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Philippine Showbiz Today
Headline News
FOX Networks Group (FNG)
Philippines produces its very first
film, the horror-thriller Maledicto,
which rolls into cinemas
nationwide on May 1st.
Philippines — FOX, home to
hit series and Hollywood movies,
makes its first foray into the
Filipino movie-making industry.
FOX Networks Group (FNG)
Philippines produces its very first
film, the horror-thriller Maledicto,
which
rolls
into
cinemas
nationwide on May 1.
According to the film’s
description, Maledicto tells the
story of Fr. Xavi (played by Tom
Rodriguez), a former psychologist
who becomes an exorcist after
the tragic and mysterious death
of his sister, Mara (Inah de Belen).
He meets Sr. Barbie (played by
Jasmine Curtis-Smith), a young
nun who has the special gift of
charism. Together, they deal
with the case of Agnes (Miles
Ocampo), a seemingly perfect
teenager who starts manifesting
demonic behavior that will rock
the foundations of the church and
put one’s faith to test.
The film is co-produced by
Cignal Entertainment and Unitel,
with ABS-CBN Films tapped as
distributor. Maledicto is directed
by Mark Meily.
In a roundtable media interview
last Thursday, Jude Turcuato,
senior vice president and general
manager of FNG Philippines,
expressed his excitement over
their pioneering film venture,
which he said is a result of
thorough planning. They spent at
least two years on studying nearly
100 scripts and pitches before
going for Maledicto. They started
filming the original production in
March 2018. The movie is now
“99 percent complete.”
Asked why they opted for the
horror genre for their debut as
film producer — over a rom-com
that may have a better chance at
the box-office — Turcuato said
the main reason was the quality
of the story.
“I’ll tell you, I wanted to find a
good rom-com because that was
almost a sureball way of being a
box-office hit… because you look
at the Top 10 box-office hits of
the Philippines, it’s either rom-
com or a Vice Ganda film, right?
Even last year, (the hits) Excess
Baggage, Hows of Us, they’re
all rom-com. Even with horror,
the best horror last year was The
Director Mark Meily
Jude Turcuato,
FNG SVP & GM
March 22 - April 7, 2019
Jan. 22-Feb.7, 2015
FOX makes first Filipino film
Tom Rodriguez (Fr. Xavi) , Jasmine Curtis-Smith (Sr. Barbie) and Miles Ocampo (Agnes).
Nun, and it wasn’t a Filipino film.
So, definitely, we looked at all of
it, but the genre didn’t dictate the
choice. It was the quality of the
script and how people will get
entertained.”
Turcuato added that the
decision to choose Maledicto also
had a lot to do with the pace, the
subject matter and “I felt like that it
would entertain people differently
as a genre. It’s a horror-thriller. I
think most of the Philippine horror,
is just horror. There’s no thriller
aspect to it. That combination, for
this one, was the one we felt would
give us a really good shot.”
Before casting the stars, they
had to consider and watch the
actors’ body of work
Tom was cast upon the
recommendation of Unitel.
The TV executive continued,
“When I saw Jasmine in Transit,
I thought, perfect, this is the
person to do it. Miles was actually
a revelation because she doesn’t
have a film that’s similar to her
character, this is totally different,
but we’re all shocked at how she’s
able to transform herself. Even
the supporting cast is topnotch.”
Other cast members include
Eric Quizon, Martin Escudero,
Franco Laurel, Nonie Buencamino,
Liza Lorena, Menggie Cobarrubias
and Shamaine Buencamino.
Turcuato wouldn’t confirm
how much did they spend to
produce the film, only saying that
their distributor had told them
that their budget was “much,
much higher than normal.”
Maledicto also serves as Meily’s
return vehicle to the genre. The
award-winning director (Crying
Ladies, Baler, La Visa Loca, etc.)
last did horror in 2016 with the
Cristine Reyes starrer Elemento.
“I think it was also (great) timing
with Mark Meily because he had
just come from taking up his
Masters in Singapore a couple
of years ago when we appointed
him. And the Masters classes
were more on how to create a
hit movie, what are the aspects
of culture and society now as to
why a movie becomes a hit, so I
like that he has that knowledge
now. That was in the back of our
minds.”
Turcuato, for his part, has
produced projects before but
these were either related to sports
or documentaries and reality
shows, not “scripted content.”
“I had to go through a lot of
the things that needed to be done
to get this off the ground,” he
recalled.
What’s next for FOX in the
Philippines? More films, maybe?
“It depends on how this will turn
out. A lot of it depends on how
many good scripts we come up
with. I will say this, (Maledicto)
already has a ready sequel if it
does well.” ●
- N.Tomada,PS