It was the script written by Quinn Carillo that made award-winning writer-director Louie Ignacio accept the offer of 3:16 Productions and Mentorque Productions to helm “The Influencer.”
The movie that stars Sean De Guzman and Cloe Barreto in probably their most challenging and provocative roles had a special press preview Thursday night at Gateway Cinema 7 in Quezon City.
“I was fascinated by the good script written by Quinn Carillo. She writes well. The story is very now and it was a challenge to transform it to the screen, especially the last 30 minutes of the film,” said Direk Louie.
“I was shocked, surprised, amazed but I am very satisfied with how the movie came out. I enjoyed doing this film. First, the script was really very good. It is my first time to do a film like this. I was nervous but I know in my heart that the finished product will be good because my two actors are very competent.”
Direk Louie added that it helped that his producers Len Carillo and Bryan Dy gave him the free hand to do what he wants with the film. “I am thankful I was given a chance to do this kind of project. Personally, I liked the film. I enjoyed doing it and I’d like to thank my producers and Vivamax for the trust.”
The members of the media present at the preview were all one in saying that “The Influencer” did not seem the work of a director who is doing a sexy film for the first time.
Direk Louie said he did a lot of research by watching a lot of videos. The movie had good cinematography and engaging music that helped enhance the scenes. “Personally speaking, I didn’t find anything offensive in the sexy scenes because the music set the tone. I also worked hard in editing the film. This movie should be fast-paced just like the times and very Gen Z in approach.”
The filmmaker is known for drama movies like “Huling Ulan sa Tag-araw” which was shown at the Metro Manila Film Festival last year. He is also noted for directing musical variety shows for GMA 7.
When the movie was offered to him, Sean and Cloe were already chosen for the lead roles. “That is also a challenge for me because I didn’t have a hand in casting them but I must say they did very well in their chosen roles. Plus I am trying out a genre that I have not done before. That is another challenge.”
Talking about the actors, this is the best performance yet of Sean. He plays Yexel, a famous social media influencer who frequents a bar with his friends. It’s where he hooks up with girls, and one of them is Nina. He boasts to his friends that he just had the best sex of his life. Because of that, Yexel breaks his one-time-only rule and calls Nina for a second time.
Cloe Barreto is Nina. She makes Yexel notice her by literally bumping into him and wastes no time in getting in bed with him. When Yexel calls her again, she misinterprets it to mean that he likes her. Nina claims that she is now Yexel’s girlfriend. She throws a fit when she sees him with other girls. Yexel tries to make it clear that he is not Nina’s boyfriend, but she’s so far gone with her delusions that he is all hers. How far will she go to keep him?
Sean considers “The Influencer” as the most daring film he’s done so far. The actor says, “Mas daring pa sa daring…malala as in malala talaga. As in ibinigay ko na ang lahat, kasi ang ganda ng istorya eh, kasi hindi mo inaasahan na magiging ganoon ang kalalabasan ng istorya.”
This is Cloe’s second movie written by her friend Quinn Carrillo who also wrote “Tahan”.
“The Influencer” is streaming exclusively on Vivamax starting August 12. It also stars Elizabeth Oropesa.