DIRECTOR ERIK Matti takes pride in his roots in a seedy town called Pulupandan in Negros, and that makes him a true-blue Ilonggo.
Kinalakhan na raw ni Direk Erik ang mga kuwentong aswang sa kanilang probinsiya. A citified young boy, he would fancy his cousins’ going to the open fields para manguha ng mga gagamba. Pero lagi raw silang tinatakot ng mga matatanda, huwag na huwag daw silang magpapaabot ng gabi dahil naglipana ang mga “tiktik”.
Based on the Visayan mythology, tiktik is a faint sound created by an aswang who immediately gets wind of a pregnant woman in the barrio. In the dead of the night, sasalakay ang aswang sa bubong ng natutulog na buntis aiming at her womb, pagkatapos ay ilalawit niya ang kanyang mahabang dila.
Sa mga kuwentong ito hinango ng Ilonggo director ang inspirasyon behind his film Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles. Having begun his career as a director in 1998, ngayon lang niya pinangahasang gumawa ng pelikula whose story is endemic to his origin. “Because no producer wanted me to do it,” sey ni Direk Erik, na ngayon ay isa na ring prodyuser via his Reality Entertainment along with his other creative partners.
Filming of Titik took all of 20 months, puwera pa rito ang matagal ding diskusyon as to who would play Makoy, the anti-hero. Finally, Direk Erik and his team settled with Dingdong Dantes. For sure, maninibago ang mga fans ng aktor as he veers away from his straight-laced screen portrayals dahil isa siyang maangas na siga-sigaan ang papel niya rito.
In what seemed like a not-so-public screening, pinapanood sa amin ang unang 20 minuto ng Tiktik (na ikinabitin namin!). But what got us awestruck ay ang proseso kung paanong ginawa ang pagsasapelikula nito as though it were filmed in the countryside.
Ang totoo, all scenes shot in three months took place on a 2,000 square-meter vacant warehouse na ginawang studio with “green screen” as background all throughout. The raw, composite and hybrid-graded shots were each shown for its limited audience to get a better grasp of how much effort was put into the work (‘yung lagay na ‘yon, ipadadala pa ang kopya sa Bangkok for further sound enhancement).
Showing on October 17, ngayon pa lang ay gusto na naming i-congratulate ang mga bumubuo ng creative at technical teams ni Direk Erik, as they have an ace horror film up their sleeve.
SA TONO ng kanyang pananalita, Paolo Contis sounded determined to finally end his three year-marriage to Lian Paz, no more turning back.
Last Wednesday nang makabalik sa bansa ang TV host-comedian mula sa US, but prior to his departure ay may basbas pala ang pagsasalita ni Lian tungkol sa kanilang paghihiwalay. Lian saw fit na isiwalat ang kanilang marital issue sa presscon ng Enchanted Garden where she plays one of the fairies.
Upon arrival, sinabi ni Paolo na miss na niya ang kanilang dalawang anak, in fact, even more excited sa kanyang mga pasalubong from the States. As far as Lian was concerned, kung ano raw ang naging desis-yon ng aktor would remain.
At the same though, may pakiusap si Paolo na tigilan na ang mga ispekulasyon as to the reason or reasons for their separation, the most unthinkable of which ay may kinalaman sa kanyang gender. “Kesyo bading daw ako. Ako, bading? Ma-check nga,” Paolo said with half-sarcasm.
Bago nagtapos ang exclusive interview na ‘yon ng Startalk TX sa aktor, Paolo was asked if seeking their marriage annulled would be the next step. Aniya, “No comment.”
Kadalasan, such no-comment replies, although indefinite, are either a yes or a no.
Pepperoni
by Ronnie Carrasco III
