After more than two decades, Janno essays new superhero character

After he essayed his first superhero character in Baby Navoa’s Ang Pagbabalik ni Pedro Penduko (1994) that even had a successful sequel, Erik Matti’s Pedro Penduko II: The Return of the Comeback (2000), Janno Gibbs was endlessly bugged when will his next superhero character surface.

Through the years, Janno has been consistently hoping for another fantasy character to come along, until Mang Jose landed on his lap. Thanks to Parokya ni Edgar’s 2005 hit of the same title.

Janno with Manilyn Reynes, who plays the villainess in Mang Jose.

Janno cannot be thankful enough to be back to doing another superhero role. “Ang ganda ng costume ko for Mang Jose,” brags Janno. “Highlight ng movie ang costume talaga. It’s a scene-stealer. Dalawa ang costumes ko for Mang Jose.”

Interestingly, Mang Jose marks the first time that Janno is working with his wife, Bing Loyzaga and his former loveteam partner, Manilyn Reynes. In fact, it was Janno himself who suggested they all starred in the movie. They all worked together comfortably.

“We’re all good friends naman, kaming tatlo,” attests Janno. “Proof to that is pwede ko silang iwanan sa isang tent na magkasama. Hindi ko lang alam kung nag-aaway sila. Pero baka last time na rin siguro na magkakasama kami. ‘Pag magkasama kasi si Bing at si Manilyn, puro ako ang pinag-uusapan nila at nilalait nila. Kawawa lang ako.”

Surprisingly, Manilyn will play the main villain in Mang Jose. “Working with Manilyn is always a pleasure,” admits Janno. “We’ve done a lot of work on TV in the past years. We even did a drama series on GMA 7 five years ago. Sa movies, walang dumadating na material or offer. Sobrang tagal na naming hindi nagkakasama ni Manilyn sa movies.”

Even the inclusion of Bing to the cast was the idea of Janno. They first worked together, playing their real-life roles as husband and wife in Edgardo Viñarao’s Hindi Ako Ander, back in 1996.

“I was the one who requested for Bing to be in Mang Jose,” Janno says. “I really wanted the three of us together in this movie, kasi hindi pa nga nagagawa. I think it’s high time na bago kami tumanda ng tuluyan, magkasama-sama naman kami in one movie.”

In the first Pedro Penduko in 1994, Janno was only in his mid-twenties. “Bata pa kasi ako noon,” he explains. “Although 90 percent of the action dito sa Mang Jose, ako talaga ang gumawa.”

“Action-comedy is my forte,” he adds. “That’s my lane pagdating sa movies. I love doing action scenes. I’m a fan of action movies, kaya kahit mahirap, enjoy na enjoy ako sa mga fight scenes. I’m a little older now, so mas mahirap na ngayon. But we have a very young team behind us. Our director, Raynier Brizuela, is very young. He’s a lot younger than me. The cinematographer and scriptwriter are also young.”

Donning his superhero costume for Mang Jose was a challenge for Janno, especially in doing the fight scenes. “Mabigat siya, mainit, plus ‘yung goggles ko, hindi ako masyadong makakita,” Janno laments. “So doble ang hirap pagdating sa fight scenes.”

Although he did his first titular superhero film 27 years ago, Janno is looking forward to yet another superhero character. “Honestly, I think physically, I have one more superhero movie in me,” he attests. “I believe kaya ko ang isa pa.”

Janno’s young co-stars – Jerald Napoles and Mickoy Morales – were initially intimidated to work with him. “Kailangan, at par kami with Janno Gibbs, kasi Pedro Penduko ‘yan,” Jerald points out.

“Ngayon, siya ‘yung Mang Jose na pinapatugtog namin nung nag-aaral pa kami. The song itself is very iconic. Tapos may icon pa na gaganap. So, sabi namin, buti na lang nakakatawa tayo. Kahit papano, alam na namin ang humor ng bawat isa. It was not a challenge in a bad way. Marami pa kaming natutunan kasi si Kuya Janno, very collaborative din.”

Mickoy also has high regard for Janno after wrapping up Mang Jose. “Hindi siya ‘yung tipong salang, balik sa tent,” he grants. “We really talked about our scenes and even outside ng pelikula, nabuo rin ang friendship namin.

“Yung pagiging collaborative niya at ng buong production, nakakapanibago for me. This is not my comfort zone,” Mickoy adds. “These are not the people I’m used to working with. So, may slight pressure sa akin to step it up and really think outside the box, bukod sa binibigay sa akin.”

Last June, Mang Jose premiered at the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea, where it was screened in the World Fantastic Blue Section.