‘They know every assignment I get helps me grow in my craft, lalo na working with Direk Laurice – Maricel Laxa’
MARICEL Laxa has been working nonstop. After “Paano ang Pangako” and “Mano Po Legacy”, she now appears in GMA’s new afternoon drama, “Apoy sa Langit”, directed by Laurice Guillen. “I never thought I’d be given the chance to have a second wind in my career,” she says. “Mahirap lang, as I miss my family when I do lock-in taping. But they’re very encouraging. They know every assignment I get helps me grow in my craft, lalo na working with Direk Laurice. First time ko to work with her at kabado ako noong simula, but I learn so much from her.”
What’s her role in “Apoy sa Langit”? “I play a jewelry designer na biyuda na,” she says.
“Hindi ako kontrabida rito like in ‘Mano Po Legacy.’ Anak ko si Mikee Quintos who plays Ning. I then meet Zoren Legaspi as Cesar, a friend of my husband. Magkakalapit ang mga damdamin namin, pero siempre, there will be complications kaya magugulo ang relationship namin.”
The intruder is Lianne Valentin as Stella, a scheming young woman who will initially introduce herself as Zoren’s illegitimate child but will later seduce Zoren and try to snatch him away from Maricel. The powerhouse cast of “Apoy sa Langit” cast also includes Ramon Christopher as Maricel’s first husband Rey, Mariz Ricketts as her friend Blessie, Carlos Siguion Reyna as Edong, Dave Bornea as Mikee’s love interest named Anthony.
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Josef Elizalde played the lead role in “X-Deal 2”, a Vivamax hit. He’s back in another lead role in “Doblado” that streams on May 19. Once again, he does a lot of steamy sex scenes with the film’s new star, Denise Esteban.
Was it easy for him to decide to go sexy after his wholesome image as a PBB teen alumnus?
“When Vivamax first offered me to do a daring film, actually, kinakabahan ako, kasi dati pa-cute and pa-comedy lang ako. I did a lot of supporting roles, so this is something that will be very new for me.
“I was only 16 when I joined PBB Teens. Nag-two years ako sa college, then Viva got me to do projects with them and now, enjoy naman ako in acting, masaya naman siya.”
What is his role in “Doblado”?
“The story focuses on Denise Esteban, a college student who leads a double life as she’s a high class call girl at night. Then she gets me as her client. I play Ronan, a rich businessman who’s grieving because his girlfriend Stella just died. I ask Denise to wear my dead girlfriend’s clothes and pretend she is Stella. I fall for her and ask her not to accept any other clients para masarili ko siya. That makes the situation complicated and dangerous.”
How is it working with a newcomer like Denise Esteban?
“Okay siya, masayang kasama sa set. They made us take a workshop muna para mawala ‘yung ilangan namin sa isa’t isa at walang awkwardness at all. It helped naman.”
In “X-Deal 2”, he is shown doing a sex scene with a masseur who he asked to give him oral sex. Does that mean he’s ready to do same sex movies?
“Nagulat din ako sa same-sex scene na ‘yun with a masseur kasi wala ‘yun originally. Pero daya lang naman ang kuha sa eksena, so okay lang. But ‘yung I make love sa lalaki,I have to study muna. Ayokong basta tanggap nang tanggap. Kailangan isipin ko muna ang magiging epekto sa career ko at sa pagkatao ko. After that scene came out, I actually got a lot of messages from friends, from LGBT members with indecent proposals kung willing ba ko gawin talaga ‘yung ganun sa totoong buhay. So I have to really think hard first before I’d agree to do graphic gay love scenes.”
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Janelle Tee was at the Vivamax Summer affair and she thanked us for articles we’ve written about her before. This is something rare in showbiz. After debuting in “Kinsenas Katapusan,” she now gets even more daring doing girl-to-girl love scenes with Ayanna Misola in VIvamax’ newest sex-drama, “Putahe”.
“I play a bisexual in ‘Putahe’ and it’s my first time to do love scenes with another girl,” she says. “It’s good we’re friends ni Ayanna kasi nagkasama na kami sa ‘Kinsenas Katapusan,’ so we talk muna kung paano namin mapapaganda ang love scenes namin.”
Aside from “Putahe,” she has completed two other new movies for Vivamax. First is “Pusoy,” produced by Brillante Mendoza and directed by his protege, Philip Giordano.
Second is “Secrets” with writer-director Jose Javier Reyes.
“In ‘Pusoy’, I play an expert in gambling, so pinag-aralan ko talaga ang paglalaro ng pusoy and tong-its. This was filmed in Batangas at kasama ko rito sina Angeli Khang, Vince Rillon and Baron Geisler. In ‘Secrets’, boyfriend ko si Felix Roco and we go to the beach to have a vacation and try to save our relationship. While we’re there, I meet another guy, played by newcomer Benz Sanggalang, at lalong naging complicated ang relationship namin ni Felix.”
She has sexy love scenes in all these films. Since she comes from a conservative family, how do they feel about her doing daring films?
“Actually, sa ngayon, hindi kami nag-uusap. They cannot accept na pinasok ko ito at hindi nila ma-understand that I am transitioning in my career now as an actress. Malayo talaga ito sa pagiging beauty queen. Kasi doon, pag tapos na ang reign mo, ‘yun na yon. It’s up to you what you want to do next. I really want to act so I took acting workshops to prepare for this. I saw the movies of top Oscar-winning stars like Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie na nagpa-sexy sila. And I realized it’s just part of your craft as an actress.
Kapag pinasok mo ito, dapat open-minded and my folks can’t understand that I’m just playing a character.”
