Dingdong Dantes, Mae Cruz-Alviar credit 'Rewind' experiences in shooting 'Remember'
MANILA, Philippines — "Rewind" was a massive success at the Philippine box office success, but it left more than a financial legacy for actor Dingdong Dantes and director Mae Cruz-Alviar.
The two creatives, along with Dingdong's wife Marian Rivera, are reuniting anew for the upcoming drama film "Remember" this November 11, and experiences from their last outing aided in their latest production.
Upon finishing its run at the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival as well as extended and select international screenings, "Rewind" collected P924 million in ticketing sales.
That made it surpass "Hello, Love, Goodbye" as the highest-grossing Filipino movie of all time until its record was beaten by the latter's sequel "Hello, Love, Again," which remains the only local film to gross a billion pesos at the box office.
In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com, Direk Mae acknowledged there wasn't any pressure from producers for "Remember" to match the earnings of "Rewind."
She did admit that it was a "hanging cloud" and they'd be lying to deny its existence given how profitable her previous movie was.
"That was not the driving force for when we did this film," added the director. "It is there but we have to set that aside because primarily because 'Remember' is a good story we want to tell the audience and let them experience."
More than concrete lessons, Dingdong cited the "collective experience" of working with the same people from "Rewind" in "Remember" as a major boost, this as around 90% of the production team from the first movie worked on the latter project.
RELATED: Dingdong Dantes, Mae Cruz-Alviar exchanges praises as collaborators anew
"Iba yung naging working relationship namin, ang sarap talagang makatrabaho ng lahat ng magkakasama," the actor continued. "Kapag may ganung klaseng experience ka, gusto mo siyang ulitin, and I'm just grateful that it was given again."
He further pointed to other elements like a fresh story, new characters, and for the first time having to shoot nearly entire movie in a different country.
A majority of "Remember" was filmed in Quebec, Canada, an experience made even more special for Dingdong as he did it with Marian.
On her part, Direk Mae referenced the presence of other material and content as points of comparison where "Rewind" proved that believing and pouring one's heart into a strong story will earn the appreciation and support of people.
"Lessen the noise of the pressure of everything else, focus on telling your story, and believe in it," the director explained to Philstar.com.
Another thing the filmmaker learned from "Rewind" was that many things can go wrong during production, but there must be a reason why plans don't fall through.
In particular, the previous film experienced people falling ill and disruptive weather that threatened to delay shoots, similar instances that occurred in "Remember," and yet Direk Mae's team forged on.
"It still comes out magical. The magic is in trusting, believing, and forging on. If it doesn't happen the way you want it, something better can still come of it," she ended.
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