, ang ganda ng story and it’s also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original (film).”
Asked how she got the part and the rights to make the adaptation, Toni said that it was Viva big boss Vic del Rosario who made it possible. Viva Films has been identified in reports as the distributor and local franchise holder.
“Si Boss Vic ang tumawag kay Paul. It’s really an offer from Viva. I remember, we were on the bed when he called, umalis lang si Paul, pumunta sa CR tapos pagbalik niya, sabi niya, ‘I just had a phone call with Boss Vic del Rosario of Viva, and then they’re saying they’re gonna get the rights of My Sassy Girl, if you will be willing to do it,’” said the 37-year-old actress, who has a string of rom-com hits herself (You Are The One, My Amnesia Girl, Starting Over Again, You’re My Boss).
My Sassy Girl has been Toni’s dream project ever since she watched the film in 2006 while doing the Star Cinema rom-com You Are The One with Sam Milby. Its director Cathy Garcia-Molina then told Toni to make the feisty lead character her “acting peg” in the film.
Recalling her reaction to the offer to do the local adaptation, Toni further shared, “Di pa ako naniwala (laughs). Siempre minsan isipin mo, ‘Tigilan mo nga ako Paul, grabe ka, ‘wag mo ako paasahin sa mga ganyan ganyan mo.’ Siempre aasa ka talaga di ba? That’s a dream project. Kaya lang di ka umaasa until eventually, Paul said, ‘Do you want to do it?’ I said, of course, that’s a dream project, that’s a dream role. Hanggang nag-usap na sila, hanggang sa nagko-prod sa TinCan, ay talagang ewan ko paano nangyari ang lahat. That’s a dream project.”
In a separate interview with Toni and Paul for their PLDT Home endorsement deal, the latter said that they’re taking their time with the film’s post-production.
They recently did the dubbing, while Toni and Pepe also recorded the theme song.
“As of the latest update, the movie is in post-production but done shooting. We’re really taking our time in the post-production because we wanna make it great and it’s a film that even me, personally, was such a wonderful experience to make,” the filmmaker said.
“In terms of release date, we don’t know yet,” added direk Paul. “We’re waiting for cinemas. In terms of the original stars, of course, there’s a pandemic now and we’re observing the situation but that’s definitely part of the plan (to meet them in person).”
For her part, Toni is just happy that they were able to finish shooting the film amidst the pandemic situation, especially as it required MRT scenes.
“I’m just really happy that we were able to do the film despite, you know, the situation that we have and the pandemic, and to just pull off the scenes of yung mga MRT. That was really challenging at the same time exciting, also kasi iba yung set-up, kasi iba yung feel being on the set doing this movie and the grandness of it. I think we’re able to stay true to the core of the story of Sassy Girl. We’re really excited. We’re hoping that it can open in cinemas,” Toni said.
My Sassy Girl was ranked as South Korea’s highest-grossing comedy of all time when it was released two decades ago. It also became a huge hit across Asia — Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia — and was credited for helping spread the Korean pop culture wave, also known as Hallyu. It then launched Jun Ji-hyun, now one of Korea’s highest-paid actors, to stardom.
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