KRYSTALA

Krystala on TFC

THE classic battle between good and evil continues on Krystala. Judy Ann Santos is Krystala, a heroine from the legendary Madulom tribe. A hundred years ago, Diwata Luwalhati clashed with the wicked Hariman. The fierce battle left the former trapped in a crystal and the latter locked in a black onyx. The present saga begins when Tala, Krystala's alter ego, accidentally unearths the crystal of Diwata Luwalhati. Tala vows to the spirit of Diwata Luwalhati to rid the world of Hariman's evil cohorts. Previously, Hariman's spirit was set free when the black onyx was found by a city girl named Zorah. Whoever has the possession of the onyx will be corrupted and empowered by its evil. Krystala battles the most vile and sinister villains known to man such as Zorah. Little does she know that Zorah is her real mother.

Who is Krystala? Friday, October 08, 2004 ABS-CBN presents the superserye 'Krystala'

IMAGINE a metropolis overrun by enormous mosquitoes and giant bats, sent by mythical figures like "engkantos" (supernatural beings) and super villains, as they try to rule the world and the frightened humans in it. Suddenly, from high up in the sky, a woman appears and fights the evil supernatural creatures. Soon the streets of the metropolis are safe again - but who is that woman? And why does she leave before anyone has a chance to thank her?

ABS-CBN, home of the biggest, most risk-taking television series in Philippine broadcast history, takes the "teleserye" genre another step forward with the premiere of "Krystala" on Monday. Dubbed by the network as the first-ever "superserye", "Krystala "takes a mammoth budget and a cast led by television drama icon Judy Ann Santos in a thrilling combination of ABS-CBN's proven "teleserye" touch, classic figures in Filipino mythology and the comic book action-adventure genre made popular by such box-office hits as Spider-Man and X-Men - in a stunning effort to create a completely new viewing experience for all members of the family.

High above the mystic mountain known as Mt. Balawbaw lives the Madulom tribe, an small, endangered group whose ancient beliefs foretell the appearance of a savior - the one anointed by the mountain's "diwatas" (fairies) to save the world by ridding it of evil "engkantos". One day, a Madulom couple, Joram (Ronnie Lazaro) and Aleta (Susan Africa) find a crying child near the grave of their newly buried daughter. Despite the protests of her husband and fellow tribes people - who consider adopting an outsider unlucky - Aleta decides to take the child in and call her Tala, raising her with the guidance of Ima, the village "diwata". Years later, Tala (Judy Ann Santos) has grown to be a young, hardworking woman, working as a cleaner in a mall food court. But what the people around her don't know is that Tala is also the mysterious superheroine Krystala, who helps the helpless in a mission to defeat the evil and demonic "engkanto" Harimon (Emilio Garcia) - and reunite with the mother she lost so long ago. To do this, she must defeat Harimon's team of super villains, all former humans whose lives of pain were transformed by Harimon into negative energy that caused them to become evil. Among them are the shape- shifting Luminax (Desiree del Valle), the bat-like Kabagona (Alma Concepcion), the flamboyant Terracota (Michael Flores) and the beautiful, powerful and fierce Super Z (Chin-Chin Gutierrez).

The cast
Superstar Judy Ann Santos shines anew in another adventurous project for her home network with "Krystala". "Ngayon lang kasi ako nakapag- play ng superhero, kaya nakakatuwa talaga - parang bumabalik rin ako sa pagiging bata ulit," (Transation: "This is the first time I've ever played a Superheroine so it's really cool!! It's like  reliving my childhood fantasies she says.) "Kaya matindi talaga ang preparasyon. (Trans: "So the preparation for the role is  tremendous") Andyan yung nag-request ako ng trainer at fight director sa set mismo ng 'Basta't Kasama Kita' para makapag-ensayo ako habang break. (Trans: "I even requested for a fight director
and trainer so that I could practice. And I did all that during my  breaks at the taping of my previous TV series") Tapos, nag-aral  rin ako ng wushu, saka basic
arnis - simple steps lang, tapos eventually, habang lumalakas si Krystala, makakapag-graduate na ako to higher levels of martial arts." (Trans: "I even studied Wushu and basic Arnis- just simple  steps and as Krystala improves, I can graduate to higher forms of Martian Arts")

Nature activist and acclaimed actress Chin-Chin Gutierrez plays Krystala's main aggressor, Super Z, whose past is the key to Tala's life-long search for a mother. "As an actress, I expect to be really challenged, because my character is not your ordinary villainess, being a human who has been disadvantaged and alienated who, all along, has been looking for love."

Also in Krystala's life are three very talented young men, two of whom are making their ABS-CBN drama debuts. Popular television host and heartthrob Ryan Agoncillo finally takes the plunge into acting with his very first regular television role as Miguel, a brusque, sarcastic mechanic who lives right next door to Tala. "I admit I did have to do a lot of thinking when this offer came up," Ryan admits. "On one hand, I'd established myself as a television host but I still kept getting these offers to act. Finally, I thought it was time to try something new again. To be perfectly honest, when I first got the offer, they just mentioned Judy Ann, and I was
all, 'I'm on board!'"

Newcomer Sid Lucero takes on the role of Igo, a Madulom warrior whose heart belongs to Tala. "I'm challenged by my character, because he is all I'm not," notes the young actor, who took his name from thecharacter played by his father, well-known actor Mark Gil, in the classic film Batch '81. "He's supposed to be the strongest of the Madulom, and so he's serious, he's quiet, and he smiles only when he's with Tala. Working with Judy Ann is a bonus - whenever I get
the chance to speak with her at length, I find her down to earth, and easy to talk to. And she laughs a lot, which makes it very easy to be around her."

Straight after concluding his first team-up with Judy Ann in "Basta't Kasama Kita", TJ Trinidad jumps straight into Krystala as Gino, the pressured young owner of the mall in which Tala works. "The storyline delves into family conflict, romance, family, superheroes, real families, adoptive families - there's so many
ways, so many avenues that the story can go," TJ points out. "It's the kind of story that can engage anyone, specially with Juday being here. I think people will love it."

ABS-CBN has also gathered an impressive cast to take on the many roles surrounding the magical world of the very first "superserye". Apart from Judy Ann, Chin-Chin, Emilio, Desiree, Alma, Michael, Ryan, Sid, TJ, Ronnie and Susan, Krystala also features the talents of Angel Jacob (the diwata Luwalhati), Carlo Aquino (Giwal), Janus del Prado (Adur), Vanna Garcia (Yagi), Roy Alvarez (Bacchus), Crispin Pineda (Anito), Spanky Manikan (Mang Jorge), Rey PJ Abellana
(Martin), Roence Santos (Patotina), Ama Quiambao (Ima), Kathryn Bernardo (Casuy) and in her first ABS-CBN series Danica Sotto as Kate.

The production
"Hopefully, this show and this character creates the new superhero for the next generation, the one generations to come will refer to when they think of Filipino superheroes," says film and television director Rory Quintos, who leads a quartet of experienced directors, including Mae Czarina Cruz, Trina Dayrit and Nuel Naval, in meeting the demanding dramatic requirements of "Krystala".

"Krystala" also marks Quintos' reunion with Santos after "Esperanza" in 1999. And, typically for this director and her star, this new project is aiming higher, and bigger, than ever before. "Because she comes from the province, but tries to make a life in the city, Krystala's world is very here and now. She's a city superhero, and despite her superpowers, her struggles as a person embody the struggles of our audience."

Director Mae Czarina Cruz agrees. "What we really hope to do is entertain, to provide our viewers with a higher level of entertainment than what they have come to expect from the network that has consistently raised the standards for televised drama with its "teleserye" projects," she notes. "At the same time, we want to
retain the elements that people have come to love about our shows, including the drama, the intrigue and the love stories." Adds director Nuel Naval, "Our goal is to change the landscape of Philippine soaps."

Quintos also cites the 3D effects that give "Krystala" its inimitable look. "DigitalDodge, run by the award-winning visual effects artist Dodge Ledesma, is responsible for all the visual effects of the show," she says. "It's just an example of the kind of support ABS-CBN management has been giving us. It's very heartening."

So far, according to Ledesma, DigitalDodge has rendered, through the work of a staff of technicians and artists using complex CGI technology, a "tikbalang (a half human-hhalf horse creature)", hordes of bats and mosquitoes, and the superpowers of the various villains, as well as Krystala herself. Adds Ledesma, "Krystala's
powers will also evolve in time so there will be varied opportunities for different visual effects through out the season. This variety of effects will be the main edge of "Krystala" over the other effects driven soaps. It's safe to say that all of them are difficult, specially since we are racing against time to create the best and most unique soap in the history of the genre."

"Krystala" will also feature the work of some of the country's best behind the scenes artists: Cecile Baun and Warren Paña Munar for special make-up and prosthetics, Manny Morfe for production design, Glenn Lopez, Edgar San Diego and Frasco Mortiz for costume and creature design, Val Iglesias as the series' fight director, Ronald Bingwaoel as the series' fight instructor, and Erwin Torrente as head of the series' harness and special FX department.

A talented production staff oversees every aspect of Krystala's production, starting with executive producer Joan del Rosario and supervising producer Julie Ann Benitez. Ricky Lee is the show's creative manager with Reggie Amigo as head writer. ABS-CBN vice president for creative production Olive Lamasan and ABS-CBN senior vice president for drama Malou N. Santos complete Krystala's lead production team.