It all started in May 2021 and in a very particular way, through a message. “Diego Ulloa sent me a message and said: ‘Alejito, let’s make a movie.’ And I told him: ‘Yes, in one’”, he says. Alexander Lalaleofilm director Love in times of likes, which right now is in full shooting in Cuenca. Ulloa is the executive producer of the film.
Although the idea emerged in the fifth month of last year with small meetings, the deep work began in August. “It has really been a very, very fast process, (something) that Ecuadorian films do not have; the average of making a national film is four, five years, there are films that have been ten, fifteen years and have not been released. So what we set out to do is create a story that is designed for the viewer, we decided to take romantic comedy as a genre… and from that we began to manage this project…”, Lalaleo tells this newspaper.
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The film will address a very broad vision of love and social networks. “How social media has consumed us, but also how it has allowed us to reach out to other people in different ways,” she explains.
The film is adapted from the play From love, save yourself who can, which was directed by Lalaleo and starred Jorge Ulloa and Carolina Pérez Flor. “During the time of adaptation, there we realized that we have to add other stories to make it work more and that what united all the stories was love and social networks, that’s where the idea of calling the film love in times of like… (This) is a small tribute to love in times of angerso we wanted to give this a bit of humor and put like“, Explain.
The film will have five intertwined stories and each of them will have its protagonists: Shany Nadan as (Paula) and Jorge Ulloa (Daniel); Eduardo Maruri (Juan) and Gigi Mieles (Martina); Érika Vélez (Doménica) and Diego Spotorno (Emilio); Diego Ulloa (Gabriel) and Carla Yépez (Ceci); and Carlos Scavone (Renato) and Carolina Pérez Flor (Sara).
Also part of the cast are Danilo Carrera, Carolina Jaume, Carolina Piechestein, Mía Terán, Prisca Bustamante, Gonzalo Gonzalo, Emma Guerrero, among others.
“Many of the actors that are in the film have been actors who have always said they want to work with me on some project. So every time I proposed to them, they all accepted me. All the actors accepted me to be in the movie without even reading the script. So that speaks a lot about the trust they have had in me… Matching the agendas of the entire cast has been a super-complicated job because each one has projects,” he says.
“Danilo Carrera is going to come from Miami; Eduardo Maruri came from Mexico; Shany Nadan is living in Colombia and we were lucky that she is here in Guayaquil, so we had to match the shooting days with the days that Shany had free. Érika (Vélez) was rehearsing a play, she had the final of MasterChef… We wanted all the stars to be national stars, they are all Ecuadorians, and we want this to stand out in this film. We don’t need international stars to do something of great quality…”, she adds.
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This is the second week of shooting the film, according to Lalaleo, it is planned to be four and a half weeks and they plan to finish the recordings on April 7. “So far, Shany Nadan, Jorge Ulloa, Carolina Jaume, Eduardo Maruri and Gigi Mieles have been. They have been the ones with whom we have already been able to record… From today (Friday, March 11) we begin to record the following story and during the week we are going to move forward”.
Between main, secondary and extra actors, according to the director, there are approximately 50, while there are “a much larger number” of extras. Also, more than 50 people are working in the production team.
Cuenca, the stage
The decision to shoot the film in Cuenca is due to many reasons, among them, the love that Ecuadorians have for the Azuaya capital, according to the filmmaker. “If we recorded the movie in Quito, it would feel like a Quito movie. If we recorded this with the same stars in Guayaquil, it would feel like a film from the Coast. So you ask us what city all of Ecuador loves and that is definitely Cuenca”, he comments.
“Cuenca is a city that has not been exploited in cinema… and that is beautiful. We were able to come to Cuenca to see the locations, adapt this script… and it was very easy because Cuenca is very beautiful, it has wonderful architecture…”, he adds.
Fourteen locations were chosen to record the film, among them, the Mirador de la Luz, the Calderón and de la Madre parks and Presidente Córdova street.
Premiere
Before the premiere of the film, which is scheduled for September in cinemas nationwide, the miniseries can be seen love at first like, which is a behind the scenes and revelations of the actors and production team. One chapter per week will be presented on ecuavisa.com, starting in April.
He does not rule out the idea of taking the film to a platform of streaming, it’s a dream, he says; however, in the first instance it is that it be a success in the country. “Then with those numbers, with that experience, demonstrating the quality that this film is going to have, and reaching the platforms,” he says.
Love in times of likes It also marks the beginning of the production company Dual Films, which is run by Lalaleo and Diego Ulloa. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
