Housemates from Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Season 1 opened up about how they prepared for their upcoming mystery-thriller series The Secrets of Hotel 88, streaming first on iWant beginning February 23, seven days ahead of its television debut on March 2.
During the show’s media conference, Kapamilya housemates River Joseph, Bianca De Vera and Brent Manalo shared that they underwent acting workshops and worked closely with the series’ stunt and action unit to prepare for the show’s more intense scenes.
“Before the show started, we all went through workshops with an acting coach. We did it for a few weeks before getting into character and building chemistry, pero kasi ‘yung chemistry nadoon na. We already had [chemistry] because of PBB kaya going on set was much easier,” River said.
Bianca added that they also received physical training and supervision. “Mayroon po kaming kaunting tulong. May mga nagtuturo po ng kaunting tumbling para may alam kami sa form.”
Brent, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to the stunt team and Star Creatives for ensuring their safety: “Grabe ‘yung tulong ng stunts unit. Very taken care of talaga kami ng Star Creatives. Kahit kami ‘yung gumawa ng sarili naming stunts, they made sure na safe talaga.”
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During script readings, Bianca, Xyriel Manabat, and Josh Ford shared how the thriller-suspense genre made them even more excited for the series.
“Masaya, and at the same time, ako mismo nag-aabang, hindi lang sa papanoorin nila but nag-aabang as ano pwede naming gawin. Physical and parang as utak na thrilling siya,” Xyriel said.
Bianca echoed the sentiment, saying, “Kapag binabasa ko ‘yung script, talagang nagcu-curl ‘yung toes ko tapos nae-envision ko kung paano ito tatahakin. Kung binabasa pa lang namin napaka-exciting, so what more pa if gagawin na.”
Josh also highlighted the genre-bending nature of the show. “Nakaka-excite super kasi iba ‘yung thrill sa romance, sa horror or sa comedy. As you see sa trailer, may action.”
Big Winners Brent and Mika Salamanca also shared how their bond inside the PBB house translated naturally into their onscreen chemistry.
“Yung chemistry namin, it became natural kasi imagine living with them for 4 months and noong nagwo-workshop kami for this series, walang hiyaan na. Parang hindi kami na-awkward sa isa't isa, and it really helps with working on our chemistry on screen kasi alam namin ‘yung mga bubog ng isa’t isa and kaya namin makiramdam sa isa't isa,” Brent expressed.
Mika added that their experience in PBB helped boost her confidence. “Malaking tulong din ng PBB po. Kasi malaking tulong sa chemistry ng isa’t isa and (sa akin) ‘yung confidence ko rin po, kasi feeling ko kung hindi nangyari ‘yung PBB and ihaharap ako sa ganitong proyekto, hindi ko kakayanin.“
She went on: “Good thing din po na ang kasama namin dito is mga PBB housemates din po and talagang familiar kami sa isa't isa. Totoo ‘yung sinabi ni Brent na kapag may scene na kailangan namin ng hugot, alam na namin kung sino titingnan namin.”
Meanwhile, Xyriel and Will Ashley shared how the cast supported one another by exchanging tips and learning from each other’s experiences.
“Nakakatuwa po na nakakapagbigay naman po ng tips, let’s say, sa mga napulot ko sa mga last shows na ginawa ko, and mayroon naman po ako napupulot from them. Give and take po kami rito,” Will said.
Xyriel noted that despite some of them having prior experience as child stars, everyone approached the project with the same eagerness to grow.\“Yung dynamics kasi namin dito, mas lahat kami uhaw na matuto,” she stressed.
She added that the cast became each other’s source of strength, especially during physically and emotionally demanding scenes.
“Nagiging hugutan namin ng lakas ‘yung isa’t isa, non-verbal man pero we help each other and we really teach other something na hindi magmumukhang angat ka rito. More on collaborative effort talaga, ambagan talaga, potluck,” she explained.
“Lahat kami may mga input sa isa’t isa and we are open to accept it na bukal sa puso namin,” she continued. “Personally, nare-refuel ‘yung drive ko magwork. Nakikita ko ‘yung mga bagong techniques, nakikita ko kung gaano sila ka-determinado, so parang ako rin gusto ko. Nai-inspire ako sa work ethics na nakikita ko. Nakakatuwa kasi nae-excite ako na makawork sila.”
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The Secrets of Hotel 88 will stream first on iWant beginning February 23, seven days ahead of its television debut.
The series is set to premiere on March 2 on GMA Prime and Kapuso Stream at 9:35 p.m., airing Mondays to Fridays, with a late-night telecast at 11:25 p.m. on GTV. It will also be available on GMA Pinoy TV.