Sharon Cuneta (left) and Richard Gomez
Sharon Cuneta confessed that she had to extend shooting for the movie “Three Words to Forever” for one more day after she failed to finish working on several important scenes as a result of deep sadness and grief because of the death of a good friend.
“I was only able to finish one scene that day,” said Sharon of her reaction to the death of Inquirer Entertainment writing editor Bayani San Diego on Oct. 24. She claimed to have been so grief-stricken that she wasn’t able to focus on the scenes that she was supposed to do for Cathy Garcia-Molina’s latest drama.
“We were so tense that day because of her,” said Sharon’s costar Richard Gomez, who broke the news of Bayani’s passing to her after reading about it on Facebook. “Direk Cathy scolded me. She asked, ‘Why did you tell her? What will we do with her now?’”
“That was why he tried to take it back. It’s funny how he said ‘Ay, buhay naman yata!’” recalled Sharon as she laughed while wiping away her tears. She then proceeded to answer the Inquirer’s question on what the audience could expect from her reunion movie with Richard, as compared to her well-received tandem with Robin Padilla in “Unexpectedly Yours.”
“My film with Robin is comedy. He has his own charm. We’re very effective onscreen because we’re so in sync when we work together,” she explained. “I never got to watch any of Richard’s work with Dawn (Zulueta), but I know this project is different. There’s something here for everyone. It’s not just for two people in love. It’s about three generations of women in one family trying to keep it together. We try to show—even though it’s difficult—how important it is to do that.”
Richard, meanwhile, said her onscreen partnership with Dawn “is different from Sharon’s in terms of how we approach acting. I can’t pinpoint exactly, but if you see this movie, you’ll know.”
What Richard was most proud about “Three Words to Forever” was that it was shot entirely in Ormoc City, where he is the incumbent mayor.
“We were locked in there for three weeks. We had a wonderful time. It’s my honor to be their host. I’m also proud to show the whole country how beautiful the city is. I’m glad they enjoyed their stay in Ormoc. I’d like to bring more people there,” he declared.
From left: Gomez, Cuneta and Kathryn Bernardo in “Three Words to Forever”
For Sharon, the 15 years that she lost touch with Richard made her feel uncomfortable around him in the beginning. “I was nervous to shoot the film. I told Inang (Olive Lamasan, one of her mentors) that I didn’t know if I could do this. I cried to her. I told her, ‘I don’t know him anymore. He’s not my Richard,’” Sharon recalled. “I wasn’t used to Richard being a mayor. I was even more shocked when I heard him speaking Bisaya. I’m glad things eventually turned out great.”
On the big screen, Sharon and Richard last worked together in Joel Lamangan’s “Walang Kapalit” in 2003.
“We went through a lot, you just don’t know. Grabe ang tiniis ko dito,” she said of her ex-boyfriend while laughing.
“We were still so young then. We were officially together for a year, but we dated for five years on and off. Richard is really a good person—that’s why I was able to forgive him easily, repeatedly. I don’t think I would be able to put up with a boyfriend that long if it wasn’t Richard,” she declared.
“Three Words to Forever,” which also features Kathryn Bernardo, Liza Lorena, Tommy Esguerra, Joross Gamboa, Marnie Lapus and Tobie dela Cruz, is part of Star Cinema’s 25th anniversary celebration. It will be shown in cinemas starting Nov. 28.