MMFF 2022: Toni Gonzaga reunites with ‘mentor’ Joey de Leon for My Teacher
Toni Gonzaga couldn’t have chosen a more fitting co-star than Joey de Leon in My Teacher, her Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2022 entry that serves as her tribute film to educators. The actress and TV host, after all, considers the veteran host-comedian as one of her first mentors in the entertainment industry.
Toni told The STAR in an exclusive chat that there was no other choice but Joey for the male lead role even when the Eat Bulaga mainstay took time to decide on accepting the movie project. Being semi-retired from doing films, he had opted out of starring roles for more than a decade. Then there was COVID and his family understandably expressed concern over him shooting during pandemic time.
But when Joey finally said yes to the offer, Toni recalled it was the cue the production needed to push through.
My Teacher is the first collaboration between Toni’s film outfit TinCan and Ten17P, the production company of her filmmaker-husband, Paul Soriano, who also directs his wife again after his 2009 movie directorial debut, A Journey Home.
If Joey is Toni’s true-to-life mentor, there’s a reversal of roles in My Teacher. Toni plays Emma, a schoolteacher and former OFW, while Joey is Solomon, a 70-year-old student at the public high school where Toni’s character decides to teach after being unfairly fired from her former school abroad. The Ipil-Ipil section, which Emma is assigned to and Solomon belongs to, is considered the “worst class” with its students being hopelessly difficult to mentor.
Emma, however, is determined to straighten them out and make them graduate despite the odds stacked against them. She initially clashes with her “senior” student about how she handles his section. But their relationship eventually changes as Emma finds a father figure in Solomon, while the latter treats her like his own daughter and becomes her teacher in life.
My Teacher also stars Carmi Martin, Rufa Mae Quinto, Kakai Bautista, Pauline Mendoza, Kych Minemoto, Isaiah dela Cruz, Loisa Andalio and Ronnie Alonte.
Meanwhile, My Teacher has allowed Toni to work anew with her showbiz mentor Joey. Retracing the history of their relationship and how she came to look up to him, she said it all started with the advice of her father Bonoy Gonzaga.
Toni said in a separate interview, “I remember when I was starting out, my father would always tell me, ‘When you enter the business, don’t idolize the most famous. Idolize those who lasted the longest in the industry because it’s easy to achieve fame but the most difficult to achieve is longevity.’
“So, look at (Eat Bulaga’s) Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, he would say. Bata ka palang napapanood mo na sila sa telebisyon. Tapos ngayong artista ka na, andyan pa rin sila sa telebisyon. ‘Yan ang dapat inaaral mo kung paano sila tumatagal ng ganyan sa industriya.”
When she had her TV hosting break in Eat Bulaga as a teenager, Toni said she would always be talking to Joey and asking him questions about the craft. One of his most memorable pieces of advice was: “I would never forget, when I was a co-host on Eat Bulaga, I was still very young at that time, there was a strong typhoon and only a few of us made it to the studio due to the floods.
“I was so nervous because Paolo (Ballesteros) wasn’t there, hosts my age (weren’t there), and I was thinking, ‘How can I do this alone?’ I remember Tito Joey telling me, don’t be nervous, don’t be afraid. If you’re a host, even if you’re the only one in front of the cameras, you have to hold your own, don’t rely on other people. To this day, I will never forget that.”
She continued, “The moment na isalang ka sa TV and you’re holding a microphone, you can’t rely on anyone else except yourself. Kailangan itawid mo ang programa, maitawid mo lahat yun na mag-isa na hindi umasa kanino man. Don’t depend on the writer, don’t depend on the cameraman either. Kahit magkabali-baliktad ang camera, trabaho mo maitawid mo yung nais mong maiparating sa audience.”
Toni continued to learn from Joey on the My Teacher set, saying the actor was very professional, and consistently came early and prepared for work.
“Lagi kong naiisip na what a privilege it is to work with a legend in the industry. And it’s so nice to absorb his wisdom. Actually, the mere presence of Tito Joey on set, alam mo na yung seasoned sa industry.
“Whenever he arrives on the set, you feel you’re in the company of one of the pillars, one of the legends, in the industry. It’s such a great feeling to do scenes with him.”
Joey, on the other hand, was asked during a presscon if he had ever imagined that he’d get to work with Toni again, 17 years after they last worked together in the country’s most enduring noontime show.
“Well, may kasabihan, habang may buhay, may possibility (Well, there is a saying, as long as there is life, there is a possibility.) Hindi pag-asa, possibility, lahat ng bagay,” said Joey. “So, hindi ko inalis sa isip ko yun na isang araw, makaka-partner ko si… si Meryl Streep kunyari. Everything is possible.
“Lalo na nung nagkaroon ng pandemya worldwide. So, pantay-pantay ang lahat ng tao, kahit anong bansa. So everything was possible.”
Joey also laughed in recollection how he got angry at Toni before for leaving Eat Bulaga and pursuing her career at ABS-CBN. He explained that he felt that way because they considered Toni as their baby back then.
He recalled, “Nagtampo ako talaga. Pero nung nalaman ko na ang napangasawa ay si Paul (Soriano), OK na. Nagtampo talaga ako dahil baby namin ito.”
In hindsight, Joey said that they were just being selfish as Toni’s decision brought more success to her career.
“Selfish lang kami noon pero good for her at natutuwa kami sa nangyari at nakikita naman namin ‘to. Masaya ako sa sinapit ni Celestine (Toni’s real name)... And buti napangasawa mo si (good thing you married) Paul,” he told Toni.
In his signature humor, Joey also shared why he accepted the project: “I learned beforehand na hindi gagawa si Vic (Sotto) ng pelikula (for MMFF). Sayang, sabi ko… Pinili ko kay Toni. Actually, ang daming offers (laughs). Hindi nga, meron talaga, pero hindi na ako nagpe-pelikula eh. Semi-retired na ako, so that’s the story.”
Nevertheless, he couldn’t resist My Teacher’s “beautiful story,” describing it as a melodrama wherein he managed to add his brand of comedy.
“Medyo ma-drama but I was given by direk the free hand to inject comedy because ‘di ko matiis ‘di magpatawa. So, may mga eksena dun na pinayagan niya at lumusot naman. It’s not so serious. At saka complete yung pelikula,” he said.
He also enjoyed the company of young people in My Teacher. He’s used to being surrounded by the younger ones in Eat Bulaga and believes that the staying power of the show is because “laging may youth dun.”
Meanwhile, returning to making movies after over 10 years has been a learning and eye-opening experience for the veteran actor as well. He was amazed at how movies are being made and what filming equipment is being used nowadays.
“Pati nung nag-dubbing… I dubbed a bit, lahat pala ngayon ng ano, kunyari sinabi ko, ‘Toni Gonzaga.’ ‘Toni Gonzaga!’ ‘Toni Gonzaga.’ Iba-iba. Na-se-save pala lahat iyon ngayon. Dati, hindi. Buburahin mo muna kasi nagtitipid si Mother Lily,” Joey quipped, referring to Regal Films matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde.
“Times have changed. The equipment has changed. We are really advanced. So, I’m happy I joined this film.”
My Teacher opens on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.
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