BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

Kathryn Bernardo smiled from ear to ear as she mentioned the name of her co-star, Golden Globe nominee Dolly de Leon, while introducing her first confirmed 2023 movie project with Star Cinema directed by Petersen Vargas, ‘A Very Good Girl.’ 

@bernardokathryn(IG) / Mark Nicdao

Together with Kathryn during the intimate press conference were the writer of the film, Dominique Marcol, as well as creative head Carmi Raymundo and creative supervisor Daniel Saniano. The event was hosted by MJ Felipe of ABS-CBN News. The film has the tagline, “Payback’s a B*tch” so we know this is not going to be the usual wholesome Kathryn we see.

The key art was very pink and embellished with flowers and leaves. It featured a hand with a ring on the middle finger doing the dirty finger sign. Kathryn recalled saying this when the key art was first presented to her via zoom call: “Oh my god, I love it.”

“I want to be able to experience emotions [na hindi pa niya naeexperience sa pelikula before],” Carmi quoted Kathryn during their conversation over the phone regarding the direction of the project. “Let’s do it. Let’s go dark., let’s go real, let’s go anywhere you want to go,” was her response back then.

Screengrab from Star Cinema’s Facebook video

Carmi then brainstormed right away with her creative team and then pitched their concepts to Kathryn, and she chose Dominique’s. “It’s going to be a dark comedy but with a lot of sass and class,” shared Petersen. “So, we want to serve lang this fantasy of, alam mo yun, representing this frustrated and powerless generation, through Kathryn’s character,” he continued.

Dominique called Kathryn young and talented and thinks she is the perfect actress to pull off the “eat the rich” concept. “I want to tell it from the perspective of the young so I can put in a lot of my sass, a lot of my humor, di ba? But, at the same time, send a very clear message…you can rig the system but the young will find a way to uproot you,” she explained.

Kathryn went on to explain how these creatives she has worked with for more than a decade saw her growing up literally, so she trusts that they know what is best for her. 

Star Cinema

Dolly was the unanimous choice of the creatives as Kathryn’s first question was regarding who is the perfect person to portray the other significant role in the film. It was during their Zoom meeting last March 28 that they confirmed to the Kapamilya Box Office Queen Dolly has said yes to the project.

“For sure, marami akong matututunan sa kanya. I can’t wait to meet her again kasi sinabi niya pala na nagkasama na kami years ago when I was younger. Before pa, pero that was very short lang. So now, I’m looking forward na mas makatrabaho siya nang mas matagal at mas makilala siya. And, what a great honor na gumawa at mabigyan niya ako ng oras so (gestures to the camera) thank you so much, Miss Dolly,” said Kathryn.

Star Cinema

The Asia’s superstar also introduced her second confirmed movie project under Black Sheep Productions, a sister company of Star Cinema. An Olivia M. Lamasan film, it’s titled ‘Elena 1944’. It’s a reunion project of Olivia and Kathryn after 7 years. Their last project was ‘Barcelona: A Love Untold’ which served to transition Kathryn from “teenage roles to young adult roles” as explained by its director.

It was first pitched to Kathryn in 2019 but she felt she wasn’t ready yet so she’s happy that it was pitched again to her post-pandemic. “Buo na yung puso na gawin siya. Perfect kung kailan namin siya ipapalabas,” she exclaimed. The screenplay is penned by a Palanca award-winning writer, Patrick Valencia.

Star Cinema

‘Elena 1944’ is a historical drama about a comfort woman. Both films seem to have the potential of earning Kathryn Best Actress trophies, like the ‘The Hows of Us’ which gave her a Best Actress trophy from the 3rd EDDYs (Entertainment Editors’ Awards) as well as the Movie Actress of the Year award from the 35th PMPC Star Awards for Movies.

Jojit Lorenzo

Dolly, after her international breakthrough role in the Palme D’or award-winning film ‘Triangle of Sadness’, is slated to do a big Hollywood project titled ‘Grand Death Lotto.’ It’s a Paul Feig film which stars Awkwafina, Simu Liu, and John Cena.

*Thumbnail Photo/Cover Photo from @bernardokathryn(IG) / Mark Nicdao