HEART Evangelista is all set to start taping for her new soap, “I Left My Heart in Sorsogon,” to be filmed on location in the province where her husband Chiz Escudero is the incumbent governor. She will be paired with two leading men, Paolo Contis and Richard Yap in his first GMA teleserye.
Their locked-in taping is supposed to start this month but it has to be postponed because of the current surge in coronavirus cases. They don’t know yet as to when it will push through.
“Sayang nga dahil excited na akong umarte uli,” says Heart. “The last show I did, ‘My Korean Jagiya,’ was three years ago pa at na-replay na nga recently. Inihanda ko na rin lahat ng outfits and accessories na gagamitin ko for the taping. I’m excited because my character is almost like me, so pati mga dati kong damit, ini-ready ko nang lahat.”
She also wants to have a say in the music that will be used in her show. “Yes, I’ve also been listening to a lot of music. I am such a huge fan of Ben&Ben. I am creating my own playlist for the show, as that would help kind of put me in the right zone right away. I’m very excited. I’ve never been this excited about a soap.”
“I Left My Heart in Sorsogon” is one of the 100 new programs that GMA Network is scheduled to show this 2021. Has Heart met her leading men?
“Si Paolo, I’ve worked with him before. But Richard Yap, I have not met him yet, or even spoken to him. But we do have some common friends and they say some very nice things about him. I’m excited to work with him and Paolo as the story of our soap is really very nice.”
She also aims to showcase the beauty of Sorsogon as it has many scenic places. “Along our coastal roads pa lang, you can already view our pristine beaches. Then there are the farms of pili nuts. We’ll showcase them all and hopefully, it will attract more visitors to help boost domestic tourism in our province.”
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‘Just be sure to choose your words correctly to convey your message properly and meaningfully. — Jasmine Curtis Smith’
Jasmine Curtis Smith is currently more visible in showbiz than her Ate Anne, who seems to be taking her time attending to her daughter Dahlia before going back to her hosting chores in “It’s Showtime.”
After “Descendants of the Sun,” Jasmine is all set to be the next leading lady of Alden Richards in his new teleserye, “The World Between Us.” This is the third time for them to work together after the movie “Imagine You and Me” and a week-long episode entitled “Love on the Balcony” in drama anthology “I Can See You” that rated very well. Aside from this, Jasmine has done the movie “General Admission” shown streaming on iWant.
“I’m happy that despite the pandemic, I continue to get assignments and be busy,” she says. “But last year, when the lockdown started, ang tagal ko ring bakante that I wished I joined na lang sana my sister, kasi sila magkakasama sa Australia at mag-isa lang ako rito. I had to reach out to some people to keep my sanity as I’m alone.”
Jasmine is also very active on social media as she’s one of the stars who speaks her mind in expressing her views on various relevant issues. When asked as to when a celebrity should speak up or shut up, she says one should be careful in choosing when to speak up because it can be quite exhausting.
“Ask yourself first, is it really worth it for you to speak up or is it better if you’d just keep quiet,” she says. “But these days, you just can’t afford to be complacent since so many things are happening and we should let the authorities know about how we feel on certain important issues. Just be sure to choose your words correctly to convey your message properly and meaningfully.”
After that, you’d have to prepare yourself for public reactions. “People will either accept or reject what you say. And these days of uncontrolled social media, everyone has a platform and is free to react and express his own opinion so there will always be bashers.”
Jasmine doesn’t know yet as to when taping of her show with Alden will start. Isn’t she scared the increased cases of infection might affect them?
“I’m confident that GMA will impose all the necessary health protocols to make sure we will all be safe when we do our lock in taping,” she says. “I really look forward to doing the show as Alden is one of the nicest guys in showbiz and it’s always a joy to be working with a fine actor like him.”
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Julie Ann San Jose’s last teleserye was in 2018 yet, “My Guitar Princess,” so her fans have really missed seeing her act. But now, her romantic-comedy, “Heartful Cafe,” is all set to start airing on Monday, April 26, and she gets a new leading man, David Licauco.
“I play Heart Fulgencino, an online romance novelist and entrepreneur who owns a quaint coffee shop called Hearful Cafe inside a university campus,” she says. “David naman plays Ace Nobleza, a goal-driven and very competitive businessman who takes an interest in my cozy cafe. This is a charming story of two business owners who become rivals and then lovers sa coffee business. So you can take a sip of our coffee and fall in love with us.”
Did she miss acting? “Oh yes, kasi for a while all I do is sing and dance in ‘All Out Sundays.’
So I’m excited na muli akong na-challenge to do some acting again. Bago ang co-stars ko, and also the production team. And when we were taping, challenging din because of the new normal that we have to follow safety health protocols.”
Supporting her and David in the show are Edgar Allan Guzman as Uno Ynares, a balikbayan who realizes abroad that life without love is empty; Ayra Mariano as Mars, Julie Anne’s loyal companion and cashier/barista at her cafe; Victor Anastacio as Roco, the cafe’s master barista who dishes out hilarious wisecracks; Zonia Mejia as Sol, Heart’s cousin who can be loud and sarcastic; Jamir Zabarte as the repairman Buddy; and Angel Guardian as Charity, a friend of Sol and Buddy who is a hopeless romantic. All of these characters will demonstrate in “Heartful Cafe” that love brews in mysterious ways. This will start airing this Monday after “First Yaya,” directed by Mark Sicat de la Cruz and shown simultaneously on GMA-7 and GMA Heart of Asia. Viewers abroad can also watch it on GMA Pinoy TV.
