La Rhian in La Lola

Love her or hate her—you still have to admit that whenever Rhian Ramos is involved, a project will certainly get a lot of free publicity. And for her first starring role in the primetime block, Rhian is making an image change that might appease some of her ardent detractors. Text by Jason John S. Lim. With Interviews by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. LaLola is an Argentian soap about a playboy who is cursed to become a woman by a scorned ex-girlfriend. And playing the newly-turned female Lola is none other than Rhian Ramos herself. "It's been franchised by a lot of countries already." European countries have already shown their version of the soap, and the Philippines sets out to be the first Asian country to offer its own remake of the program. Rhian says that for LaLola, GMA is taking a chance by showing the remake first, before they show the original soap. "It's different from when they [bought MariMar,] which was shown first before they made our version." "No one has seen the original LaLola." Rhian says, referring to most of the Filipino television viewers—not all. "Not even me!" But she does say she plans on watching before they begin to shoot, "just to do a little homework." The 17-year old actress says she's already seen the transformation scene online, and she's very happy that the Filipino version will be having its own treatment of the show—as she has seen in the plug they made for the upcoming premiere. "Very playful." Rhian explains that their director wants a more natural delivery from them, and less rigid reading of the script. "Natutuwa ako kasi dito ako talaga nabigyan ng freedom para gawin 'yung stule na gusto ko." Dominic Zapata, fresh from Ako si Kim Samsoon will be holding the reigns of this new offering, and already Rhian is sure she'll be in good hands. "Siya 'yung very first director sa buong buhay ko. So... Reunited and it feels so good!" Already, the cast is going through workshops—first up being a dramatic workshop with Director Gina Alajar. "Balita ko, magkakaroon kami ng comedy workshop sometime this week. [That's] something to look forward to." Something else to look forward to is Rhian's team-up with JC de Vera, who she's been spending a lot of time with lately. But fans of Yasmien Kurdi, don't fret. As Rhian had said time and time again, she's not taking JC away from the JC-Yasmien love tandem. Not that Rhian doesn't feel special whenever JC's around. "Iba kasi eh," Rhian gushes. "He treats me like a lady. Pag naglalakad ako, lalo na kapag naka-heels, alalay todo! Mas babae ang feeling ko pag nandoon siya." And we're sure that will help a lot when Lola begins to have feelings for JC's character Facundo. LaLola will premiere soon, part of GMA Telebabad! And be sure to tune in the first week of the star-studded show that will also feature Ms. Eula Valdez, Angelika dela Cruz, and Lovi Poe, with the special participation of Isabel Granada, Jewel Mische and Ms. Iza Calzado . To find out more about the show and what Rhian's doing to prepare for it, become a subscriber to her Fanatxt service! Just key in RHIAN on your mobile phones, and send to 4627 for all telcos. Each Fanatxt message costs PhP2.50 for GLOBE, SMART, and TALK 'N TEXT, and PhP2.00 for Sun subscribers. (This service is exclusive for the Philippines.) Talk more about the show, your expectations and fears, at iGMA Forums! If you're not yet registered, register now. You may even get the chance to chat with your favorite Kapuso star.