4 Philippine Showbiz Today
March 8 - 21, 2019
Cover Stories
Charo impressed by ‘fearless’ Mikhail Red
Charo Santos did her very
first movie in 1976, “Itim,” when
she was only 20 years old. It was
directed by Mike de Leon, then 28
years old, and won her the best
actress award in the Asian Film
Festival that year. Now, 43 years
later, she makes another horror
film, “Eerie,” directed by Mikhail
“Mik” Red, 27 years old. So we
tell her she comes full circle from
Mike to Mik.
In “Eerie,” she plays Sor
Alice, a strict and overbearing
old-fashioned nun in an exclusive
Catholic girl’ school. Her foil is Bea
Alonzo as Pat, a guidance counselor
with more progressive thinking.
We asked Charo how it felt being
directed by a neophyte filmmaker
like Mikhail.
“He’s okay, a fearless young
filmmaker who’s not afraid to
experiment,” she says. “I was
impressed when we started the
shooting kasi, just like Mike de
Leon, he has a shotlist. May
storyboard siya and alam na
niya in his mind how the whole
production will come out. He
knows his craft so alam niyang
ginagawa niya.”
And how is it working with
Bea Alonzo for the first time?
“You know, when I first met
Bea, she was just 13 years old,
so nasubaybayan ko ang paglaki
niya, ang pag-asenso ng career
niya. She’s an intelligent actress,
intuitive, and very generous. She’s
one of our young actresses today
who I really admire and I’ve really
looked forward to working with
her
She works hard and comes to
the set prepared, very professional,
always in character, so shooting
the movie with her is a breeze.”
She won best actress for
“Itim.” Does she think she might
win another award for “Eerie”?
“It’s not for me to say. Even
with ‘Itim,’ I never expected I’d
win. In ‘Eerie,’ I just gave my best.
Bea Alonzo, ‘Eerie’ director Mikhail Red and Charo Santos-Concio
But as you know, kanya-kanyang
mata, perspective and preferences
‘yan. So it’s all up to the jurors at
wala sa aking mga kamay. But
more than anything else, I want
people to watch the film. This
is our first co-production with a
Singaporean company and if it
would succeed at the box office,
then that means we can do more
movies with them.” ●
- M. Bautista, Malaya
Bea reveals what it’s like working
with Charo Santos
As the local release of her first
horror film project “Eerie” draws
nearer, Bea Alonzo admitted she
enjoyed shooting the period film
with co-star Charo Santos and
director Mikhail Red.
“We only shot the movie for 20
days. Every day siya so nakatulong
din
sa characterization namin
‘yun na hindi na kami lumalabas
dun sa location.
“Isang
bagay
kung
bakit ‘90s
era ang
pinili
namin is because pre-social
media
era siya, so maraming
mga issues na
hindi
napag-
uusapan. Ang mga saloobin mo,
hindi mo talaga na-i-she-share sa
maraming tao kasi nung time na
‘yun parang we’re too busy
conforming. Gusto natin maging
kagaya nung iba. So makikita
ninyo sa pelikula ‘yun,” she shared
during the special “Eerie” media
preview last March 2 at the ABS-
CBN Studio Experience theater at
Trinoma Mall.
Bea said she has always wanted
to work with veteran actress Charo
Santos. She said, “Dream come
true para sa akin na makasama
sa
isang frame si Ma’am
Charo. Honestly, nung umpisa
kinakabahan ako, of course, hindi
ko alam ano ba dapat ang
expectations ko.
But nung
workshops and meetings, alam
mong
ibang hat ang
sinuot
ni Ma’am Charo. She wasn’t the
CEO, she wasn’t the president
of ABS-CBN, she was an actress
and she was open to collaborating
with you.
So ibang pakiramdam ang
parang nag-share kayo ng art
so hindi
ko
makakalimutan
itong experience na ito and it’s
also my first time doing a horror
movie, my first time working
with Mikhail Red and my first
time to have joined a festival.
So isang milestone ito para sa
akin and hindi ko makakalimutan
na kasama ko si Ma’am Charo sa
pelikulang ito.”
The
“Eerie”
star
also
reacted to Charo showering
her with compliments during
the event. They play opposing
characters in the horror movie.
ako. Gusto
kong
“Kinikilig
kumuha
ng copy ng
lahat
ng interviews namin. Sabi ko nga
nung photo shoot namin, ipapa-
frame ko ng malaki ang
p h o t o n a m i n t o g e t h e r. ‘ D i
ba sino makakapagsabi na
nakatrabaho
mo
ang Asia’s
Best
Actress?”
she
said.
When asked for her opinion if
she thinks Charo might be up for
another acting award for “Eerie,”
Bea
immediately
answered,
“Definitely. She’s so good.” ●
- M.J. Felipe, Malaya