APRIL 28 - MAY 4, 2018 ISSUE

EXCLUSIVE TELL-ALL INTERVIEW! “Pero nung dumating naman siya, it was worth it. Worth it talaga ‘yung waiting”

THE NEW PRIMETIME PRINCE After melting hearts in the movie Almost a Love Story, Derrick Monasterio is the new Kapuso Prince #InsideShowbizLovesDerrickMonasterio

VANI ALTOMONTE EDITOR ANGELU ZAFE WEB CONTENT WRITER

ART NICOLE VILLARUEL ART DIRECTOR BRIA CARDENAS MULTIMEDIA ARTIST DENNIS FLORORITA FINAL ARTIST

SPECIAL PROJECTS MARGA TUPAZ HEAD RED DE LEON ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

MARA MADRID, CHARLENE TY, ANDREA LAM, ANGELI MANABAT, LOUISE SICAT COPYWRITERS DEN FAJARDO, ALEXA MANLANGIT GRAPHIC ARTISTS BETTINA DE LOS REYES, JOSHUA ARGOSINO, CARMINA AGLIPAY MULTIMEDIA ARTISTS

CONTRIBUTOR

DJ MAGBANUA PHOTOGRAPHER ROSY MINA WRITER WALTER DE JESUS BRAND ASSOCIATE

ERICA LUNA EDITORIAL ADMIN ASSOCIATE SUKI SALVADOR VICE-PRESIDENT — MAGAZINE & PRINT BUSINESS ARCHIE CARRASCO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER

FOUNDER & CEO SARI YAP CHAIRMAN J. TIU FOUNDING CREATIVE DIRECTOR LORRAINE BELMONTE COOL FOR THE SUMMER

Derrick Monasterio is a picture of coolness as he achieves his dreams one after the other. INSIDE SHOWBIZ WEEKLY APRIL 2018 This summer has been the busiest for Kapuso hunk actor, Derrick Monasterio. His movie with , Almost a Love Story, has just been shown in cinemas earlier this month and his teleserye with her is set to premiere next month. In addition, he will take part in a concert together entitled Oh, Boy! & Oh, LOL! with fellow Kapuso actors and a couple of comedians. Despite having consecutive projects that require much of his time, Derrick is certainly having the time of his life.

“It feels great,” he comments to Inside Showbiz Weekly. The son of former actress Tina Monasterio, in fact, looks radiant as he arrives for the shoot despite coming from an early morning guesting on Unang Hirit. He looks fresh and energized, and a sense of fulfillment is evident on his handsome face. He is especially excited about the teleserye with Barbie titled Inday Will Always Love You because it will be part of the primetime lineup of GMA-7.

“Actually, I remember that I did one primetime show na with Barbie before. It was Paroa: Ang Kuwento ni Mariposa. It was on early prime so it was not considered as primetime. For me, it feels great kasi it’s the most expensive time block so I’m honored that the network is trusting us, me and Barbie, and sana hindi namin sila ma-fail,” the 22-year-old says.

INSIDE SHOWBIZ WEEKLY APRIL 2018 INSIDE SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE INSIDE SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE WORTH THE WAIT

Two years ago, Derrick expressed to Inside Showbiz Weekly of his desire to become a leading man in a weekday primetime program. Back then, he was the leading man of in the afternoon soap opera Hanggang Makita Kang Muli. He went on to headline Tsuperhero in the Sunday primetime lineup of his home network. His big break finally came a couple of years later. How was he able to cope with waiting for his main slot on GMA Telebabad?

“Being impatient? That’s normal naman siguro. I was not naman impatient but I was really hopeful,” he recalls. In 2017, he finally landed a primetime role as part of the huge ensemble cast of Mulawin vs Ravena which was headlined by Dennis Trillo, Lovi Poe, Carla Abellana, and Heart Evanglista. He played the role of Almiro, the son of Aguiluz and Alwina. “Pero nung dumating naman siya, it was worth it. Worth it talaga ‘yung waiting,” he says of his upcoming television project.

Inday Will Always Love You is a light romantic-comedy that features the quirky Inday or Happy Lou, played by Barbie Forteza, and the stern Patrick, portrayed by Derrick. The teleserye is produced by GMA News and Public Affairs. It has scenes that were shot in both Manila and Cebu. The other cast members are Manilyn Reynes, Tina Paner, Gladys Reyes, Ricky Davao, Juancho Triviño, , Kimpoy Feliciano, Super Tekla, and Nova Villa.

INSIDE SHOWBIZ WEEKLY APRIL 2018 DERBIE REUNION

Inday Will Always Love You marks the television comeback of Derrick and Barbie, regarded as DerBie by their fans. They first worked together in 2010 in the youth-oriented show Tween Hearts, where Barbie was paired up with Joshua Dionisio and Derrick was matched with Lexi Fernandez. The DerBie love team admitted to almost being a couple as Derrick courted Barbie but the latter thought that they were still too young to get into a relationship. Thankfully, their friendship did not turn sour after the courtship episode.

“Our working relationship kasi is like we’re more than best friends, actually, but less than lovers. We are really comfortable working with each other and there’s no ilangan in a way kasi we’ve known each other for so long. We started working in Tween Hearts palang so that was like eight years ago. So ‘yun, we trust each other,” explains Derrick.

Aside from Tween Hearts, Paroa: Ang Kuwento ni Mariposa, and Inday Will Always Love You, Derrick and Barbie have also worked together in drama anthologies Maynila, Wagas, and Tadhana, as well as in the soap operas Anna Karenina, Genesis, and . On the silver screen, they were part of Tween Academy: Class of 2012 and The Road.

INSIDE SHOWBIZ WEEKLY APRIL 2018 INSIDE SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE CLEARLY JUST FRIENDS

Both of them certainly do not believe in faking a relationship for the sake of their love team. They prefer to be truthful to themselves and most especially, to their fans. “Na-friendzone namin ang isa’t isa,” he says with a giggle, “Kaya it’s clear to us na our relationship is friends lang.” In fact, Barbie is in a relationship with Kapuso actor Jak Roberto.

“Jak is very understanding. He knows that this is just for work and very professional din si Jak and of course, si Barbie. If it’s for work talaga, i-se-set aside niya ‘yung pagkakaroon ng boyfriend so ‘yun ‘yung nakakatuwa kay Barbie.” When asked if he approves of Jak for Barbie, Derrick remarks, “Oo naman. I don’t have a say naman because I am not Barbie’s father,” he jests. He then turns serious, “As a friend of Barbie, of course, I approve because mabait si Jak and he is very humble.”

As for Derrick, there is no one who could possibly get jealous of his sweet scenes with Barbie because he is single. He is also not searching for Miss Right at the moment. “If love comes, thank you,” he says as he flashes a wide smile lets out a loud laugh. “Gusto ko someone who loves her family. Someone who is God-fearing, of course, kasi you can never go wrong if a girl is God-fearing. If she is religious, parang it all follows.”

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INSIDE SHOWBIZ WEEKLY APRIL 2018 INSIDE SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE GAINING INDEPENDENCE

Prior to taping for their new teleserye, Derrick and Barbie had an overseas movie shoot months ago for Almost a Love Story. The closeness of DerBie became even stronger while they were working in the town of Tricase in Salento, Southern Italy. “When we were in Italy, we relied on each other kasi it was an unfamiliar territory. We both depended on each other kaya that’s where we got a little closer pa,” he shares.

Almost a Love Story is the first big screen team-up of the DerBie tandem. It tells of the developing friendship and the ‘almost love story’ of Baneng and Luigi. Derrick says he treasures the many lessons he gained from shooting an independent film overseas. He is also grateful that the production team gave him artistic freedom when he was dealing with the script. “Pati ‘yung delivery ng lines. We did a lot of ad libs, me and Barbie. ‘Di talaga namin fina-follow ‘yung script so it turned out to be super natural talaga,” he discloses. “I have learned to be independent,” he adds quickly, noting that the shooting in Italy has helped him evolve as an actor.

LIKE A VACATION

Derrick enjoys doing location shoots as he gets more inspired by the beautiful scenery. In Italy, he enjoyed being amidst various picturesque sights. “Masaya kasi of course ‘pag nag-travel ka naman talaga, iba talaga ‘yung experience eh. When you stay in Italy, actually, you might think of seeing infrastructures, buildings, and old architectural sites but the place we went to has The Sound of Music feels with wheat fields, flowers, and windmills. Very rural. A postcard beauty.”

INSIDE SHOWBIZ WEEKLY APRIL 2018 Meanwhile, for Inday Will Always Love You, he and Barbie got to do tapings in another scenic tourist spot, the Queen City of the South, Cebu. “Ang ganda kasi ‘yung first three days namin, nasa Bantayan Island kami. May mga scenes kami na nag-je-jet ski ako at nag-da- drive ako ng yacht. Masaya. Actually, it’s kinda like a vacation na rin kasi the place is beautiful, the people are beautiful, and ibang- iba ‘yung culture ng Cebu. Talagang very friendly ‘yung mga tao and very warm ‘yung welcome nila sa amin.”

As to why his character of Patrick gets to ride on a jet ski and pilot a yacht, it is because he is a young and wealthy Cebuano businessman. “I’m the nephew of a person who owns a lot of businesses so parang ako ‘yung trustee niya sa mga business niya. Very rich and very career-oriented, very mature, and medyo masungit siya.” He adds that there is a significant reason behind Patrick’s seriousness.

A MORE MATURE ROLE

Derrick had to make various preparations for his biggest television role to date. Firstly, he had to learn how to speak Cebuano. “Ang hirap kasi mahahaba ‘yung lines eh pero kaya naman basta tuluy- tuloy lang.” He also made sure that he is able to credibly walk the talk as he gives life to the character of Patrick. “He’s a businessman and I’m not in real life. Siyempre a lot of businessmen will watch this. Siguro the challenge is to kinda imitate them para sabihin nila na ‘Ah, ya, kami nga ‘yan.’”

He surely feels the pressure of portraying a role that he has never done before but he thinks he is more than ready to do so. “I prepared through experience na rin sa showbiz. I gathered everything and

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INSIDE SHOWBIZ WEEKLY APRIL 2018 INSIDE SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE inisip ko na parang this is what I worked for so inincorporate ko ‘yun sa character ko. Si Patrick kasi parang he is hiding the kid inside him. So siguro ganun din ako. In a way, nag-mature ako.”

Although he is tackling a more mature role now, he assures that the teleserye is a feel-good program. “Sa pilot week namin, puro kami away ni Barbie. We didn’t get along talaga. Medyo parang nag-away agad kami sa unang pagkikita palang kasi may nangyari. At abangan din nila kung paano mag-co-cross ‘yung paths namin from being enemies to friends to lovers,” he teases. There is also a love triangle looming among Derrick, Barbie, and Juancho.

A JAMPACKED MAY

His teleserye with Barbie is set to hit the boob tube soon in May. While on May 18, Derrick will belt out tunes and bust some moves at the Music Museum for the Oh, Boy! & Oh, LOL!, a follow-up to their 2016 concert. “Kailangan nilang abangan. It’s gonna be more sexy and funnier kasi we have comedians.” The concert features Derrick alongside Jak Roberto, Rocco Nacino, and Dave Bornea, plus comedians Donita Nose and Super Tekla.

Singing is Derrick’s first love, and he cannot wait to get onstage to serenade the crowd. “We’re gonna do solo production numbers and may group prods din. And ako, siyempre, I’m gonna showcase what I’m really good at which is singing. Sa dancing siguro ibibigay ko na sa kanila kasi hindi ako nakakasayaw pero I’ll do some moves din.” He notes that he will be performing sexy songs “with Fifty Shades of Grey feels.”

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INSIDE SHOWBIZ WEEKLY APRIL 2018 INSIDE SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE He then reveals his plans to revive his music career. “Gusto ko rin sana ulit mag-launch ng new album tapos I wanna compose my own songs. Gusto ko sana ‘yung parang mga EDM (electronic dance music) songs. Millennial eh! Pero ‘di ata babagay ang voice ko doon. Gusto ko lang i-try kung mag-wo-work,” says the music lover who posts song covers on his Instagram account.

STANDING OUT

It is noteworthy to mention that aside from landing a leading man role in a primetime teleserye, Derrick has also yearned to have a billboard along EDSA and stage a solo concert in a huge arena. He has just clinched his solo billboard recently for a clothing brand and he proudly gives this location tip with beaming eyes: “‘Pag dumaan ka sa Guadalupe.”

As for his solo concert, that is yet to come. At least he has been part of the Oh! Boy! concert in 2016 and its repeat. “Getting there, at least step by step,” he remarks. Since he has already accomplished his showbiz goals from two years ago, Derrick is eager to set new goals. Ultimately, the showbiz royalty says he wants to be able to stand out in the crowded showbiz scene by his own merits.

“I can sing, I can dance a little, I can act, I can paint, I can cook, I do a lot of sports, and I do hosting. I can do wholesome and daring, drama, comedy, action, and horror,” he declares. “Ang hirap kasi baka sabihin nila ang yabang ko. Pero siguro I have a little bit of everything, in almost all fields of art,” he says with a fixated and determined gaze, as if to express that he is all set to achieve new career goals in the years to come.

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Art Direction by Nicole Villaruel Sitting Editor Vani Altomonte Words by Rosy Mina Photography by DJ Magbanua Special Thanks to GMA Artist Center