‘I think with everything that has happened before, I’ve learned to be protective of my personal life. — Julia Barretto’
JULIA Barretto
JULIA Barretto’s new movie, “Expensive Candy,” won’t just be shown via streaming but will be exhibited in actual theaters on September 14. She plays the title role of an Angeles City hooker named Candy, with Carlo Aquino as her leading man. Carlo plays a high school teacher and male virgin. He hires Julia and finds her unforgettable. He keeps on returning to her, but each time, she charges him more, that’s why the film is titled “Expensive Candy.” Why did she accept playing a daring character that is totally different from her usual goody-goody roles?
“When I read his script, I felt it’s time for me to come out of my comfort zone and do more mature roles. I’m 25 and I feel I need to grow in my craft. Ito na talaga ang pinaka-daring na ginawa ko and I’m happy with the challenges it gave me.”
“Expensive Candy” is her reunion with Direk JP Laxamana with whom she did the 2019 film, “Between Maybes,” which ignited her romance with Gerald Anderson while they were filming it in Japan. The common belief is that this is the reason Gerald ghosted Bea Alonzo.
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Some folks are saying that now that Gerald is shooting a movie with Kylie Padilla in Switzerland, it could be that he might also ghost Julia next. When we tried to hint about this, Julia subtly evaded the issue.
“I’ve always been very private with my personal life,” she declares. “I think with everything that has happened before, I’ve learned to be protective of my personal life. So, I’d like to keep that as private as much as possible and I’m just drawing that boundary between work and my personal life.”
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AJ Raval showed up at the press screening of “Sitio Diablo” in Gateway looking so slim and sexy. This is the first time she appeared in public after being rumored to have been impregnated by Aljur Abrenica. When asked about it, AJ just shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s up to them na lang what they want to believe,” she says. “Kasi the more you explain or try to defend yourself, lalo ka lang nilang aatakihin. So bahala na lang sila.”
AJ’s dad, Jeric Raval, was at the Gateway screening to show his support to AJ and her brother, Ace Raval, who’s being introduced in “Sitio Diablo,” which is now streaming on Vivamax. When someone asked Jeric if AJ is preggy, he said emphatically: “Definitely, she’s not! Magkasama kami sa bahay kayo alam kong hindi siya buntis. We live in the same house sa Quezon City and also in Pampanga, so I should know.”
He said he has always advised his daughter to just concentrate more on her career than on having a love life. “Kasi as of now, she’s at the peak of her career. Tuloy-tuloy ang projects niya sa Viva. Sayang naman kung maaga siyang mabubuntis at mag-aasawa. I trust AJ knows what she is doing but I always remind her that we, her parents, are always here to guide and support her.”
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Ysabel Ortega was teary eyed after the press preview of “What We Could Be” at Trinoma since a lot of people congratulated her for her moving performance as a young nurse named Cynthia who is fired from the hospital where she works. Cynthia is the breadwinner of her family. After being fired, she works with an annoying old woman who is so mean to her (Celeste Legaspi) but who later becomes so attached to her when Cynthia saves her life from a fire.
When the old woman dies in her sleep, Cynthia is surprised to find out that the woman left all her properties with her carer. But of course, Celeste’s relatives, led by Joyce Ann Burton, will not take this sitting down. We’re sure Ysabel’s character, Cynthia, will quickly win the hearts of viewers as she has a heart of gold.
“I’m really thankful to GMA and Quantum Films for giving me this biggest break in my career,” says Ysabel. “I started with ABS-CBN but walang nangyayari sa’kin doon, so I thought I’d just give up at mag-aral na lang ako uli. I did, and natapos ko naman ang studies ko. Then I moved to GMA and my first assignment with them was as the younger sister of Alden Richards in ‘The Gift’.”
She wants to thank her leading man, Miguel Tanfelix, for helping her. “Ang laking tulong sa’kin ni Miguel. I learned so much from him professionally while we’re on the set.”
Is it true that they’re now playing beautiful music together? “We’re really very close ni Miguel but we’re just trying to enjoy the moment. Hindi kami nagmamadali, basta masaya kami ngayon, walang pressure. We’re looking forward to work with other people.”
“What We Could Be” starts airing this week on GMA.
