Why Annabelle Rama got emotional at son Richard Gutierrez’s contract renewal with ABS-CBN

MANILA, Philippines — Richard Gutierrez has expressed his readiness for the “next chapter” at ABS-CBN following his recent contract renewal.

“We’re gonna do bigger, better action series and, hopefully, (venture into) movies. And we’re gonna conquer global platforms,” Richard, who just concluded the twice-extended action series The Iron Heart, elaborated on his vision for the “next chapter” in a separate post-mediacon interview with The STAR.

This marks another three-year exclusive contract for the actor, who will now be under the management of ABS-CBN’s talent management arm, Star Magic.

He confirmed that his upcoming project with ABS-CBN will continue to revolve around action. When asked about any plans to revisit romantic lead roles, he responded, “Right now, my focus is developing my skills and strengths as an actor, and I really enjoy doing action. I really enjoy telling action-packed stories. I think para din siya sa buong pamilya.

“If you do action, you capture the male audience, kuha mo yung mga bata, and you can tell so many different stories with an action series. And you know as an actor, when you watch The Iron Heart, hindi mo naman nakakalimutan yung pagiging romantic lead mo or pagiging dramatic actor mo because you’re telling a story and all the romance and the drama are still part of that, but you’re adding the action element to it… I think the action is the plus in the storytelling.”

Richard expressed his hope to collaborate with fellow artists such as Jodi Sta. Maria, Gerald Anderson, Kim Chiu, the love team of Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano, and reuniting with Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo, whom he previously worked with in La Luna Sangre. He dreams of starring alongside these stars in an ensemble project.

Further discussing his decision to remain with ABS-CBN, Richard stated, “You know, this is actually my third contract with ABS, I’m very happy to be here, I think it’s really about the quality of the content that they produce.”

Richard's mom Annabelle Rama is happy to be co-managing her son's career with Star Magic.

“I think they don’t settle with anything less than good quality programs. Everything is really well thought of, the planning and passion to create something and something new, andyan eh. It stems from the bosses and goes all the way down to the production people.

“And I like being in that environment — (there’s) a healthy competition (among production units) but at the same time, everyone is striving to give their best show. I like that atmosphere.”

He also praised ABS-CBN’s resilience despite the challenges it faced after losing its broadcast franchise three years ago.

“Yes, despite all the challenges of the network, alam naman natin na lahat, ang ABS-CBN ngayon ay nag-pivot at sila ngayon ang forefront in terms of digital content, collaborations and quality, world-class content.

“For me, dun mo makikita yung resilience ng isang company. No matter what the difficulties, the trials are, they were able to pivot and do it successfully. It wasn’t easy to do for a company like ABS-CBN but I like how resilient they are… and they were able to start a new journey and trend in our industry. I like being part of that. There’s a silver lining to all of this.”

Meanwhile, Richard received congratulations from his family, co-stars, and ABS-CBN executives for renewing his contract with the network.

“I’m so happy because talagang I believe this is where you belong,” Ruffa Gutierrez conveyed her sentiment to her younger brother in a video message.

Cory Vidanes, ABS-CBN TV production head, congratulated Richard for the success of The Iron Heart and thanked him and Annabelle for entrusting the actor’s career to ABS-CBN.

“Thank you for keeping our audiences engaged with an excellently made teleserye from beginning to end. Every extension was worth it,” she said.

“I’d like to also thank you for trusting us again with another contract and for valuing us being your Kapamilya. I was witness to how hard you worked for Iron Heart because you really dedicated your heart and soul to the project, you committed to giving the audiences the best, and you did it. So I’m very proud of you.”

Richard Gutierrez has signed another three-year contract with ABS-CBN. He will now be under the management of the Kapamilya talent management arm, Star Magic. He confirmed that his upcoming project will continue to revolve around action.

Cory also extended her gratitude to Annabelle, acknowledging her invaluable support in making the filming of The Iron Heart in Cebu City possible.

“Will you allow me to say thank you to your mom? Tita Annabelle, I’d like to thank you on behalf of the whole production team for your help, for your support of The Iron Heart, we wouldn’t have been able to shoot in a beautiful city like Cebu if not for you. Thank you also for entrusting Richard to Lauren (Dyogi) and to Love (Capulong) as a Star Magic artist. Happy birthday, this is a good birthday gift,” the ABS-CBN executive addressed the veteran talent manager.

“So Richard and Tita Annabelle, thank you for your love and loyalty, we will be forever grateful. Richard, we are looking forward to many more meaningful stories to tell audiences, Filipino and non-Filipino, with you.”

In the separate interview, Richard clarified that his mom, Annabelle, had already semi-retired from managing talents even before the pandemic. She remains a guiding force and support system for him and is officially collaborating with Star Magic and ABS-CBN.

“You know, my mom has been there since the beginning of my career and right now, she entrusted me with Star Magic, and I’m officially a Star Magic artist,” he said.

“My mom is there to help guide and support and collaborate with Star Magic and ABS-CBN. Gaya ng sinabi ni Tita Cory, my mom was a big help for us filming in Cebu City, we shot in Cebu for eight months so ang laking tulong na binigay ng Rama clan sa amin sa Cebu kaya napakita natin ang ganda ng Cebu sa The Iron Heart. So she’s there really as a support system and a guiding factor for everything.”

Annabelle, speaking briefly to The STAR, admitted that she became emotional and speechless during the contract-signing because she was moved by Cory’s heartfelt words.

Aside from the trust, she said she decided to entrust Richard’s career to Star Magic to lessen her stress.

“May tiwala ako sa Star Magic. I trust them naman. Dun ko siya binigay. At least less na aking stress. So, co-manage ako kay Ruffa (with Viva) pati kay Richard,” she said.