MANILA, Philippines — Contrary to previous reports, Liza Soberano remains a part of James Reid’s Careless talent management, as confirmed by an insider connected to the company. Fans can look forward to some more career updates from the actress in the days ahead.
It was recently announced that her Hollywood debut film, Lisa Frankenstein, is set for theatrical release on Feb. 9, 2024. It stars Liza with Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, and will be directed by Zelda Williams (daughter of the late Hollywood star Robin Williams).
Liza, who has openly shared her Hollywood aspirations, had previously disclosed to The STAR that her Hollywood endeavors were temporarily postponed due to the ongoing strike by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
Lisa Frankenstein, for one, was supposed to roll into cinemas this year. “Due to the strike, they put it on pause. I had two projects that I auditioned for that I was supposed to get a callback for but then right before the callback happened, the strike happened and so that was also put on hold,” she said in a recent virtual chat.
The actress addressed concerned supporters who have been puzzled by her recent absence from the screen. “I know people have been so confused these past few months… Since the actors’ strike happened, I’ve actually been in the Philippines and just kind of going to Korea back and forth, and Singapore. I would say, I’m currently based in the Philippines just ‘cause I legally cannot act (in the US) because I’m part of the SAG. So, that’s also a reason why I’m not seen acting because I can’t until the actor’s strike is over. Well, technically I can for independent films but to show unity and solidarity with the rest of the SAG actors, it’s just best not to do anything until it’s over and so that’s kind of why I’ve been so quiet about my acting.”
In the meantime, she’s directing her focus towards her business ventures.
“That’s kind of where we are right now and that’s why I’m really focusing on creating my production company and doing everything ‘cause those are things that I can actually do (now).”
When she’s not abroad, her typical day in the country follows this routine: “I usually wake up at around 7:30 and I go to the office. Our office is based in Makati and I just work there all throughout the day. It’s kind of like an office job honestly, from like 9 a.m. to sometimes, I end late, because I’m the type of person that enjoys working. Like, if I’m not doing anything, I feel like I’m wasting time and so I genuinely just enjoy being there and just like figuring stuff out, coming up with new ideas for things like content and stuff.”
She added, “I’ve been trying to get into my fitness prime. I’ve been working out and just focusing on my health in general and then I make time for my family on the weekend.”
Her current entrepreneurial pursuits, especially the production company, are a major factor of her frequent travels between the Philippines and Korea, apart from filming the 15-part travel series, Liza in Korea Season 1, produced by the South Korean company JJ Global Group. The seventh episode, which will show Liza going on a food trip, airs tonight at 8 on the PHH TV’s YouTube channel.
“I’ve just been meeting with a lot of different people from different industries, from the business industry, also from show business. I’ve met and made a lot of friends, I would say, in entertainment, which has actually opened my horizons a bit more,” said Liza, who was in Korea at the time of the interview.
“But aside from that, something that I can’t really discuss in much detail is I’m actually working on creating my own production company and my co-production is based in Korea so I come back here pretty often to have meetings about that.”
And thanks to these “wonderful opportunities in the Philippines and abroad,” she said this helped her understand more “why it is that I want or enjoy being an actress” in the first place.
“I realized that it’s because I really love telling stories, I love telling real-life stories and just inspiring people with them. So, I think one thing that I’m kind of leaning towards right now is becoming a producer and director,” she honestly expressed.
“I just have these concepts in mind that like nobody ever gets to hear about and so I was like, why don’t I actually like to give it a try, put some effort into it. So, over the past few months, I’m working on creating my own production company and I’m actually putting in the work, too, ‘cause I know I can’t just produce a movie and call myself a producer. I actually have to learn how the industry works and how to actually be a producer.”
She continued, “It started with me having conversations with some good industry friends like direk Tonet Jadaone and direk Dan Villegas. I actually attended one of his film classes in Ateneo. I’ve only been able to attend one class so far ‘cause I’ve been traveling a lot. But I was really hoping to attend it all throughout the semester but I’m thinking about… I don’t know, hopefully, I can clear up some time in the next few months. I’m really just doubling down on learning how to become a producer and director, and just focusing on that.”
Liza plans to further embrace entrepreneurship via the wellness sector. Her passion in health traces back to her childhood dream of becoming a doctor. But this isn’t her first foray into the health industry; she once owned a wellness spa. Now, she’s gearing up to unveil a new and promising health and wellness-related venture soon.
“I had a brand called Hope Wellness and originally, it was like a wellness spa and I had two locations — one in QC and Alabang. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, we had to close down. We actually tried to hold on to it for as long as we could but it was difficult because we had people that needed to feed their families and as much as possible, we were trying to keep them and hold on to them,” she said.
“But then we realized we were kind of bleeding, too, as a company and so we had to make the tough decision to close down. That also allowed me to kind of reflect on the business and really think about it. I do love spas and I still really love that business of mine but I realized it wasn’t really a sustainable one.
“As an entrepreneur, I’m still learning and that was a good experience for me but now, when we closed it, I started thinking that I wanna make more of a health-related company. Something that focuses more on medical diagnostics and stuff. I’m actually launching that pretty soon.”
Meanwhile, in the midst of her entrepreneurial journey, Liza reflected on some lessons she had picked up along the way. She recognized the role that analytics and data play in the business landscape. Plus, drawing from her past experiences with family-run ventures, she acknowledged the merit of seeking expert guidance.
“I think it’s that analytics and data is everything. ‘Cause with my businesses before they were more family businesses and there’s nothing wrong with doing family businesses, it’s just that none of us were experts in any of our lanes. Because of that, we didn’t know how to properly run the business. Because we wanted to just keep it to ourselves, not because we were greedy or anything, it’s just that we wanted to work together as a family, and kind of grow and learn together as a family. But then, we realized we could have used the help of actual professionals,” Liza shared.
“I also learned that when it comes to businesses, ‘cause as a public figure, I thought public perception when it comes to businesses is everything. And so I was the type of business woman that like I wouldn’t compromise on anything. Like every little detail had to be run by me. And I realized that I just have to let the professionals do their thing and kind of… even if it’s not something that I think is cool enough for my branding or something that I would personally choose, if the data say that is what we do best for the business, then I just have to trust the experts.”