More mature Jolina, Marvin in ‘Flor de Liza’

Comebacking Kapamil-ya stars Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin were jointly presented to the press on November 3, together with box-office director Wenn Deramas for the upcoming primetime drama series “Flor de Liza” which will air this month.

According to Direk Wenn, this is the first time he will be working with Jolina in a TV show although they had done movies together, while he has worked with Marvin several times in teleseryes. “Flor de Liza” is the reunion project for Jolens and Marvin in ABS-CBN where they started their respective careers many years ago.

Direk Wenn said he is happy that his story concept for “Flor de Liza” was approved by the bosses of the Kapamilya network. When he pitched the family drama, he had no idea yet who will bag the coveted lead roles.

“Pero happy ako na nagustuhan nina Ma’m Charo (Santos) and Direk Lauren (Dyogi) ang concept ko for the program. Mabilis nga ang naging pangyayari for the show. After ko ito i-pitch at nagustuhan, nagkaroon ng casting at nang mabasa nila ang script ni Keiko Aquino, approved na agad kaya naghanda na agad kami for taping,” said the director of many top-rating ABS-CBN teleseryes.

He is likewise glad with the decision of ABS-CBN bosses to give Jolina and Marvin the chance to play the lead roles in “Flor de Liza” since the two former Star Magic talents fit the roles of parents to a T. “The people will be seeing a more mature Jolina and Marvin in the series. Even if the show has some touches of comedy, the show is basically a family drama that will surely touch the hearts of viewers,” Direk Wenn added.

He said there is no definite time slot yet assigned to “Flor de Liza,” but Direk Wenn joked that he is willing to get the 12 midnight time slot Home TV shopping. “I am confident that even if you put this in the late evening time slot, the show will rate because of its good story. And with a good cast supporting Jolina and Marvin, I can see that this new show will be definitely a winner,” he added.

Incidentally, Direk Wenn is also basking with the success of “Moron 5.2 The Transformation” which will open on theaters nationwide today. The movie had a very successful premiere showing on Monday – drawing a huge crowd who all came home smiling after watching the very entertaining sequel of “Moron 5.” The comic flick stars Luis Manzano, Marvin Agustin, Billy Crawford, Matteo Guidicelli and DJ Durano plus John “Sweet” Lapus as Becky Pamintuan, the nemesis of “Moron 5.”

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While Jolina recog-nizes the fact that she and Marvin are being “pressured” to make “Flor de Liza” a winner in the ratings, the singer-actress said that she would rather believe that ABS-CBN has given her and Marvin a project that is worthy to be their comeback vehicle in the Kapamilya network. “When this drama series was offered to me, I readily agreed to do it because it is a good project. It is something different because me and Marvin will be playing mature roles as parents to a child. It is something that we have not done before,” said Jolens who is returning to the Kapamilya fold after 12 years.

“We are no longer presented as teeny-bopper idols like we used to be but as mature performers. Of course, there are some kilig scenes for me and Marvin but what is also nice is that we are playing roles that are suited for our age. Another good thing with this show is the opportunity for me to reach out to the new set of audience. It’s my chance to be introduced to the new set of viewers. Kahit naman ang mga fans namin ni Marvin before nag-mature na rin so I guess they would also want to see us do something new,” she said.

“It  feels so good that even before the official announcement about ‘Flor de Liza,’ a lot of people were already expressing their delight about our reunion project on ABS-CBN. Many of them even reminisced about how they love our tandem since the beginning and until today,” added Jolina about the unexpected social media buzz by the “Marjo reunion” updates.

“Aside from our first love scene, viewers will be shocked with my role and the relationship that she has with Marvin’s character. I am sure this is something you are not expecting to see in us,” said Jolina.

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Even if John Lapus was abroad for a series of concerts (with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla) and was not around for the promo of “Moron 5.2 The Transformation,” the award-winning actor-comedian took to social media to remind his fans to support his latest movie from Viva Films.

“I am very proud of this movie. If they liked my performance in the first ‘Moron 5’ film for which I was nominated for an acting award, they would love me even more in this sequel. Todo effort ang ibinigay ko to make this movie truly entertaining,” said Sweet. “I overdid myself. Buwis-buhay talaga ako sa acting. And what I like about Direk Wenn is that he gave me the leeway to do whatever it is that I would like to do to make my performance work. Kaya todo-todo talaga ako dito.”

“Mas kabogera ang mga eksena ko sa ‘Moron 5.2 The Transformation’ dahil nag-level up ang katatawanan at pasabog ko dito. Kung nagustuhan ninyo ako sa una, mas bongga ang mga eksena ko rito at mas kaabang-abang,” added Sweet.