The plight of a ‘small’ producer - FUNFARE by Ricardo F. Lo

Curtain-raisers:

• Is the juetengate affecting the plans of (especially) "debuting" actor-politicians to run in next May’s elections? Hardly. Add to the growing list of wannabes the names of Tirso Cruz III who’s reportedly running for Mayor of Las Piñas and Lander Vera-Perez, for Quezon City Councilor under the LAMP banner.

• Victor Neri left last Oct. 28 for Vietnam as member of the Philippine Wushu National Team competing in the Asian Wushu Championships. Victor has trained in Wushu as part of his agenda as an action star.

• There’s a good chance that direk Gil M. Portes might have two films in the Metro Filmfest this December, RVQ Productions’ Markova: Comfort Gay (topbilling Dolphy, Eric Quizon, Jeffrey Quizon, Ronnie Quizon, etc.) and Millennium Cinema’s Gatas (the daring launching movie of Mylene Dizon).

In times like this when the economy is in shambles, thus affecting the movie industry (predictions for next year are bleak, indeed, with only very few movies in the planning stage and the number perhaps not even hitting the low 100-movie mark which is very, very low compared to the usual 300-plus a year cranked out when times were better), we should take our hats off to "small" producers like Trovador Ramos, Jr. (fondly called James by friends) who continue to, well, "soldier on" against overwhelming odds.

A martial artist (blackbelter), James first appeared as an actor in Droga (directed by Celso Ad. Castillo) three years ago and co-produced (with a Hong Kong businessman) his second movie, Desperado (co-starring with Ronnie Ricketts), directed by Willy Milan who cast James in his next directorial work, Di Ko Kayang Tanggapin (with April Boy Regino). Early this year, James produced and directed Burador (with Sandra Gomez) and he has just put to can another one, Eskort (with Gov. Lito Lapid as special guest star, Gladys Reyes and Isabel Granada as leading ladies, John Regala, etc.) which he himself is again producing and directing.

James, 29, admits that he has had his own share of heartaches as a "small" producer, no thanks to little "sharks" in the industry who took advantage of his kindness and generosity and ... gullibility?

"Nakakadala talaga," says James. "But then, I happen to be the type of person who finishes what he has started. It’s a pity that there are some – some only, ha _ people in the industry who think that when you are a ‘small’ producer, you’re only good for one project, so they take advantage of you. If your movie doesn’t make money nga naman at the box office, at least they feel na kumita na sila sa iyo. It’s sad because producers who have already started, and those who are only about to start, back out from the industry. One of them was the Hong Kong producer who co-financed Desperado with me. Na-discouraged na siya."

If his projects as much as breaks even, according to James (who’s also in the cast of the Rudy Fernandez starrer Ping Lacson Story, playing the role of a cop), it’s okay with him, with the money rolled again for a new project. "I have a staff to sustain," he says. "I don’t want them naman to go jobless."

Unlike most action stars who can’t part with their guns (and their dark shades and black jackets), James faces the challenge fully prepared, well-equipped. At age 6, he was trained by his father, Trovador Ramos, in martial arts and plucked out of his kiddie games to play a "guest" role in Sandugo which the older Ramos himself produced and directed.

"At first," recalls James, "I ran away from the training, until I started enjoying it."

Besides, it’s in his genes. Besides his father, all members of the Ramos Family are blackbelters, from their mom, Eufemia Agaton, to James’ one brother and four sisters (though it’s only James who’s following in his old man’s footsteps). From 1996 to late 1997, James was in Hong Kong training stewardesses of Cathay Pacific in self-defense, handling from 150 to 400 trainees every three months and all in all training more than 1,500, not to mention Filipino domestic workers lured to martial arts for self-defense.

"Women need the skills more than men," says James. "Knowledge of martial arts is important in times like this when criminals are becoming bolder and bolder. You should be your own bodyguard."

Nice food for thought for somebody who comes from a family that kicks together.

In his desire to thrill, not with guns but with bare hands and feet, James also does his own stunts, like the highlight in Eskort (a term referring to a bodyguard assigned to a politician) where he crashes through an inch-thick glass door, coming out of it in one take and unscathed.

"But I did feel dizzy," says James. "Then, I felt blood oozing from my head. It turned out that a glass splinter cut my head, but it was just a minor injury."

Crashing through a glass is the most dreaded stunt, according to James, more risky and dangerous – and yes, more life-threatening – than jumping from tall buildings or from a speeding car.

"It was a challenge for me and I’m glad I did it," says James. "As I’ve said, I never run away from any challenge. Once I venture into something, I try to go beyond the limits."

And he’s talking not only about stunts but also producing movies in economically-risky times like we are in.