Big surprises do come in small packages.
Case in point: Rob Schneider, the blue-eyed Fil-Am comedian (and director-writer-producer) who tickled the world’s funnybone in such films as Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, The Animal, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and, now showing across the country, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan where he again co-stars with his bosom buddy Adam Sandler.
On screen, Rob looks tall. In person, however, he’s...should I say, “cute?”...perhaps not a couple of inches above five feet. I’m barely 5’3" tall and I stood beside Rob during the recent press junket for Zohan in Beverly Hills and I swear that I’m a few centimeters taller than he is.
In Zohan, Adam plays a top Israeli commando who fakes his own death in order to pursue his dream of becoming a hairstylist in New York, using his “hairy” skill as well as his macho endowment in attracting a clientele consisting mostly of old (sex-hungry) ladies. Rob plays Salim, a Palestinian cab-driver with a long-held grudge against Zohan, determined to do Zohan in. Yes, the movie takes a good-natured look at the long-drawn conflict in that part of the world.
No, said Rob, he and Adam are not making fun of either the Israelis or the Palestinians.
“All we are trying to do in this movie is make people laugh, but if we can do that, then maybe it will have some impact just because we’re trying to be respectful to both sides and be funny.”
Rob and Sandler met when they were struggling stand-up comedians on Saturday Night Live.
“I have worked on 10 of the movies produced by Happy Madison Productions, a company put up by Adam and Jack Giarraputo,” volunteered Rob who will also be seen on the prison comedy Big Stan which is his directorial debut also starring David Carradine, and The Chosen One which he produces with his brother John. “I was very flattered that Robert (Smigel who co-wrote the screenplay with Judd Apatow and Adam, also the producer of Zohan) wrote the part for me. It reminded me of our best Saturday Night Live days when he handed me a great character and I knew that I had to knock it out of the park. It’s pressure, sure, but it’s the best kind of pressure.”
Here are excerpts from my one-on-one with Rob Schneider:
Rob, kumusta? Do you speak Filipino?
“A little bit yes. I wish my mother was serious. She could help out in four different dialects.”
You and Adam have been working together since Saturday Night Live. What did you learn from each other through the years?
“You know, Adam is still making a chill or laugh after all of these years. I like him more than myself. He still surprises me in making me laugh in different ways usually at my expense. But he’s just really a funny, interesting guy. I think there’s a safe quality. If you have known each other for 20 years, there’s a lot of new surprises. Kinda get to know each other in that sense. With Adam, I think that’s an important quality. You can just pretty much say anything to each other and you know it’s gonna stay there.”
You mean, everything comes naturally…
“Yes, I think so. Adam knows pretty much whatever he needs for the character. There’s confidence. When we work, we make the most of it. You know, I work hard. Playing a Palestinian driver is more difficult than my other roles because you want to be respectful and also underline the comedy here. It gets you into a pretty serious situation, you know — two people from opposite sides trying to kill each other.”
What about the idea of doing a movie in the Philippines?
“I wanna do a film in the Philippines. It’s just that my mom is finally writing her memoirs about her childhood in the Philippines. So we wanna do a movie about that. I would like to do that next year if I could.”
How much of you is Filipino and how much is American?
“I don’t know. What I know is that our house is a gateway for Filipinos coming into America. All my relatives keep coming, you know, most of them from Baguio City. Yeah, they would come through, stay in our house, get a job and move out. They come and go. It’s great! You know, when I was in Baguio and my relatives came to say goodbye to us at the airport, my dad panned the camera and it went like two to three minutes because hundreds of our relatives were there.”
If you were to write a comedy about the Philippines, what would it be like?
“How nice Filipinos are! They are very generous. I remember when I was a kid, I was careful not to say that I liked something because they would give it to me. If I pointed to a picture on the wall and I said, ‘It’s nice!,’ they would say, ‘Oh, you like that!’, and take it off the wall and give it to me. I would like to spend a little more time in the Philippines. My mom’s book is about her childhood in the Philippines during Japanese Occupation. She said that some of the memories are sad but some are happy. She said that her years in the Philippines are the happiest time of her life.” ( Rob’s mom does a cameo in many of his movies. — RFL)
Thank you, Rob.
“Thank you. Salamat po, walang anuman.”
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Funfare’s “international correspondent” Ferdinand Lapuz is back in Toronto where he filed the following report:
Directors Paolo Villlaluna and Ellen Ramos’ second feature film, Selda (The Inmate), has been invited to the world (main) competition section of the 32nd Montreal World Film Festival from Aug. 21 to Sept. 1.
Selda stars Ara Mina, Sid Lucero and Emilio Garcia. It’s the first time that a Filipino film is competing in Montreal. In 2005, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros won the Golden Zenith award in the First Films competition in the same filmfest.
In Selda, Sid and Emilio get “intimate” inside the prison and resume their affair when they get out of it.
Twenty feature films are competing in the high-profile World Competition, including the entries’ international premieres. The international official jury will award the following prizes for the feature films in this section: Grand Prix of the Americas, Special Grand Prix of the Jury, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Artistic Contribution and Innovation Award, plus two prizes for the short films.
Oscar-nominated director Mark Rydell (The Rose, On Golden Pond, The River, etc.) is president of the jury which includes actress Evelyne Bouix, public representative Johanne Dugas, directors Xie Fei and Vojtech Jasny, and writer-cinéaste Dany Laferrière.
Directors Villaluna and Ramos, together with Sid and Emilio, will present Selda’s international premiere in Montreal. Their trip is subsidized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines chaired by Jacky Atienza. They are also grateful to CEB chairperson Christine Dayrit, Lali Suzara and Digna Santiago for the support.
Incidentally, Maryo J. delos Reyes’ Torotot (Destierro) has been invited to compete in the 35th Brussels International Independent Film Festival in Brussels, Belgium, from Nov. 4 to 10. The invitation came from the Brussels Filmfest general director Robert Malengreau who assured that the accommodation of Maryo and company will be provided for with the help of the FDCP for the round-trip airfare. Paging Jacky Atienza, Christine Dayrit, Lali Suzara and Digna Santiago. Help, please!
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)