First Original Asian Reality Programme 'It Takes Gutz to Be A Gutierrez' to air this June!
InCinemas sat down with the Gutierrez siblings: Ruffa, Richard and Raymond at Ritz Carlton Singapore as they shared their experiences filming the sizzling six-episode reality series!
The series gives viewers an unfiltered access into the dramatic lives of this one-of-a-kind family – power couple Eddie and Annabelle and their children, former beauty queen Ruffa, fashionista Raymond and screen superstar Richard – as they show South East Asia just how much It Takes GUTZ To Be A Gutierrez.
It Takes GUTZ To Be A Gutierrez premieres 1 June, Sundays at 9pm (SG) on E! (Starhub Cable TV Channel 441)
InCinemas: Can you tell us more about ‘It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez’ and what can the audience expect from the show?
Raymond: Well, it’s the first reality format in Asia that is being produced by E!. It’s been a very successful kind of format globally and we’re just very excited that we’re the first to do it!
Ruffa: It’s very explosive! A lot of drama, a lot of making up, a lot of revelation so I think viewers will be curious and happy!
InCinemas: What was the hardest part being part of this reality show?
Richard: Just getting started actually. First we were under contract with different networks for a while so we weren’t able to do a concept like this as a family, and a lot of people have been telling us to do a reality show. So finally this year, everything came together and we finally are able to do it!
InCinemas: It is after all the very first Asian family that will be featuring on E!, what were your feelings when you signed the agreement?
Raymond: I grew up watching E!! All the red carpet coverages, the E! News and all. When we first met up with E!, it was just such a big deal to me and my family. When we finally signed the agreement with them, it was a dream come true to be working with them. E! is all about the pop-culture and all about entertainment and I think our show will provide some of the insights.
The Philippine audience are well aware of who we are as a family, but I think what’s nice about the show is that they will get an inside look as to who we are outside of the cameras. It broadens our horizon too, now that it’s airing all over Asia.
InCinemas: Being labelled as the ‘Asian version of the Kardashians’, what are you views about that?
Richard: There’s added pressure of course, being compared to the Kardashians because they are so successful and very reality-influenced but our family is totally different from them. We grew up partly in LA and partly in the Philippines. Every family is different.
InCinemas: Will we see a different side of Ruffa, Raymond and Richard?
Ruffa: I think you’re going to see the real side of us because we’ve been in the industry since we were kids and we have different roles to portray in our films. Now it’s an inside peek into our family and we we are really all about, how we are as people; Raymond as a brother, me as a mother, Richard as a son. So you can see the different aspects of our family that you don’t see when we’re in front of the cameras.
InCinemas: The family came to Singapore to film an episode of the show. Can you tell us more about the experience here?
Raymond: We always love coming back to Singapore. There’s great food and it feels like whenever I come here it’s such an ‘instagram-able-friendly’ city because it’s so beautiful. When we filmed in Singapore, one of the highlights was definitely swimming with the dolphins. That was great.
Ruffa: You can never get Raymond in the water!
Raymond: Yeah, I’m usually sipping a cocktail on the side. For them to get me in the gear and to get me in the water was fun.
InCinemas: So through this show, what have you learned about yourself? (Besides getting Raymond in the water)
Raymond: He (Richard) opens up more in the show. Chard is usually very private so you get to see more of his personality because he is known for his superhero roles and superhero characters. Here you get to see his true personality.
Richard: Yeah, I am more of the private one in the family. For this show, I opened up myself to the cameras, to the public, so I think it’s definitely something new for me and the audience.
Raymond: He has big revelations in the first episode!
Ruffa: Well for me I think it’s a lot of the family; how everyone has grown and going into different directions in life. It also gives me an inside peek as to what they want to do in the future. I’m the eldest in the family so I used to you know, wipe their butts and change their diapers, so now that they are also successful individuals in their careers, it’s nice to see that all of them are growing up and doing their own thing!
InCinemas: Ruffa, being the eldest and the only girl among your siblings, does this give you an added pressure or the family goes easy on you?
Ruffa: I’ve always been the princess in the family. They (Raymond/Richard) would always have to share clothes and I will have my own wardrobe because then I'm not able to share with anyone else, except for my mom’s hand-me-down. It is actually amazing because she has all the designer and luxury bags and shoes. For me, when it comes to putting them in check or being an older sister, I guess I don’t have to do that anymore because they already know what they want in life.
InCinemas: Every family has their own problems, so how does the Gutierrez family resolves their problems?
Raymond: Yeah, we’re very loud. We get it out of our system by screaming but at the end of the day, we wake up in the morning as if nothing has happened. Every family go through their own set of problems and they deal with it in a different way. What’s nice about our family is at the end of the day, we are always there for one another, supporting each other.
InCinemas: Were there times where you wanted the cameras to ‘stop filming’?
Ruffa: We tried to do that but our directors are so strict.
Richard: Except in the showers or in the bedroom. *Chuckles*
Raymond: At the same time, we know what we got ourselves into and we were prepared for that. We know what the format is, we know what people are looking for, and we are just being ourselves! If that means waking up to a bad hair day or having a pimple.
Ruffa: And that makes us more human. You don’t wake up every morning feeling glamourous. One day you might feel fat and the other day you might feel gorgeous! Everyday is a different day for us.
InCinemas: In 3 words, so what does it take to be a Gutierrez?
Richard: It takes perseverance, tenacity and a lot of love.
Ruffa: Guts, fierceness and compassion
Raymond: For me it’s humour, drama and understanding.
InCinemas: Lastly, why should we catch ‘It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez’?
Raymond: It’s the first of its kind in Asia. You get to know a family with big personalities with clashing issues. At the end of the day, The audience will be able to relate to one of our family members somehow.
Ruffa: It’s fresh, new, entertaining and I’m sure they will be able to relate to us.
It Takes GUTZ To Be A Gutierrez premieres 1 June, Sundays at 9pm (SG) on E! (Starhub Cable TV Channel 441)