JM de Guzman (left) and Lovi Poe in “Guilty Pleasure” —PHOTOS COURTESY OF REGAL ENTERTAINMENT

At a recent tribute party for the late “Mother Lily” Monteverde, family members and executives introduced the last three films the Regal Entertainment matriarch had approved before her death last August.

They are horror-thriller “Untold,” romance-drama “My Future You,” and sultry legal drama “Guilty Pleasure.”

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“As hard as it is to swallow, these are the last movies my grandmother greenlit. I’m incredibly proud of these movies, and I’m thankful to all those who put their hearts into making them possible,” newly appointed executive vice president Keith Monteverde said.

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Jodi Sta. Maria in “Untold” –REGAL ENTERTAINMENT

Directed by Derick Cabrido, “Untold” stars Jodi Sta. Maria, who plays Vivian Vera, a renowned journalist whose sensational news reporting is built on lies, distortion and misinformation. Before long, the ghosts of her past, and of the people whose lives she ruined, finally catch up with her.

“I have done four or five horror films in my career. But this is my first horror—and my first movie overall—with Regal. I grew up watching ‘Shake Rattle & Roll’ and ‘Regal Shocker.’ When I became an actor, I told myself, “I hope one day I get to work with Regal Films,” Jodi said. “It took a while, but the dream finally happened.”

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Francine Diaz and Seth Fedelin in “My Future You”

Regal’s gift

“My Future You” is set to be Francine Diaz and Seth Fedelin’s big screen debut as a love team. Directed by Crisanto Aquino, the story follows two strangers who meet through a dating app. Later on, they discover that—by some fantastical phenomenon—they actually inhabit two different timelines, 13 years apart.

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Lex (Seth) is from 2009 while Karen (Francine) is from 2022. They try to change past events, hoping it would lead to a better future. But in doing so, they end up triggering different, but still, undesirable consequences.

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“This is our first movie, so it’s an honor but of course, with it comes nerves. The whole team’s support helps ease our worries. They make us feel motivated. They make us feel that we deserve this,” Francine said. “This film is a way to thank our fans for their love and support.”

“This is our and Regal’s gift to them. We see that they’re watching out for us … I see this as a way for people to remember us,” Seth added. “We hope to prove that we can do our part in contributing something to local cinema.”

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In Connie Macatuno’s “Guilty Pleasure,” Lovi Poe plays Alex Miranda, a skilled lawyer who takes on a prominent client accused of rape. At court hearings, she goes head to head with a former mentee with whom she unwittingly develops an attraction. Their sexual affair challenges her principles and morality as a lawyer. As she continues to work on the case, she gets consumed by guilt and her past traumas start to resurface.

“Since I started out as an actress, Regal has been very supportive of me. Now that I have my producer’s hat on, I’m grateful that I still have them by my side,” said Lovi, who’s coproducing the film through her own company C’est Lovi Productions. “I get to call Miss Roselle (Monteverde, Regal chief executive officer), and ask her for advice.”

Regal CEO Roselle Monteverde

Fight for our place

Through these films and the many that will follow, Roselle hopes that the family can sustain and strengthen the legacy Mother Lily built for more than six decades.

“She took care, not only of Regal, but of the whole entertainment industry. She fought for the industry many times. She always said, ‘‘Di dapat pabayaan ang pelikulang Pilipino,” Roselle said.

“We have strongly decided to carry on not only through words, but also through actions the legacy of Mother Lily. We can’t just watch it go away … Let’s continue to support each other.”

Keith, who left his law practice in the United States to help run Regal, acknowledged that times have changed and making movies is no longer as easy as it once was. Still, the film outfit will continue to “fight for our place” in the theaters.

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“What hasn’t changed is that Filipino films can beotso, should be and deserve to be shown on the big screen,” he said.

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