The pilot episode of Ngayon
at Kailanman aired on GMA-7 yesterday, June 8, and it was ranked as the
16th highest-viewed show with its rating of 16.6 percent, according to national
ratings provided by Taylor Nelson Sofres. It also received a rating of 21.1
percent, according to Mega Manila ratings provided by AGB Nielsen.
This remake of the Sharon Cuneta and Richard Gomez film is helmed by Mike
Tuviera, the same man behind Heart Evangelista's previous show Luna Mystika.
This marks the first time that Heart is paired with JC de Vera.
During the press conference of Ngayon at Kailanman, Direk Mike pointed
out the changes that they did to make this afternoon soap opera different from
the movie version, which was shown in 1992.
"Nung napili ang Ngayon at Kailanman, we were very confident kasi
maganda na yung plot niya, maganda talaga yung istorya.
"The first step na ginawa naming was to expand. Pwede naming i-stretch yung mga
plots kasi siyempre one-hour-30 minutes lang siya, mabilis lang siya. Sa
Sinenovela, we can flesh out the characters and yung istorya. Yung
pinanggalingan nila at kung saan sila pupunta.
"Yung mga favorite moments nyo from movie nandun pa
rin. Yung nagliligawan sila...pero dinagdagan po namin," narrated Direk Mike.
Earlier that day, JC de Vera told reporters that he was already mesmerized by
Heart's beauty when they were Grade 2 students in Colegio de San Agustin. Heart
laughed before saying, "Siyempre it's nice to work with JC. It's funny because
never ko siyang naging kaibigan nung Grade 2 kami. Classmates kami but after
all that time...pareho kaming naging artista...nakakatawa.
"Working with him and seeing how much he's grown as
an actor, nakakatuwa. It's inspiring to work with him because he's always there
100 percent and he's very professional," says the female lead star.
PRESSURED BY RATINGS. Heart and JC were both lead stars in primetime
shows before they were given this afternoon soap opera. Heart was the leading
lady of Mark Anthony Fernandez in Luna Mystika while JC was paired with
Rhian Ramos in LaLola.
JC says that he is more pressured now because of the limited audience during this particular timeslot.
"Alam naman natin yung Luna, nag number one. Yung LaLola, naging number one rin. Ako, personally, nape-pressure ako kasi nanggaling kayo sa number one shows nung primetime tapos biglang magpapang-hapon kayo, yung pressure nandun. Mataas yung ratings n'yo noon, kailangan pag pang-hapon kayo, mataas rin ratings n'yo dapat kasi mas maliit na yung market. Mas konti na yung viewers kaya mas nakaka-pressure. Kung hindi n'yo tatapatan, mas higitan di ba?"
JC jokingly added, "Na-kontrata ko na rin lahat ng katulong, mga security guards na manood sila."
Heart admits that she gained a new perspective about afternoon soap operas when she accepted this project.
"Pressure po siya pero I had a good talk with Direk Mike during the taping of Luna Mystika when everything was about to start and he made me look at it in a different way. It says where you're at in your career.
"You're given a chance...para siyang malaking sandbox na pwede mong paglaruan. Pwde mong hasain ang drama, ang acting, which is always a good opportunity when you're a good actress. To not be stagnant about your craft, kumbaga practice siya at nahahasa nang nahahasa ka.
"Taping two to three times a week and focusing on drama...minsan you're at that point na sumisigaw ka at sobrang nagiging emotional ka na at nabi-break na yung boses mo. Maraming bagong nuances na lumalabas and you do it all the time. Also, it's nice doing a movie of Ms. Sharon Cuneta...it's flattering so why not?"
OTHER CAST MEMBERS. Aside from JC and Heart, Ngayon at Kailanman also stars Ramon Christopher, Dion Ignacio, Luis Alandy and Arci Munoz.
Monching (Ramon's nickname) described his character by saying, "Ako po si Leo, ako ang parang financer ni Luis Alandy na si Ronald, ang kapatid ni Ayra [Heart]. Nilulong ko siya sa bisyo, pagsusugal at sa ibang raket na pang-kriminal. Ang hidden agenda ko aya para mapalapit siya sa akin at pag nabawi nila yung hacienda, maibalik niya sa akin yung pera ko."
Luis Alandy is cast as the delinquent brother of Ayra (played by Heart Evangelista).
"Ako po si Ronald Noche, kapatid po ni Ayra. Sa movie, si Mark Gil ang gumanap na Ronald. Ako yung dahilan kung bakit nawala yung hacienda sa amin. Pinalubog ko yung business namin pero kahit nawala yung hacienda namin, feeling ko mayaman pa rin kami. Kahit may nakukuha akong pera, sinusugal ko. Ang buhay ko, lumaki sa sugal. Later on, malalaman nila kung gaano kasama yung character ni Ronald," says Luis.
Arci Munoz is the girl obsessed with Edwin (JC de Vera). "Ako po si Donna Benitez, yung gumanap po sa movie, si Ms. Cherie Gil. Ako yung ex-girlfriend ni Edwin. Yung character ko dito mayaman na magaling mangabayo so nag-training kami dito ni JC. What Donna wants, Donna gets. So si Edwin, inaangkin niya at hindi niya hinahayaan na mapunta kay Ayra."
Dion Ignacio acts as the right-hand man of JC de Vera. In the original film, Dion's character named Duds was portrayed by Rustom Padilla.