“Oo, kenkoy kaya single tayo. Ganyan. Hahaha!” Thus, was the self-deprecating reply we got from talented Cebuano director Victor Villanueva when we asked him if he’s a comic in real life.
Maybe he’s thinking girls aren’t taking him seriously because he humors them instead.
But the good side of it, sineseryoso naman siya ng film industry, the off-shoot of his ventures in advertising.
Palibhasa innate ang pagiging storyteller, which he presents in his trademark irreverence na agad napansin sa mga shorts niya— Saranghae My Tutor, Abot-kamay, Ang Nanay ni Justin Barber, and When Mary Met Guido, isang bargas na wedding video he did for his friends that was once uploaded on YouTube—he was prodded to do full-length films.
His maiden output was My Paranormal Romance (2011), followed by the hugely successful Patay na si Hesus in 2016 (na personally ay isa sa pinakamagandang local films this writer have seen in the past decade.)
The LOL roadtrip film, na na-issue pa noon dahil sa controversial na title, was initially released in October 2016 as an entry to the QCinema International Film Festival. Pero dahil by word of mouth ay kumalat na ngang maganda kaya it had a nationwide release the following year through the first-ever Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) ng Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).
By 2018, nagme-maintream na siya through Star Cinema’s Kusina Kings na pinagbidahan nina Zanjoe Marudo at Empoy Marquez.
“After that, I also did an iWant series na John and Marshan na comedy din” Direk Victor tols us via a Zoom interview.
“And after that, 2019, the last film that I did before the pandemic, medyo different siya na genre, Lucid, which starred Alexandra de Rossi at si JM de Guzman. ’Yon naman, I tried to challenge myself to do something different. It was like more of a depressing tweak, dream-reality kind of drama. Parang ganu’n. So, ayon, I’m trying to explore. But I think, at my core, comedy talaga ’yong gusto kong gawin.”
When the pandemic hits, na-affect for a while ang booming movie career ni Direk Victor. But idling was not part of his vocabulary.
“Kasagsagan ng pandemic, since ang hirap ng production nu’n, I was doing mga online writing na mga gig, graphic design, at nagturo pa nga ako ng English sa mga Chinese kids. Isa yan sa mga raket ko
“But when it was picking up, I was doing mga brands and commercials... ’yong last ko was with Gigil [Creative Agency], ’yong Trese, mga aswang sa billboard, mga gano’n. And I also did ’yong Worst Ninong ni Jun Sabayton na ’yon, sa Netflix din, sa Gigil, parang sa Christmas ng 2020. I was doing mga advertising and I was doing song writing din. Alam mo ’yon kahit ano pinatulan ko.
“Alam mo ’yong mga things that keep you busy kasi ’yong nakakaloka lang na ano wala kang gagawin and you’re stuck inside the house. Nu’ng kasagsagan ng pandemic, I played game streaming kasi video gaming is one of my hobbies and passions din.
“Kailangan hindi ma-bored, kailangan hindi malunod sa sadness at loneliness ng pandemic. So, ganu’n.”
Right now, he’s doing a branded series daw so medyo balik-advertsing while he’s also the
second unit director of the zombie series HalfWords, ng HBO Asia, helmed by Mikhail Red at kung saan kasali sa cast ang Kapuso actress na si Bianca Umali.
At sa pagbabalik busy niya, naisingit pa niya ang coming-of-age comedy movie niyang Boy Bastos, the first of his three-picture contract with Vivamax, kung saan nabinyagan siyang mag-direk ng love scene.
Kaya kahit gamay na raw niya ang irreverent comedy, aminado siyang na-stress siya ng slight dahil outside of his comfort zone daw ’yon.
“Parang nagka-anxiety ako,” natatawang pagtatapat niya. “Kasi parang ang hirap. I haven’t done something like that so parang humingi ako ng tulong sa actors ko, sa AD [assistant director] on how to do it. Kasi alam mo, mas may nerbiyos pa ako sa artist when doing the love scene.
“May particular na love scene doon na even though ’yong film natin is Boy Bastos, kagaguhan siya... kasi ang daming kagaguhan sa film about sex, but in a particular scene, this one is about love... lovemaking siya. Sabi ko, ‘Oh, my God paano ito?
“So, parang ang anxiety niya gawin...nakaka-anxiety siya kasi are my actors okay? Would they be okay? May maba-violate ba ako? Dapat safe sila, dapat protected sila. Dapat ako, I need to get my shot...Alam mo ’yong parang there’s so many things going in your mind when you do a love scene.
“Parang nu’ng nagawa namin ’yon, parang, ‘Wow, nagawa ko ’yon?’ May ganu’ng effect, e. ‘Ay, so, bold director na pala ako. Haha!’ So, may anxiety for me sa ganu’n. It’s outside of my comfort zone to do something erotic. Ganu’n.”
Hindi kaya nagka-anxiety siya dahil may pressure na sabayan niya, hindi lang ang title ng movie, kundi ang trend ng mga erotica sa Vivamax?
“May ganu’ng pressure actually. Pero s’yempre ako naman, may core akong story na alam mo ’yon? This is a coming-of-age story of a guy coming to terms with adulthood or falling in love, how to move on and to let go...’yon ’yong parang guiding principle ko. And if I’m gonna do erotic or a love scene or a sexy scene, dapat natural sa narrative. I don’t want the viewers na magsabi na, ‘Hubad naman maski hindi naman kailangan.’ Alakm mo ’yon? May gusto ka pa ding naturality na mangyayari.”
But he’s extra happy daw na si Wilbert Ross ang napiling ng Viva na ilagay sa Boy Bastos. Number One, pareho silang Bisaya kaya may instant chemistry na sila doon palang. And dahil relatively still a newbie, blank canvas pa ang aktor for him at kaya niyang i-molde sa gustong niyang strokes kumbaga.
“Nu’ng na-meet ko siya at nag-Bisaya siya at nag- Bisaya ako, wow comfortable kami with each other. Alam mo naman kaming mga Bisaya, we have this Bisaya humor, we have this Bisaya thing na against- the-world kind of mindset.”
Pag may scene daw na medyo kabado si Wilbert, kakausapin lang niya ng Bisaya at kakalma na ito.
And overall, impressed daw siya sa comic timing ni Wilbert na match sa na-envision niya for each scene.
“Na-surprise ako kay Wil kasi at first, I don’t know what to expect and then nu’ng ginawa niya, ‘Oh, my God, may timing si Wil!’ Napa-ganu’n kami. Ang galing ng timing niya sa comedy. It’s not the usual comedy na ganu’n...parang nasa ano small movements niya...very ano nga, may dating siyang parang deadpan na Stephen Chow...p’wedeng mag-mold ng ganu’n, e. I was so happy and proud na-pull off ni Wil [si Boy Bastos].”
(Stephen Chow is a Chinese superstar known for his global blockbusters na Shaolin Soccer at Kung Fu Hustle to name a few.)
Urban myth pala si Boy Bastos noong dekada 2000 kaya iyon din ang setting pelikula. Thus, Direk Victor and his team aren’t claming naman daw na purely concept nila ito. The movie is sort of a compilation ng mga lumutang na istorya noong araw about Boy Bastos na nag-morph na ito so many other things na related sa pop culture of that 2000 era,
“Ang dami niyang variation,” pag-e-elaborate ni Direk. “Actually, na-nag evolve siya into mga Boy Bastos jokes...there was a Boy Bastos website na nagka-isyu pa kay [Senator] Loren Legarda kasi nga porn site sa Pilipinas was a new concept...grabe ’yong reaction back then. I even encountered a drink na Boy Bastos sa Parañaque ba ’yon? And I tried that drink and I was like wiped out.
“So, parang ang inspiration sa film, ’yong mga haka- haka and legend of Boy Bastos. It’s more of, you know, the many stories that contributed to Boy Bastos. Ganu’n.”
Therefore, hindi rin daw niya ito bio-pic.
“Ay, grabe! Haha! Slight. Haha!,” sakay niya sa biro namin. “Kasi in away ang dami kong hinugot na mga experiences ko and at the same time inspiration na nilabas ko dito sa film. Ayon. So, slight lang.”
“Boy Bastos is a product of its time,” dagdag info niya. “Na parang in a way, for me, it’s a nostalgic theme na when you hear about it, you’ll relate too much kasi back then, when it’s so taboo and maraming bawal and when you get to become Boy Bastos, you’ll feel guilty and at the same time release mo ’yong inhibitions mo.
“Parang, ‘Oh, my God, should I really know this? This is like forbidden knowledge or something. Is this right? May ganu’n ka na conflict. Parang I want to inject ’yong nostalgic feel na at one point we had this kind of curiosity on what it’s like to be bastos—which I don’t want to be misinterpreted na bastos na without consent. It’s just that natural curiosity for perversion when growing up. I guess ganu’n ang gusto kong i-impart. It’s a product of its time. We were once Boy Bastos, mga ganu’n. But our past does not define who we are.”
Boy Bastos— which also stars Andrew Muhlach, Bob Jbeili, Jela Cuenca, and Rose van Ginkel— starts streaming on Vivamax this Friday, February 18.
Vivamax is available at web.vivamax.net. You can also download the app and subscribe via Google Play Store, App Store, and Huawei AppGallery.
Subscription options include: P29 (unli-watch all Vivamax titles for three days); P149/month; and P399 for 3 months for bigger savings.
You can also cast your screen from your device to Smart TV with Google Chromecast or Apple TV.
Vivamax is also now available for Pinoys in the Middle East—UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar—for only AED35/month; in Europe for only 8 GBP/month; and Asia (Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore).
Meron na ring Vivamax for Pinoys in Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Brunei, Macao, Vietnam, Maldives, Australia, New Zealand, US, and Canada.
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