Erich Gonzales on Mario Maurer: 'Our friendship will always be there'

Erich Gonzales refused to entertain questions about whether or not she'll fall for Suddenly It's Magic co-star Mario Maurer if he weren’t committed to anyone else. She explained that love teams nowadays don't necessarily have to have a romantic connection in real life. As it is, the Thai heartthrob has a longtime girlfriend while Erich is currently dating a non-showbiz guy. "Hindi naman kami kailangan i-link kasi we all know yung status namin. Importante para sa amin yung sincerity sa audience. Hindi namin kailangang mag-gimik or mag-pretend na nagkaka in love-an or may something sa amin. Importante po na maganda yung working relationship namin at nagawa namin ng maayos yung pelikula. Yung viewers natin ngayon open-minded sila. [One thing's for sure] maganda yung story na papanoorin nila." Nevertheless, Erich is happy because she found a good friend in Mario. They often keep in touch through social media long after they finished shooting the movie. "Kahit tapos na yung shooting meron pa rin kaming communication through Instagram, Viber, Voxer, and SMS. Naging good friends talaga kami habang ginagawa yung movie. So kahit tapos na, yung friendship na nabuo namin will always be there." In fact, Erich is looking forward to her upcoming trip to Bangkok. She and Mario have already arranged to meet with their common friends once she gets there. "I'm going there [this November] and he told me na yung team niya will [allot one day] na free silang lahat para ma-meet nila ako dun. Naging good friends talaga kami. Hindi lang siya pati yung buong team niya." Working with Mario is such a joy for Erich because he was really determined to make the most out of his collaboration with an all-Filipino cast and staff. "Sobrang bait po talaga niya, walang hangin sa katawan, very down-to-earth and napaka-professional niya pagdating sa trabaho. Darating siya sa set na focused at alam niya yung lines niya. Masaya talaga siyang kasama." As for the pressure of headlining a mainstream movie, Erich maintained that she will not worry about coming up with a box office hit. "Thankful ako sa Star Cinema dahil binigyan nila ako ng isang napakalaking pelikula. And sa lahat ng project ko, I lift it all up to God. Kung anong gusto Niya, bahala na po Siya. Like what tito Dinkee (Doo) said, very important po talaga ang prayers. So we'll see," she stated.