“May 13, 1988. Taurus,” Jane (Charlie Dizon) tells Paulo Avelino (Paulo Avelino) after their pick-up truck encounter in ‘Fan Girl,’ To test her “number one fan” knowledge about him, he continues throwing her questions, including his dogs’ names.

“Yoda and Chewy,” she answers. “Anong unang teleserye ko?” he asks. “Sa ABS o a GMA?” she responds.

(What’s my first TV show?)

(In ABS-CBN or GMA?)

With a “never meet your heroes” ethos, Antoinette Jadaone’s newest film revolves around Jane, Paulo’s full-time stan, and her misadventures when she meets him away from the cameras. In its newest trailer for the Metro Manila Film Festival, Jane’s ultimate stan card is validated AF—and Jadaone made sure Charlie was hella immersed.

“Dun sa paggawa ng pelikula, parang iba ‘yung naging process namin dito. Nag-take talaga kami ng time, kasi nga bagong actor si Charlie eh,” said Jadaone, when asked how she prepared for this film. The coming-of-age thriller “Fan Girl” marks the director’s transition from her romance and comedy-dominated portfolio.

(We really had a different process in the making of this film. We really took our time, because Charlie is a new actor.)

“So kailangan namin i-make sure na handa na siya dun sa mga eksena. Sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘yung wallpaper ng cellphone niya, gawin niyang si Pau (Paulo),” Jadaone revealed. “Para lang ma-gets niya na fan siya dito ni Pau. Hindi siya si Charlie Dizon.”

(We had to make sure she was prepared for the scenes. I also told Charlie to change her phone wallpaper into Paulo’s photo. So she understands that she’s a fan of his, and not Charlie Dizon.”)

“Actually sa set, ang tawag namin sa kanya, totoong pangalan niya: April. Ayaw naming isipin niya na artista siya dito. Kasi dapat ma-gets niya na fan siya,” Jadaone added.

(On set, we call Charlie by her real name: April. We don’t want her to think she’s a celebrity while filming. She needs to know she’s a fan.)

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This means the usual artista treatment took a halt for Charlie, too. “Si Pau (Paulo) lang ‘yung may tent. Si April, nakaupo lang siya sa ‘min, ganoon. Lahat ng pwede naming magawa para ma-push siya doon, ginawa namin. ‘Yung mga pagkain, kanya-kanyang kuha kami. Kami syempre ‘pag artista, sine-serve,” both Jadaone and Charlie laughed at the director-screenwriter’s revelation.

(Only Paulo has a tent. Meanwhile, April sits with us. We did everything to immerse her in her character. She also had to get food on her own. Because if you’re a celebrity, it gets served to you.)

Individually, Charlie and Paulo relied on songs to fit in their characters’ shoes. Charlie had an acting coach who knew what to spin. “Part ng workshop ko sa kanya, may binigay siyang isang song na parang sabi niya, ‘yun ‘yung feeling ni fan girl parati,” she said.

(As part of my workshop, my acting coach made me listen to a song said to embody the emotions of the fan girl.)

“So parang, every time na nagpe-prepare din ako or parang may eksena na applicable ‘yung song na ‘yun, ‘yun ‘yung pine-play namin bago ako sumalang. Actually, dalawang songs ‘yun eh. ‘Bad Guy’ ni Billie Eilish t’as ‘yung isa, ‘Shady Girl’ ng Sistar,” said Charlie.

(We play the song whenever I prepare or there’s a scene applicable for that song. Actually, there were two songs. ‘Bad Guy by Billie Eilish and ‘Shady Girl’ by Sistar.)

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“May song din si Pau actually na ‘di ko makalimutan. Kasi parang mabigat ‘yung eksena nun t’as ‘nung pi-nlay na ‘yun, iyak na ako nang iyak,” she confessed. The track was “The Emotion” by Børns.

(Paulo also plays a song I can’t forget. There was a heavy scene and when it was played, I started crying so hard.)

As a Paulo Avelino stan in the film, Charlie also plunged into the actor’s filmography to thicken her portrayal.

“Ang galing niyo pong umarte. Ang galing niyong umiyak. Ang galing niyo pong humalik,” Jane tells Paulo midway into the sneak peek. Seeing these two worlds colliding begs so many questions. This is just the tip of the iceberg in Jadaone’s method acting process, and we can’t wait to be rattled.

(You’re a great actor. You cry so well. You’re great at romance. You’re a good kisser.)

If you can’t hold your emotions like the rest of us, you can now book your tickets for “Fan Girl” starting today, Dec. 7 via Upstream.

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Still from “Fan Girl”