Mapapaaga na ang showing ng pelikula nina Kim Chiu at Gerald Anderson. Sa October 27 na ang playdate ng Star Cinema movie na ito na idinirek at isinulat ni Joey Reyes. Una kasing napabalita na next year pa ito ipalalabas at si Laurenti Dyogi ang magdidirek.

Pero paglilinaw ni Direk Joey, "A series of events led to why this project had to be mounted. Originally, Laurenti Dyogi had to direct this project but they had to fast-track it.

"Remember that Kim and Gerald already had a movie [Paano Na Kaya] this year. Kaya lang when the Robin-Toni movie was shelved, they had an empty playdate. They needed to fill that up."

Nakausap ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) si Direk Joey kahapon, October 4, sa launching ng "Live Curious" campaign ng National Geographic na ginanap sa Makati City.

Biro pa ni Direk Joey, "So, they dialed 1-800-Joey-Reyes. My joke nga, 'Kung may playdate ka na at wala ka pang project, just dial 1-800-Joey-Reyes and you will have appropriate showing on the date of commitment."

Turning serious, sinabi niya na maganda naman ang kinalalabasan ng kanilang four shooting days so far.

"I'm having a lot of fun with Kim and Gerald. It's the first time I'm working with them. That's a lot of fun.

"Plus, I also get to do a movie that I wanted to do. You know it's great that I'm doing a movie like this, hopefully in different and less pressure-laden circumstances. But since this came along, I said why not, di ba?"

May isa lang bagay na nahihirapan si Direk Joey sa shooting ng ginagawa niyang pelikula.

"I had a lot of realizations. It is extremely difficult to shoot Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson in the middle of Recto!

"My second realization is shooting in the underpass in Manila is like being kept in an enormous armpit. You could just imagine the smell and the heat with the people surrounding us!" natatawa niyang sabi tungkol sa kalye sa Manila kung  saan maraming estudyante at iba pang tao ang dumadaan araw-araw.

PARALLEL WITH KIM AND GERALD'S LIVES. Even at short notice, masayang-masaya si Direk Joey na pumayag sina Kim at Gerald na gawin ang pelikula na hindi ang usual romantic-comedy movie na ginagawa ng dalawa.

"It's about adults and them growing up and breaking up. It's about growing up and moving on. It's about time that they do this kind of movie.

"I was telling them nga, 'Just how long can you live by the power of kilig? It's about time that you prove to people that you can do more.'"

Sabi pa ni Direk Joey, may pagkakahalintulad ang mga character ng dalawa sa pelikula sa life experiences nila.

"When I was writing the story, I didn't know their life stories, their personal stories. I just know them as Kim and Gerald as teen stars.

"I don't do personal research on my actors. I found out na 'andami pa lang parallelisms doon sa buhay nila.

Nagulat din ang writer-director sa ipinakitang galing ni Gerald sa pag-arte.

"I shot a dramatic scene with Gerald last Saturday and he really delivered. He delivered quite well," aniya.

ON BEING A STAR FACTOR JUDGE. Bago pa man dumating ang nasabing pelikula, busy si Direk Joey sa pag-upo niya bilang isa sa mga judge ng TV5 artista search na Star Factor. Kasama niyang judge sina Ryan Cayabyab, Raymund Isaac, Audie Gemora, at Annabelle Rama.

"We are a menagerie," ang description ni Direk Joey sa grupo nilang mga judge. "We are highly combustible. We all come from various backgrounds.

"I love the show tremendously. I love it tremendously but it's painful  watching kids lose dreams on stage. But that is what we agreed to do.

"It's also painful that a lot of kids seem to have invested all their definition of their future in show business."

Payo nga ni Direk Joey sa mga magulang ng mga contestant na huwag pahihintuin ang pag-aaral ng kanila mga anak.

AMBASSADOR OF CURIOUSITY. Natutuwa naman si Direk Joey at napabilang siya sa Philippine ambassadors ng worldwide campaign ng National Geographic na "Live Curious." Kasama niya rito ang TV host na si Daphne Oseña-Paez at ang advertising executive na si Norman Agatep.

"It's really a great company of people to be part of. I Love Nat Geo. I watch National Geographic channel all the time. I even buy their DVDs.

"I live curious. That has been my motto in life. Constant reinterpretation, reinvention and rediscovery is always better in life," sabi ni Direk Joey.