John Lloyd, Bea together again, at last!

JLC: Is there a second chance at love?

By Bot Glorioso

Having experienced the joys and pains of falling in love, John Lloyd Cruz didn’t think long and hard on the subject of taking a second chance at love.

At the grand presscon for his and Bea Alonzo’s latest movie A Second Chance under Star Cinema held Thursday night at the Dolphy Theater, John Lloyd spoke seriously without any hesitation. “I believe that we all become victims when it comes to love. I mean, we thought we are the ones who decide or choose the ones we love but unknowingly, it is love that decides for us.”

John Lloyd said that he is doing his best for his romantic relationship to keep sailing on smooth waters for a long time. Still, he cannot exactly tell whether he is the giver of second chances or the recipient whenever conflicts arise between him and his ladylove.

“In real life, it is always nice to know if you are the ‘martyr in the relationship’ or always the one who needs some understanding. Me, I cannot really say if I’m the giver or receiver because most probably, we have different love stories, medyo hindi lang isang kwento ng pag-ibig ang pinanggagalingan natin. There are instances where I have to give in at meron din na mas gusto natin na ikaw ang maintindihan.”

It really depends on the situation, he added, and from there he would start weighing things before coming up with a decision. “It (situation) makes love exciting, I really don’t want to know if I’m the giver or not. Sometimes, masarap rin na pinaglalaruan ka ng pag-ibig.”

On second thought, John Lloyd would always want to be the giver “pero di ko binibilang kung ilan beses na ko nagbigay.”

In the movie, John Lloyd said that his character Popoy has matured in a lot of ways, far different from the Popoy of eight years ago. By the way, A Second Chance is the sequel to 2007’s box-office hit One More Chance where the love story of Popoy and Basha (Bea) captured the hearts of most, if not all, people, especially the young generation. It is also directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina.

In A Second Chance, Popoy and Basha are married but not everything seems to be coming up roses for them living under one roof. Direk Cathy revealed that John Lloyd and Bea had a tough time acting out their parts since both of them are clueless how does a married couple interact or argue.

“If I were to compare their acting then and now, of course, they have improved; mas malalim sila ngayon. Maybe it comes with age and maturity. They take the roles differently although I know it’s really tough for them since both are never married yet so we need a lot of kwentuhan for this,” she said.

Obviously, John Lloyd and Bea succeeded on losing their real personas to the roles. “Si John Lloyd, di ko na halos mino-motivate. He was able to handle his character well after giving him some details regarding married life.”

John Lloyd admitted that in past interviews, he said that he was hesitant to do the sequel. But he had a change of heart after the whole concept was laid out before him.

“There’s too much potential in the story of Popoy and Basha. That’s why I wasn’t surprised at all why the sequel came after eight years. A lot of people were able to relate to their love story so hindi nyo ba gustong malaman what happens to Popoy and Basha eight years later?” 

Asked how is it working with Bea again since their last big screen pairing The Mistress in 2012, John Lloyd said it is always a pleasure to work with Bea, especially now that they have both matured as actors.

Although he insisted that portraying Popoy again after many years posed a greater challenge to him as an actor.

“The gap is so long that’s why I really have to find the heart of Popoy again; kung paano ba ito tumibok noon. So basically, that’s the biggest challenge for all of us.”

Luckily, John Lloyd shared a lot of similarities to his character. “Definitely, the Popoy in me has evolved because eight years is a long time so it would be impossible to say that nothing has changed in my character but what is important for us is to tell what is now happening between Popoy and Basha.”

(A Second Chance, written by Carmi Raymundo and Vanessa Valdez, also stars Dimples Romana, James Blanco, Bea Saw, Janus del Prado and Ahron Villena. It will open on Nov. 25 in cinemas nationwide.)

The coming out of Basha as Bea Alonzo

By Pablo A. Tariman

In a simple peach-colored casual attire, Bea Alonzo exudes the refreshing countenance of someone who had been there and coped gracefully.

She is reprising the role of the love-struck Basha whose world revolved around Popoy (John Lloyd Cruz) in a 2007 film, One More Chance.

Here they are now facing the press for a sequel of the same film that took eight years before it took a reel life of its own.

Direk Cathy Garcia-Molina — looking as youthful as the lead stars — admits the sequel didn’t come easy. “The brainstorming took some time. We had to take a second look at Basha and Popoy and figure out what magic we could still extract from the relationship of the characters to which the 2007 audiences easily connected. It is hard because we are looking into a project that had overwhelming audience acceptance eight years ago and now we wonder if we could even match one half of its audience appeal. We just have to work hard. We saw a scenario where the two characters met once more, left the world of romance and fantasy to enter the very real world of marriage. How they coped, how they managed, how they nearly give up and then coming to terms with their respective strengths and weaknesses. I have to personally do a one-on-one on the actors playing the part. But with Bea as Basha, I just let her sink into the part in her own way. That’s how much I trust her. She has a good instinct of what will work and what will contribute to the story. It is nice to see an actor evolve into someone so deeply connected with her craft.”

Looking back, direk Cathy said both Bea and John Lloyd were on the chubby side many years back. “I had to adjust my lenses to make sure those extra pounds are not highlighted. But look at them now. The disposition has matured and their bodies are something to die for. They still look young and fit but more sensitive and caring. Bea learned the ropes through sheer hard work. But looking at what she has achieved, you will be surprised to find a star with fathomless share of humility.”

John Lloyd admits the joy of working with Bea is that the rapport comes easy.  “I had to do well as Popoy because my Basha is equally good. Acting becomes rewarding when you  are partnered with someone who shares your love for the craft.”

Bea is speechless over the compliment and can only say she felt humbled.

She has her own confession to make. “Just as it was hard to come up with a sequel, it was also hard to come up with a portrayal as to what happened to Basha eight years later. I look into other people’s relationship, I started asking questions as to why true-to-life relationships end just like that while others remained solid and strong. So in reprising the part, I had to look at my own relationship and what I saw in others. So I was able to come up with a portrayal that is true to the story but with a ring of truth in it. I suppose that is the rewarding part of being an actress. You portray other people’s lives but you also tap from your own life.”

The trailer of A Second Chance shows scenes from an early marriage: The bliss of honeymoon and the horror of discovering something not so pleasing from the partner.

Bea admits she tries to learn from what her character went through. “When you look at Basha, you see a woman in love and giving it everything she has. As she goes through the daily rituals of marriage, she discovers something in herself and more so, she discovers something new from her husband and it isn’t flattering. Here she copes, she tries to save the love, she hangs on to the marriage but something in her is about to snap. As you live the life of Basha, you also notice what she is going through in love and life is akin to what you go through yourself. A classic case of art imitating life and vice-versa. My life has evolved in so many ways. And so has Basha.”

Bea is on her 15th year in showbiz and her humble beginnings are — rightly or wrongly — the stuff of teleserye. She came from a family where the food supply would come from the day’s income. She joined a beauty contest in Santolan, Pasig and fashion guru Oscar Peralta discovered her.

That was the time when the first edition of Pangako Sa’yo was at its peak and they were looking for a new face and the rest of course is history.

It was hard in the beginning

For one, her mother didn’t like the idea of showbiz exposure. She comes from a broken family and her mother feared the public might just be too hard on her background.

She intimated earlier she insisted she wanted to be a movie star. “I felt then that I can handle my family situation such as it was at that time. Foremost in my young mind is that I just wanted to earn a living. Later, it dawned to me I want to be a good part of the industry. So I started screening offers, choosing the right roles and started asking questions which helped me improve my craft. I always ask questions about my character on the set. I listen to my director’s input and I try to contribute mine. My perennial fear was that I would be judged harshly during premiere nights. I learned to relax now without being kampante about it. I guess I have come to a point where whatever people say about me, I know who I am and where I stand.”

Bea said whatever she is now she would attribute to lessons she got from reel and real life. “I admit I learn a lot from the character I am portraying. When the time comes, I will probably go through the kind of married life she went through in this film. She had her share of tough times but who didn’t? When you move on, when you give yourself another chance, you never give up on becoming the best person you can be.”

A Second Chance will open Nov. 25 in all theaters.