Anne Curtis can’t go stateside

ANNE Curtis is now a Screen Actors Guild member.

“Sure, a lot of actors would love to go to Hollywood and try out for roles, but it’s so hard to leave what I have here,” said Anne Curtis, when asked if she was entertaining thoughts of pursuing an international career, now that her US film is about to hit the theaters.

Curtis, who has dabbled in just about everything local show biz has to offer, said she was happy with all the things she had accomplished in the country.

“I’m worried about giving up something that is already so stable,” Curtis told reporters at the recent press conference for “Blood Ransom.”

Also in the event was her leading man, American actor Alexander Dreymon, who played a recurring character in the third season of the FX series “American Horror Story.”

Though she expressed interest in auditioning or taking up acting classes abroad, Curtis said she was bound by her show biz commitments here.

“I have ‘It’s Showtime’ … I get to have only a month [of] vacation. I was just lucky that Viva and ABS-CBN allowed me to do this project,” Curtis said.

Asked how she landed the lead role in the movie, Curtis said, “My friend Sam Richelle asked me if I’d be willing to send an audition tape for a film to be shot in the United States. I gave it a shot.”

“Blood Ransom,” a paranormal romance-thriller movie, was shot and directed two years ago by Filipino-American director Francis de la Torre of Tectonic Films in California. In the trailer shown to the press, Curtis’ character, Crystal, seemingly turns into a vampire.

“I’ve done comedy and drama films, but not suspense-thrillers like ‘Blood Ransom,’” Curtis said. “This is so different from my past films.”

Although shooting was done almost every day for a month, Curtis said she did not get too exhausted because working hours in the United States were regulated—unlike in local show biz. “They make sure that we get enough sleep,” said Curtis, who is now a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Things went smoothly, Curtis said, save for an awkward moment when filming an intimate scene with Dreymon, who plays Jeremiah, Crystal’s kidnapper and would-be lover. “Our director kept telling me that he wanted our kiss to be more passionate,” Curtis said. “Apparently, he wanted us to French kiss!”

She continued, “I was a little taken aback because we don’t usually do that here. But I was assured it would be tastefully done.”

Working on “Blood Ransom” was fruitful, Curtis said, adding that she was not in it for the money, but for the experience. “I hope to do similar projects in the future,” she said. “I rarely audition nowadays, so I felt like a newbie in a way. I was inspired to learn more.”

“Blood Ransom” premieres on Oct. 29 in the Philippines and Oct. 31 in the United States. “I’ll fly there (US) and stay for a week to promote the movie,” Curtis said.

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