"We didn’t have any falling out," says GMA Films president Annette Gozon-Abrogar. "It just so happened that after Viva’s Search for a Star on GMA expired, it was not renewed kaya nalipat sa ibang station ang talents nila. But we still have Viva’s new stars in Posh on QTV 11. Our partnership with Viva goes back a long way. On TV, we co-produced TGIS and Anna Karenina. In film, we did Ober Da Bakod 1 and 2, Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko, Forever and Kalabog en Bosyo. So this isn’t really the first time GMA and Viva are working together."
’Till I Met You will open on Oct. 11, the same playdate of the first Robin-Regine hit, Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw when it was shown six years ago. Obviously, they’re hoping history will repeat itself. In the film, Regine plays Luisa, a con-artist who seduces a wealthy haciendero, Senyor Manuel (Eddie Garcia), to get his riches.
They’re supposed to get married soon, but Senyor Manuel’s ward, Gabriel (Robin), an orphan boy he treats as his own son, suspects that Luisa is a shady character and is determined to uncover the truth about her, blowing up all her covers. The problem is he also finds himself falling in love with Luisa.
"This is a must-see love story," says Annette. "We didn’t follow the usual formulas in local romance movies. What we did is come up with several twists that will surely surprise the viewers. The script is written by Benedict Mique, who has come up with a totally different love story, and directed by Mark Reyes. The first part is romantic-comedy and Regine proves in several scenes that she is really a fine effortless comedienne.
Robin also has his own share of comic moments with Pekto as his sidekick. But there’s a turning point in the middle of the film where Regine’s true motives are discovered and the second half becomes more of a drama. This is where Robin gets to show he really deserves the Urian Best Actor award he won recently. The movie also stars StarStruck 3 Ultimate Survivors Marky Cielo and Jackie Rice to attract the teen crowd."
Annette has always loved local films. "In my teens, I used to watch the movies of Sharon Cuneta and Maricel Soriano," she reveals. "I also love watching TV dramas like Anna Liza and Villa Quintana."
Born on Nov. 3, 1971, Annette’s full name is Anna Teresa, the eldest child of GMA Network president and CEO Felipe Gozon and his wife of 37 years, Teresa. She has two younger siblings: Phillip, 28, who just passed the bar exams, and, Maria Teresa, 26, who’s taking up medicine at UP-PGH.
Annette finished Management Engineering at the Ateneo then took up Law at UP, where her dad was a topnotcher in the ‘60s. After graduating in 1997, she went to Harvard and took up her masters in Law, graduating in 1999. She’s married to Joselito Abrogar, a businessman. "He was the topnotcher among the boys in our class at the Ateneo. I was the topnotcher among the girls."
They have a daughter, Anja, seven years old, and a son, Andy, two. She first worked with her dad’s law office and also taught at the UP College of Law, until her dad invited her to be a programming consultant in GMA 7.
"I always have comments about the shows of GMA, so he thought it best to include me in the programming meetings," she adds. "Now, I’m also president of GMA Worldwide, in charge of acquiring foreign shows for the station, like the Koreanovelas that are now so popular."
We heard she’s the only one who can outshout her dad during their meetings. "All the others kasi are scared of him as he has such a strong personality, so I have to argue with him when I have a good idea. Otherwise, I won’t be able to prove my point and convince him."
GMA Films produced award-winning filmfest entries like Jose Rizal and Muro Ami. "They became topgrossers but they had such big budgets, so hindi pa rin masasabing kumita. When my dad took over in 2001, he suspended all the GMA subsidiaries that were not earning. But when GMA Network became No. 1 on TV, dumami na ang stars namin, so we have to give them an outlet on the big screen. He revived GMA Films with the aim of coming up with more commercially successful projects, not just prestige projects. Our first movie was my project, Let the Love Begin. starring Richard Gutierrez and Angel Locsin, clicked in Mulawin but their tandem has not yet been tried on the big screen then. I myself wrote the story, developed by our writers. We were so scared then as it was being shown against Piolo Pascual’s Dreamboy. But, call it beginner’s luck, our movie became a phenomenal box- office hit.
"This was followed by Love Struck and Moments of Love that also did well at the tills. I’m confident that ’Till I Met You will be similarly successful. Our director, Mark Reyes, brought out the best in Robin and Regine and has come up with very pleasing visuals. He’s very efficient and budget-conscious. Even on TV, I admire his work as he gave us the hit, Encantadia and now, Atlantika, that will give viewers a totally new underwater world that will surely capture their imagination. Mark is really one of our best directors now on TV and in films."