Director Laurenti Dyogi: To be Steven Spielberg

He is nowhere near his dream of directing or producing a hundred films in his lifetime, like perhaps his Hollywood film idol, Steven Spielberg. But Laurenti Dyogi has made a name for himself as a promising young director who took the TV route and eventually shifted to working at the helm of impressive films.

The thirty-something Lauren, who became more visible on TV as one of the three judges in Star Circle Quest, graduated from the University of the Philippines where he obtained a degree in Broadcasting Communication. A television workshop he attended while he was still in school ignited Lauren’s keen interest in the medium. After college, he joined ABS-CBN and worked his way up the TV ladder, from production assistant and researcher to associate producer, director and executive producer.

At ABS-CBN, Lauren was given a chance to prove his mettle behind the cameras. He helped conceptualize and directed two of the network’s pioneering programs — the crime-drama anthology, Calvento Files and the youth series, Gimik.

In 1995, Lauren was sent by ABS-CBN to Rockport, Maine, where he underwent an intensive, three-month training through the International Film and Video Workshop. Two years later, in 1997, Lauren was ripe for his film directorial debut in the Balintuwad episode of Calvento Files: The Movie, which starred Claudine Barretto.

"TV is a good training ground in directing," Lauren allows. "TV taught me to work faster and make quick decisions on set. Film is more fulfilling but the process is more painful. Film requires a bigger responsibility and emotional investment for the director. Film is artistically fulfilling, but not financially rewarding."

After his directorial debut with Calvento Files: The Movie, Lauren went on to make the trilogy Magandang Hatinggabi, his sophomore outing which became a humbling experience for him. "The film was three horror flicks in one, but it didn’t make money," Lauren laments. "I spent nine months making it. I was broke, then not too many people watched it."

However, earnings ricocheted to the tills with Lauren’s third film, the teen flick, Gimik: The Movie, which became a certified box-office success. To date, Lauren has worked with the likes of Judy Ann Santos, Giselle Tongi, Jolina Magdangal, Diether Ocampo, Marvin Agustin and the late Rico Yan.

Lauren considers TV, stage and film director Johnny Manahan, ABS-CBN’s senior vice president for talent development, as his TV mentor who gave him the break in TV directing. It was Charo Santos-Concio, ABS-CBN executive vice president and head of the entertainment group, who encouraged Lauren to excel as an artist. He also looks up to film director Olive Lamasan and Star Cinema’s managing director Malou Santos, who is also ABS-CBN’s senior vice president for drama.

"The directors I respect are Olive Lamasan, Mike de Leon, Lino Brocka, Peque Gallaga and Joey Reyes," Lauren shares. "I used to aspire to be like Steven Spielberg, but I realized I would not be able to make his kind of films because they’re too costly. I also admire Mike Nichols who did The Graduate and Working Girl. His films are very simple but affecting. I also have a high regard for Akira Kurosawa, Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou – Asian directors who have made it big in Hollywood."

After three directorial credits, however, Lauren was sidelined from filmmaking and concentrated on TV work. He takes pride in having worked at the helm of ABS-CBN’s widely-followed soap, Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, which ended its run late last year.

Five years after Gimik: The Movie was shown, Lauren returns to film directing with his fourth project, All My Life, a light romance-drama written by Mia Concio and Mel Mendoza del Rosario.

"The film is a poignant story about two people who bump into each other into a cruise ship and how six days of being together cruising on the high seas will change their lives," Lauren relates. "The story hews closely to romantic Hollywood films like An Affair to Remember or its remake, Love Affair. Our movie is about being hopeful. It’s about living the moment, enjoying life and not making any definite plans for the future."

In All My Life, Aga is a born traveler who loves traipsing from one place to another. He is suffering from a terminal illness that requires physical and spiritual healing. Kristine, meanwhile, is nursing a broken heart after she discovers on her wedding day that her boyfriend had gotten another girl pregnant. Joining Aga and Kristine in the cast are Ricky Davao, Bernard Palanca, Dimples Romana, Ces Quesada and Angel Jacob.

Lauren cannot be thankful enough for being given the chance to work with Aga Muhlach – "the biggest star I’ve worked with in any movie." The young director attests Aga took away his fear of working with seasoned actors.

"It was a joy to work with Aga because he has no star complex," Lauren says of his lead actor. "He is very easy to work with and he is a very generous actor who collaborates with his director. I didn’t have a hard time with him. Alam na niya ang diskarte niya as an actor. He trusted me fully as his director."

With Kristine, meanwhile, Lauren is likewise all praises for his lead actress. "Kristine has the face of a movie star. The camera loves her. Artistang-artista ang dating. It is so wonderful seeing her on film. When she was starting in showbiz, we worked together in Gimik and she got traumatized with me. This movie is sort of our healing process. I know she’ll go places as an actress if she decides to stay in showbiz longer."

Making the Aga-Kristine tandem believable on the big screen was a challenge that Lauren had to hurdle. "This is their first movie together and the story is not the formula type, so there was that big risk," Lauren explains. "I was also afraid that Aga would look older than Kristine, but he was able to pull it off. "I never expected everything in Aga and Kristine would work after I studied in rushes. Nakaka in-love to watch them onscreen. Aga looked young again. Krsitine’s presence balanced it. Their chemistry was instant. They took on their characters from their dialogues to their heavy scenes down to their nuances."

Lauren believes the location on board a cruise ship helps boost the romantic appeal of the film and the chemistry of the Aga-Kristine tandem. Six days were filmed on board the luxury liner Superstar Virgo, which cruised from Singapore to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

"I noticed in this movie that Aga and Kristine are sharing with each other," Lauren notes. "May nahuhugot si Aga kay Kristine. May natututunan naman si Kristine kay Aga and that proves ‘yung pagiging seasoned actor ni Aga. Initially, Kristine was scared that she might not be able to measure up to Aga’s acting skill. In the end. I’m proud of her. In this movie, Kristine has graduated to more mature roles."

All My Life comes on the heels of Star Cinema’s recent blockbuster, Milan, which starred Piolo Pascual and Claudine Barretto, directed by Olive Lamasan. Naturally, Lauren is challenged to score a box office hit for Star Cinema. "I will be happy if All My Life becomes a box office hit, even if the earnings do not really surpass that of Milan’s," Lauren asserts. "I just hope people will appreciate the story and my storytelling. This is sort of my comeback movie and I know it’s not a perfect film, but I have put in so much of my heart and soul into this project. I just hope that when people get to see it, they will be affected positively."

In his future film projects, Lauren expresses his desire to work with the likes of Vilma Santos, Sharon Cuneta, Lorna Tolentino, Regine Velasquez, Gloria Romero and Eddie Garcia. The director is wrapping up work on Because of You, a romantic-comedy written by Jose Javier Reyes, starring the young love team John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo.

"It’s rewarding enough for me to be able to help start up the careers of young stars. From the cast of Gimik to the tandem of John Lloyd and Bea. It’s nice to know that I have contributed to their growth as artists," Lauren says.

Lauren will also work at the helm of a teen flick similar to Gimik, starring all the 10 Star Circle Quest finalists. He is no stranger to the future young stars, having been one of the judges in the daily program, with TV host Boy Abunda and actress-beauty queen Gloria Diaz. As far as TV work is concerned, Lauren is set to direct another tele-novela, "but totally different from Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay."

Asked about his dream project, Lauren says he still has to envision it. "Hindi pa nabubuo sa utak ko. But I want to produce shows and movies. I also want to study again to become a better film director. I still aim to have a massive body work, 100 at most, both as a producer and director, just like (Steven) Spielberg. I want to do movies that I can enter in film festivals abroad. I want to do family dramas, too, as well as films for kids, like Spielberg’s ET. I also plan to make a dance movie or musical. I want to be able to work with the best writers in the industry," he ends.