‘As an actor, I want to explore out of the box stories. I don’t want to be stuck in the kilig films I used to do. — Nadine Lustre’
NADINE Lustre fans who are used to seeing her in romcoms will be shocked at her transformation as Kitchie in Yam Laranas’ drama-thriller that ends in blood and violence, “Greed.”
“Talagang magugulat sila as this is something I’ve never done before,” she says. “As an actor, I want to explore out-of-the-box stories. I don’t want to be stuck in the kilig films I used to do. The ending of this film, so gruesome na hindi ko pa nagawa before. The viewers, mapapaisip talaga sila.”
The story is about a young couple, Nadine and Diego Loyzaga, who won a big prize in the lotto and they try to keep it a secret so the people in their village won’t ask them for a share in their winnings. But someone else, Epy Quizon as their neighbor Dadong, finds out that they won and it erupts in violence. Has she ever been a victim of someone greedy?
“Yes, once, there was an influencer na dumidikit sa amin. I was warned she was just using us para sa footage sa vlog niya. But she got worse, nagnanakaw na siya ng pera. She got money from my room and we found out that she’s also been stealing from our other friends. That’s greed, so be careful with the people you surround yourself with. May mga taong hindi mo talaga mapagkakagtiwalaan.”
If ever she’d win in the lotto in real life, what would she do?
“I would donate the money to charity, 100%, and give it to whoever needs it most. Greed is all about the contentment you feel in your life and right now, I’m okay, I don’t need more, even for my family. We’re all contented, so if I’d win, I’d just want to share my blessings with the less fortunate.”
What kind of films would she like to do next? “Definitely, I want to do films na malayo sa pa-cute kind of branding I did before. Kasi I know there’s so much else I can offer, that I can do. If it’s something I’ve done before, ayoko na.”
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Ashley Ortega feels that her role as Jackie Sagrado in the hit GMA series, “Widow’s Web,” has given her career a very big boost.
“The show is rating very high since we started airing on February 28 and the feedback on the internet is so amazing,” she says. “Now, after one month, mas lalong tumataas pa ang ratings ng show. I didn’t know viewers would also like my performance as Jackie, the widow of the murder victim played by Ryan Eigenmann as Alexander Sagrado. This is my most mature role as a married socialite.”
While on a taping break, Ashley went back to something she really loves: ice skating. Only a few people know that before she joined showbiz, she used to be a professional ice skater.
“I started ice skating with my siblings when I was only 3 years old,” she says. “I joined ice skating competitions abroad when I was 6. I became a part of the Philippine Team and we competed in Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and China. But I had to stop when I joined showbiz and went into acting.”
Was it helpful to her as a person? “Oh very much. It developed my confidence and helped in making me realize that I do enjoy performing and entertaining in front of an audience.
So it was easier for me to transition when I went into acting in front of the camera. Now, after about four years, I started to practice skating again.”
Meantime, fans of “Widow’s Web” keep sending her messages asking about the story and wondering who the murderer really is.
“Well, I just tell them to keep on watching our show as hindi naman puede for me to spoil things by revealing all its secrets beforehand,” she says. “Marami pang twists and surprises na mangyayari so abang-abang lang po tayo.”
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Janno Gibbs has come up with his own satiric video about the election, “President Gibbs,” with Leo Martinez as his special guest playing his adviser Congressman Manhik Manaog. It starts with them talking about the anti-Leni videos they had made and Janno as Pres.
Gibbs or Junior is wondering why the videos are mostly about their political rival when they can hype more about his own “accomplishments” and “achievements.”
Leo counters him: “Bakit, may accomplishments ka ba? Wala naman. Ano ba nagawa mo?”
Janno says he was part of good projects like “Ang Probinsyano” and his own noontime show, but he was sacked. Leo says those are no accomplishments. Janno says he wants to attend debates but Leo warns him: “Pag sumali ka dyan, mahahahalatang bobo ka.”
Janno defends himself: “Grabe siya. ‘Di ako bobo. Matalino ako. Nag-master nga ako sa Ateneo.”
And Leo’s rebuttal: “Alam naman natin na peke lang ‘yun, ano?”
It’s a hit with netizens who all got the joke and hundreds of thousands have viewed it. With his self-deprecating humor, it’s obvious Janno does not at all hesitate to make fun of himself with the shows where he was ousted. He asks netizens to watch out for its sequel.
“It will be a special message from President Gibbs, abangan nyo po!” he adds.
