Entertainment

Richard & Heart find peace in Prague

November 30, 2009 | 12:00am

They sealed their sojourn in Prague with a kiss in Old Town Square and came home with statuettes of the Sto. Niño of Prague as pasalubong for folks back home.

“My mom kept reminding me to bring one for her,” said Richard Gutierrez of Annabelle Rama who is so devoted to the Sto. Niño that she would go to Cebu early in the morning just to hear Mass at the Sto. Niño Shrine and fly back to Manila right after.

“How I wish we had time to see more of the city,” said Heart Evangelista. “I’ll never forget Prague (Czech Republic). It was my first ever trip to Europe. It’s such a peaceful place that I could hear my heart beating.”

Richard stayed for eight days in that city and Heart for four days (only because she had to fly to Beijing for Mano Po 6: My Mother, Regal Films’ 2009 Metro Filmfest entry in which she plays Sharon Cuneta’s pasaway daughter) to shoot some of the romantic scenes (included that tender outdoor kiss in Old Town Square) for Full House, the Filipinized version of the hit Koreanovela topbilled by Jung Ji Hoon (a.k.a. Rain who now stars in Ninja Assassin, his second Hollywood film) which premieres tonight at 9:20 on GMA replacing the timeslot of the just-concluded telenovela Rosalinda.

Directed by Mark A. Reyes, Full House is the second TV team-up of Richard and Heart, after Asero which was also partly filmed abroad (in Dubai). It also stars Isabel Oli, Patrick Garcia, Keempee de Leon, Epi Quizon, John Lapus, Rainier Castillo, Sheena Halili, Raquel Villavicencio, Chariz Solomon and Marky Lopez, plus Ronaldo Valdez and Pilita Corrales in special roles.

Richard plays Justin, a famous actor scheduled to shoot an international movie in Prague. Heart plays Jessie, a struggling writer who wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Prague. They find themselves seated beside each other on the plane. Guess what happens next.

They say that you will know a person better only when you travel with him. That’s when a person’s real character surfaces.

“Richard and I got to talk more about life,” admitted Heart who is loveless in contrast to Richard is, well, “love-full” (even if Richard refuses to reveal the identity of his loved one who is a gem of a girl). “It helps that his mom happens to be my manager.”

After breaking up with Jericho Rosales and moving from Kapamilya to Kapuso, Heart never looked back, refusing to listen to even the mildest “echo” from the past.

“My career hit rock bottom and I’m glad that I was able to recover after I put my priorities in order,” said Heart who goes out on “friendly” dates but has refrained from going into another commitment. “I’m happy with my life now.”

After Asero, Richard said that Heart has become more open with him.

“She’s more free-spirited now, more outgoing,” he added. “The shoot for Asero was our getting-to-know-each-other period. With Full House, we are more comfortable with each other, we can talk freely about anything.”

Asked what advice he could give Heart where affairs of the heart are concerned, Richard said, “Mas marami siyang pinagdaanan. She should be the one giving me advice.”

Year 2009 was full of changes for Richard.

“Maraming ups, marami ding downs,” said Richard. “What’s important is that I survived the trials. You know what I mean.”

Away from the maddening crowd and even when he and Heart were busy with the Full House shoot, Richard had time to take stock of things while in Prague.

“I should say that I was able to retrieve a lost part of myself when I was there.”

Fr. Joey’s healing sked

Here’s 2009 Gusi Peace Prize Awardee Fr. Joey Faller’s healing schedule for December:

• Dec. 1, 7 p.m. at Our Lady of Beautiful Parish, Merville, Parañaque City;

• Dec. 2, 12 noon at Chapel of Eucharist Lord, SM Megamall;

• Dec. 4, 10:30 a.m. at Ortigas & Co.; and 4 p.m. at NAIA;

• Dec. 6, 6 a.m. at ABS-CBN, 8 a.m. at NBN Channel 4 and 9:30 a.m. at SM North EDSA;

• Dec. 7, 12 noon, at the Civil Service Commission;

• Dec. 13, 9 a.m. at SM Bacoor, Bacoor, Cavite;

• Dec. 15, 9:30 a.m. at Buklod ng Pagibig Healing Church, Balete Drive Ext., Quezon City;

• Dec. 20, 8 a.m. at NBN Channel 4;

• Dec. 27, 9 a.m. at SM Bacoor, Bacoor, Cavite; and