Elmo Magalona (left) and Jane Oineza pair up in “Click Like Share.”
Jane Oineza and Elmo Magalona, who paired up for the first time in the third season of “Click Like Share,” said they are both “ready for mature roles” now that they’re in their mid-20s.
“I’m already 25,” Jane told reporters during a recent virtual media conference to promote the series. “I’m willing to give whatever is needed in order for a story or a character to be more relatable to the audience. If it’s something that will improve the project, then why not?”
In the episode “Unseen,” Jerome (Elmo) and Mariel (Jane) are longtime lovers whose relationship is changed by an accident that leads to her blindness. Driven by guilt, Jerome dedicates his time to look after Mariel, until one day, he suddenly disappears from her life forever.
“Before they went up to me for this project, the production team told me that ours would be the most mature of all the episodes. We wanted it to have that different kind of depth. We prepared for it. I hope the audience will appreciate our efforts,” said Elmo, 27.
Done with class
“Our ‘daring scene’ was done with class. It was Direk Andoy (Ranay) who helped us with it,” assured Elmo. “Honestly, I didn’t know at first that I’d have to go topless in that particular scene. I prepared only a few days after I learned about it. But while I was on the set, I was very patient because I wanted the scene to look good.”
Jane said she didn’t feel awkward shooting an intimate scene with Elmo because they’ve already worked together in the horror-thriller “Bloody Crayons” in 2017. She added: “We weren’t even paired in that movie, and that was a long time ago, so it’s good to be able to work with him again. We did a quick one-on-one before the shoot, but even then, there wasn’t any awkwardness at all.”
Elmo added: “As long as the role is challenging, I will accept it. It will really help if I feel comfortable with the actors I’ll be working with, just like Jane in this project. However, I would also like to try out different things. I don’t want to be typecast into doing mature roles from now on. This was as fun as it was challenging.”
Andoy explained that the intimate scene in this particular episode wasn’t just made to titillate the audience. “Jane and Elmo play longtime lovers,” he pointed out. “Besides, stories here are based on real-life experiences that we read or watch on social media. Because we are so into it already—we get our phones and check our social media accounts for likes, shares, and comments the moment we wake up—the series is here to remind us to be cautious, to be careful of what we put out there about ourselves.”
Andoy said it was easy to work with the two because “they are both very professional and collaborative. I saw that they enjoyed their roles, so I also enjoyed directing them.”
Meanwhile, Jane agreed with what Andoy said about how people turn to social media for validation. “We may be affected by what we see or read online, but once we realize that people’s opinions of us don’t define who we are, as long as we know the truth about ourselves, then we should be OK. In all fairness, I don’t think I have in my life anything that I’d like to ‘unsee.’ I don’t need to explain everything I do to people,” she declared.
Fact-checking first
Like Jane, Elmo can’t think of anything that he would want to “unsee.” He added: “If ever I see something that I know isn’t true, then I refuse to be bothered by it. If I feel affected, it should be for the right reasons. I treat everything with a grain of salt.”
Jane then said celebrities are often victims of online identity theft. “It’s good that social media sites now ‘verify’ our accounts by giving it the Blue Check. There are a lot of posers out there. They will pretend to be you, which is scary because they will use your name to buy stuff or tell other people to support a product you don’t endorse. I just hope people will do fact-checking first so that they won’t get scammed.”
Priority list
This particular project of Elmo’s is the first to be released since the pandemic lockdown in 2020. Elmo was last seen in the action-drama series “A Soldier’s Heart.”
“I’m grateful that this is finally out. Hopefully, things will keep on rolling from here on,” he said. “Just like everyone else who struggled during the lockdown, I was just at home because I didn’t want to get sick. But it’s good that I was given the chance to get out more, like this week, I made an appearance in ‘It’s Showtime!’”
When asked which tops their priority list, love or career, Jane replied: “Of course, my priority is still my career. My goal is to become successful, mainly because of my family. Although I try to balance the two.”
Jane, who admitted in May 2021 to dating actor RK Bagatsing, added: “I’m happy I was able to get into what I think is the right rhythm and flow. I hope this continues in 2022 and the following years.”
For Elmo, his focus has always been his career, he said. “It’s where my passion is coming from. These days, I’m trying to focus on myself more. Love can come later. I’m happy for those who are in love right now, but I’ve taken a different path. I’m going to focus on myself and my career more.”
The first episode titled “Repair” features JC Alcantara, while the second, titled “QR Code,” stars Vivoree. “Unseen” is the third episode while “Swap,” starring Belle Mariano and Shanaia Gomez, is the last.
“Click, Like, Share” Season 3 will premiere on Jan. 12, 8 p.m., on iWantTFC.