Echo+Carmen Malaysian Filipino Drama Project!

Echo topbills ABS-CBN, Malaysia co-prod
By Marinel Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:07pm (Mla time) 04/02/2008

MANILA, Philippines—ABS-CBN has inked a co-production deal with Malaysian outfit Double Vision (DV) to produce a TV series starring Malaysian model-actress Carmen Soo and Filipino actor Jericho Rosales.

The series—working title “Malaysia”—will be directed by Gilbert Perez and will air daily for 10 weeks in the Philippines, and weekly for 26 weeks in Malaysia. Shooting starts on April 30.

Perez said the shoot in Malaysia will take two months. He added that the writing, directing and creative teams will be employed by ABS-CBN, “but Double Vision will be around to help us.”

ABS-CBN president Charo Santos-Concio said Rosales was the first choice for the project. “Jericho is one of the most popular TV stars in Malaysia because the soaps he has done have also been aired there,” Concio remarked during the contract signing with the Malaysian firm last week.

Rosales was 17 when he won a talent search in the noontime show “Eat … Bulaga!” in 1996. He became a member of ABS-CBN’s Star Circle Batch 4 and has since starred in several TV series, including “Pangako Sa’Yo,” which became a big hit in Malaysia and Cambodia.

Soo, 29, rose to fame also at age 17 after winning a talent search organized by the Malaysian magazine “Verve.”

Later she joined Starz People, a top modeling agency in Hong Kong. Soo appeared in the film “The Third Generation” and won the Most Promising Actress Award at the 2006 Malaysian Film Festival.

“I hope to get to know Jericho better. I promise to get him some spicy food when we get to Malaysia,” Soo told entertainment writers at the contract signing.

JERICHO ROSALES AND CARMEN SOO IN INTERNATIONAL SOAP

Jericho Rosales and Carmen Soo are to star in an international soap opera Co-produced by ABS-CBN and Double Vision, a Malaysian production group. The soap is dubbed as a love story that will captivate viewers in the tradition of Lobo, Maging Sino Ka Man, Pangako Sa'yo and Ysabella. Carmen Soo, a Malaysian superstar, started her film career in her small role in the Jackie Chan movie "Gorgeous" and an appearance in Asia's sensational singer Aaron Kwok’s music video.

Carmen Soo has shown her versatility since then, portraying diverse roles on stage like the musical " Rose Rose I Love You " and on screen where her movie "The Third Generation" earned her a Most Promising Actress Award in the 2006 Malaysian Film Festival.

Jericho Rosales is of course, one of Philippine’s finest actors. Jericho Rosales earned nominations from all the major award giving bodies for his role in the Manny Pacquiao biopic, " Pacquiao " , where Jericho Rosales played boxing champ Manny Pacquiao himself.

Carmen Soo and Jericho Rosales will tape for about two months in Malaysia and the Philippines beginning April 30. The yet untitled TV series is set to air on the Kapamilya network within 2008.

Malaysian actress to star in local television series

By Ricky T. Gallardo Entertainment Editor POPULAR Malaysian actress-model Carmen Soo is in town to finalize preparations for an upcoming television project that will also feature local actor Jericho Rosales. The project, a joint venture between Star Cinema and the Malaysian production group Double Vision, will be shot on location for two months in Malaysia and the Philippines starting next month. Soo doesn’t look a bit like 29, and she didn’t have to think twice before divulging her real age to a select group of entertainment editors during a special luncheon tendered for her by ABS-CBN. It’s her second visit to Manila. “It was all work the first time I came over. For a few days, I was shooting for a fashion spread. I would love to visit your country’s beautiful attractions and I think that I might be able to do that when work starts for this exciting TV project, “ she said. The winner of a magazine cover girl search in Malaysia, Soo started taking the fashion pages of her country’s glossies by storm at 17, before becoming one of the most sought-after commercial models on television. The brown-eyed Soo, who is of Chinese-Malay-English descent, speaks very good English. “I hope to learn a few Philippine words and phrases,” she said. Soo was born and raised in Petaling Jaya, which is very near the capital Kuala Lumpur. She admits that she would’ve wanted to focus on ramp modeling had she been blessed with some more height. “I’m 5 feet 3 inches, and by any standards, that’s too short for a runway model.” Soo’s baptism of fire in acting came by way of a cameo role in the Jackie Chan movie “Gorgeous, “ shot in Hong Kong before the millennium. “I modeled in Hong Kong for almost four years and it was my second home. That was how I found myself acting for the Jackie Chan movie,” she said. Soo revealed she was bestowed the “most promising actress” award at the 2006 Malaysian Film Festival for the film “The Third Generation.” For the soon-to-start project, Soo says that instead of setting high expectations, she’d rather go with the flow and enjoy every workday. “Sometimes we pressure ourselves too much that we forget how it is to have fun and look at the bigger picture of things,” she said. She said she already met her Filipino leading man and had pretty good first impressions about Rosales. “With some people, you feel that there are walls that you need to get through before you actually open up, but with Jericho, he made me feel comfortable instantly.” Asked about her first impressions of the Philippines, she broke into a wide smile and said: “You have a lot of very handsome men here. And the people seem very warm and nice.” The producers of the venture have not zeroed in on a title yet, and airing won’t happen until the last quarter of the year. The series will be shown simultaneously in the Philippines and Malaysia.