POPS Fernandez is turning 57 on December 12 and we tell her at the Hitmakers’ 20th anniversary concert press con that she looks much younger than her age. “Thanks, but I will soon be a lola,” she says. “My eldest son, Robin, who’s 36, will be a father in early January. His partner Mia is giving birth to a baby boy. Gusto ko sana, girl naman, but a baby is a blessing, boy or girl man. Basta sabi ko, ang itatawag sa akin is Lolli-Pops. I’m really excited.”
Does she miss acting?
“I do. Boss Vic said I will make a movie daw for them in 2024. So, let’s see. Sabi ko, light lang. Kasi madrama na ang buhay ko. Puede ring thriller as I love watching suspense-thrillers. The last movie I did, ‘Zsa Zsa Zaturnaah,’ was 2006 pa.”
How about her love life? Any new romance in the horizon? “Wala. Masaya naman ako as of now. I’m happy where I am. Single, but not sad at hindi naman ako naghahanap. Pero kung may darating na worth it, why not? I have a song titled ‘Always Loved,’ which I myself wrote, and its message is that before you know where you want to be and discover where you really want to go, you have to love yourself first.”
And she says that is exactly what she is doing right now, prioritizing herself. “After being semi-retired, I realized I’d love to do concerts again. I want to sing live again on stage, that’s where I really want to be. So I’m guesting in the Hitmakers concert on December 1 and on February 9 and 10, I will have my own 40th anniversary concert so don’t miss it.
I’m very blessed as I never really expected my career would last this long and I’m grateful for everything that happened in my life and career.”
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‘Maricel plays Lucy, an OFW who left her special son under the care of Dick as Bibs, her brother.’
Maricel Soriano and Roderick Paulate did a lot of movies before, all comedies. Now, they are together again but in a dramatic thunderbolt, “In His Mother’s Eyes,” which opens in theaters nationwide on November 29. They play siblings who are at odds with each other.
Maricel plays Lucy, an OFW who left her special son under the care of Dick as Bibs, her brother. Her son, Tim, played by L.A. Santos, has autism and grows up without knowing Maricel is his mother.
The film is written by Gina Marissa Tagasa and Jerry Gracio, produced by Florita Santos and is the film feature debut of long-time teleserye director FM Reyes.
How would Maricel rate newcomer L.A. Santos in his most challenging role to date as her autistic son?
“He played it very well. May scene kami na I hugged him. It’s the first time for me to do it after not seeing him for a long time and nahihiya siya sa akin. He doesn’t know how to react at naisalya niya ako nang bonggang-bongga. He was so apologetic after the take but it came out very convincing.”
We notice in the trailer that Roderick’s character is very mean to her. “‘Yun ang gusto ni Direk FM. May nangyari kasi sa aming bilang magkapatid at ayoko siyang kinakausap,” said Roderic. “Before we shot the film, Direk FM met with us. He said, hanga ako sa inyo. I know your calibre sa comedy. Pero dito, gusto ko, ibang atake. So kinargahan niya kami ng emotions at very bitter lumabas ‘yung character ko. It helped na may galit naman ako talaga kay Maria sa totoong buhay,” he joked.
Both Maricel and Roderick are very proud of their movie and screenwriter Gina Marissa Tagasa says the concept really belongs to Direk FM himself. “Sa kanya talaga ‘yung story idea,” she says. “Jerry Gracio and I feel flattered na sa amin niya ipinagkatiwala ang pagsulat sa buong script. And we’re so happy that Maricel, Roderick and L.A. are really very convincing in bringing to life the characters that we’ve written. This is a family drama that deserves to be seen by the whole family.”
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Jeffrey Hidalgo plays his most daring role in “Sugar Baby” as Mr. Santos, the operator of a secret firm that offers the services of sugar babies to sugar daddies. He himself is a sugar daddy to Robb Guinto and they have a sizzling love scene together. So how is it?
“This is the boldest I’ve done so far,” he says. “I read the script and I liked it and I also like my role. After playing a drug lord in ‘Ssshhh’ for Direk Roman Perez Jr, I really want to do more character roles and this one is quite challenging. I also want to help our new director, Christian Paolo Lat.”
What about his next directorial job?
“I will start shooting a new movie next week in Cavite, ‘Salawahan,’ with a script by Raquel Villavicencio. It will star Angeli Khang in a love triangle movie. She gets involved with two brothers, Albie Casiño and Van Allen Ong.”
So does that mean he’s now putting his career as a singer on the back burner? “No. I have a new song coming out on December 1, ‘Sana Masaya Ka.’ It’s a Christmas song and a duet with Nicole Asencio, who co-wrote it. She’s the daughter of Iwi Laurel. Iba ang style niya, quite jazzy. Then sa New Year’s Eve, Geneva Cruz and I are doing the New Year 2024 Countdown show in Newport Resorts.”
How is his sister, Arnee, who is also a singer?
“She’s now based in the US She has two sons with her first husband, who’s Fil-Am, but they’re officially divorced and she’s gettingmarriage to an American this coming April. She’s there with my mom, who now also has a new husband, also an American. She’s now known as Belinda Brown.”
When did his parents separate?
“Oh, matagal na. I was in my 30s. Tanggap na rin namin kasi we see them na laging may away. I am now staying with my dad and two younger brothers.”
