Echo no regrets
The movie “Siargao” is very close to Jericho Rosales’ heart.
For one, Echo is not only a big-time motorcycle enthusiast.
Riding the waves (surfing) is one of his greatest addictions, also.
“Yeah, I really surf. It gives me a different kind of high when I ride the waves,” he enthused.
“That’s why when I did Siargao, very special siya sa akin kasi I enjoy surfing, the beach, the special island and I love the good story of the film plus the people I work with are my friends,” he said.
He also said he immensely enjoyed doing the movie.
“I enjoyed every minute of it. Para sa akin, it’s like that I’m not working at all,” he gushed.
According to Echo, the place is also one of his favorite hideaways.
“I have a lot of friends whom I consider brothers in Siargao. Hindi lang siya lugar para sa akin. It’s my second home. It’s my lifestyle because I have been surfing since 2000,” he quipped.
During his earlier years as a sports enthusiast , he admitted that he tried to join surfing competitions.
“Before, I used to join competitions. The competition you see is more of short boards. My style is different. I’m more of an old school soul na tipong ‘60s and ‘70s at makikita mo iyon sa pelikula,” he pointed out.
Echo was supposed to do another MMFF movie with Jennylyn Mercado but it did not materialize for some personal reasons.
Instead, he is fielding “Siargao” as his festival entry this year.
Some kibitzers say that Derek, his replacement in the project could be a shoo-in for best actor because of his meaty role and powerful performance.
Echo, for his part, said he had no regrets in turning down the role originally offered to him which eventually went to Derek.
“Why would I have regrets? When you make a decision, you make a decision. It’s a decision that you made and thoroughly thought of. That time, I had a personal reason and Jennylyn and Attorney Joji and even Direk Dan, they all knew that. They knew why I turned down the project. May dad died and during that time, I really felt na hindi pa ako ready,” he explained.
“I wasn’t fit to work on that film nang time na ‘yun. Napakalalim ko, napakabigat ng dinadala ko nang time na ‘yun and I needed to digest the entire…kumbaga ‘yung pangyayari sa buhay ko,” he added.
He even clarified that he did not choose Siargao over his supposedly reunion movie with Jennylyn.
“This project is not supposed to be for the filmfest. Siargao is supposed to be for summer, then biglang nilagay nila. They entered it sa filmfest tapos pumasa. So, people would think that you turned down one in favor of the other. Pero, hindi naman iyon ang tunay na dahilan,” he elucidated.
He also confessed that he’s still in a healing process over the loss of a loved one.
“I understand better now why I’m like this – because of my father and my mother. Pero I’m healing, I’m healing. It’s gonna be the first Christmas na wala siya, first New Year. It’s gonna be hard. Pero kaya namin,” he said.
In “Siargao,” Echo plays the role of Diego, an island-lover love interest of the broken-hearted video blogger Laura (played by Erich Gonzales) and the environmental activist and Siargao native, Abby (portrayed by Jasmine Curtis-Smith).
Deviating from his previous serious projects, Direk Paul Soriano directs his first light hearted romance and travel-themed movie that aims to create an awareness to match the province’s booming tourism.
Produced by Ten17P, the movie is an official entry to the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival that opens on December 25, Christmas Day.
