Crying Ladies is Tony’s ‘gloria’

First, a clarification: Crying Ladies, Unitel Pictures’ entry to this December’s Metro Filmfest, has nothing to do with Rebecca Quijano, dubbed as The Crying Lady who allegedly saw who really shot Ninoy Aquino on the same China Airlines plane she was in on that fateful day in August, l983.

"Crying Ladies," said Unitel producer Tony Gloria, "is about the ladies paid to cry during (usually Chinese) wakes. But according to my research, Crying Ladies are found in many other cultures."

Directed by Mark Meily from his own Palanca Award-winning script titled Bayad Luha, Crying Ladies stars Sharon Cuneta in an off-beat role as a hustler and gambler who loses custody of her son when she goes to jail and who makes a living by being a professional mourner, along with Hilda Koronel as a former B-movie starlet dreaming of a comeback and Angel Aquino as a mistress (of her friend’s husband) who considers being a professional mourner as an act of charity to atone for her sin.

"It’s a comedy which should warm the cockles of the heart," added Tony whose last project was the critically-acclaimed American Adobo (directed by Laurice Guillen). "The movie sheds light on the struggles and little dreams of ordinary people living in the back streets of Chinatown. It’s a story of hope and triumph, calculated to move audiences to laughter – and, every now and then, to tears."

Crying Ladies is Tony’s second movie for Unitel (after American Adobo). All in all, he has produced so many others, mostly with Viva Films, that he has lost count.

An advertising man, Tony started making movies in 1980 with Dear Heart (for Sining Silangan), starring Sharon Cuneta and her ex-husband Gabby Concepcion. It was Sharon’s first movie, a smash hit that made her an overnight superstar. Her succeeding movies were produced by Viva Films, with Tony often as executive producer.

As you can see, Tony’s friendship with Sharon has come a long, long way, no wonder he was able to convince Sharon to play the unglamorous hustler role in Crying Ladies, a landmark turnabout for her.

"I first met Sharon when she was 13, even before she started doing movies," recalled Tony. "I was then working for an advertising agency and I got Sharon to star in a commercial for Lem-O-Lime na pinagawa ng San Miguel which wanted to strengthen the softdrink’s market in the Visayas and Mindanao area. I heard Sharon singing Mr. Deejay on radio and I thought she was perfect for the commercial. She was recording for Vicor then. That’s where I met Vic (del Rosario, Jr., now Viva big boss) who was co-owner of Vicor at that time. Soon after, I met her father, the late Pasay City Mayor Pablo Cuneta, to ask his permission for Sharon to do the commercial."

The cinema commercial, showing Sharon in medium shot, was an instant hit. (Needless to say, sales of Lem-O-Lime soared especially in the Visayas and Mindanao.) Tony told Vic that "the girl" was a star material. A year later, Vic told Tony that "the girl" was about to do a movie (Dear Heart, directed by Danny Zialcita). Vic was tapped to do the movie’s promo. Would Tony like to join him?

"That’s how it all started," said Tony who would eventually produce dozens of movies for Viva, mostly starring Sharon.

When Dear Heart became a huge hit, Vic and Mayor Pablo upped Sharon’s asking price. Sining Silangan didn’t bite and did a movie with another star. Vic and Mayor Pablo decided to produce Sharon’s next movie (Viva Films’ first), P.S. I Love You (directed by Eddie Garcia). Tony would write some of Sharon’s dialogue for her movies and even the storyline (for Forgive and Forget, with William Martinez as leading man). It was even Tony’s group which coined the word "Megastar" as Sharon’s title.

Tony left Viva in 1987 and concentrated on his advertising company which he renamed Unitel (acronym for United Television). Outside of Viva, he produced a few movies (Si Aida o si Lorna o si Fe, etc.).

"Then and now," said Tony, "Sharon has always been easy to work with. Walang ere. No star complex at all. When I offered her the role in Crying Ladies, she didn’t have any second thought even if, I think, she had some apprehensions about playing that kind of role. But she said she was looking for something different. ‘I’ve been looking for something like this,’ she told me."

When Tony read Mark Meily’s script two years ago, he fell in love with it right away. It was "un-put-downable." The role of the B-movie starlet was first offered to Nida Blanca who never got around to doing it. "When she (was killed)," according to Tony, "the role had to be rewritten to fit Hilda. But I only had Sharon in mind for the role of the hustler-gambler. I told Sharon, ‘Remember what you used to tell me when we were doing commercials? Tito, if you need help, just call me.’ Im calling you now, I reminded her. She said yes at once."

Like Sharon (who has in her collection several Chinese movies which she showed to Tony prior to the shooting of Crying Ladies), Tony is a movie addict who, as a kid, did errands for the takilyera in exchange for free entrance into the moviehouse.

"I like all kinds of movies, from horror to adventure – you know, Spartacus and The Ten Commandments. One local movie that really impressed me when I was a kid was Mga Yapak na Walang Bakas (a Premiere film)."

But his all-time favorite local movie is Lino Brocka’s Maynila sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag. "To me, it’s up there. Every other movie is a poor second."

Among foreign films, he picked two, To Kill a Mockingbird and Citizen Kane. And, of course, being a fan of the Master of Suspense, all Hitchcock films, especially Vertigo.

"It’s amazing how Citizen Kane was done, considering the limited technology at that time."

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