Carmina Villarroel is thankful to ABS-CBN and GMA-7 for allowing her to promote her Metro Manila Film Festival 2019 entry titled Sunod.
Carmina is not exclusive to any network, but she has been doing projects with GMA-7 since 2017.
Even then, Carmina was allowed to appear in ABS-CBN shows like Umagang Kay Ganda.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) asked Carmina about this during the red-carpet screening of Sunod held yesterday, December 15, at Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
She said, "Ako, I'm very thankful to both stations. I'm very thankful to GMA, I'm very thankful to ABS.
"Hindi naman ako contract star ng GMA and yet, nagpaalam pa rin kami sa kanila. Nagbigay din kami ng letter sa ABS.
"So, I'm just thankful. Siguro kasi Pasko, di ba panahon ng bigayan, pagmamahal? Nandoon tayo sa happy moment lang kahit super traffic, happy lang tayo lahat.
"At least, nabigyan ako ng pagkakataon na makaapak ulit sa ABS at nakapagpromote pa ako sa ilang shows nila and with that, I'm really thankful."
FIRST LEAD ROLE AFTER MANY YEARS
Sunod is the first time that Carmina will headline a movie for the Metro Manila Film Festival.
This is why Carmina felt overwhelmed upon seeing the reactions and hearing the screams of moviegoers and guests present at the premiere night.
She said, "Nakakatuwa kasi honestly, ang tagal ko nang hindi nagkakaroon ng lead role, ang tagal ko nang hindi nakaka-attend ng premiere night, ang tagal ko nang hindi nakaka-attend ng MMFF.
"Iba kasing nakikita ko na uma-acting ako sa TV pero yung initial reaction ng tao, hindi ko nakukuha sa TV yun, e.
"Kaya gusto ko talagang gumawa ng movie kasi ito, instant reaction makikita mo na 'Ay, hindi naman siguro sila uma-acting. I'm so overwhelmed now."
Carmina is also thankful to director Carlo Ledesma and cinematographer Mycko David for taking care of her look in the film, which entailed a lot of extreme close-up shots.
Carmina admitted, "Natakot nga ako kasi habang nagshu-shoot kami, siyempre, pinapanuod namin yung playback.
"Sabi ko kina Mycko, kina Direk, 'Direk, super extreme close-up, lahat na ng pores ko, nakita na!'
"But you know, I trust them. Yun lang naman, e. That's the secret, if you have the best team, you just have to trust them kasi kung hindi, 'Ah, excuse me, pakidagdagan ng ilaw dito!'
"At saka makikita niyo naman yung make-up ko, halos wala.
"Tapos si Direk, sasabihin niya, 'Lagyan pa natin ng brown brown.'
"E, ako nga, gusto ko itago yung eyebags, e! E, pero may sakit yung anak mo tapos puyat ka sa call center, dapat pa ba flawless?
"Okay, sabi ko, forget it! Kung ano hinihingi ng character, dedma na sa eyebags!
"But when I saw the whole film, gusto kong bigyan ng award si Direk, si Mycko!"
SUPPORT FROM FAMILY
Carmina received support from her husband, Zoren Legaspi, and kids, Cassy and Mavy Legaspi, during the premiere night.
The actress said that her family has been very supportive of her ever since she started doing Sunod and the promotional activities that she did for this MMFF 2019 entry.
"Very supportive sila since Day 1, even si Zoren.
"Natutuwa ako kasi pag nagpu-post ako, nakikipost din sila, they also promote my movie.
"Siyempre, ganun talaga kapag pamilya, di ba? Nagsusuportahan kayo, di ba?
"Of course, this is a premiere night, they can't miss this. Noong nag-promote kami sa Enchanted Kingdom, kasama sila.
"Effort talaga on their part pero hindi ko naramdaman na obligado silang gawin, naramdaman ko talaga yung pagmamahal nila sa akin and they're all excited for me."
In fact, it reached the point that one of Carmina's family members agreed to do a cameo role for the movie.
Carmina admitted that the bit part was her idea. "Naaliw lang ako, ipinush ko talaga!
"Sabi ko, 'Gusto ko i-ano... Pwede ba yan? Para lang ma-try.'
"Wala lang, para at least, di ba, kapag napanuod niyo, 'Ay si ano, ay, nawala na!'
"Tapos word-of-mouth naman, anuhin mo kasi may surprise yan. Wala lang, extra gift!"