Richard Gutierrez overwhelmed by the success of Asero, For The First Time

After the recent success of his movie with KC Concepcion, For the First Time, Richard Gutierrez heard another good news from the entertainment press during the press launch of his newest endorsement, Emperador, last Tuesday, September 9, at Annabel's restaurant on Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City. The entertainment media reported to Richard that his primetime show Asero topped the ratings game last Monday, September 8, edging out perennial No. 1 Dyesebel. "Wow, thank You!" exclaimed Richard after hearing the news. Then, he explained that the production team of Asero does not merely rely on the ratings when it comes to improving their show. "For me, concentrated talaga ang team ng Asero sa pagpapaganda ng Asero. Minsan hindi na namin masyadong... Siyempre 'yong ratings nandiyan, pero we don't base it there, we base it on quality," said Richard. To prove that he is serious in doing Asero, Richard said that he always makes sure that he sees the final output of their team's hard work. This is also to prove to the audience that his portrayal of the main character Asero does not stop after the taping. He even narrated one occasion when he missed watching Asero. "I had one week na hindi ko napanood 'yong Asero kasi sa sobrang busy ko. Nagpa-record out sa DVD dahil anywhere I go, lagi ang hirit ng mga tao, ‘Ang ganda ng episode n'yo kagabi, ang ganda nung nangyari sa ganyan.' E, hindi ko napanood, so sabi ko sa producer ko, ‘Padalhan mo ako ng DVD, gusto kong mapanood.' So, finally, I saw it, I watched it, ang ganda nga ng lumabas na mga eksena, pati ako naaapektuhan. So, ang ganda, I'm very proud of Asero now. We've been working very hard [for this]." Richard also said that he is glad that they were able to maintain the excitement that they started in their pilot episode. "Proud ako kasi na-sustain namin 'yong quality, e," he said. "Ang ganda nung start ng Asero and we were able to sustain it. For me, it's just very good." He added, "It's so much fun now for me doing Asero. After ng pelikula [For the First Time], kasi nagkaroon ng time na every day, pelikula-Asero-pelikula-Asero, minsan talagang pagod na pagod ako. Pero pagdating ko sa Asero, inspired na inspired ako kapag ginagawa na namin ang mga action sequences. Kasi si Direk Mark [Reyes], he lets me, he allows me to share my visions kung paano gawin ang mga eksena. Kahit na anong puyat ko, talagang nawawala." Codename: Asero is scheduled to run until November this year, according to Richard. After this, he expects to do a more exciting project, which he does not want to disclose yet. The 24-year-old actor just told the media, "Grabe, I'm so excited for the next one! There are two projects na pinag-aaralan pa namin and later ko madi-discuss more or less with GMA kung ano ang mangyayari. Pero both projects na naka-line-up sa akin talagang napaka-exciting." SUCCESSFUL MOVIE. Aside from Asero, Richard is also happy about his first movie with KC Concepcion titled For the First Time. He even reported that its premiere nights abroad, particularly in Los Angeles and San Francisco, were as successful as the premiere night they had here in Manila. Unfortunately, it was only KC who witnessed these events since he has previous engagements left here in Manila. Richard related, "Naiinggit nga ako sa kanya kasi nandoon siya sa San Francisco at saka sa L.A. 'Tapos tinawagan niya ako habang nandoon siya sa premiere night. "Sobrang successful 'yong premiere night sa Los Angeles, ang daming Filipinos. Even my titas and their friends flew into L.A. just to watch [the movie]. May mga Filipinos na galing Las Vegas, nag-drive to L.A. to see the premiere night. You know, I missed out, pero I'm very happy for KC na she was able to experience that." With his team-up with KC, Richard would like to express his gratitude towards the young actress. "I wanna thank her," he said. "Ang dami niyang shinare sa publiko, binuksan niya ang sarili niya sa publiko. "I'm very proud of her also. I'm very proud of her na she was strong at hinarap niya kung ano 'yong mga responsibilidad niya, 'yong mga problema niya at naitawid niya ng napakaganda 'yong pelikula. First movie niya ito and she did so well as an actress, I'm very proud of her." On September 25, Richard is scheduled to go to Vienna, Austria with KC for the premiere of For the First Time. Then, by December, these two young actors will start filming their second movie, this time with GMA-7, which is slated for the Valentine's '09 week. Before the interview ended, Richard clarified that he will not transfer to ABS-CBN. "Alam mo, may mga na-confuse yata na mga tao since I was guesting in ABS-CBN constantly to promote the movie. I think people were just confused and they were not used to seeing me in ABS-CBN kaya naguluhan sila. Pero the real thing is that was the agreement between GMA-7 and ABS-CBN na when I do my movie with Star [Cinema], I will be able to promote... It was an agreement, it was an agreement." For their movie with GMA-7, Richard also expects a full support from ABS-CBN. "I think ABS-CBN will do their part. I'm sure they will help us also. 'Yon nga ang maganda, nagkaroon ng connection 'yong both networks. I hope it continues like that,"said Richard. - Philippine Entertainment Portal