Who’s who: Stars who graced the ‘Cattleya Killer’ gala premiere

May 20, 2023 - 6:53 PM
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Several stars threw their support behind the highly anticipated series “Cattleya Killer,” the first local collaboration between streaming giant Prime Video and ABS-CBN.

“Cattleya Killer” is the series adaptation of classic ‘90s Filipino film “Sa Aking Mga Kamay” set to premiere on June 1.

Before its official release on the platform, the streaming giant launched the series and staged a blue carpet gala premiere at TriNoMa in Quezon City last May 12, attended by the “Cattleya Killer” cast members as well as several talents of Star Magic.

The series stars Arjo Atayde, Jake Cuenca, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Jane Oineza, Ria Atayde, Ricky Davao, Nonie Buencamino and Christopher de Leon. All of them were present during the premiere except for Nonie.

They were also joined by co-stars Ketchup Eusebio, Rafa Siguion-Reyna , Joel Saracho, Frances Ignacio, Micah Muñoz and Nikko Natividad who were also in attendance during the premiere.

As the series marks the first collaboration between Prime Video and ABS-CBN, network executives such as ABS-CBN chair Mark Lopez, COO for Broadcast Cory Vidanes, TV production head Laurenti Dyogi, International production head Ruel Bayani and Dreamscape Entertainment head Deo Endrinal also graced the event.

Quark Henares, head of Originals, Philippines, at Prime Video & Amazon Studios and Nathan Studios’ Sylvia Sanchez, were also in attendance. Sylvia, mother of Arjo and Ria, is representing Nathan Studios, one of the producers of the series aside from ABS-CBN International production.

“Cattleya Killer” director Dan Villegas and scriptwriter Dodo Dayao also did not miss the event.

Aside from the powerhouse cast, execs and the production team, the following celebrities were spotted attending and supporting the premiere of “Cattleya Killer”:

Also spotted were Jericho Rosales, Enchong Dee, Gerald Anderson and Arjo’s fiancée, Maine Mendoza, Bayani Agbayani, Empoy Marquez, Vhong Navarro, Janice and Geli de Belen, Ogie Diaz, among many others.

The blue carpet, hosted by Karla Aguas and Alora Sasam, was followed by the press conference hosted by Aya Fernandez and Robi Domingo.

‘Dream project’

“Cattleya Killer” series came many years after the infamous Cattleya Killer case featured on “Sa Aking Mga Kamay.” In that film, Christopher, who plays Joven de la Rosa, cracked the case. He reprises his role for this series and is now an NBI deputy director.

In this series, his youngest son Anton (Arjo) is one of his top agents, while his eldest son Benjie (Jake) runs a foundation for traumatized women.

They seem to have moved on from the tragic events of the past but when a body is found bearing the telltale markings of the long-dead Cattleya Killer, their lives are shaken anew and another series of investigations would ensue as they try to find out who the Cattleya Killer is.

For most of the actors, this series is one of their favorite projects to date.

“It’s one of the most different things that we’ve all done and if you ask all my co-actors they would said the same thing, that it’s our favorite work to date,” Ria said.

Christopher, who starred in “Sa Aking Mga Kamay” described the series as “mindblowing.”

“This one’s sort of a level up thing. The first one is exciting. This is more like ‘mindblowing.’ It’s really suspense, thriller, action, everything. It’s very entertaining,” he said after walking the blue carpet.

Ruel, ABS-CBN International Production head and director Dan, on the other hand, considers “Cattleya Killer” a dream project.

“I’m so proud of our team. Dream project itong ‘Cattleya Killer.’ Nakakatuwa that the actors were all very giving. Wala talagang maliit na role. All of them were very giving,” Dan said.

Ria also said she considers this a world-class series that Filipinos can all be proud of.

“It’s nice to be able to say you’re proud of what you’ve worked on. I feel like that [project] comes rare… so this is something I’m definitely, definitely proud of,” the actress said.

Her brother Arjo, who leads the ensemble, said the series is a product of collaboration. Arjo said he considers the filming of this a “one hell of ride or journey.”

He also shared how he prepared for his heavy role.

“It’s pure collaboration with Direk [Dan], my co-actors, colleagues and  a lot of research on my own,” Arjo said during the media conference.

“I’m more of a visual learner so I’ve seen a lot of documentaries, a lot of videos, interviews. With that, I aligned whatever I watched with whatever the personality or character that ‘Cattleya’ demands,” he added.

The Amazon exclusive series will drop six episodes on June 1. It will be available for streaming in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other selected territories.