An Unlikely Pairing That Works: MEG & RYAN

Seeing the trailer a couple months back had me asking if these two actors would actually work. I could identify JC Santos in more indie looking romcoms and drams while Rhian Ramos would fall into either action, sultry contrabida roles, drama and fantasy genres.

Watching the movie through a red carpet advance screening (a few days ago) however proved that putting these actors in a box would be a big mistake especially since the material of Meg & Ryan needed specific personas shown on screen. JC had to make Ryan as nerdy, ultra conservative and virginal at times while Rhian does the opposite, flawed, game for anything and had no bottle left unturned. She also gets egged to do things by friends, persuaded by a drop of wine and fun it brings. 

Lots of stars went to the event and supported them. Mind you it was raining and traffic was bad, but they all went there to support Director Catherine Camarillo and the other stars of the film. In a way this is a huge gamble because it's pretty slow at cinemas these days. But they're pretty confident about this story and its execution.

JC took his character to heart. With his boyish charm and soft delivery, he makes the easy work out of being the Mama's boy he needed to portray. Rhian on the other hand remained pretty mysterious despite her being the rocker chick she exudes. Both characters situations get intertwined, call it fate, call it something something that happened for one night, but they both loved each other eventually.

Some real good highlights are the appearances of Steven Bansil and the super funny POCA. If you love them on their internet skits, you would love them even more in their first movie.

We all thought it was not going to work, but folks in the cinema were gushing about the pair, even cried too. I guess we all fell for the trap that is MEG & RYAN. And they hope you get to experience it too.  It's an interesting and cute story, the pairing works! It comes out on August 6th, in cinemas nationwide! This is under POCKET MEDIA Films.

RHIAN RAMOS, JC SANTOS Take On Complex Characters in PM Productions "MEG & RYAN"

A word was uttered around the venue when we were interviewing the cast of "Meg & Ryan", it was UNDERRATED, which we felt was certainly an apt one after meeting the stars of the movie under Pocket Media Films. 

Lead stars Rhian Ramos and JC Santos will be doing this romantic comedy film together with the cast award winning actor Cedrick Juan, Ces Quesada, Cris Villanueva, Jef Gaitan, JMee Katanyag, and social media stars Steven Bansil and Poca Osinaga, plus beauty queen Alison Black.   

While isn't first film to be directed by Direk Catherine O. Camarillo, this is somehow her first foray in the love story-romcom genre. "This is another masterpiece that I want to share with you, which I hope you would be able to give awareness to the audience, give them a fair chance to watch this in cinemas this coming August 5, 2025. (watched trailer, she became very emotional and said)  I am just overwhelmed seeing them on screen because they really look good together. Doing this was quite easy because I had some of the best actors to work with. It was quite to put them in what I envisioned in the film. I've done so many projects in the past that made me do compromises, I didn't have to do that here. I gave it my all, and got the ones I wanted to have in this project. I'm so happy I was able to do that in Meg & Ryan. I also felt the support of my cast, they respected the material, they loved this film as much as I did."

Rhian says "I haven't had drunk episodes where I wasn't aware of what I was doing. Either that, or may I just couldn't remember it. I really enjoyed the whole experience because JC is such a generous actor. If there's something he could do to help in the execution of a scene, he will. He will go farther than what is expected of him. It's not just the acting part that he's going to do, he contributes in the lines, change it to what feels more natural in the scenes. He really envibes what would Ryan do or say. It really helped me and made my job super easy! I really love complex characters, those with flaws, to make sense of people. Meg is an @lcoh0lic, opposites attract, I've seen Direk Catherine's previous films and wanted to work with JC which is why I wanted to do this. This is how I view love also, we have our own journey, when you find someone who understand that about you, it needs to be watched and told." 

JC Santos added "Actually everybody here was easy to work with. This is what's great about a collaboration because you can feel if you match. We enjoyed the process even the challenges, Rhian Ramos is a part of my bucket list and I'm seeing it now. I see how she gives the truth in her scenes. Even Tita Ces, Direk Catherine gives us freedom so we get our personalities in the mix. I also really wanted to work with Direk Catherine, and seeing the script, it's a different kind of love. It's something new, puberty at 35, he is complex, a bit difficult to do but I think we succeeded in creating this character."

Here's the press conference in full:

Aside from being shown in the Philippines, this will also have a theater run in Australia and New Zealand on August 14th. Please support Filipino films as these don't come cheap in production. They're taking a huge risk because they want to help the industry. The love story between Meg & Ryan was created by prolific writer Gina Marissa Tagasa. The soundtrack is also a fun version of Torete, which will make you feel a bit of nostalgia. This took a while before it was released, but from the looks of it, it has all the ingredients to make you connect with the story of Meg and Ryan. Go watch it on theaters, and see the trailers on their social channels because they already have 2 out!

Fear Something New With This Judy Ann Santos, Lorna Tolentino and Chanda Romero Starrer ESPANTAHO

When we heard Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo was participating in this year's Metro Manila Film Festival, we were really excited about particular film she's doing; they call it "ESPANTAHO". The term actually means a "scarecrow", a thing that's pretty common in farmlands, especially in agricultural countries like ours.

It's been a while since she's done something like this, but it was promised to her by Director Chito Roño who called her for the project. Judy Ann says "It's been a while since I've worked with Direk Chito Roño. Before I was a young lady, but now I already have a daughter. I'm happy because when he called me for a horror film, I didn't say anything, just "let's do it!". This is a dream, I wanted to experience it, he's calmer now, but still has a mic when he does sarcastic lines. I'm not the one he's getting mad at these days, but when you do it with him, it is fulfilling!"

This film was prepped for a year before they got to make the script. When the writer Christ Martinez presented it, he got "good" feedback from Direk Chito, and things started rolling from that. Atty Joji remarks how this has been a collaborative experience for them, and since Direk Chito is a master Director, they wanted to make a great film with them during their 20th Anniversary. The only issues they encountered were mostly because of the weather, but they adjusted with the season to fit the story. 

JC Santos likened Direk Chito to his former theater mentors, because once he asks for one more shot, it means you would need to do better on the scene. If he says "next scene", that means you're good. Most of them nodded in agreement, and Direk Chito felt he was getting roasted during the press conference (they had a laugh about it). 

Here's the press conference on video, of course! I got you!

They let us in on a secret, that painting on the left side of the stage will play a significant part in the film so if you see this in any theaters they'll be showing ESPANTAHO, go take a photo with it!

Ms. Lorna Tolentino took time to talk about love, family and a few more things about the movie after the press conference, listen in to the conversation:

In a nutshell, you would need to watch this film because of the caliber of actors that are in it. Not to mention how big of a horror director Chito Roño is, and how he's come to embrace new technology, special effects, and face a new crowd of movie goers eager to see something new, as you introduce a brand new entity to fear because they don't know what lurks behind that painting that you base the story on.

Hope this forms a cult following, perhaps a sequel too! The film will show on December 25 together with other MMFF 2024 entries, but consider watching this first especially if you're a Judy Ann Santos Agoncillo fan. This is produced by Cineko Productions, Purple Bunny Productions and Quantum Films. They promise that this will be the scariest film you're about to see on MMFF 2024.