JERRY OLEA
First movie ng CassRen tandem nina Cassy Legaspi at Darren Espanto ang MMFF 2023 official entry na When I Met You In Tokyo.
Nang una silang sabihang magkakasama sila sa pelikula, ano ang naramdaman nila?
“Nung una po naming nalaman, hindi po kami sure,” sambit ni Darren sa mediacon nitong Oktubre 26, 2023, Huwebes, sa Seda Vertis North, Quezon City.
“Kasi, kung totoo ba, kasi we were both unaware of what it was pa lang. Kasi, inquiry pa lang ang nakarating sa team namin.
“So, parang I don’t know… I think, it was first offered to me… kasi, parang ako yung nagsabi sa kanya, ‘Did you get an inquiry for a movie daw?’ Na parang… in-inquire tayong dalawa,” lahad ni Darren habang nakatingin sa katabing si Cassy.
“O, tapos?” pakli ng dalaga.
Pagpapatuloy ni Darren, “Yun nga. In-inquire po kaming dalawa and we’re not sure pa lang, kasi parang hindi pa 100 percent buo yung cast and yung synopsis, but they were inquiring for the both of us para maging parang mga nina Miss Vilma [Santos] and Sir Christopher [de Leon].
“So we both wanted to do it, kasi siyempre, ang tagal na po naming gustong magkaroon ng project together. Kasi we haven’t really done anything aside from endorsements and stuff like that.
“Pero ito, isang totoong project na siya, yung pelikula, and it’s actually an official, like CassRen project.”
Tumangu-tango si Cassy, “Oo nga.”
Read: Cassy Legaspi and Darren Espanto recall how they became close friends
May show noon si Darren sa U.S. kaya hinintay pa ang availability niya para matuloy ang tandem nila ni Cassy sa When I Met You In Tokyo.
Sabi ni Ate Vi, iyong CassRen loveteam ay future Vilma-Christopher tandem.
“Nakaka-pressure naman yun!” bulalas ni Cassy. “Oh my gosh!”
Pahayag ng Star for All Seasons, “Pag sineryoso niyo yan. Kasi, ang ganda ng chemistry nyong dalawa. You just have to hone it, ganun, the acting, experiences. Doing movies.
“But you have the chemistry. So work on it.”
Nag-thank you sina Cassy at Darren kay Ate Vi. Pagpapakumbaba ni Darren, “Marami pa po kaming kakaining bigas bago namin marating yung narating na po nila.
“But of course, it’s such an honor. Maraming salamat po na nanggaling yun kay Miss Vilma.”
Noon pa inamin ni Darren na "more than friends" sila ni Cassy. Ang deskripsyon naman ni Cassy kay Darren ay "special friend."
Read: Cassy Legaspi admits Darren Espanto is boyfriend material
GORGY RULA
Paano nagklik ang CassRen tandem? Paano iyon na-translate sa onscreen chemistry? Ano ang gusto o naa-appreciate nila sa isa’t isa?
Saad ni Darren, “Kasi siyempre, kilala na po namin yung isa’t isa before pa. But during the pandemic, siyempre parang… you only have, you know, your social media, to be able to connect with your friends and stuff like that in one of the gadgets that you have.
“And Cassy is one of the people that I was able to really connect to during that time. So that’s something na definitely had a big part to play, and you know, it added to where we are today din po. So, yeah.”
Sambot ni Cassy, “We know each other so well. Kasi in a way, we grew up together. In a way, so…”
“Kakaano, kakabiro ng mga tao tungkol sa CassRen,” singit ni Darren.
Pag-ayon ni Cassy, “Oo nga, grabe ang pag-manifest ng CassRen. Lakas niyo! Iba!
“So ayun, I guess because we know each other so well, and we accept each other’s flaws. So… paano ba? I guess everything comes naturally and we don’t like to act.
“Kasi I guess the more you act, the more na nawawala yung totoong chemistry, which is what people want to see. So I’m very lucky.
“I just wanna say I’m very lucky with Darren because I don’t have to act. So everything is way easier for me.”
Paano ba nag-meet for the first time sina Cassy at Darren?
Pagbabalik-tanaw ni Darren, nag-guest siya noon sa Kris TV, na nagkataong co-host ang ina ni Cassy na si Carmina Villarroel.
“They asked me about Cassy if I’ve met her, what I think about Cassy,” sambit ni Darren.
“Sabi ko, yes, she’s very pretty. I’ve never met her before. Tapos sakto, around that time din, concert po ni Ariana Grande sa Pilipinas.
“Tapos, pagpasok ko sa elevator, nauna po kami, e… tapos sumunod sila, sakto, yung buong Legaspi family. Tapos parang both of us were like…”
“Uy! Siya yun!” bulalas ni Cassy.
Dugtong ni Darren, “Hindi namin kilala yung isa’t isa. So that was our first encounter. But we didn’t meet formally po, e.
“Kasi parang si Tita Mina just introduced that, ‘This is my family,’ ganun-ganun. And then we’ve only really met nung nag-guest po siya sa amin. Kasi nung time na yun, parte pa siya ng network namin.”
Super-awkward daw sila noon, pero ngayon ay komportableng-komportable na sila. Inaasam ni Cassy na masundan pa ng ibang project ang tambalang CasRen.
Sey ni Cassy, “I really love working with Darren. And I think we owe it to our fans. Kasi, naghintay sila for nine years.
“Nine years, they’ve been patient with us for nine years. So they deserve CasRen projects. So baka naman… baka naman… ayun.”
Dagdag ni Darren, “Since wala na rin namang mga network wars, especially between ABS-CBN and GMA, it’s something that we look forward to in the future pa.
“So you know, there’s a lot of possibilities na magsama pa po kami ni Cassy. More projects, not just endorsements, you know. Sana po, in the future, magsama pa kami.”
“Teleserye,” pakli ni Cassy.
Pag-agree ni Darren, “Yeah, serye or another movie. Seryoso yun. Minsan ano po, e, yung mga magulang namin, nagsasabi, ‘Tayo na lang mag-produce.’”
Read: Darren Espanto, Cassy Legaspi cozy up in San Francisco
NOEL FERRER
Mabuti at may new generation love team na featured sa When I Met You In Tokyo para mas malawak na ang magiging market ng pelikula.
Pero talaga? Seryoso ba talaga ang mga tao sa CassRen loveteam?
Special friends pa lang naman daw sila, sabi ni Cassy.
OK naman to be young and in love. Basta, laging may isip na kasama sa tibok ng puso sana, ha.
I’m sure Cassy can get some good tips from Mommy dear Carmina!!!