Imee: Passionate about Philippine movies

Our earliest connection with Imee Marcos was 30 years ago when she thought up the concept of the then government-funded Experimental Cinema of the Philippines (ECP) for projects that were untested, untried and went against the grain of formulaic filmmaking. Imee appointed Charo Santos to man the ECP, who assigned us to line-produce Himala starring Nora Aunor.

Shot from start to finish in the sand dunes of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, Himala was a challenge to all of us. The volatile genius of an Ishmael Bernal was director; Nora with a reputation for misbehavior was the one and only star; and most everyone else including us was new at the job. It ended on schedule, and on budget, and the battery of radio and theater actors in the cast were quickly discovered by mainstream. The creative staff included indie producer Ellen Ongkeko, directors Trina Dayrit and Joel Lamangan, actor-writer-production designer Raquel Villavicencio and screenwriter Ricky Lee. Not too long ago, Himala, was chosen CNN’s Best Asian Film of All Time.

With her passion for Filipino movies, it is no wonder, therefore, that the workaholic Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos would still be producing films today, the latest Pinta*Kasi, that took her three years to complete with a cast of newcomers now recognized names in show business.

Pinta*Kasi won Best Picture in the independent category of the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival, and JM de Guzman (Angelito: Batang Ama) was adjudged Best Actor as gang leader Tikboy. Erich Gonzales (Maria La Del Barrio) is another in the cast who has seen stardom.    

The dance-off scene in Pinta*Kasi

The film goes to mainstream theaters on Feb. 8 in SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Fairview, SM Marikina, SM North EDSA, SM Cebu and SM Iloilo and on Feb. 29 in SM Baguio, SM Davao and SM Batangas.

Pinta*Kasi is known as the first Filipino copyrighted material to go multiplatform, from comics, music videos and CDs of its all-original soundtrack to merchandising into toys, t-shirts and games. It is also here where dance plays a central role, with Pinoy hip-hop group, Philippine All Stars, showcasing their skill. Finally, Imee admits that their brand of 2D animation mixed with live action is what took it three years in production. This coming year, it will be screened in film festivals in Honolulu and Beijing.

The anatomy of a rumor

Latest on the rumor mill is again P-Noy’s love life. One day, while listening to the Good Times on Magic 89.9 with DJ Mo straight from New York City, and Mojo Jojo and Grace Lee in Manila, we caught DJ Mo kidding Grace about going on a date with P-Noy. Hmm, interesting, we thought, while Grace kept denying the date. Finally, after all the cajoling, she confessed there was a business meeting she attended with the President but “it was not a date,” she insisted.

This instigated calls to the studio asking Grace if P-Noy gave her a good night’s kiss, etc. etc., to which she kept on stating “Stop it, stop it” without actually being able to put a stop to it. The following day, the broadsheets had the “date” on the front page with other details including Grace reportedly having told parties the President was her textmate, some other details on the social networks, until finally P-Noy confirmed he was indeed dating Grace.

In the film, JM de Guzman is Tikboy (left), a vicious gang leader that bullies DJ, played by John Wayne Sace

But how did all these rumors begin? We have always been intrigued by the anatomy of a rumor. Sociologists and psychologists agree most start out as gossip with no malicious intent, and simply speculation. This is then passed on to persons who will eat up any rumor especially when attached to a politician or celebrity. By then, repeated on blogs, gossip magazines, by their friends, they begin to view it as fact. We are thankful both P-Noy and Grace have finally decided to put a stop to it. And that should put the matter to rest. Now on to the next rumor.

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