CEBU, PHILIPPINES — Viewers of “Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0” who enjoyed “shipping” Caprice Cayetano with Heath Jornales, Clifford, and Marco Masa are being treated to a feast as their one-true pairings shared the screen in “You’re My Favorite Song,” which premiered last week on GMA Afternoon Prime.
Cayetano stars as Angel, a 16-year-old family-oriented teen who moves in with her grandfather (played by Boboy Garrovillo) to help him fulfill his lifelong dream of building a beach resort. However, they are faced with a powerful empire that wants to acquire the land where her grandfather plans to build the resort. Along the way, Angel meets a young musician named Miguel (Heath), the school nerd and new best friend Zion (Marco), and an arrogant rival, Calix (Clifford), who constantly butts heads with her.
Headlining the afternoon teleserye together in a potential love quadrangle, the cast didn’t have to do much to build their chemistry.
“Hindi po kami nahihirapan kasi ginamit namin ‘yung friendship namin para ma-build ‘yung chemistry. Close na rin talaga kami, tsaka may mga moments na rin talaga kami sa Bahay ni Kuya. Parang na-recreate lang din namin ‘yun dito sa ‘You’re My Favorite Song,'” Cayetano said in response to questions sent by The FREEMAN.
Her scene partners agreed, with Jornales saying, “Since matagal na rin po kami magkakaibigan and dati pa sa workshops nagkakasama rin kami ni Caprice, hindi rin kami nahihirapan na mag-adjust sa set.”
Clifford added, “Naging comfortable po talaga kami ni Caprice. Nagkaroon din kami ng friendship sa loob ng Bahay ni Kuya. And nung naging workmates na kami, hindi na naging gano’n kahirap kasi comfortable na kami sa isa’t isa. I feel like ‘yun ‘yung pinaka-importante bago gumawa ng eksena, dapat relaxed muna kayo as a person.”
Support cast
The leads are also joined by their fellow PBB housemates Princess Aliyah, Lee Victor, and Waynona Collings, in supporting roles as their schoolmates.
The usually sweet Waynona is the opposite of her character, Charm, the school’s certified mean girl, which requires deeper understanding and distance on her part. “I try to view the world as my character. I try not to judge how she behaves. I try to come from a place of ‘why.’ Why is she doing this? Why does she behave this way?” she explained.
Meanwhile, Aliyah plays Adie, who has no interest in her studies. To portray the role, she dug deep into her character by observing people like Adie. She said, “When you read the script, it’s only limited. So I also had to create Adie in a way that matches her description. I can relate to her somehow, so it wasn’t really hard for me to unlock my inner Adie. At the same time, she’s also very different from me.”
Victor, who plays Calix’s friend Raviel, echoed Aliyah’s sentiments that he is different from his character, though he had a different approach. “Super layo nung character ni Raviel from who I am. Another way for me to prepare for this character is to get inspiration from films. I watch films to get an idea, but not to copy. Kumbaga meron pa ring originality on how I can bring life to this character,” he said.
The supporting cast also includes Andrei Fajardo as Dash, who only uses his friendship with Calix to improve his grades; Kairo Lazarte as the troublemaker Poncy; and Geo Mhanna as Miguel’s drummer friend Jacob.
“Like Waynona, I tried to understand his ‘whys,’ kasi there’s a ‘why’ in everything. Kapag nalaman mo ‘yung motivation ng karakter, it would be natural na kung paano mo siya i-execute,” Fajardo said.
Mhanna took one step further, with his mother buying him drums to prepare for his role as Miguel’s fellow musician friend, aided by their friendship off-camera. He said, “Me and Heath are best friends in real life, so I didn’t make a lot of adjustments with my character. It was just like real life since we’re already close friends.”
How director makes them comfortable
“You’re My Favorite Song” is directed by JP Habac, known for directing hit rom-coms like the 2017 Maja Salvador-Paulo Avelino starrer “I’m Drunk, I Love You” and the Boys’ Love pandemic online series “Gaya sa Pelikula.”
As first-timers working with the filmmaker, the cast said they were honored to be under Habac’s direction, given his knack for helming relatable rom-coms.
“Nakaka-proud din po kasi ang gaganda din talaga ng mga shots na ginagawa. Very detailed, ‘yung mga simpleng bagay lang, parang nagbibigay din siya ng K-drama vibes,” Cayetano said.
Jornales added, “Nakita ko po sa monitor nung nag-shoot kami. It looks so cinematic and napaka high-quality talaga ng mga shots. And chill lang siya katrabaho sa set and very fun.”
The cast further commended their director for allowing them to understand their characters more deeply before the cameras started rolling.
“Through his guidance, we get to gauge our character more. Mas nagiging madali siya para sa amin dahil hindi kami nape-pressure ni Direk, more on nagga-guide niya pa kami para mag-meet kami sa vision namin,” Masa said.
“He really makes us feel comfortable sa set. Tinatanong niya kami, ‘Guys, para sa inyo, what’s your most comfortable position sa character niyo?’ Feeling ko that line alone, it really makes us comfortable bilang characters namin. Sobrang nakatulong ‘yun. Thankful talaga kami kay Direk JP,” Clifford added.
The supporting cast also enjoyed working with Habac, with some even expressing interest in appearing as guests on his podcast, “Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast,” with Antoinette Jadaone.
“He directs with care and he’s very particular with the little things. Hindi lang basta-basta na ‘O, gawin mo ito.’ He gives instructions well. One thing I noticed is that ang dami naming angles na fini-film, which I love kasi feel ko the outcome is gonna turn out really well,” Collings said.
As the show is produced by GMA Public Affairs, it tackles sociopolitical themes, including Angel and her grandfather’s dispute against an empire seeking to acquire their land, making it more in-depth than a typical rom-com.
Cayetano vouched, “More than kilig moments, there is drama, and ‘yung pagiging family-oriented din naming lahat, especially si Angel. I’m sure na makaka-relate sila dito, and not only the Gen Zs, pero ‘yung parents din. Malalaman din nila kung paano po kaming mga Gen Zs, ‘yung mga anak nila. I’m sure na makaka-help din ‘to para maging close din sila sa family nila. And of course, ‘yung pag-chase din ng aming mga dreams.”
“You’re My Favorite Song” airs Monday to Friday, 4 pm on GMA and Kapuso Stream.
| Januar Junior Aguja / VAB
