But – surprise, surprise! – the bulky Alfred Molina turned out to be a gentle "villain," soft-spoken and mild-mannered. He didn’t look menacing at all inside one of the tents at the Culver Studios in Culver City, California, where the Spider-Man 2 international press junket was held two weeks ago.
An accomplished and versatile actor, Molina has done more than 50 movies, TV and theater productions (after his movie debut via a small role in Raiders of the Lost Ark) but I’m sure you and I specially remember him for his role as Diego Rivera in Frida, opposite Salma Hayek in the title role, which earned Molina Best Supporting Actor nominations from BAFTA, the Screen Actors Guild, the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
Asked how different his role in Spider-Man 2 is from his previous films, specifically Frida, Molina half-smiled and answered, "Very different. It’s the first time I’m working in a movie with so many special effects. There were animation scenes in Frida but no special effects. Doing Spider-Man 2 is fun."
In his scenes, Molina as Doc Ock (Peter Parker’s professor who turns into a monster when his experiment goes haywire) moves around in swinging tentacles, so heavy-looking that, you wonder, how could he have moved (gracefully at that!) with such a burden (that must have weighed tons)?
"A lot of people were helping me move," was all he would say.
Did he work out? No, he said, he didn’t.
So how did he prepare for such a seemingly daunting task?
"Nothing mystical or mysterious about the preparation," Molina said, sounding as if playing Doc Ock was, you know, piece of cake. "It was just a job. I turned up on the set on time prepared with my lines. I did as I was told (by my director, Sam Raimi). I worked as hard as I could to do the best job that I could do."
Wow, piece of cake!
In the movie, Molina fights with Spider-Man in scenes so prolonged that they leave you panting – for more!
"Very complicated," said Molina of those fight scenes that took him and Spider-Man all over The Big Apple, culminating in the subway where Doc Ock gets his comeuppance.
"Were those scenes shot continuously? Sorry to break the mystery but they were not. They were done in small parts and then joined together," he said. "Marvelous editing!"
And then I sat down with James Franco who, before he played Harry Osborn (Peter Parker’s friend-turned-enemy), was praised for playing the title role in the TNT film James Dean (his portrayal earned him nominations from the Emmy and Screen Actors Guild).
In the movie, James is so bad that you want to punch him in the nose everytime he bullies the fragile-looking Peter Parker. But how you cheer when Peter Parker turns into Spider-Man and gives James/Harry the spin!
In the flesh, James did look like James Dean, although unlike the Immortal Dean, this James didn’t brood and smiled a lot.
Asked if he enjoyed playing villain, he said, "A bit."
Did he have a favorite villain?
"None."
He said that, as a kid, he was a fan of Spider-Man.
"I kept a Spider-Man skateboard."
In Spider-Man 1, Harry Osborn has some kind of a problem with his father (Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin, the nemesis of Spider-Man who was blamed by Harry for his father’s death). Didn’t he feel he’s being typecast in such roles (a son in conflict with his father)?
"They’re all very different characters," he smiled, "so different from real life. My parents are still together and we get along very well and, in fact, they’re coming with me to the (Spider-Man 2) premiere. But troubles among family members make for great drama, don’t they?"
Oh, by the way, what does he find romantic...what sort of girls does he prefer?
"You go to the theater with your girl and that’s romantic, isn’t it? What sort of girls do I prefer? I won’t tell!"
How much of Harry Osborn is in him?
"I hope not too much. He’s pretty troubled. He’s running a science-research business and he’s living in this big penthouse in Manhattan. But he’s still troubled. I’m not at all like him."
He turned suddenly evasive when asked even harmless questions about his personal life, such as, Isn’t he taking his girlfriend to the premiere along with his parents? Does he have a girlfriend?
"Hmmmm. No, I don’t know. We’ll see, we’ll see. I don’t know."
Okay, now. Is he image-conscious?
"I don’t think so. I think I’m very serious with what I do and I hope people see that. I don’t want people to think that I don’t take my work seriously."
Doesn’t stardom scare him?
"No, I’m not scared of it. But I like to think that the success that I have achieved so far is based on the work that I do rather on where I show up. I’m not so much into the ‘star’ thing, you know."
Ted’s first love is doing TV
First love never dies. Ask Leyte Rep. Ted Failon whose first (and, he swears, last) term ends at noon on Wednesday, June 30.
Even before he could bid his "honorable" colleagues in Congress a fond adieu, Ted (who frowns at being addressed "Congressman") has gone back to where he belongs – television. And that’s effective this afternoon at 3:30 to 4:30 (on ABS-CBN) when his rudely-interrupted public-service show Hoy Gising comes back after three years of dormancy, this time with Bernadette Sembrano and Connie Sison as co-hosts.
"Yes," said Congressman Ted – oops!, simply Ted. "TV is my first love. So far, I’ve spent 21 years in radio and television, and I hope to spend more in it."
When Ted (real full name: Mario Teodoro Ted Failon Etong) ran as an independent candidate for Congressman in 2001, he had two objectives: To break a dynasty (the Romualdez dynasty, that is; he beat then incumbent Congressman Alfred Romualdez, husband of actress Cristina Gonzalez) and to make a difference.
And what a difference he has made!
During his term, Ted put up (thanks to his pork barrel), among other things, a branch of the Philippine Science High School, the Leyte National High School gym (three all in all, in fact, since he found to his dismay that there wasn’t any gym in his district), a Regional Crisis Intervention Center (for the mentally ill) and irrigation system in the towns of Tolosa and Tanauan.
It took just barely a year in Congress for Ted to realize how bad the system (of patronage politics) was.
"Patronage politics is king. No matter what, it’s democracy that wins, right or wrong. The tyranny of numbers, you know. Something is very wrong with the system."
Soon, he also realized that he could serve the public just as well, and maybe even more effectively, by going out of Congress and going back to being a media person. Last year, he talked to Korina Sanchez, his teammate in the hard-hitting Tambalang Failon at Sanchez which had to give way to a show called Korina sa Umaga, which Korina hosted by her lonesome, when Ted joined politics.
"I asked Korina, ‘Can I come back? Ayoko nang tumakbo uli.’ She was very nice. She told me, ‘All the time. Kaya nga hindi ako kumuha ng partner, e!’ It was just proper for me to talk to Korina first because she’s the host of the program (now called Failon at Sanchez, 8 to 10 a.m. on DZMM Mondays through Fridays). And then, I talked to Sir Gabby (Lopez) and Boss Dong (Puno). They welcomed me back with open arms and I’m thankful to them for that."
The new Hoy Gising (now called Hoy Gising Kapamilya! which should be telecast daily so it can help more people) promises to be far better than the old one. Among the segments are:
• Saklolo Kapamilya (for all complaints against government and private agencies)
• Kapamilya Alert (an exposé on different modus operandi of the unscrupulous who exploit unsuspecting people)
• Piso Para sa Kapamilya (a fund-raising portion where viewers can donate at least one peso for the needy)
• Hulog ng Langit (a Kapamilya bus will bring public service to the streets)
• Kapamilya Inbox (where viewers can text in their complaints)
• Bantay Bata (the ABS-CBN Foundation and Hoy Gising Kapamilya! pool their resources for the sake/benefit of children)
• Bantay Kalikasan (also a joint segment with the ABS-CBN Foundation to protect the environment), and
• Kamusta Ka, Kapamilya (a long-distance kamustahan with OFWs).
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph)