1The All-Around Gem
The all-around gem
By Arielle Poblete

He’s adaptable and an idealist. Jade Castro is the person behind numerous blockbuster hits of the contemporary Philippines cinema. He has won awards for such unique directorial and writing capability. As a director in the Rom-com phase of the Philippine cinema, Mr. Castro has helped revolutionize and create different kinds of plots through unique kinds of approaches, not only in rom -coms, but also for independent films. A bright future ahead of him, Mr. Jade Castro is one of the Philippines ’ special and unique talents that will surely create a lot of buzz and change within the audience and the country.

Extraordinary Newbie Jade Castro graduated last 2000 as a film major from UP Diliman. As a fresh graduate, he first ventured onto the world of television. He worked for ABS -CBN and Star Cinema as a member of Concept Development Group and a script brainstormer, and directed my personal favorite, It Might Be You, where the tandem of Bea and John Llyod was first to be featured. But there seemed to be something missing for Jade. It wasn’t television that he felt was the best medium to express his artistry.

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“But I really want to focus on films so I handled script continuity for Direk Uro de la Cruz in movies he was doing for Regal like Bahay ni Lola,Singsing ni Lola and Bakit Papa with the SexBomb. I learned so much from him. Then I also learned writing scripts from Ricky Lee and I wrote the comedy D’Anothers starring Vhong Navarro for Star Cinema.” The pubescent film, First Day High was also Jade’s first ever film project as a scriptwriter.

Picture, picture! Before First Day High (2007), Jade, with fellow writers Raymond Lee and Emman dela Cruz, formed UFO Pictures to support and help share their stories on to screens. Luckily for them, at the same year, Cinemalaya was created. He has since begun working more on films. “Endo is a very personal film for me. It’s basically a love story that gets interrupted dahil sa

trabaho, which has happened to me. Endo comes from ‘end of contract,’ a dreaded term for casual employees na nakita ko sa striking workers sa SM with problems about their jobs. They never become permanent dahil laging may end of

contract ang trabaho nila. The character played by

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Jason Abalos cannot commit to a relationship dahil nga hindi sigurado ang work niya and it affects his lovelife. It’s a hit with lots of you ng people who were able to identify with the situation.” Endo, Mr. Castro’s first-ever film, debuted in the 2007 Cinemalaya film festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for full-length features. Different aspects of the film were also given honors in different award junctures like the Gawad Urian Awards, Golden Screen Awards, and Young Critics Award. Endo made Jade Castro a name common in the film industry. He wrote the stories for the very famous My Amnesia Girl and RPG Metanoia.

Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington has been a national and foreign hit, addressing the issues of both the homos and the heteros through artistic and delightful means of execution. Mr. Castro said in the premiere of Zombadings, that whatever we are not, are those we can easily understand; that what we can easily be frightened by whatever we don’t know; that we have to embrace even the things that we are unknowledgeable of. That ignorance, he said, was the social and personal quandary that Zombadings is trying to address and decipher.

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While working for My Kontrabida Girl, lead star Rhian Ramos was on the hot seat for her abortion controversy with DJ Mo Twister. Aljur Abrenica, Rhian’s leading man, was also being targeted by movie critics for his limit ed acting ability. But Jade didn’t let this impede with the movie’s good flow of production. Both were, as he said, very professional and determined to maintain the good vibes and meet the success. This is a part of mainstream films. Some actors are just u nluckily and easily sandwiched in between scandals, but it is within the director to discipline and sustain the production. Jade’s patience was tested in this, but he got through it smoothly and with no dent.

Prioritize your Writing In an interview with rappler.com, he said that “Many stories remain unspoken. I find the system frustrating since the story always takes a back seat.”

This seems to be recurrent trend in the current-day industry since the same heartthrobs and beautiful faces are all we see in most pictures. It doesn’t matter how the plot or acting flows, it doesn’t matter how creative and carefully made the script is, because the producer, director, and practically everyone behind the film thinks that the celebrities casted are the ONLY money-makers. "Studios prioritize the casting and other factors but not the story.”

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Despite being hired by Star Cinema and GMA Films (which are the main creators of such films with ignored stories), Mr. Castro does not let the status quo and money blur his view on writing and directing. He is consistent in making materials with original and distinctive content. With My Kontrabida Girl, his most recent and first collaborated film with GMA Films, he says that when they hired him, the story was all ready and was only in need of people to materialize and get it in motion, but he detested and decided to change the story with his co-writer Aloy Adlawan, and thus the birth of the My Kotrabida Girl that we all know now. With a little bit of determination and vision, Jade has crafted a very unique romantic comedy plot that defies the typical good-girl-good-boy formula that most Philippine romantic comedies apply deliberately just for good and fast money. Mr. Castro says that he might be working with GMA film on yet another film in the future – another romantic comedy most probably. We have yet to wait for future announcements.

The “Big Players” are Also Needed “I knew we had to make money on the first day or we’re dead.”

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Zombadings, despite all its praises, glory, and mass attention , was still an independent film with a lot depending on its success. The film was made in two years, said Jade, so if it becomes a flop, all their efforts and pride might then go to film wasteland.

“We wanted it to be a success, we wanted it to be seen by as many Filipinos as possible, and we wanted to make money out of it, and we wanted to please our investors and partners too, because we want to keep on making films.” The promotion of Zombadings wasn’t really as extravagant as a normal fan would see it. The film was simply but endorsed through Facebook and Twitter plus the help of the whole cast and crew. A few connections here and there were contacted for support and exposure. “The marketing we’ve done was minimal only in terms of budget, but not in effort,” the director says. “If you ask me, I think our marketing was grand and out-of-the-box and surprising, compared to them. What they had that we didn’t were TV spots and the guns to put their movie in as many theaters as possible because of their relationship with theater owners. The word-of-mouth was crucial to our plan. It’s something the studios never do, because they always finish

7The All-Around Gem their films in the nick of time. They bombard us instead with commercials. We, on the other hand, had time in our favor. We invested in advance screenings so that people will have time to spread the word around.” This was a surprise within audiences since, as said, it’s something the studios never do. Zombadings wasn’t advertised on television, so the said power of the wordof-mouth method was quite something considering the current success Zombadings is. It is indeed very important to create new friendships and connections in the film industry, and also have a big mouth. “It wouldn’t be possible without support from the big players,” Castro said. “Smaller films need help from government, the press, TV networks, talent centers, theater owners, bookers … to reach the audience.”

Criticisms Among Mr. Castro’s movies, the one that is the most controversial is, of course, Zombadings. Zombadings, while being praised by majority of its audience, has received numerous criticisms from bloggers, critics, LGBT members, etc., just like any other film. One blogger even wrote that the film was an extremely “anti-gay” material, which completely and directly attacks gays in numerous delicate aspects. Some non-effeminate gays also reacted to the film, saying that they feel attacked by the movie, it made

8The All-Around Gem normal (in this case, the non-gays) people think strange about them, thus afflicting the gays’ personal and reputational sentiments. Mr. Castro agrees that these reactions were very expected by him and the other people behind the film. They know that negativity will always be present, but such negativities are mostly erroneous, and that the movie was just plainly misunderstood by such people. Mr. Castro worried a bit after learning such negative attitudes to his film, but he kept his cool and studied carefully what the antis have said. He understood the critic’s stand, and he accepted. Criticism is a part of any art, and the reactors and creators may either be at fault of such misunderstandings, but as much as they debate over the issues, nothing can actually be done because the production is done. Making a lot of fuss might even make a whole lot more of fuss.

Experimenting Versatility is a characteristic especially difficult for directors; if you’re indie, you can’t help but always add a little touch of indie in every project, if one is mainstream, elements and a formulaic execution – unconsciously or not – might

9The All-Around Gem always be present. But Jade Castro is one of the many spirits that encompasses this special trait in filmmaking. He knows the industry and the audience, so he never fails to capture anyone. If you thoroughly observe on Mr. Castro’s itinerary of projects, variety is highly visible. He goes from mainstream to indie, and then mainstream to indie again, all of which are welcomingly embraced by both the “masa” and indie junkies. His scripts as well are products of diversity; comedy or serious, minimalist or exaggerated (in a good way). This talent of his never ceases to impress audiences, and this is a trait that should be particularly observed and applied by current filmmaker and film-hopefuls.

Independent or mainstream, a director is a director. Creating and envisioning a film is as important as executing it. A film is not about the actors and expensive props that it uses, but it is the message and art presented that should be the focal point of a viewer’s perception. Scripts and scriptwriters are the foundation of a film; it is the paint for a painter; knowledge for a brain; a soul for a body, and if it is being ab used and ignored by the persons behind and in front of it, it will cease to exist with other rejected things – beautiful or not. A director faces multiple challenges; they are constant victims of criticisms, actors may be under a difficult situation, pressure can destroy everything, and some big

10The All-Around Gem players may be too compulsive in intruding or meddling, but all in all, a director’s got to be patient and focused. He/she’s the boss, anyway. Being a director in what is considered the lowest artistic phase of Phi lippine cinema, Jade has strived to survive and stand out among the pack, and is continuing to raise the bar for films. He has first charmed the Philippine audience with Endo, and charmed them even more with the similarly “Award!”-winning Zombadings. Mr, Jade Castro is an important paragon of the modern-day director. Versatility is one of the keys for success, but he has proven that curiosity and experime ntation are much more important. Works of art that raise questions, debates and revolt are the ones worthy to be called ‘art’. For me, that is what Mr. Jade Castro is doing, and that is what we truly need. Art that makes all think, art that creates questions, art that answers those questions.

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REFERENCES Gonzales, R. (2012, March 3). Direk Jade Castro admits having bad relationship with a real “Kontrabida Girl”. Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved from

http://www.pep.ph/news/33226/direk-jade-castro-admits-to-having-had-a-relationship-with-areal-kontrabida-girl Matabuena, J.M.C. (2011, August 20). ‘Patayin sa Shokot’ aims to surprise people with fresh storyline. Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. Retrieved from http://mb.com.ph/articles/331405/patayin-sa-shokot-aims-surprise-people-with-freshstoryline Morales, I. (2012, August 3). Jade Castro: Priotitize the story. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/9776-jade-castro-prioritize-the-story San Diego, B. (2011, September 4). Long lines fetch 12 more screens for ‘Zombadings’. Inquirer. Retrieved from http://entertainment.inquirer.net/12243/long-linesfetch-12-more-screens-for-%E2%80%98zombadings%E2%80%99 Vince. (2011, September 20). An interview with Zombadings director Jade Castro [Web log]. Retrieved from http://discreetmanilablog.blogspot.com/2011/09/interview with-zombadings-director-jade.html