Pee Mak PH’s and WilBea’s Biggest Challenge: Filling Mario Maurer’s Shoes
Pee Mak PH opens October 14 without a Mario Maurer in its cast. Whether Wilbert Ross and Bea Binene’s star power can carry it is the real test ahead. Wilbert Ross and Bea Binene arrived at the grand mediacon for “Pee Mak PH” this week, the film’s cast lined up together to confirm what had been the project’s missing piece since April: a release date. Viva Films has set the Philippine adaptation’s theatrical release for October 14, nationwide. When “Pee Mak” opened in Philippine cinemas in 2013, Filipino audiences weren’t discovering Mario Maurer. They already loved him. “Love of Siam” had made him a cult favorite here since 2007; “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” aired on ABS-CBN in 2010, turned him into a mainstream phenomenon with a Penshoppe endorsement deal and fan conferences that drew thousands; Star Cinema had already cast him opposite Erich Gonzales by 2012. By the time “Pee Mak” arrived, Maurer didn’t need the film to introduce him — he flew in that August specifically to meet fans who already knew his …

