FHM.com.ph

INTERVIEW: ALEX C. PAITA
PHOTOGRAPHY: CHARLES BUENCONSEJO
Special thanks to MR. NOEL FERRER, JOEY ABACAN, MS. TRACY, and MS. ANNETTE GOZON-ABROGAR of GMA FILMS

You’re legit household names now. But let’s not forget you started in this little reality TV booth inside a mall… Ariel: Nag-umpisa kami sa On-Air (an ABC-5 show), tsamba lang. Nanonood kasi kami nina Keempee (de Leon, a good friend of theirs) ng sine noon every Sunday, tapos naparaan kami sa booth nung show. Niyaya kami nung cameraman na subukang magpakuha sa booth. Natuwa yung director, ginawa kaming weekly doon. So every Sunday, bago manood ng sine pumapasok kami sa booth. After one year nanalo kami ng People’s Choice Award and nabigyan kami ng show ng Ideal Minds.

Don’t you fear your original fanbase would write you off as “sellouts”?
Maverick: Hindi naman, kasi it’s still our own brand of comedy, and we’ve just brought it to a bigger audience through GMA 7. I don’t think mawawala yung cult following namin kasi nasa class A, B, C yung market namin.
Ariel: Kaya lang naman ang audience namin dati ay thinking audience—students from La Salle, Ateneo, UP, UST and yuppies—was because it was on a channel with lesser reach. Today, palagay ko those people will still notice us, plus matututunan din ng masang mahalin yung brand ng comedy namin. Ang jokes naman namin hindi ala Bob Hope!