Maria Isabel Lopez: No intention to steal scene in Cannes

After a red carpet photo of the cast of the film “Ma’Rosa” went viral, actress Maria Isabel Lopez clarified that she did not intend to steal the spotlight at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

In an article she wrote at glitter.ph, Lopez apologized to director Brillante Mendoza and Cannes Best Actress Jaclyn Jose, saying that “there was no intention” on her part to be a “scene stealer.”

Lopez was reacting to a photo of the “Ma’Rosa” cast on the red carpet that went viral, where a noticeable gap can be seen between her and the rest of the cast.

She was wearing an emerald green gown by Albert Andrada, while her companions wore black and white outfits. Lopez said she was not advised of the color coding before she left Manila.

“I have to put it in mind that I’m not the lead actress here. I’m just doing a cameo role. The spotlight is not on me. It’s the director Brillante Mendoza and Jaclyn Jose in the title role of Ma’Rosa,” Lopez wrote.

“When we got off the car, yells and screams from international fans, media, onlookers and guests. I positioned myself on the right side as I don’t want to steal the limelight from Brillante and Jaclyn, as they were being interviewed by the French TV. In the choreography, I didn’t take center stage. I was positioned on the extreme right with new actor John Paul Duray.” she added.

Lopez said the reason for the gap in the viral photo was because her expensive gown, the train of which was “three times longer than Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach’s winning blue gown,” was being stepped upon.

“You can see in the photo that went viral that I was not pleased, so I need to keep pushing my tail near me.”

“That’s the reason for the ‘space’ that I created between me and the rest of the actors. As they say inside the Paris metro ‘please mind the gap.’ My gown was being stepped upon and if you can only see how dirty it is on the tail. I was not trying to make a scene. I was simply protecting myself from falling down and from making the gown dirty,” Lopez said.

“The walk, the smile, the projection, the wave, was exactly the same moves in the 2009 red carpet of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. The same make up done by me, the same hairstyle. The same old me … only in a different gown, in a different time when the Philippines is now the social media capital of the world,” she added. RC

Maria Isabel Lopez makes a splash in the south of France. AFP