‘Korean setup’ better?: Direk Ted Boborol on the pros and cons of love teams
Boborol with the cast of “Connected”: (left, first row) Chico Alicaya, Kobie Brown, Andi Abaya, Richard Juan and Ralph Malibunas, (seated) Amanda Zamora and Gail Banawis
“Never mix business with pleasure,” said film and TV director Theodore “Ted” Boborol as a form of advice to young artists who are part of today’s newly formed love teams.
Boborol has helped launch onscreen partnerships since he began directing for ABS-CBN in 2010, including the successful tandems of Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil (“LizQuen”), Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia (“JoshLia”), and Ronnie Alonte and Loisa Andalio (“LoiNie”).
“I’ve worked with love teams that, sadly, ended abruptly because their members broke up in real life. I always say, look at John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, who have been reel-life partners for decades. They never became an item in real life, and their teamup continues to become successful,” Boborol explained to Inquirer Entertainment in a recent virtual chat.
“But then, people will contradict me by pointing out that Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla have managed to be successful on- and off-cam for 10 years now. I have no argument against that, except that, not all love teams are like “KathNiel’s.” I just say to artists that it’s important for them to first be certain about their purpose for entering show biz. Is it because they want to be known as an actor or to be known as idols?”
Boborol continued: “If they want to become great actors, then they should focus on improving their craft and on becoming professionals. They can’t put their personal emotions over work, or else, their performance will definitely get affected. I just hope they’d listen to me. Julia and Joshua showed so much promise when they were together, but they split up romantically, so their professional partnership got dissolved as well.”
Real-life emotions
While Boborol admitted that actors can use real-life emotions to improve their performance onscreen, he still preferred what he called “the Korean setup.” He explained that “you can be paired with any other actor and still come up with the best kilig performance. There are a few exceptions, like KathNiel and LizQuen, but often, being part of a love team can be very limiting to an actor. You merely cater to your fans’ expectations.”
He added: “If you want to grow as an actor, package yourself as someone who can be paired with other talents. In Hollywood, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are together on- and off-cam but not all of their film projects were well-received, while Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, who never dated, are so effective in making their audience feel kilig. It’s the same thing with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. In reality though, since we’re dealing with young people who are unable to control their emotions well, some of them really end up falling for each other.”
Theodore “Ted” Boborol
In terms of work ethic, Boborol has this to say to newbies. “I have three important guidelines: Be on time, be professional, and be nice to coworkers.” While the first two items are self-explanatory, said Boborol, he pointed out that being nice should also extend even to the lowly production assistant (PA).
‘Connected’
“Tita Cory (Vidanes, current CEO of ABS-CBN) used to be a PA, even Ma’am Charo (Santos-Concio, chief content officer of ABS-CBN Corp.) and Inang Olive (Olivia Lamasan, ABC-CBN Film Productions Inc. consultant). If these people you treat so badly while they were just starting eventually become bosses, they will remember you. When I was new in the industry, I know of a really talented artist who would just be ignored by producers during casting. I didn’t understand why at first, until someone explained to me that this person is difficult to work with.”
Through his latest film, titled “Connected,” Boborol will be launching three more love teams. The romantic comedy will feature former “Pinoy Big Brother” (PBB) housemates Amanda Zamora and Chico Alicaya, Gail Banawis and Ralph Malibunas, and Kobie Brown and Andi Abaya. PBB host Richard Juan is also part of the film.
Boborol said the offer to do the project, which is the first film production of Star Magic Studios, came from PBB business unit head Raymund Dizon. “He told me that the movie title should be ‘Connected,’ a word play for the show’s own title, ‘PBB Connect,’ so I tapped writer Mary Rose Colindres to work on the story. The two of us did an in-depth interview with the cast to get to know them more. Based on what we’ve picked up from their life experiences, we created our story,” Boborol began.
“This is why the characters they play here are somewhat similar to their personalities—this has become our strategy when working with new actors. At the same time, we also wanted to tackle real-life issues experienced by the Gen Zs or Zoomers,” he explained. “We will present three love stories that are interconnected and aren’t episodic. The characters will each be able to get hold of this magical traveling pin-back button, which bears a message that resonates or reflects what the bearer is going through emotionally.”
“Connected,” which is part of Star Magic’s 30th anniversary celebration, started streaming on July 22 via KTX, iWantTFC, TFC IPTV video-on-demand and SKY Cable pay-per-view. It is part of Star Magic’s yearlong celebration of its 30th anniversary. INQ
