GORGY RULA
Presyong ayaw ang hininging talent fee ni Piolo Pascual para sa pelikulang Mallari ng Mentorque Productions.
Inamin ito ng Kapamilya actor sa kanyang mediacon kahapon, Oktubre 19, 2023, Huwebes, sa Kao Manila ng Newport World Resorts, Pasay City.
Read: MMFF 2023 Top 10 official entries: Pinaghalu-halong romance, drama, horror, comedy, fantasy, action
Mahirap kasi ang gagawin sa film project na ito kung saan tatlong karakter ang gagampanan niya. Pero nagulat daw si Piolo nang kagatin ng Mentorque ang asking price niya.
"Hindi sila tumawad! Ha! Ha! Ha! Nahiya sila," natatawang pahayag ni Papa P nang sinabi nila ang talent fee na tipong 'take it or leave it.'
"Sabi ko, 'Buti naman, kasi sabi ko pag tumawad kayo, hindi po talaga. Mahirap e.
"Buy one take three, e. I even had one scene where I had to play another character. So, I did four.
"It was really mind-boggling for me. It was a bit of a stretch. But it was a good exercise at the end of the day, because we were able to pull off and, you know, pull through because of the collective effort.”
Read: Piolo Pascual changes his mind about retiring from acting because of pandemic
Hindi nila isiniwalat kung magkano ang prinesyo ni Piolo. Pero sabi ng executive producer na si John Bryan D. Diamante ng Mentorque Productions, naintindihan nila ito kaya hindi sila tumawad.
"From the beginning po talaga, hindi po talaga kami tumawad, because we know from the... hindi po talaga ganun kadali ang pinagawa po namin sa kanya.
“As in, alam namin yun on the onset na it's gonna be really hard na ano. So, para at least ano, you want them to be happy also," sagot sa amin ni Bryan nang tinanong namin ito sa kanya.
Natawa si Bryan nang kinulit namin kung magkano ang budget nila sa Mallari. Sabi lang niya, less than PHP100M ang inabot nito.
Hindi lang si Piolo ang binayaran nila nang mataas kundi ang buong production na parang mala-Hollywood ang set-up.
"I think that's what we did with the entire crew. Halos ganun ang ginawa ng Mentorque Productions.
"Of course, we want all people working in this project happy, masaya silang lahat.
"Kung makikita ninyo, may cut-off siya [Piolo] pero willing to go beyond," dagdag ni Bryan.
Ang Mallari ay isa sa sampung official entries sa 49th Metro Manila Flm Festival (MMFF).
Co-stars dito ni Piolo sina Gloria Diaz, Mylene Dizon, JC Santos, Janella Salvador, at Elisse Joson.
Nasa cast din sina Ron Angeles, Vangie Labalan, Bart Guingona, Raffy Tejada, Tommy Alejandrino, Angeli Sanoy, Angie Castrence, at Erlinda Villalobos.
Idinirek ito ni Derick Cabrido, mula sa panulat ni Enrico Santos.
JERRY OLEA
Tinanggihan ni Piolo ang project nang una siyang tawagan tungkol dito.
Kuwento ng Ultimate Heartthrob, “When I got a call for a pitch — three characters, Mallari. I didn’t know it was real.
“Since tatlong characters, horror, tapos Mallari ang title, tapos serial killer siya, yun lang ang gist na sinabi sa akin.
“Sabi ko, ‘No, no, I cannot. I’m still working on The Ride.’ I was doing a film back then, sabi ko, and then I still have a tour.
“So there’s no way I could squeeze it in my busy sched. And that same day, I had a shooting with Kyle Echarri and Joao Constancia.
“Magkakasama kami sa set, and then we were talking about serial killers, sina Dahmer, di ba? ‘Do we actually have a serial killer in the Philippines?’
“So we googled it, si Joao nag-google, tapos sabi niya, ‘There is, Severino Mallari!’ Oh shit, that’s the same day!
“I stood up. Sabi ko, ‘Sh*t, it’s a real guy. It’s a real person!’ So it gave me goosebumps. ‘Lord, ano ba ‘to? Ano ba ‘to, sign?’
“So, sabi ko, sige, I’ll call my manager. ‘Sige, pa-pitch tayo.’ Nung nagpa-pitch na kami, ‘Napakaganda. Napakaganda!’
“Pero sabi ko, ‘Tatlong characters, parang… napakahirap! Kailangan ko ba ito? Kailangan ko ba ito ngayon? Busy kasi ako, e.
“So, I guess you could say I’m a sucker for good stories.”
Natakot ba siyang tanggapin ang tatlong papel sa Mallari?
Tumango si Piolo, “It did, it did. I mean, you know, the mere thought na tinurn down mo, tapos that same day, malaman mo, totoong tao pala yung Severino Mallari.
“You wanna give him a voice and do something you know probably… maybe significant during that time…”
Nakita ni Piolo na napakaambisyoso ng proyektong ito, kaya nilinaw niya sa Mentorque kung magkano ang nakalaang budget para pelikula.
"I guess that's reasonable for an actor if you are pitched something that is very ambitious,” lahad ni Piolo.
"I don't usually ask for it. But when I was told that it's based on this documented serial killer, a horror genre and at the same time, malaki yung scope, that's the first thing I asked for — what's the production value of the film?
"I just wanted to make sure na hindi tayo maku-compromise. Sayang naman yung opportunity to do three characters.
"When they said it's a good budget, so rightly so, you know, up to the end, they really delivered.
"But I'm not snobbish in that way na tatanungin yung production budget.
"I worked with Lav Diaz, I worked with Brillante Mendoza, I can work with anyone. But for such an ambitious project, you have to know kung ano yung vision ng producer."
Read: Piolo Pascual, inaming pinangarap maging pari at pastor
NOEL FERRER
Naka-lock-in si Piolo nang ginawa niya ang Mallari para hindi siya makawala sa tatlong karakter na ginagampanan niya.
Pagkatapos ng shooting, tumuloy raw siya sa rehearsal ng concert niyang An Ultimate Night With Piolo na gaganapin na ngayong Oktubre 20, Biyernes ng 8:00 p.m., sa Newport Performing Arts Theater.
Mula sa isang serial killer, singer na naman siya at tipong pagbanlaw niya ito sa bigat ng mga ginawa niya sa Mallari.
"It was a great experience for me doing Mallari. Yung 'banlaw," literally talaga the next day I was rehearsing in the band.
"I was telling my manager na sabi ko, ‘I have two days off after that, it's my sister's birthday.’
"Sabi ko, 'Tita, gusto ko sana magpahinga sa Batangas, banlaw muna ako.’ Sabi ko, kailangan ko i-shake off si Mallari.
"Sabi niya, 'Nakita naman kita sa concert, parang galing ka sa bakasyon. HIndi ka naman mukhang pagod.’
“Sabi ko, 'Mali yung set-up ko e.’ I guess it's a mind thing, you know. Since I don't have time to dwell and linger.
"I just stay in character when I'm doing it, and then once I have to move on, I have to move on. Because literally, you have to. You're wearing a different hat again.
"So, magandang diversion sa akin yung nagpapalit-palit ako ng trabaho because I don't get stuck, you know.
"With Mallari, wala e... joke lang namin yung minsan, ‘Papatayin ko kayong lahat,’ ginaganun ko sila minsan, pero joke lang.
“Hindi ko naman siya inuwi. I never brought him home, wala naman akong napatay."