When director Jay Abello heard that people were comparing his first romcom and mainstream film, The Girl in the Orange Dress, to British blockbuster Notting Hill, he was no longer surprised. In fact, he totally agreed with them.
In the 1999 romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, the latter plays an average guy, a London bookstore owner whose humdrum existence is thrown into romantic turmoil when famous American actress played by Julia appears in his shop.
Their chance encounter over spilled orange juice leads to a kiss that blossoms into a full-blown affair that causes media frenzy.
“ I’m a big fan of Notting Hill—the story of an average guy and glamorous movie star struggling to reconcile their radically different lifestyles, or waking up with a superstar sleeping beside you in your bed, as a guy, has always been my wildest dream,” Abello told Manila Standard in an interview.
“ I will not deny that The Girl in the Orange Dress is a Notting Hill hangover. The film was my inspiration when I wrote the story,” the indie film director added.
But Abello was quick to clarify that the story is still original, given that many films, in one way or another, may have been inspired by another good story in the past.
He said that the film has an element of love triangle and it’s very relevant because they incorporated the prevalence of social media and its power to turn a virtually unknown individual to an overnight internet sensation.
In The Girl in Orange Dress, lead cast Jericho Rosales is a superstar and Jessy Mendiola is an ordinary girl whose one-night stand spirals into a media frenzy.
Jericho is Rye del Rosario, a big movie star who’s getting fed up with his life in showbiz. One night, he meets a girl in an orange dress at a party. He leaves with her and they end up spending the night together in a hotel.
The girl, Jessy as Ana, doesn’t know that he is a well-known celebrity and treats him just like some ordinary guy and Rye likes it. But soon, the girl disappears and he doesn’t even know her name. So he looks for her and refers to her as the girl in the orange dress who regards him as a real person and not as just this big-name actor.
“Most of the scenes take place inside a hotel, where their characters Rye and Anna devise a plan to evade the press. And didn’t know it was hard to shoot in a hotel, but it’s all fun especially that I was working with a great cast,” Abello chimed and further said, “The whole movie happens only in a single day inside a plush hotel.”
Talking about the message of the film, the director, whose previous works include Red and Pinay Beauty, said that it would like to highlight two things: “You have to know them (celebrities) before passing judgement. Not everything you see on TV or read online is true. And secondly, in terms of the media, there are people who work in this industry who can really be reliable and fair. You just have to talk to them nicely.”
Abello revealed that he had kept the story of The Girl in the Orange Dress for more than four years until Atty. Joji Alonso’s Quantum Films gave the green light to turn into a movie., which was intended to be a Valentin offering.
“I have received a lot of feedback saying that the story was great. I’m very cynical…they say that they like my material. I’d only believe it when I’m finally filming,” Abello admitted.
The Girl in the Orange Dress is one of the eight films competing in the main section of this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, which kicks off on Christmas Day. It also stars Ria Atayde, Hannah Ledesma, and Sheena Halili.
The film is a co-production among Star Cinema, Quantum Films, and MJM Productions.
