With the release date of her latest film Midnight Girls drawing near, Jodi Sta. Maria could not be any prouder of her performance along with co-stars Sanya Lopez, Jane Oineza, and Loisa Andalio. The film sheds some light on the struggles and complexities of the lives of Pinoys working in nightclubs in Nagoya, Japan.
Apart from having to speak parts of her dialogue in Nihongo, Jodi revealed that she also had to face one of the biggest challenges in the project during their big opening scene, where the women had to perform a song and dance number in the club. The talented actress admitted that she had to channel her inner SexBomb dancer just to perform more convincingly.
“Oh my gosh! Hindi ko masabi yung gusto ko sabihin kasi yun yung pinaka, sa lahat ng mga scenes na ginawa ko, parang yun yung talagang pinaka dinaga talaga ako. I mean, every time naman na pumupunta ako ng set, laging may kaba. Pero nung nalaman ko na i-su-shoot yung scene na yun, parang every day pinagdadasal ko na not today, not today. Tapos nung na-schedule na siya, i-su-shoot na siya, hindi ka na makakain. Malamig yung panahon, nilalamig din yung kamay namin. Wala ka ng ibang choice eh, kailangan gawin mo siya. At gawin mo siya with full conviction. So thank you direk ha, for giving me a chance to be a SexBomb dancer one day. Maraming salamat (laughs),” she said.
READ: Director Irene Villamor handpicked Jodi Sta. Maria to star in her new film 'Midnight Girls'
As the big sister of their group in the film, Jodi explained how mentally and emotionally draining the role of Vicky could be.
“It’s not actually a particular scene. Meron nga bang madaling eksenang i-shoot? But then, kung paano mo siya gagawin or ipapakita na kung paano sa tamang paraan. For example, my character, she’s the type kasi na siya yung parang ate ng group, siya yung mama, mama ng grupo. So she had to be strong, even in moments na she really wants to break down or even, deep inside she’s breaking apart. And then yung pagod. Yung pagod ka, and yet kailangan mong ipakita na matatag ka pa rin. Na you have to endure everything because you know, maraming buhay ang nakadepende sa ‘yo, meron kang mga kasamahan who look up to you, na ikaw yung nagiging source of strength nila. So I think for me yun yung challenging for me, my character as Vicky,” she explained.
READ: Jodi Sta. Maria shares experience working as a hostess in Japan in film 'Midnight Girls'
When asked which part of the film she found harder to do, the 43-year-old actress admitted it was their bar performance that stood out for her.
“If there’s a particular scene na nahirapan ako, yung dance dance. Yun talaga. And I guess yung confrontation naming apat. Kasi parang yun yung culmination kung ano ba yung nararamdaman ng bawat isa tungkol sa trabaho na ginagawa nila,” she added.
Midnight Girls opens in cinemas nationwide starting May 13. It also stars Sanya Lopez, Loisa Andalio, Jane Oineza, Carmi Martin, Zaijian Jaranilla, Shamaine Buencamino, Meryll Soriano, and Miggy Jimenez. Written and directed by Irene Villamor.