Ogie Diaz produces family film with Zanjoe Marudo in the lead
After his debut as a film producer in 2011 in Sidney Pascua’s “Dyagwar: Havey o Waley,” with Eric Fructuoso and Boom Labrusca, followed by Benedict Mique’s comedy romance, “Two Love You” (2019), actor-comedian-talent manager Ogie Diaz decided to bankroll another film, this time close to his heart.
Under OgieD Productions, the family drama, “How To Get Away From My Toxic Family,” carries the story and concept by Ogie. He has been planning the film since last year.
Writer is John Bedia, director is Lawrence Fajardo, line producer is Ethel Espiritu, Kate Valenzuela and Dindo Camara are from KreativDen, the co-producer of the film.
“Our first choice is Z,” shared Ogie, who fondly calls his lead actor Zanjoe Marudo, Z.
“Pag hindi pumayag si Z, wala kaming second choice kung sino ang susunod na pipiliin nagaganap sa role. (If Z didn’t say yes, we had no second choice for who would take on the role.)”
“If Z agreed, that’s when we would hold auditions for his siblings, because they needed to look like him. If you notice, there’s no mestizo because he’s moreno.
“That’s why even the mother, Susan Africa, looks like him. So we laid everything out for Z.”
The project was offered to Zanjoe in November last year, following his last big screen project in 2022, director Richard Somes’ romance drama, “Ikaw Lang ang Minahal.”
Then he decided to get married to Ria Atayde and they started a family. “My last project was more than one year ago,” Zanjoe offered. “I took a break. Of all the projects that were offered to me, this was really one of those I liked.”
He continued, “Ito ang pagbabalik ko sa pag-arte dahil nakita ko ‘yung pagka-totoo ng storya. (This is my return to acting because I saw how realistic the story was.) It feels good to play a character that’s simple — about a family, just at home. There are no big scenes. It’s just the kind of discussions that happen in real life.”
After they presented the project to him, Zanjoe didn’t lose any time to give his nod to the project. “Right and then, when they presented the project to me, I said yes right away,” he said.
“I didn’t have to go home anymore just to think about it. I know the story will affect many of our fellow Filipinos. This is also one way to help stop the toxic family culture here in the Philippines. I hope it brings a good effect and message to our fellow Filipinos.”
They filmed at Clark Airport for the airport scenes, while the house scenes were shot in Tondo.
“Masaya naming binuo itong pelikulang ito. (We happily put this film together.) We needed to look like a real family. Thankfully, nobody was toxic on set. Only the script was toxic,” he quipped.
Dealing with a toxic family is nothing new to Zanjoe.
“Pagdilat ng mata ko, nasa paligid ko na ‘yan. (From the moment I opened my eyes, it was already around me.) But I grew up not seeing it as something negative,” he said.
“Nasa tao ‘yan. (It depends on the person.) They should know what’s right and whether they will allow others to cross their boundaries.
“You should set your boundaries, too, and there’s also a risk that this might cause problems in the family and relationships.
“My advice is, if you’re earning more than enough, then you can help.
“But if it’s going to affect your future and your own life, then maybe it’s not right anymore. Pati pang-sarili mo apektado na. (Even your own well-being will be affected.)”
Susan Africa plays Zanjoe’s mom in the film. He is comfortable working with her, since they co-starred together in the past as mother and son.
They were in the “Broken Marriage Vow” series in 2022.
“Pero dito sa ‘Toxic Family,’ ibang atake naman. (But here in ‘Toxic Family,’ it’s a different approach.) We’re always in conflict here,” he said.
Others in the cast of “How To Get Away From My Toxic Family” are Nonie Buencamino, Richard Quan, Leslie Lina, Juharra Asayo and Keena Pineda.
Meanwhile, acting again in front of the cameras didn’t become easy for Zanjoe.
“Hindi madali ang shoot namin sa simula dahil matagal akong nagpahinga. (It wasn’t easy for me to get back into shooting at first because I took a long break.) The production gave me a solo workshop before we started shooting. Then, on the second day, I was already with my co-stars,’ he shared.
“Things became lighter and the story and scenes flowed better. We worked to make our family and relationships look natural. For each character, we were careful to make them different.”
The film is adapted to today’s generation. Ogie explained, “Ano ang gagawin ng isang Gen Z o millennial na anak sa panahon ngayon? (What would a Gen Z or millennial child do at this time?)
“In the past, boomers and Gen X would really cling to their family no matter the behavior or what the family did.
“Iniba namin ngayon. Kapag hindi mo na kaya, alis ka na. Ganu’n ka-simple. (We changed it now. If you can’t take it anymore, you leave. That’s how simple it is.)
“In the past, mental health wasn’t even given notice.
Ngayon, lahat tayo may mental health issue. (Now, we all deal with mental health issues.) We’re placing more importance on our mental well-being.”
“How To Get Away From My Toxic Family” premiered in Los Angeles last May, then it will be shown in Dubai on June 28 and 29. Then Western Australia on June 29 and Japan on July 6. It will also be shown in Houston (Texas), San Diego and San Francisco (California) in the US.
According to Ogie, the special international screenings came first, while the Manila screening on July 30 will serve as a homecoming.
“Pang OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) ang story nito. (The story is for OFWs.) They can relate to it — even balikbayans. That even when they’re abroad, they still think of their families in the Philippines.”
Ogie is simply proud that the members in the team of the late ABS-CBN and Dreamscape boss, Deo Endrinal, worked for “How To Get Away From My Toxic Family.”
“Sila mismo, (they took a) very nitty-gritty approach at humihimay talaga ng pelikula,” Ogie said. “Sina Ethel, sina Kate. Iba talaga kapag galing sa Dreamscape. Hawa ‘yun kahit outside Dreamscape. (That mindset sticks even outside Dreamscape.) We already know how things work when we’re with them.”
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