Coco Martin partners with Erik Matti and Dondon Monteverde for two major projects
The creative collaboration of film producer Dondon Monteverde, director Erik Matti and actor-director Coco Martin could have happened sooner or perhaps even later.
But director Erik insisted there couldn’t have been any better time to partner than now.
In a presscon on Tuesday, Dondon and Erik, through their movie production outfit, Reality MM Studios, announced that they are joining forces with Coco, who runs his own company named CCM Film Productions.
The trio will co-produce two landmark projects — “On The Job: Maghari” and “Maypagasa: The Battles of Andres Bonifacio” — with Coco topbilling both action films slated for release in 2027.
“This is a partnership,” said Dondon. “This is our share and hope that our film industry will get more alive again. For the three of us, cinema is important.
“I was born in this industry. My father (Remy Monteverde), my mother (Lily Monteverde) raised me in this industry. I know we are all instruments to use cinema for the future generations who also want to be in the movies. We all love the cinema.”
In truth, the historic collab has been “brewing” for quite some time.
Dondon and Erik, who are long-time partners in film production, have been talking about working with Coco for a long time. The latter said that they were merely waiting for the right time for a project together.
“We knew from the get-go what we wanted to see in a Coco Martin movie from our end,” the noted director said. “We want to bring out the best in Coco, not just what we see in (the shows) ‘Batang Quiapo’ or ‘Ang Probinsyano.’
“Together with that, he had a strong legacy early on in his indie films. He proved not just the action hero in him, but also the dramatic actor in him. With the action he has been doing on TV lately, people might forget that he is a dramatic actor, which he was from the very beginning,” he said.
So, they looked for a material that not only showcases good action, but something with a strong heart, a strong story on humanity.
“After all the pitches, we arrived at ‘On The Job’ and ‘Bonifacio’ because those two stories have huge emotions,” Erik shared.
“The other ones we pitched were closer to popcorn movies than just very good stories. That was where we all agreed on together.”
Shared vision
As for Coco, apparently, he never stopped exploring the kinds of films he wants to offer to the industry. He remains to be driven even if he has proven a lot of things already.
“I experienced starving (for projects) before,” Coco humbly admitted.
“I sometimes would wait for projects for six months to one year and there were still no offers. I really worked hard to be where I am now.”
He further reflected about his status in the industry, “I don’t want to teach new actors how to act. But the right mindset, to give importance to what they do, that’s what I want to share with them.
“When I started, people looked at me as a bold actor, sexy actor. I was not paired with a girl, but another guy. I really worked hard as an actor. That’s why I’m sharing that now with my co-actors.
“I tell them that not everybody is given a chance to work. I give chance to the new actors and I also resurrect the careers of veteran actors who have no work.”
Coco continued, “The mindset that Sir Dondon, Direk Erik and me (share is) to resurrect Filipino films. When I watched ‘Buy Bust’ and ‘On The Job’ before, I asked myself, ‘Who’s one actor who will not dream of making those kinds of films and working with Direk Erik and Sir Dondon?’
“As an artist, I was merely waiting and hoping that one day, they will think about you, they will notice you, give you a chance and consider you to be in one of their projects.”
Coco said that he even talked with a lot of actors about “Buy Bust” (2018) and required his entire production team to watch it at UP Town Center.
“After that, I was hoping that they would give me a project to work with them,” he recalled. “But sadly, I didn’t get a call for a long time. When they did ‘On The Job’ 2, I told myself, maybe, I was not enough yet to do action-drama.”
Coco recalled telling himself that Erik and Dondon were just not considering him for any project with them.
“Imagine, I’ve been thinking of them, but they haven’t been thinking about me (laughs)?” he quipped.
Dream come true
That proved to be not the case though.
In early August, Regal marked the first death anniversary of its founder, Mother Lily Monteverde.
After the Mass, Dondon saw line producer Lea Calmerin and he told her his desire to work with Coco.
“Then one day, Ate Lea (Calmerin) told me that Direk Erik and Sir Dondon wanted to talk to me and (that) maybe, we could have lunch,” said Coco.
“I started to have goosebumps. Honestly, I never said this before but... I dreamed for a long time to work with them. After two days, our first meeting happened. I told Sir Dondon that I’ve long been waiting for them (to) perhaps consider me for any of the projects they are doing.
“It’s not just here in the Philippines, but I know that around the world, Filipinos appreciate what we do. We are really so good and talented. When I was still doing indie films, I (experienced) that.
“I’ve been through that. But now that I’m doing teleserye and action on TV, I am also dreaming of making a film that I can really be proud of. The projects that they pitched to me were all good.
“So, I was really just waiting for Sir Dondon to call me up. He shared the ‘On The Job: Maghari’ that they were supposed to shoot. Maybe, Sir Dondon said, I can fit in the concept they were planning to make.”
When Coco then told the producer and director that he was a fan of Jerrold Tarog’s “Heneral Luna” (2015), they brought up the concept of a Andres Bonifacio biopic.
Why ‘Maghari’ and ‘Bonifacio’
“Maghari” and “Andres Bonifacio” will both come from the award-winning storyteller duo of writer Michiko Yamamoto and director Erik.
“When we first had a meeting, we brought with us several ideas,” said Erik.
“We approved some, we selected some. There were titles that Coco liked. Eventually, after a long lunch where we talked about lots of things, we ended up deciding on the two titles.”
In “Maghari,” Coco will play the young version of Joel Torre’s iconic character, Mario Maghari also known as Tatang, in “On The Job” and how he ended up in prison.
“The story is set in the ‘90s,” explained Erik. “It’s the story about how Tatang finds a way to protect his family and eventually, while protecting his family, he ends up going to prison.”
“When we started talking about the (possible) stories, we started off with humble projects,” the director further shared.
“That turned out to be okay with Coco. But then, when we started discussing these at length, we realized, for such a huge partnership like this, we had to choose a much bigger project to go with it. We ended up with ‘On the Job’ and ‘Bonifacio.’
“In ‘Bonifacio,’ it’s scary to do a biography of a person. Maybe because it’s open to everyone’s opinion about it. What they heard in school, what historians will have a way of telling the story.
“But remove that, we are just excited to tell the story about Andres Bonifacio. His story is really, really interesting and it speaks about the times now.”
The filmmaker continued, “What happened to Bonifacio before, up to now, that is still happening and it’s just nice to bring the story to modern times. The story is period, but we are shooting it using pop music. We’re updating it because it really is about what’s happening now.”
When Coco agreed to do both projects, his initial plan as co-producer was how to make both films bigger — how they would present the films not just to Filipinos, but audiences all over the world.
As the lead star, on the other hand, he said, “I can contribute my being a real professional to making both films.
“I have (given) my full trust to Direk Erik and Sir Dondon. I told them to take care of the films, I’ll just stay in the background.”
He stressed, “I want to learn from them. I was really proud when I learned that the writer of ‘On The Job’ is Michiko Yamamoto, whom I dreamed of working with for a long time, from the time I was still doing indies.
“This is the answer to what I’ve been praying for a long time now. That’s why I’m very happy that all these are happening.”
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