Barbie Forteza considers herself as a “hype man” of David Licauco in their team-up.

At the media conference of their movie titled That Kind of Love on Thursday, June 20, the Kapuso love team called BarDa was asked about the kind of love they have for each other.

According to the Kapuso Primetime Princess, becoming very good friends helped a lot in maintaining the chemistry in the love team.

She said, “The kind of love that I have for David is hindi agad-agad. Pero noong na-reach na namin yung level ng friendship na kailangan namin to make the partnership work, the love I have for David is more like… feeling ko mas nagiging taga-ano niya ako, taga-guide, taga-support. Hype man ba ang tawag doon?”

Then, she recalled giving her best support to David during the Sparkle World Tour in Canada.

Barbie said, “Na-experience ko yan noong nag-Canada kami, nag-Sparkle tour kami sa Canada. I really went out of my way to support him on stage. As we all know, medyo mahiyain ang ating ginoo. I think it’s more of that, it’s more of showing my support sa kanya sa abot ng makakaya ko kapag magsama kami para mas mag-work ang love team namin.”

David, on the other hand, thanked his on-screen partner for always supporting him.

“For me naman, I reciprocate yung support na binibigay niya sa akin. Hindi naman niya kailangang suportahan ako pero she still does. I appreciate that. At saka, think about it like, 20 years from now, my name is actually attached to Barbie’s Google search… I really value Barbie as friend and as a co-worker,” he stated.

Meanwhile, That Kind of Love is Barbie and David’s first movie together since their love team blossomed from Maria Clara at Ibarra.

In the movie, Barbie and David have scenes shot in South Korea, which they consider a memorable experience.

Barbie, “Sobrang saya kasi nalibot namin yung famous K-drama locations. Actually, yung wall sa nilalakaran namin ni David sa ending ng trailer, ginamit siya sa isang famous K-drama na project. Ang pinaka hindi ko makakalimutan doon ay yung eksena namin sa tunnel, lamig na lamig ako.

“Kasi, yung isa sa mga Korean producers namin, binilhan kami ng tteokbokki, yung spicy Korean rice cake, sobrang sarap! Isa lang yung binili niya, so lahat kami nagkukumpulan. Sobrang saya kasi parang na-realize ko na ito pa lang ang unang proyekto na pinagsamahan naming lahat, pero ganun ka-tight na ang bonding namin kahit out-of-the-country shoot. Nagkaroon na agad ng family bonding within this production, within the film.”

She then stressed, “Ang saya ng buong Korea experience namin.”

For his part, David took note of a particular scene in the movie where he and Barbie had to cross a busy road in Korea.

He recalled, “Actually, lahat ng scenes memorable. Yung locations kung saan kami nag-shoot, talagang yung mga sikat doon, very artistic. Para sa akin, memorable yung nandoon tayo sa crossing dahil romantic siya, buwis-buhay, maraming tao, at saka malamig.”

And as a fan of a K-drama series, David also enjoyed filming in Itaewon, “Super saya siya, lalo na yung nagpunta kami ng Itaewon. Super fan ako ng Itaewon Class na show.”

Barbie and David hope Filipino moviegoers will be encouraged to visit the cinemas to watch That Kind of Love.

The former told the entertainment press, “It’s always nice to hope for that, siyempre, na mag-blockbuster, mag-box office. But I guess, the main purpose of all of us is to put out a really good film. Di ba, maibalik ang quality films na gawa ng mga Pilipino, na sana pelikulang Pilipino ang panonoorin ng mga Pilipino hindi Hollywood films.

“Filipino-made film muna bago yung mga Hollywood films. Yun lang naman ang purpose naman nating lahat. Bukod sa project na ito, it’s the entirety of the film industry, buhayin ulit ang pelikulang Pilipino.”

David seconded, “Actually, masaya naman talaga manood sa mga sinehan, di ba? Back in the day, noong mga bata pa tayo, noong pre-pandemic, ang sarap manood sa sine, di ba? So, with these kinds of films, sana bumalik yung mga tao sa mga sinehan dahil mas masaya talaga.”

Lastly, Barbie proudly said about That Kind of Love, “Maganda panoorin ito kapag mga first date o kaya gusto nilang i-rekindle ang love nila, ‘Nood tayo ng That Kind of Love’ para ma-reminisce nila kung gaano ka-powerful ang love. Ang saya kaya nitong date movie.”

Directed by Catherine Camarillo, That Kind of Love will be shown in cinemas nationwide starting July 10.

Aside from this movie, Barbie and David will also team up in the historical drama series Pulang Araw soon on GMA Prime.