Douglas Quijano couldn’t have said it better: “(Director) Maryo J. (delos Reyes) can make even a flower vase act.”
The guy who has given the likes of Charito Solis, Vilma Santos, Maricel Soriano, Aga Muhlach and the rest their most cherished acting trophies is now pacing himself. Not for him just any kind of movie to add to his long, acclaimed filmography. It’s got to have a good story, a soul.
Or else, he’d rather hie off to the Bohol farm he inherited from his parents. Or he can help actors-turned-politicians Isko Moreno (Manila vice mayor) and Yul Servo (Manila councilor) leave a good mark among their constituents (the director is also a manager).
But when Star Cinema came up to him with a script about a romance-drama on relationships, the director didn’t need any further convincing.
“Relationships is a topic that never ceases to fascinate me,” he explains. “I’m forever intrigued by relationships.”
And so it came to pass that after focusing on childhood innocence (the much-lauded Magnifico), the director has chosen to make A Love Story, with a cast no one can sneer at: Maricel Soriano, Aga Muhlach and Angelica Panganiban.
“The movie shows a different approach to a love story,” the director says. “It touches on lots of things: Morality, relationships, families, society, emotional baggage. It’s character-driven, not story-driven.”
Maricel as the doctor who falls for Aga is subdued. Direk Maryo had to rein in her acting here since “Maricel tends to be ostentatious in her emotions.”
He should know. Direk Maryo has handled the award-winning actress in Schoolgirls, Anak ni Waray, Anak ni Biday, Underage 2, Saan Darating ang Umaga, Minsan May Isang Ina and Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang.
Aga, for his part, can’t say no to anything the director asks him to do. It was the then aspiring actor to strip down to his trunks in Bagets. Years later, the director persuaded Aga to do something he hasn’t done so far: Go stark naked in Sinungaling Mong Puso.
“Direk Maryo knows what he wants. And it shows on screen,” Aga observes.
Only Angelica is a first-timer where working with the director is concerned. Yes, he had qualms handling someone with a snobbish reputation like Angelica does. But these vanished the minute they started talking.
Her role being a sexy one, direk Maryo asked Angelica what her limitations are. “You’ve seen my body of work,” he added. “True enough, not one film cast any of the actresses as pieces of meat to be ogled at.”
“Angelica is very open and trusting,” observes the director. And, just like Aga before her, Angelica set her fears aside and put her fate in her director’s hands.
Result: Direk Maryo insists that given the proper break, Angelica can be another Charito Solis. The girl has what it takes: angst and courage, he gushes.
He adds a word of caution, though. Her boyfriend (Derek Ramsey) should never meddle with her choice of roles. He should let her be. This way, she can give her all in any role she plays.
Another source of pride for the director is Dante Rivero as Aga’s Alzheimer-stricken father. The role may be a supporting one. But what the heck. Dante plays it so well, the director predicts he will be a shoo-in for the Best Supporting Actor trophy come awards season.
Before that season comes along, direk Maryo would have dipped his hands in a new project, this time veering on public service. He’s bent on helping newly-elected Manila councilor Yul Servo do his job well by putting up an arts and culture center in every district in the country’s capital.
The director’s inspiration is a similar structure in far-off Siquijor. Direk Maryo concluded that if a private citizen can build an arts and culture center in the province, how much more in Manila, where you have the Metropoilitan Theater (which Yul wants to revive), the National Center for Culture and the Arts, schools and other places?
“The program will make scholars out of the city’s talented singers and dancers,” direk Maryo reveals. “Let the others take care of crime, sanitation, etc. We will open many livelihood opportunities through the arts.”
This way, too, people will debunk their wrong notion that actors don’t have anything between their ears. They do, and they can make a difference in people’s lives. Okay, down with those eyebrows now. Direk Maryo’s talents will show you how.
Speaking of talents, direk Maryo also has big plans for his very young protégé: Robert Villar. The director plans to cast the boy with fellow child performers Nash Aguas and Sharlene San Pedro in Kamoteng Kahoy. The film, to be written by Ricky Lee, will not capitalize on the tragedy, but explore, yes, relationships. It will focus on the friendship among the three young victims of the cassava cake poisoning incident that shocked the nation years back.
Direk Maryo also hasn’t given up on making another movie on his mind. It will be something on the seminary, a place close to the religious director’s heart.
Before that though, he has an offer for a Judy Ann Santos film which he hopes to do by year-end, and another one titled Torotot from Viva Films. The movie delves on the violent and the non-violent forms of adultery among the women characters in the film.
Okay, let the cameras grind, the credits roll. Direk Maryo is ready for action, be it on the tv/movie set or in the much bigger field that is public service.