Bela Padilla's '366' film was supposed to star Liza Soberano

ZAMBALES, Philippines — Kapamilya actress Bela Padilla revealed that her directorial debut film "366" was supposed to star Liza Soberano.

In a virtual conference of her movie, Bela said she asked ABS-CBN about Liza's schedule but she was dong the series "Make It With You."

"I required Liza Soberano for this. I even came to a point where I asked for her schedule already. She was doing a TV show at that time. I think it was ‘Make It With You,'" Bela said.

"When the pandemic started, a lot of actors didn’t want to work. Mahirap naman na biglang sasabak sa bubble, sa shooting life. Hindi ko pinilit ang original vision ko for this film," she added, noting that Liza didn't finished the series because of fear of the coronavirus.

Viva's big boss Vic del Rosario then told her to star in her own fim.

“When Boss Vic and Boss Vincent (del Rosario) said, ‘Ikaw na rin ang gumawa ng project na ‘to,’ I didn’t think twice. The last four to five years, there were already many people who were telling me to direct already. I guess, in a sense, hindi ko pa siya gustong gawin noong unang sinabi sa akin. Ang dami pang dumadating na blessings. May mga pelikula pa at TV shows na ina-assign sa akin. Siyempre, more than anything, I’m still an actress before I am a writer or a director," Bela said.

“Lagi kong inuuna ang mga binibigay sa akin na acting assignments. But when the pandemic started, doon ko lang talaga siya napag-isipan ng seryoso. Bakit nga hindi? Obviously, marami tayong mga kasama sa industry na walang trabaho. Naisip namin to start shooting even this pandemic,” she added.

Bela then revised the script because Liza can't make it.

“Originally, I wanted ‘366’ to be shot in Budapest, Hungary. 90% of the film was supposed to be shot in Budapest. I had to change that," she said.

“Lumipat kami sa Turkey. It was one of the free countries that allowed visitors and filmmakers to shoot. It was just a blessing in disguise. If you saw the trailer, very cinematic ang Turkey. Napaka-virtually pleasing naman when we shot in Turkey. We were very lucky to shoot on the months that we did. Ang ganda-ganda. We shot in Cappadocia," she added.

Bela then said that she wants to work with Liza in the future.

"Liza and I are in different stages in our lives. I gave a different interpretation and performance than she would have given. I still love to work with her, though. Maybe one day, that will still happen," she said.

“I do believe whoever ends up with the project is the one meant to be for the project. This has happened to me so many times. This is not a secret. ‘100 Tula Para Kay Stella’ wasn’t meant for me, but now, it’s one of the films I really love. Whoever ended up doing the project, it is really meant for them,” she added.