Piolo ‘wag isnabin, pang-international na

Ni ARCHIE LIAO

NAPAKALAKING challenge kay Piolo Pascual ang gampanan ang tatlong characters sa pelikulang Mallari.

Sa nasabing obra ni Derick Cabrido, bibigyang-buhay niya ang tatlong character : ang serial killer na Mallari noong 1812, John Rey Mallari noong 1948, at present day Jonathan Mallari.
Noong una, tinanggihan niya ang nabanggit na proyekto.

Gayunpaman, nagbago raw ang isip niya dahil kinilabutan siya nang mabasa ang iskrip.
Naging curious din daw siya sa kuwento ng kauna-unahang Pinoy parish priest at serial killer noong 1800 na pumatay ng 57 katao na mas nauna pa sa istorya ng kinatatakutang Jack the Ripper.
Kaya naman, tinawagan daw niya ang producer para ikunsidera ang offer dahil ayaw niyang ma-miss ang opportunity to portray such a chilling character.
” I’m just a sucker for those stories,” aniya.
Hindi naman niya ikinaila na nanibago siya sa pagpo-portray ng tatlong karakter mula sa iba’t ibang timeline.
“It was hard because three roles, e. So, I just… parang as an actor, that’s the challenge, not knowing what to expect.

“By just saying yes, I guess for me, I was up for the challenge and I just wanted to do something different. And when this came about, I guess it just fell into place, and the big production value alone was big consideration. It’s very ambitious but they lived up to the expectations and everything. So, I’m just really happy about that,” paliwanag niya.
Para naman sa Mentorque Productions president na si John Bryan Diamante, proud siya na nakagawa sila ng isang de-kalidad na obrang kauna-unahang Pinoy movie na idi-distribute ng Warner Brothers na mapapanood hindi lang sa Pilipinas kundi internationally.

“Actually, pursuing Warner is also a seal of approval na okey iyong pelikula. Kasi noong umoo naman po ang Warner, di naman po umoo sila nang pikitmata. We had to go through a rigorous process.They had to visit the set. A lot of legal matters. Kailangang humingi kami ng saklolo sa napakalaking law firm so that maintindihan namin ang lahat. “International insurance o kailangang tawagan pa po namin ang London so talagang pinagdaanan po namin iyon. Because the film itself deserves it. Nang natapos namin, tapos hinusgahan ng Warner, worth it. Now, it’s also our job to push forward. Ibig sabihin, nakita nila, kaya natin. We can do it,” ani John Bryan. “Personally, ang intuition ko the stars are aligning. I never knew these people before talaga nagkatrabaho kami. I think, dahil ibinigay din namin lahat ng kanilang mga pangangailangan, that’s why Warner approved. It’s a beautiful story. It’s our story. Hindi lang ito basta horror story. Istorya ito ng kultura natin that we can actually share to the world,” dugtong niya.
Hopeful din siya na ang pelikula ang unang hakbang para mapansin ang bansa sa Oscars.
Reaksyon naman ni Piolo na magiging international star na: “We’re having Warner Brothers as a logo and Mentorque Productions.You know, with this kind of production and the value they gave our film, it’s really a privilege to be part of this milestone. I hope it will resonate to the audience and it’s not about us but about Philippine cinema. And I hope that we all support not just our movie but all the movies dito sa landmark sa MMFF.”

Kalahok sa 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival na magbubukas sa mga sinehan simula Disyembre 25, tampok din sa pinakaaabangang “scariest film of the year” sina Janella Salvador, Gloria Diaz, JC Santos, Ron Angeles, Tommy Alejandrino at marami pang iba.
Ang “Mallari” ay mula sa iskrip ni Joaquin Enrico Santos at direksyon ni Derick Cabrido.