Mixed emotions. GMA 7 ACTRESS IZA Calzado is feeling a bit torn these days.
She?s sad because her afternoon soap, ?Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit,? wraps up next month. At the same time, she?s excited about two new projects: Jose Javier Reyes? ?Working Girls 2010? on the big screen, and the cooking show ?Healthy Cravings? on QTV.
?Most of all, I?ll miss the cast and crew of ?Kaya Kong Abutin.? It was such a beautiful bonding experience for all of us,? she said.
As for her character Clarissa, a non-conventional bida-contrabida, she?s a tad conflicted as well.
?She went through lots of ups and downs,? she said.
She admitted that she could never sympathize with someone like Clarissa, who ?used people just to get ahead in life.?
Clarissa?s journey, however, offered a slew of lessons and was a gift for her as an actress because ?it?s not the usual sweet martyr role. She?s complex, very interesting and never boring.?
Now that she?s free from the daily grind of a TV soap, she can focus on a movie and her first assignment for 2010 is a ?dream come true,? she said.
?It?s my first time to work with Direk Joey Reyes and I?ve always wanted to be directed by him,? she said. ?I follow him on Twitter and told him that I?m looking forward to our time on the set together.?
?Working Girls? is also her reunion with Unitel and Viva, co-producers with GMA Films of the updated version of the Ishmael Bernal classic.
Another project that got Iza all revved up is ?Healthy Cravings,? which she co-hosts with chef Jeremy Favia, formerly of the cooking show ?Ka-Toque.?
?It?s all about eating healthy. It?s for everyone who made a resolution to be fit this year,? she said.
To prepare, she has started spending more time in the kitchen, experimenting with various recipes.
She explained; ?We came up with a fresh twist on traditional dishes like sinigang?with new ingredients or a new way of presenting them. Most of the recipes on the show are vegetable-based.?
Fortunately, Iza loves seafood and veggies. ?I used to be a pesco-vegetarian, but started eating chicken again recently because the buffalo wings in my boyfriend Atticus King?s restaurant, NYPD, is delicious.?
They are both health buffs, but Iza said ?we indulge once a week, as a special treat.?
Another QTV show is in the works, but Iza is not yet at liberty to go into details. She also declined to comment on the planned revival of her old fantaserye ?Encantadia.? (She currently acts as council member on the reality talent search ?Starstruck.?)
One sure thing is her participation in the ?Ang Panday? sequel?especially after lead star Ramon ?Bong? Revilla Jr. said she?d definitely be on board.
?She?s our lucky charm,? he said.
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