“Si Ms. Kara David, a hardhitting broadcaster, ang siyang ginawa kong peg sa role ko,” she says. “I had a great time working with my Tito Robin in this movie as I learned a lot from his inputs about acting. We’ve worked together before sa ‘Totoy Bato’ on GMA-7, pero dito niya ko naturuan nang husto lalo’t we shot together for more than a week on location in Amsterdam.”
So what’s her next soap with GMA-7? “Wala pa because I got busy with the movie. But I’m meeting with them soon to discuss my next project.”
One of the film’s producers, N2 Productions, is her BF, Neil Arce of Arce Dairy. Did she get special treatment because of this? “No, not at all. Ni hindi nga dinagdagan ang talent fee ko.”
Why is the title “10,000 Hours”? It’s Neil who replies: “It represents the entire time Sen. Ping Lacson was separated from his family while he was in hiding, about 14 months. The material is inspired by his story, from being a cop to being a senator to being a fugitive, lalo noong soundbite niyang ‘Hindi ako magpapakulong kahit isang segundo’. But this is not totally his story, it’s fictional, so we’re not using his name. Instead, Robin will be named Sen. Gabriel Alcaraz. The script is written by Keiko Aquino and Ryllah Berico who incorporated some of the speeches of Sen. Lacson about corruption and the pork barrel. Very timely nga sa mga nangyayari ngayon sa gobierno ang movie namin.”
Does this mean that Sen. Lacson hid in Amsterdam since they shot it there? “No. Up to now naman, he won’t say kunsaan siya nagtago. Napili lang ng director namin, si Joyce Bernal, ang Amsterdam kasi magandang location and everyone speaks English. We shot with all the necessary permits and with the help of a Dutch crew. I think kami ang pinakaunang natapos among the filmfest entries so we now have time para pagandahin ang post production nito and then focus on the marketing. I told Direk Joyce, my wish is for us to win best picture and she said, ‘Gago ka ba? Ayaw mong kumita?’ But I feel that the best way to market the movie is for us to win best picture. So far, we have spent P35 million, wala pa ang promotions, but we’re confident and proud of our movie we know we’ll recover our investment here.”
