Julia Barretto replaces Bea Alonzo in movie with Alden Richards 

MANILA, Philippines – Following Bea Alonzo’s exit, Julia Barretto will be Alden Richards’ new lead actress in Special Memory, the Filipino adaptation of the hit Korean movie A Moment To Remember. 

The changes were confirmed by VIVA Inc. President and CEO Vincent del Rosario III through members of the press on Friday, June 2. 

“Dating Alden-Bea, tapos I think nag-issue naman na kami ng statement and ang GMA na magpapahinga yata muna si Bea. So, si Julia na,” he said, as seen in an interview uploaded by PUSH. 

(It was originally Alden and Bea, but we and GMA already issued a statement that Bea will be taking a break. So Julia will be the one taking over.) 

The project, which was supposed to see the much-awaited movie team-up of Richards and Alonzo, was first announced in December 2020. They signed the contracts for the film adaptation in March 2021. 

A Moment to Remember, which starred Jung Woo-sung and Son Ye-jin, tells the story of a couple’s love that is tested after the woman is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

In May, it was reported that the production for the remake was postponed “due to scheduling conflicts within the production team.” 

Alonzo’s management also released a statement, saying that the actress had to “respectfully beg off from the movie project due to her full schedule this year.” 

Del Rosario added that Barretto was also aware that she’ll be replacing Alonzo in the project. The two actresses have been previously embroiled in a controversy as Barretto’s current boyfriend Gerald Anderson was Alonzo’s ex. 

“I think yes kasi na promote na yan dati ‘di ba noong unang i-announce. She’s professional naman and nagustuhan niya ‘yung role,” he said. (I think yes, because that was already promoted before when it was announced. And [Julia’s] a professional, and she liked the role.)

Del Rosario continued that Barretto is excited for her projects, including the movie with Aga Muhlach titled Forgetting. 

“Isa si Julia sa mga importanteng artista ng VIVA so binibigyan siya ng magaganda at malalaking projects (Julia is one of our big artists in VIVA; that’s why we give her really good projects).” 

Special Memory, which will be directed by Nuel Naval, is slated to start filming in late July or early August. A target release date has yet to be announced. – Rappler.com