Cathy Garcia-Molina

Catherine Rosales Garcia-Molina (born November 28, 1971) is a Filipino film and television director best known for directing romantic comedy films produced and distributed by Star Cinema. She has also directed a few TV series, which aired on ABS-CBN. Some of her films were considered top-grossers in the Philippines.

Cathy Garcia-Molina
Born	Catherine Rosales Garcia (1971-11-28) November 28, 1971 Quezon City, Philippines
Occupation	Film and television director
Years active	1985-present

Her 2019 film, Hello, Love, Goodbye, starring Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards, was released in July and has become the highest grossing Philippine film of all time.[1]

Major films

One More Chance (2007)

Main article: One More Chance (2007 film)

In 2007, Molina worked with John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo for the second time in the film One More Chance (first time was in the film Close to You), released by Star Cinema. It differed from her previous films, becoming her first romantic film to contain such solid drama and a mature feeling. In an interview, she stated "This one's different, though, as it's more of a drama and not really a romantic-comedy. In romantic comedies, we usually follow the formula of the two lovers having a cute meet, then they start fighting each other, but you know that in the end, they will still end up in each other's arms. This time, the film opens showing the lovers [...] breaking up right at the start of the story. That's why this is really different from any movie I've done before or any movie John Lloyd and Bea have made in the past."[2] The film was given a B rating by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB), saying "[Cruz and Alonzo] have graduated from their bubble-gummy roles and can really be considered serious actors now." The board also described their performance as "very good and sensitive."[3] Aside from receiving positive response from film critics, the film did well in the box-office, grossing ₱66,334,614 in its opening weekend. It grossed a total of ₱152,791,025 ($3,684,908), becoming the highest-grossing Filipino film of 2007, and the fourth highest-grossing film of 2007 in the Philippines, behind Spider-Man 3, Transformers and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.[4] The film also won Molina the Movie Director of the Year trophy in the 2008 PCPI Star Awards for Movies.

A Very Special Love (2008)

Main article: A Very Special Love

In 2008, Molina directed A Very Special Love, a romantic comedy film which talks about Laida Magtalas (portrayed by Sarah Geronimo) who is a fresh graduate and applies for a job in a magazine publishing company owned by Miggy Montenegro (played by John Lloyd Cruz). Laida is a simple girl and is the breadwinner of her family, while Miggy is a rich, handsome businessman. The movie is about two young people with totally different backgrounds, but they discover that love truly knows no barriers.[5] It is the first film of Cruz and Geronimo together, after their successful team-up in an episode of the Maalaala Mo Kaya TV series entitled "Kwintas".[5] The film was released as part of Star Cinema's fifteenth anniversary, in collaboration with VIVA Films.[6] It marked the first project that Molina has worked with Geronimo. Molina expressed that people knew Geronimo for being a dramatic actress, based on the TV series she has appeared on, and that she wanted to show the lightness of the actress. She described Geronimo as "light and kikay," saying that it was easy to work with her.[7] A Very Special Love was rated A by the CEB, with its comedic and innocent concept in contrast to One More Chance.[8] The film earned ₱58,448,223 at the box-office in its opening weekend. It became a commercial success, grossing a total of ₱179,569,117 ($3,836,701) and becoming the highest-grossing Filipino film of 2008 (second highest-grossing film of 2008 in the Philippines behind Iron Man).[9] The film later overtook Ang Tanging Ina in terms of revenue, and is currently the fifth highest-grossing Filipino film of all time. It also earned Molina three Best Director nominations from major awarding organizations.

You Changed My Life (2009)

Main article: You Changed My Life

In 2009, Star Cinema and VIVA Films released the much-awaited sequel to A Very Special Love, entitled You Changed My Life.[10] The film was rushed, since the production companies wanted the sequel to have a Valentine's Day release. The film was directed, still, by Molina, with John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo reprising their roles. Rayver Cruz was cast as Mackoy, Laida's high school best friend who later broke away for their group and went to a different college. The story revolves around the growing relationship of Miggy and Laida as a couple. Things get tough when Miggy was assigned to manage his family's business in Laguna far from Laida. Having no time for his girl, Laida finds comfort in Mackoy's arms. Like its prequel, the film was also rated A by the CEB and received positive reviews from movie critics. Karen A. Pagsolingan of Philippine Entertainment Portal stated "I have two words for the movie: Entertaining and engaging!" She described the plot as "flawless," and praised Molina's surprises and "avant garde tactics."[11] You Changed My Life earned ₱97,893,449 in its opening weekend, becoming the highest opening weekend for a Filipino film. The film was a box-office hit, grossing a total of ₱230,436,128 ($4,724,411) and eventually becoming the highest-grossing Filipino film in record time.[12] It is also the first Filipino film to surpass the ₱200 million mark, after Ruel S. Bayani's No Other Woman did the same in 2011. You Changed My Life was the highest-grossing Filipino film of 2009 and the fifth highest-grossing film of 2009 in the Philippines behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Avatar, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and 2012.[13] The film earned Molina a Best Director nomination from the 2010 ENPRESS Golden Screen Awards.

Miss You Like Crazy (2010)

In 2010, Molina's fifth project with John Lloyd Cruz and third with Bea Alonzo, entitled Miss You Like Crazy, was released under Star Cinema. Like One More Chance, the film is a romantic drama with a mature concept. Cruz and Alonzo played the roles of star-crossed lovers, Alan Alvarez and Mia Samonte. Fate throws them chances to be together, but time is not their ally. When they first meet on board the Pasig River Ferry Service, they are instantly attracted to each other. Both of them are from the middle-class and are down-to-earth. As they bond over Divisoria shopping and all-night conversations over coffee, Allan starts to doubt his feelings for his high maintenance fiancée Daphne (portrayed by Maricar Reyes) who happens to be the daughter of his boss. Sooner, Alan and Mia learn that "time is meaningless when you're in love."[14] The film was shot both in the Philippines and Malaysia.[15] The performance of the cast was praised by critics, but the story was panned film reviewers. Philippine Entertainment Portal stated "Star Cinema's weakness is its inability to produce a realistic ending [...] this perfect world only exists in fairy tales. In the real world, the more prevailing concepts are moving on and acceptance."[14] The same opinion was given by Manila Bulletin, saying "A Cathy Molina film always ends happily, although one would probably hope it wouldn’t, for a change, and adhere to a bit of realism [...] Another problem was the unexplored subplots."[16] Despite mixed response to the film, Miss You Like Crazy became a commercial hit, grossing a total of ₱138.27 million ($3,183,529) in the box-office[17] and becoming the second highest-grossing Filipino film of 2010 only behind My Amnesia Girl, which also stars Cruz in the lead role.[18]

Personal life

Catherine Rosales Garcia-Molina was born on November 28, 1971 in Quezon City, Philippines. She is the youngest child of the late Sikatuna Antonio Garcia (1929—1983) and Luisa Rosales Garcia.

She was married to Engineer and Technical Director Philip Rey "Epoy" Molina (who died from a vehicular accident in 2009) with two children.[19]

Cursing Issue

In 2014, Rosselyn Domingo and her boyfriend Alvin Campomanes, a history professor from the University of the Philippines, who played as bit players in the teleseries Forevermore, accused Molina, talent supplier John Leonardo and a woman named "Jeng" of mistreatment of their extra. Domingo points that Molina allegedly said foul words and humiliated her and Campomanes during a taping of the drama series shot in Benguet. The open letter of Domingo with a complaint of Campomanes addressed to Cory Vidanes, ABS-CBN's COO, originally posted on Facebook on December 31, 2015.[20][21] Film director Peque Gallaga backed the two talent's testimonies against Molina.[22]

Molina, admitted in an interview with TV host Boy Abunda that she cursed the two "extras" during a taping with "good intentions." and asked for a dialogue between her and the two complainants to settle the issue.[23]

Casting

Molina often casts certain actors more than once in her films. She has consistently worked with Kathryn Bernardo, Bea Alonzo, Sarah Geronimo, Toni Gonzaga, Daniel Padilla, Sam Milby and John Lloyd Cruz.

Actor	Bcuz of U (2004)	Close to You (2006)	You Are the One (2006)	You Got Me! (2007)	One More Chance (2007)	A Very Special Love (2008)	My Only Ü (2008)	You Changed My Life (2009)	Miss You Like Crazy (2010)	Cinco (2010)	My Amnesia Girl (2010)	Forever and a Day (2011)	ÜnOfficially Yours (2012)	It Takes A Man And A Woman (2013)	Four Sisters and a Wedding (2013)	She's Dating the Gangster (2014)	A Second Chance (2015)	Just the 3 of Us (2016)	My Ex and Whys (2017)	Seven Sundays (2017)	Unexpectedly Yours (2017)	My Perfect You (2018)	The Hows of Us (2018)	Three Words to Forever (2018)	Hello, Love, Goodbye (2019)
Sandara Park	Y
Hero Angeles	Y
Bea Alonzo		Y			Y				Y						Y		Y^5
KC Concepcion												Y
John Lloyd Cruz		Y			Y	Y	Y^1	Y^2	Y		Y		Y	Y^2			Y^5	Y
Sarah Geronimo						Y		Y^2						Y^2
Toni Gonzaga			Y	Y			Y				Y				Y
Angel Locsin											Y^3		Y		Y
Vhong Navarro							Y
Zanjoe Marudo				Y						Y
Pokwang										Y
Sam Milby		Y	Y	Y								Y			Y
Enchong Dee															Y
Shaina Magdayao															Y
Kathryn Bernardo																Y							Y	Y	Y
Daniel Padilla																Y							Y
Dawn Zulueta																Y^4
Richard Gomez																Y^4								Y
Jennylyn Mercado																		Y
Liza Soberano																			Y
Enrique Gil																			Y	Y
Aga Muhlach																				Y
Cristine Reyes																				Y
Dingdong Dantes																				Y
Ronaldo Valdez																				Y
Sharon Cuneta																					Y			Y
Robin Padilla																					Y
Julia Barretto																					Y
Joshua Garcia																					Y
Pia Wurtzbach																						Y
Gerald Anderson																						Y
Alden Richards																									Y

Notes

• ¹ Cruz made a cameo appearance in My Only Ü.
• ² Cruz and Geronimo reprised their roles as Miggy Montenegro and Laida Magtalas.
• ³ Locsin made a cameo appearance in My Amnesia Girl.
• ⁴ Zulueta and Gomez made a special participation in She's Dating the Gangster and considered as the main cast of the film because of taking the role of adult version of Bernardo and Padilla.
• ⁵ Cruz and Alonzo reprised their roles as "Popoy" and "Basha".

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes and Awards
1993	Bulag, Pipi at Bingi	Assistant director
1993	Maricris Sioson: Japayuki	Assistant director
1994	Maalaala Mo Kaya: The Movie	Assistant director
1994	Separada	Assistant director
1995	Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara	Assistant director, post-production coordinator
1995	Basta't Kasama Kita	Assistant director
1995	Eskapo	Assistant director, crowd director
1996	Madrasta	Assistant director
1996	Mara Clara: The Movie	Assistant director
1997	Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin?	Assistant director
1997	Paano Ang Puso Ko?	Assistant director
1998	Lea's Story	Assistant director
1998	Magandang Hatinggabi	Associate director
2000	Minsan, Minahal Kita	Associate director
2002	Got 2 Believe	Associate director
2004	Milan	Associate director
2004	Bcuz of U	Director	Episode "Third Story"
2006	Close to You	Director
2006	You Are the One	Director	Nominated—PMPC Star Award for Movie Director of the Year
2007	You Got Me!	Director
2007	One More Chance	Director	GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Award for Film Director of the Year PMPC Star Award for Movie Director of the Year
2008	A Very Special Love	Director	GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Award for Film Director of the Year Nominated—ENPRESS Golden Screen Award for Best Director Nominated—FAP Luna Award for Best Director Nominated—PMPC Star Award for Movie Director of the Year
2008	My Only Ü	Director
2009	You Changed My Life	Director	GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Award for Film Director of the Year Nominated—ENPRESS Golden Screen Award for Best Director
2009	In My Life	Second associate director
2010	Miss You Like Crazy	Director
2010	Cinco	Director	Episode "Puso"
2010	My Amnesia Girl	Director
2011	Forever and a Day	Director
2012	ÜnOfficially Yours	Director
2013	It Takes a Man and a Woman	Director
2013	Four Sisters and a Wedding	Director
2014	She's Dating the Gangster	Director
2015	A Second Chance	Director
2016	Just the 3 of Us	Director
2017	My Ex and Whys	Director
2017	Seven Sundays	Director
2017	Unexpectedly Yours	Director
2018	My Perfect You	Director
2018	The Hows of Us	Director
2018	Three Words to Forever	Director
2019	Hello, Love, Goodbye	Director
2020	After Forever	Director

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002—2009	Maalaala Mo Kaya	Director	6 episodes
2006	Wansapanataym	Director	Episode "Ang Alamat ng Pinya"
2008	Lobo	Director
2009	Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Bud Brothers	Director
	Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Somewhere in My Heart	Director
2010	Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Midnight Phantom	Director
	Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Alyna	Director
2013-2014	Got to Believe	Director
2014	Pinoy Big Brother: All In	Houseguest/Herself/Director	Directed the short film Endless[24] (starring the Housemates)
2014-2015	Forevermore	Director
2015	Pangako Sa 'Yo	Director	Two Weeks Only
2016	Dolce Amore	Director
	The Story of Us	Director
2017	La Luna Sangre	Director	Pilot Week Only
2020	Make It with You	Director

Cameo appearances

Year	Film	Role
1990	Bikining Itim	Tale
1990	Biktima	Rape victim
1990	Inosente	Young Hostess
1995	Basta't Kasama Kita	Chambermaid
2004	Milan	Pinoy 1
2009	In My Life	Ballroom host
2016	Barcelona: A Love Untold	Director
2019	Hello, Love, Goodbye	Buyer

Awards and nominations

Year	Award-Giving Body	Category	Work	Result
2007	23rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies	Movie Director of the Year	You Are the One	Nominated
2008	38th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards	Most Popular Film Director[25]	One More Chance	Won
	24th PMPC Star Awards for Movies	Movie Director of the Year[26]		Won
2009	39th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards	Most Popular Film Director[27]	A Very Special Love	Won
	27th FAP Luna Awards	Best Director		Nominated
	6th Golden Screen Awards for Movies	Best Director		Nominated
	25th PMPC Star Awards for Movies	Movie Director of the Year		Nominated
2010	40th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards	Most Popular Film Director[28]	You Changed My Life	Won
	7th Golden Screen Awards for Movies	Best Director[29]		Nominated
2011	59th FAMAS Awards	Best Director[30]	Miss You Like Crazy	Nominated
2014	62nd FAMAS Awards	Best Director[31]	Four Sisters and a Wedding	Nominated
	30th PMPC Star Awards for Movies	Movie Director of the Year[32]	Four Sisters and a Wedding It Takes a Man and a Woman	Nominated
2015	63rd FAMAS Awards	Best Director[33]	She's Dating the Gangster	Nominated
2016	47th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards	Most Popular Director	A Second Chance	Won
2019	50th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards	Most Popular Film Director	The Hows of Us	Won

References

1. News, ABS-CBN. "'Hello, Love, Goodbye' makes history as highest grossing PH film of all time". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
2. Mario E. Bautista. "Direk Cathy breaks away from the mold". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
3. Marinel Cruz (18 November 2007). "'One More Chance' gets a 'B'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
4. "Philippines Yearly Box Office - 2007". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
5. Rachelle Marie Gutierrez Dangin (23 July 2008). "John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo share a very special love". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
6. Jocelyn Dimaculangan (24 July 2008). "Office romance highlighted in "A Very Special Love"". pep.ph. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
7. Jocelyn Dimaculangan (9 July 2008). "John Lloyd and Sarah excited about their movie "A Very Special Love"". pep.ph. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
8. Ricky Lo (16 September 2008). "A very special premiere in NY". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
9. "Philippines Yearly Box Office - 2008". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
10. Karen A. Pagsolingan (2 March 2009). "John Lloyd Cruz-Sarah Geronimo tandem and their success formula". pep.ph. Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
11. Karen A. Pagsolingan (25 February 2009). "PEP REVIEW: "You changed my life"". pep.ph. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
12. "You Changed My Life gross total". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
13. "Philippines Yearly Box Office - 2009". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
14. Fidel Antonio Medel (February 26, 2010). "Top reasons to love Miss You Like Crazy". pep.ph. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
15. CRISPINA MARTINEZ-BELEN (February 23, 2010). "John Lloyd, Bea reunite via 'Miss You Like Crazy'". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
16. ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZ (February 25, 2010). "'Miss You Like Crazy': Satisfying fan fodder but..." Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
17. "Miss You Like Crazy". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
18. "Philippines Yearly Box Office - 2010". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
19. Erwin Santiago (29 March 2009). "Director Cathy Garcia Molina's husband killed in a vehicular accident - PEP.ph: The Number One Site for Philippine Showbiz".
20. "Former 'Forevermore' talent: Director Cathy Garcia-Molina has no respect for extras". Rappler. January 2, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
21. "Netizens abuzz over talent's grievance against 'Forevermore' director". The Philippine Star. January 4, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
22. "Peque Gallaga backs talents' grievances against Cathy Garcia-Molina". Interaksyon. January 3, 2016. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
23. Ramos, NR (January 18, 2016). "Direk Cathy breaks silence over 'maltreatment' issue; complainants react". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
24. "Direk Cathy plays hard ball with housemates". Star Cinema. ABS-CBN Corporation. August 17, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
25. "The 38th Box-Office Entertainment Awards (Part 2)". Pep.ph. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
26. "24th Star Awards for Movies Winners (2008)" Archived 2017-07-15 at the Wayback Machine. Mukamo.com. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
27. "40th Box Office Entertainment Awards given out". Pep.ph. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
28. "ABS-CBN big winner at GMMSF Entertainment Awards". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
29. "List of 7th Golden Screen Awards Nominees bared". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
30. "The 59th FAMAS Awards 2011 Lis of Nominees" Archived 10 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. pinoyambisosyo.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
31. "FAMAS Awards 2014 Official List of Nominees". philnews.ph. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
32. "List of Nominees: 30th PMPC Star Awards for Movies". barakonews.com. Retrieved 14-12-11.
33. "FULL LIST: Nominees, FAMAS Awards 2015". rappler.com. Retrieved 04-09-15,

External links

• Cathy Garcia Molina at the Internet Movie Database
• Talent, boyfriend seek justice after ‘cursing, humiliation’ from director Cathy Molina