Piolo, Toni grace US premiere of ‘Starting Over Again’

CEBU, Philippines - Redwood City, CA, —Fresh from a recent Manila premiere that was packed with fans and a record-breaking opening day gross of P25 million, the Philippines’ Ultimate Heartthrob Piolo Pascual and actress-singer-host Toni Gonzaga, one of the hottest female triple threats in Philippine showbiz today, will fly almost 8,000 miles to meet their fans in the San Francisco Bay Area for the US premiere of the romantic-drama “Starting Over Again.”

A Valentine’s Day offering from ABS-CBN Star Cinema and TFC@TheMovies, the premiere is set today, with two screenings at the historic Fox Theatre in Redwood City.

“Starting Over Again” has generated huge buzz because of the chemistry of the two lead stars and the numerous positive reviews by critics, bloggers and fans who are raving over the brilliantly directed movie by the award-winning Olivia M. Lamasan, director of international Filipino blockbuster films from Star Cinema like “Milan,” “In My Life,” “In the Name of Love” and “The Mistress,” to name a few.

“It’s been a while since we’ve held a movie premiere here in the US and we thought that bringing the much anticipated first big screen collaboration of two of the industry’s biggest stars, one of the most successful Filipina directors of all time, and one screenwriter who has been on a blockbuster roll would make for an exciting Valentine’s Day gift to thousands of fans who want to see the movie, plus Piolo and Toni in person,” said John-D Lazatin, ABS-CBN Global Head of Theatricals.

Indeed, there are great expectations for “Starting Over Again” from the four stellar heavyweights but they deliver in this movie. Toni plays Ginny – bubbly, brilliant and driven – who, as a student in Architecture romantically pursues Marco (Piolo), a professor.  Eyebrows may be raised but the two genuinely fall in love, until one day, Ginny left for no apparent reason, breaking Marco’s heart into a thousand pieces. Years later, their paths cross again: Ginny has the successful career that she dreamed of while Marco is now a chef — with a new ladylove in Patty (Iza Calzado). Seems like they are all happy. But wait… Ginny wants Marco back. The journey of second chances begin with Ginny chasing Marco again. Will this have a happy ending or will it end again in heartbreak? (FREEMAN)