Other casting coups on our wish list

Jericho Rosales

After our “solved” column on Amy Austria’s long-awaited return to acting came out, we got intrigued queries about the other “casting coup” items on our list.

What long-delayed cinematic apparition would make us feel similarly “solved” next season?

Topping our ever-hopeful enumeration of joyous filmic druthers is a new movie costarring Bea Alonzo and Jericho Rosales.
We’ve waxed effusive about them separately in the past, but why make such a big deal about seeing them onscreen together?

Quite simply, in our view, Jericho is the best actor of his generation, and Bea is his female match—so, it would be great to see them “flash and flare” against each other in a challenging film, where they could push and goad each other to greater thespic heights.

New film

When it was recently announced that Bea would be making a new film after her hit teleserye, we hoped that it would finally be the special project we’ve long been publicly yearning about.

But, it looks like we haven’t been yearning insistently enough, because she’s doing it with other people.

So, we’ll just have to redouble our nagging, so that we’ll finally get our palpitating cinematic wish in 2018.

Next on our list is a definitively great film project for Nora Aunor. Yes, she’s acted in some creditable and even exceptional comeback vehicles since her return to the big screen—but her really iconic and totemic portrayal is—still to come.

What would measure up to that rigorous standard?
A film and lead portrayal on the peerless level of Lino Brocka’s “Bona,” where Nora scored an unforgettable thespic bull’s-eye playing a conflicted movie fan.

‘Best of the best’

What made the portrayal Nora’s “best of the best” was Brocka’s eye for perfect casting.
Yes, Nora was a superstar at the time, but she could still make herself look and act “ordinary” and even “faceless,” due to her instinctive thespic gift, so she made the miserable fan’s pain corrosively real and dire.

Thus, when at film’s end she poured scalding-hot water over her neglectful idol’s head, viewers were shocked—but understood why she did it!

Other casting coups we heartily wish for: A new costarrer for Robert Arevalo and Barbara Perez. Niño Muhlach and his heir, Alonzo, in an unexpectedly amazing indie two-fer. Nora and Vilma Santos in a thespic “duel royal,” megged by Laurice Guillen or Chito Roño.

What are your casting coup inputs and shoutouts, dear reader?