The Hottest Sisters In Town

It was a lazy Sunday evening at Dish at the Power Plant, Rockwell Center, but with the arrival of the de Rossi sisters, a palpable frisson of electricity charged the air. The local celluloid world is fickle and ever-changing, but with the recent Metro Manila Film Festival Awards fresh in the public eye, for now this sister act is the hottest ticket in town.

Say what you want about these sisters, but chances are they’ll confound your expectations, make you throw out the window all those hasty generalizations and easy predictions or assumptions. Assunta and Alessandra are out to prove their worth in our dog-eat-dog, merry-go-round entertainment world–let all nay-sayers and detractors be forewarned.

"To jumpstart my career last year, I went into sexy films and got quickly condemned for doing so‚" Assunta recalls. "I would insist that this was purely a career move and had nothing to do with my personality or real self and everybody raised their eyebrows, sure that I would never be taken seriously anymore as an actress. For them, my career in show business would now be one-dimensional, an endless procession of hastily produced exploitative films." That’s what makes the Best Actress Award for Hubog so very special for Assunta. Not only is it a special and prestigious award coming so early in her acting career (Assunta turns 19 in February), but it’s exoneration for this ingenue who does take her craft very seriously.

Sister Alessandra (or Alex, for short), despite her tender age of 17, has already shown an uncanny thespian range for one so young. Working with director Carlitos Siguion-Reyna in the film Azucena won her rave reviews; and with the Best Supporting Actress Award for Hubog, directed by Joel Lamangan, I joked if these two films would now make her very spoiled‚ when it comes to directors.

"No naman. I’m ready to work with anyone basta magaling sila! But one day, I’d like to direct myself‚" she mischievously adds.

Put these two sisters together and you’ll immediately be struck by how they’re such polar opposites, North and South, hot and cold. Assunta is, as she’ll warn you, very reserved, the Ice Maiden. It’s gotten her into trouble, as some people just assume she’s being sullen or snobbish. But with people she’s comfortable with, she’ll actually let a smile form on her lips. Okay, she can actually be warm and expressive; but it is a far cry from gregarious. Often accompanied by her mother, Nenet Tiotangco Schiavone (yes, the de Rossi moniker is just a screen name), and her best friend Sheryl, Assunta would like nothing better than to just go about her work, forego interviews and spend the wee hours of the morning at some designated Starbucks, unwinding with very close friends. There really is no special someone at the moment; and no, if and when, he won’t have to be a basketball player.

Manny Valera, Assunta’s manger, has really created something special with Assunta’s image. Here you have a sexy star on film, replete with an FHM calendar that had the most unlikely of suspects trooping to newsstands and bookstores to get their copies; yet maintaining an image that, for lack of a better word, remains wholesome via her television persona. On the small screen, she’s involved with comedy shows, action/adventure series and occasional singing guest spots (there’s even a recording contract with Dyna Records that will be fulfilled later this year). "You’d be surprised how many young girls come up to me asking for my autograph or wanting to pose with me. I was afraid for a while it would only be men who would recognize me or who I could count on as my fans." Just to show you how successful this unconventional and eclectic imaging has been, Assunta is a Bench image model.

For this retail apparel giant to select Assunta and bring her to India for its 2001 last quarter campaign boggles the mind. Let’s face it–in the advertising world, sexy stars are relegated to endorsing alcohol, cigarettes and/or underwear. And nothing else. For a broad-based retail company with such meticulous attention to image to tap Assunta meant they recognized her crossover appeal. That inspite of the bold films, she would be an asset, that they could use the sexiness without alienating the mainstream. That in some unique way, she transcends any single or simple categorization.

Alex is the raconteur, a gab-fest, an irrepressible whirlwind of a lady. It’s common knowledge that Alex considers herself the more mature sister, the one who has to speak up and defend Ate. And if you want Assunta to even utter a single word during an interview, I now know that it’s best not to have Alex within a five-mile radius, or at the very least, be armed with a gag order.

How does she defend her sister? Just listen to this. I remarked that some quarters were saying that Assunta was just very lucky to have had Joel Lamangan as a director, as he’s renowned to be an "actor’s director". While Assunta was admitting she was still young and relatively raw in acting, Alex quickly butted in, averring that, "No matter how good a director you may have, if the actor or actress has no talent, nothing will come out. Kailangan nasa puso talaga. We may both be very young, but we take our acting very seriously."

While roles that will fully tap the deep reservoir of talent that is Alex’s is rare, given her age, she’s patient, knowing that when she hits eighteen, a whole slew of roles can now be considered. She jokes that even without the necessary equipment‚ she’ll soon be giving Assunta a "run for her money". There’s even a hoped-for foray into ramp modeling that’s been a cherished dream for some time now.

When asked to describe themselves in one word, Alex immediately shouts "Cute!" while Assunta takes a second before saying "Mysterious". When asked to describe each other, Assunta takes one look at Alex and smilingly remarks "Bossy", while Alex retorts with "Ma-arte". Of course, this brings a chorus of denials from each girl.

Mother safely smiles in the background, knowing better than to side with either one. When prodded as to which daughter was her favorite, she refuses to answer, but as I insisted, she reluctantly admitted, "Well, it’s only natural that you’ll favor the one who goes to you more often. That’s Assunta; Alex likes to be more independent, the rebel, the pilya. But I love them equally. They have two other sisters who live with their father in Italy. It’s a small town in the southern part of Italy, Lecce. They’ve both been so busy, it’s been some time now since they saw their father. Hopefully, we may have a chance to visit him this Holy Week."

As they’ve been in the industry since such an early age, they’re both very conscious of what they’ve missed out on in terms of a "normal life". Alex reflects, "A real high school and college life, the gimiks, the barkada. We’ve both finished high school, but a good portion of this was done at home or with broken schedules. And likewise, there is a price to pay for the fame and status as a member of the entertainment world."

True to their age, it’s put in a specific context. Assunta bewails how it’s so frustrating to spend the whole day at Enchanted Kingdom and end up with only two rides.

Alex concurs, "The other month I was there and even a simple thing like lining up for the ride is something some guy wanted to capture on his video-cam. That’s fine at first, but he just wouldn’t stop. Finally, I turned my own camera on him, hoping that would put an end to it. But no, he just continued till we got on the ride!"

The autograph hounds and the posing with fans is all right–it’s part and parcel of the lives they’ve chosen. But there are limits and different ways in which fans will couch their requests, so hopefully they’ll understand when things have to be stopped and the longing for some privacy is given sway.

There is a bright future in store for these two teens; and while the world is their oyster, they can only hope that people do not begrudge them the good fortune they’re enjoying. Let Assunta have the final word (as she rarely does when Alex is around): "People have always tended to prejudge; not only in regards to career, but also in terms of our personal life. Sometimes I really wonder why so much of what goes on in this industry has to be generated by creating friction and controversy. For us, it’s the hard work and dedication that we put into our craft that should matter."

Words of wisdom or simple naivete? When you’re as hot as these two sisters, it doesn’t really matter.