Regal's Golden Years

MANILA, Philippines - Fifty years of producing films in different genres, catering to varied audiences of all ages, hasn’t slowed down Regal Films, the country’s oldest outfit. Producer Lily Monteverde, who remains a movie fan at heart, continues to trust her filmmaking instincts and star-building expertise, making her the longest reigning film producer in the country.

Half a century ago, Regal started with the film distribution of the Hollywood movie All Mine to Give, then went on to release Japanese movies like Ultraman and Godzilla. Local film production soon started in the early ‘70s and we have never looked back. Regal has built an impressive list of big screen releases through the years — from award-winning dramas to high-powered epic films, romantic stories, comedy vehicles, suspense thrillers and fantasy-adventure flicks.

Mother Lily has been behind every production, proud that she has done memorable films in the past five decades with over 1,000 film features in its library. “I don’t think I will ever grow tired of producing movies,” said the 70-year-old Regal matriarch. “It’s my passion. Other producers have stopped making movies, but despite the ever increasing cost, and competition from foreign markets Regal continues to come out with good projects for the public to be entertained.”

From giving major stars big-budgetted projects to launching young love teams, Mother Lily believes in the surefire power of cinema. Many of the biggest stars in local showbiz have worked for Regal — the late action king Fernando Poe Jr., the seasoned comic triumvirate of Tito, Vic and Joey, Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos, Megastar Sharon Cuneta and Kris Aquino.

Mother Lily is also proud about having built her formidable stable of Regal babies — from Gabby Concepcion, Richard Gomez, Maricel Soriano, Ruffa Gutierrez and Carmina Villarroel, Gretchen Barretto, Dina Bonnevie, Aiko Melendez to Marian Rivera, Dennis Trillo, Carla Abellana, Andi Eigenmann and Richard Gutierrez.

The lady producer is grateful to the support accorded to her by the Regal stars and also the showbiz press, who have helped promote every film that she produced. “They were behind us in this journey that we started,” said Mother Lily. “Regal wouldn’t have made it this far without the stars and the entertainment press.”

Regal helped the growth of ABS-CBN producing at least 10 TV shows a week when the Lopez-owned network resumed operations in the late ‘80s, shows like Regal Drama Presents, Palibhasa Lalake and Maricel Drama Special. For GMA 7, Regal also produced the widely-followed programs like Mother Studio Presents and Regal Shocker.

For its 50th anniversary offering, Regal presents Mamarazzi, a family comedy starring Eugene Domingo. This marks Eugene’s first solo project for Regal, where she is joined by a powerhouse cast of Diether Ocampo, John Lapus, Carla Abellana and Andi Eigenmann who is making her big screen debut.

Directed by Joel lamangan, Mamarazzi is the amusing story of a single mother of triplets who works as a funeral make-up artist to make both ends meet. She tries every way to provide for her triplets at the same time keeping a secret from her children who their biological father is.

Mother Lily has passed on the torch to her daughter Roselle Monteverde-Teo, who now helps in running Regal. “I am confident that Mamarazzi is a good vehicle for Regal’s golden anniversary celebration,” Roselle maintains. “Eugene is a very good comedienne and the project was really meant for her. The movie is our best and most fulfilling choice for our anniversary offering.”

As Regal surges ahead towards the future, Roselle informs the film outfit will also conduct scriptwriting contests and workshops to train new producers not only to become entrepreneurs, but also as creative thinkers. “We want to do a positive approach to filmmaking and other medium of production. We aim to inspire the new generation of filmmakers.”

The vision for the industry will be carried out through Regal Multimedia, which serves as the execution arm for the bigger projects that Regal has lined up for the future. It is a team of young, driven and experienced players working to bring out the best movie and best concept, in all possibilities.

“We want to nurture new artists, writers, actors, directors and production designers,” shares Roselle. “We want to give jobs and opportunities to young people and create workshops to cultivate their creative minds.”

Part of Regal releases for this year are two spectacular holiday offerings intended for the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) in December. The horror-trilogy Shake, Rattle and Roll XII features Shaina Magdayao, Andi Eigenmann, Jillian Ward, Rayver Cruz, Mart Escudero, Sid Lucero and Carla Abellana.

Marian Rivera and Jake Cuenca team up for the fantasy-comedy Super Inday and the Magic Bibe with Vice Ganda and Pokwang. Mike Tuviera directs.

Meanwhile, another 50th anniversary offering is White House, a suspense-thriller directed by Topel Lee and starring Gabby Concepcion, Iza Calzado with Lovi Poe, Megan Young, Maricar Reyes, Mo Twister, Janus del Prado and Joem Bascon. The remake of Temptation Island will be directed by Chris Martinez.

Roselle assures there’s no stopping Regal from coming up with big-budgetted and star-studded projects in the future. The people behind the company are passionate and driven to foster not just Regal, but the movie industry as well. They are committed to working for perfection and laying out possibilities for the future.