Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks (Sleepless in Seattle, 1993), Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant (Notting Hill, 1999), and Julia Roberts and Richard Gere (Pretty Woman, 1990, and Runaway Bride, 1999) are just few of the big Hollywood team-ups that prove that lead stars don’t necessarily have to be romantically involved with each other to have a palpable onscreen chemistry.
Case in point, in Regal Films, Inc. upcoming movie So Connected, Jameson Blake and Janella Salvador are pairing up for the first time. And just like their Hollywood counterparts, they don’t have any romantic involvement but as soon as the film’s trailer hit social media, fans, in millennial parlance, have started “shipping” their team-up.
In the movie, Jameson plays Karter (Jameson), a video editor for a web channel whose phone got stolen by a crook. By twist of fate, the phone falls into the hands of Trisha (Janella), an independent young woman trying to support her family.
Through modern technology, Karter gets a glimpse of Trisha’s life in videos and photos uploaded online. Then eventually, he finds himself slowly falling for her until he decides to look for her using clues on the photos and videos he’s been seeing.
In an interview, Jameson was more vocal about the undeniable chemistry between him and Janella. He says, “I met her sa set. Nakita ko na may chemistry, yung feeling na di kailangan mag-exert ng effort, kusang lumalabas, that’s what I noticed.”
As early as 2015, Jameson has been consistent in naming Janella as his celebrity crush in various interviews.
Asked how his first meeting with Janella was, Jameson describes, “More than I expected. She was really approachable and nice to talk to. Nagkwentuhan kami. I got along with her.”
He recounts that he exerted effort to reach out to his crush after their meeting for the first time.
“We talked about stuff we’re both interested in.We just eventually started talking. And I was happy that she’s actually nice.”
Janella, on the other hand, knew that it would not be hard to establish rapport with her new leading man. The Kapamilya actress enthuses that working with Jameson in So Connected was a breeze.
“He’s very nice, actually. I have no problem working with him at all because sobrang light lang ng aura niya. He’s fun to work with,” she says.
However, their team-up did not come without challenges. But the young actress is up to the challenge to make her team-up with Jameson work, regardless if they are not a real-life couple.
“It’s always nice to try something new and I think it’s a good growth for me as an actress,” she explains.
Joining Jameson and Janella in So Connected are Paulo Angeles, Krystal Brimner, Cherise Castro, Ruby Rodriguez, Rolando Inocencio. Directed by Jason Paul Laxamana, the romantic film opens in cinemas tomorrow.