Daniel, Kathryn to begin shooting 'Gangster' movie

Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla pose with movie director Cathy Garcia Molina and "She's Dating the Gangster" author Bianca Bernardino. Photo by Shiela Reyes for ABS-CBNnews.com.

MANILA – Cameras will start rolling on Friday for the third big-screen team-up of the popular love team of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla.

A day before they start filming, Bernardo admitted she feels pressured because of the strong box office performance of “Starting Over Again,” the last movie released by Star Cinema.

“Ayaw naman namin mag-expect kasi kung titignan mo bago pa lang talaga kami. Sana maging successful pero ayaw muna namin mag-expect. Basta sisiguraduhin muna namin na maganda ang material na mapapalabas,” Bernardo said.

Padilla and Bernardo’s last movie together was “Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay,” which was among the most-watched movies at the 2013 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla at the story conference of their upcoming movie "She's Dating the Gangster." Photo by Shiela Reyes for ABS-CBNnews.com.

Asked if they could replicate the box-office success of their horror movie, Padilla briefly said: “Nakakakaba pero gagawin namin ni Kath ang lahat.”

A film adaptation of the book by Bianca Bernardino, "She's Dating the Gangster" centers on 17-year-old Athena Dizon, who strikes a deal with school heartthrob Kenji delos Reyes to pretend to be his girlfriend.

“Ibang iba siya talaga sa mga nagawa namin. Ilan pa lang naman ang nagagawa namin. 'Yung isa horror, 'yung isa pang bagets. Ito medyo matured na romantic-comedy. Alam naman namin na maaalagaan talaga ['yung project],” Padilla said.

To prepare for their roles, Bernardo revealed that she and Padilla were asked to read the book to fully understand their characters.

“Excited ako kasi parang great love story siya. Hindi lang siya basta romantic-comedy pero more of seryosong love story talaga,” she said.

While sticking to the book's plot, Bernardo said their fans should expect more twists in the lives of Athena and Kenji.

“Maraming nakabasa ng book so siyempre hindi naman namin aalisin sa movie 'yung nasa libro para mapapanood nila kung ano 'yung nasa libro. Pero mag-e-expect pa sila ng mas maraming mangyayari. Hindi lang siya just the book pero maraming mga ibang ilalagay na twists. Kailangan nila abangan,” she added.

Star Cinema will release “She’s Dating the Gangster,” which will be directed Cathy Garcia Molina, later this year.