TOKYO — From independent films, mainstream blockbusters, to Primetime Bida offerings, in-demand director Antoinette Jadaone has done it all.
Well, mostly.
“Soulmate Project,” the recently announced TV series starring Kapamilya star James Reid and K-pop idol Nancy of MOMOLAND, is lined up as Jadaone’s next big undertaking, and already it’s posing a unique challenge.
Since her breakout year in 2014, Jadaone has directed three teleseryes, two of which starred Reid and his real-life partner Nadine Lustre.
“Soulmate Project,” she said, is unlike any primetime series she has helmed, noting its format is akin to US and K-drama series.
“Hindi siya teleserye. It’s a series because it’s 13 episodes. It’s not like how we do teleseryes na you do it per script every day, with a weekly script,” Jadaone told ABS-CBN News.
Credited for helping popularize “hugot” films, notably with “That Thing Called Tadhana,” Jadaone is also writing “Soulmate Project.”
Jadaone shared details of the Dreamscape series on the sidelines of the recent Tokyo International Film Festival, where her 2011 mockumentary “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay” was screened under the Crosscut Asia section.
She revealed that she is currently finishing the script of “Soulmate Project,” in time for its production in 2020.
“It’s more my kind of process. I write the whole series na tapos na, unlike in teleseryes na hindi mo alam kung kailan siya matatapos,” she said.
Taking on this format, however, is admittedly more difficult for Jadaone, given her background as a feature film and teleserye director.
“There is more control sa kung ano ang mangyayari sa bawat character, sa story. But also, mas mahirap siya, kasi I realize it’s not the same as writing a film script, a screenplay. It’s different, it’s harder to write a series pala. Pero since andiyan na, gagalingan ko na lang!” she said, laughing.
By the time “Soulmate Project” starts airing, all its episodes will have already been shot, or “canned,” Jadaone said.
Reid, in an earlier interview, shared that scenes will be filmed both in the Philippines and in South Korea.
“I’m really happy that ABS-CBN and Dreamscape are open to going to that direction,” Jadaone said, in light of the Kapamilya network’s established foothold as a teleserye powerhouse.
Reid previously referred to “Soulmate Project” as a “first of its kind” TV program in the Philippines. “It’s never before done, what we’re trying to achieve,” he said.( M. Dumaual, abs-cbn)
