QUINN Carillo has done sexy scenes in some of her past movies, but she now avoids doing them as she will be appearing soon in a show for a major network, GMA-’s intriguing drama series “Asawa ng Asawa Ko”, where she’d co-star with Rayver Cruz and Jasmine Curtis Smith.

“My manager told me na mag-ingat na ako kasi magandang opportunity yung binibigay sa akin sa show directed by Laurice Guillen,” she says. “Mainstream TV na ito at hindi streaming channel, so binago ni Direk Laurice pati ‘yung mga sinusuot ko, lagi akong in full cover. Naka-long pants at long sleeves. Yun po ang napag-usapan namin doon kasi ang vision ni Direk Laurice is to evade super sexy scenes at sana nga, magtuluy-tuloy.”

Quinn is currently seen in “Haslers”, an erotic drama on Vivamax where she co-stars with Denise Esteban, Angelica Cervantes and Hershie de Leon, who are also her co-members in the all-girl song and dance group VMX Bellas who perform regularly at Viva Cafe in Cubao.

Quinn herself wrote the film’s screenplay which is about the story of four female friends who start as pokpoks then drifted apart from each other. They get reunited when one of them died and their past individual stories are then told in flashbacks. Quinn plays the most pivotal role as the girl who connects all her friends together.

“Haslers” is the eighth filmed screenplay written by Quinn. She has previously penned the scripts of “Tahan”, “Biyak”, “Showroom”, “The Influencer”, “My Father Myself”, “Paupahan” and “An Affair to Forget”. Direk Joel Lamangan, who helmed “Biyak” and “My Father Myself” says she shows a lot of promise as a screen writer. So how did her writing career start?

“First year high school ako when our teacher asked us to write a sad story na kailangan daw, mapaiyak namin siya,” she recalls. “So I wrote one and when she read it, sabi niya, naiyak nga raw siya and she thinks I have a bright future as a writer, so ituloy ko lang daw ang pagsusulat ko. But even in grade school pa lang, mahilig na ako sa Japanese anime and I used to write and draw my own manga stories. Pero parang libangan lang, hindi ko naman sineseryoso.”

Until the offer to do Vivamax movies came and it officially started her career as a film scriptwriter. Where does she get ideas or inspirations for her scripts?

“I’m very observant and from talking to other people, minsan may nakukuha akong ideas and I ask their permission kung puede kong isulat. And since I started writing scripts, merong mga taong kusang lumalapit sa akin to share their own story ideas. Favorite genre ko is psycho-thriller, like ‘Tahan’ and ‘The Influencer’, but I also enjoy doing dramas.”

What’s the most valuable advice she got since she started writing for Viva?

“Si writer-director Dennis Marasigan told me something na nagmarka sa akin. Sabi niya, basta magsulat ka lang nang magsulat. Huwag kang matatakot. Tuloy-tuloy mo lang and you will refine your craft through writing constantly.”

How about directing her own screenplay? “Actually, they’re also encouraging me to direct. Boss Vincent del Rosario said we need more female writers and directors for the industry. I can see myself being a filmmaker, pero hindi pa siguro ngayon. Kasi I feel that I still have a lot to learn. Kailangan ko pang mag-aral, maghanda, kasi ayoko namang pasukin yun nang hilaw pa ako and I’m not really prepared. As of now, nage-enjoy pa naman ako sa writing muna. So one at a time muna. Darating din ako doon sa tamang panahon.”

And right now, she is also enjoying acting immensely. “Sobrang nae-enjoy ko siya. At first, I didn’t expect na magugustuhan ko ang umarte, kasi even on stage in school, I was just staying in the background,” she says. “But it can be very fulfilling pala. Ayan nga, hindi ko ine-expect nanalo pa ako ng best new movie actress award from the Star Awards a few months ago. So kung mapagsasabay ko ang writing and acting, sige lang, I will try to give both my very best.”