Kamangha-mangha ang konsepto ng The Kingdom, ang drama-action movie na official entry sa 50th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

Bida sa pelikula sina Vic Sotto, Piolo Pascual, Sid Lucero, Cristine Reyes, at Sue Ramirez.

Idinirek ito ni Mike Tuviera.

Nais alamin ng The Kingdom ang mangyayari sa Pilipinas kung hindi ito sinakop ng mga Kastila noon.

“It’s present day, it’s 2024, but we were never colonized,” saad ni Direk Mike sa exclusive interview ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainmrnt Portal) noong Martes, December 3.

Direk Mike Tuviera giving instructions to Vic Sotto and other cast members on the set of The Kingdom. 
Photo/s: APT Entertainment, Inc.

Ayon kay Direk Mike, maaaring hindi naging demokrasya ang uri ng gobyerno ng bansa kung napanatili ng mga Pilipino ang kultura noong unang panahon.

Bago kasi dumating ang mga Kastila noong 1521 ay pinamumunuan ng mga Datu ang Pilipinas.

Dagdag pa ng direktor, tila ganito pa rin naman ang sistema ng pamahalaan sa ilang mga probinsiya sa bansa.

“In the Philippines, especially in the province, mga provincial politics is very much, you can still compare it to mga fiefdoms of before.

“So, ang sabi ko, it’s almost primeval the way Philippine provincial politics are done, na angkan-angkan pa rin, and you can hold to a territory for generations, as long as yung anak mo at yung apo mo, they’re the ones who take over,” pahayag ni Direk Mike via Zoom.

Namangha raw si Direk Mike sa ideyang ito kaya’t naisip ang konsepto ng The Kingdom.

“So, parang naa-amaze ako sa idea na yun na meron silang own version of justice, pag nagkagiyera, yung angkan-angkan talaga, and naaapektuhan lahat.

“It’s almost as if little fiefdoms or kingdoms, so paano nga kung the Philippines is a kingdom instead of a democracy?”

HISTORY BIBLE FOR THE KINGDOM STARS

Si Vic Sotto raw ang tanging kinunsidera ni Direk Mike para gumanap sa role na hari sa The Kingdom.

Si Direk Mike ang madalas na direktor at producer sa mga pelikula ni Bossing Vic.

“If Bossing says no, then we don’t have a movie. If Bossing says no, I’m not going to recast just to push through with the film,” sabi ng direktor.

Gayunpaman, minabuti muna ni Direk Mike na buuin muna ang konsepto ng pelikula bago niya ito ilapit kay Vic.

“I will never dare to be present Bossing an idea that wasn’t full-fleshed, especially one that was gonna be challenging.

“Feeling ko matatakot ako if I was pitching him something that was medyo incomplete?

“Pagka hinarap mo si Bossing, it’s like having the friendliest, funniest, nicest professor, pero still, thesis defense pa rin siya. You still need to be on your game.”

Dahil dito, sineryoso raw ng team ni Direk Mike under APT Entertainment and mabusising research para sa pelikula.

“Before we even reached any of the actors, we did a lot of research on our own, yung creative team, and we hired a lot of consultants,” paliwanag ni Direk.

“Mga history professors, mga anthropology professors. Talagang we really looked at… even looking at the plot of The Kingdom, we looked at the way of life, of how Filipinos lived in the 1500s before the Spaniards came.”

Marami raw silang natuklasan, tulad ng pagkabihasa ng mga Pilipino sa paglalakbay sa dagat.

“We were masters of the sea. The native Filipinos, before the Spaniards came, we never saw water as an obstacle. We saw water as a bridge.

“So even tribes, even warring tribes, we still see each other as a unified identity as Filipinos. And water was what united us, not separated us,” saad niya.

At lahat ng natutunan ng team ng direktor ay inilagay nila sa isang sobrang kapal na reference bible, na ginamit nila para maging accurate ang mga aspeto ng pelikula, tulad ng set design, costume, at mga tattoo ng mga artista.

Photo/s: Courtesy of MQuest Ventures

WRITING THE STORY

Dahil mabigat ang research na ginawa nina Direk Mike, hindi ba siya natatakot na hindi maka-relate ang audience dahil sa magiging seryosong tema ng pelikula?

Naisip na raw ito ni Direk Mike kaya’t siniguro niyang makaka-relate ang audience sa kuwento.

Mula sa research ay binuo nila ang takbo ng istorya kung saan may isang hari na nag-aalangang pumili kung sino sa kanyang mga anak ang papalit sa kanyang trono.

“At the end of the day, it’s still about human relationships, it’s still about family, it’s still about emotions. Yung mga strengths and weaknesses ng mga tao. We stuck to that.

“And at the end of the day, The Kingdom, with all of it’s world-building, and beautiful design, and beautiful visual imagery, it’s about a flawed man. A very powerful flawed man and the effect that the crown has on him and his family,” paliwanag ni Direk.

Tumulong daw si Vic sa aspetong ito ng kuwento.

“Ang input ni Bossing is how to deepen it. And it’s way more beautiful.

“Wala siyang sinabi na ayoko ng ending, palitan natin yung umpisa, yung gitna masalimuot. Nothing like that.

“Ang lahat ng input at contribution ni Bossing is how to deepen the story, especially as a father,” saad ni Direk Mike.

CASTING THE FILM

Bukod kay Vic, puro first choices din ni Direk Mike ang mga na-cast sa mga pangunahing papel sa The Kingdom.

Nariyan si Piolo Pascual, na gumaganap na Sulo, isang magsasaka na tutulong sa royal family.

Pumayag daw agad si Vic nang i-suggest ni Direk Mike sa kanya ang Kapamilya actor.

Piolo Pascual 
Photo/s: APT Entertainment, Inc.

“Sabi ko, ‘I can only think of one. I want Piolo.’ Tapos when he heard me say Piolo, he said, ‘Go ako diyan. Green light yan,’” kuwento ni Direk.

Matapos nito ay nakipag-meeting si Direk Mike kay Piolo.

“At the time, I haven’t even asked Piolo yet because he was abroad. Nung pag-uwi ni Piolo, I scheduled a lunch with him.

“Tapos during lunch, nagkuwento ako, and hindi pa nga tapos yung lunch, he committed already,” kuwento ng direktor.

Pumayag din agad si Cristine Reyes. Dayang Matimyas ang role ni Cristine, na panganay na anak na babae ng hari.

Cristine Reyes 
Photo/s: APT Entertainment, Inc.

“We set up a meeting with her, and I believe that at the time she was coming from the gym. She wasn’t even sure exactly what the concept was, and she sat with down with us.

“But before the meeting ended, she already committed. And she told her handlers at Viva na parang, ‘Please make it happen because I really love this.’”

Alam naman ni Direk na perfect para kay Sid Lucero ang role na Magat Bagwis, ang nag-iisang anak na lalaki ng hari.

Sid Lucero 
Photo/s: APT Entertainment, Inc.

“With Sid naman, he has been a friend of mine ever since, his whole family is a friend of mine.

“I’ve always wanted to work with Sid again. Sabi ko sa kanya, ‘Perfect para sa yo to.’

“He’s the eldest. Si Magat Bagwis is a warfreak. He loves fights. He loves war.

“Scary to think he will be the next thing kasi siya yung magiging king.”

Ang panghuli ay si Sue Ramirez, na gumaganap bilang Dayang Lualhati, anak ng hari na maki-kidnap sa pelikula.

Muntik pa raw hindi mapunta kay Sue ang role dahil busy ang schedule nito.

Sue Ramirez 
Photo/s: APT Entertainment, Inc.

“There was a moment in time when we thought it wasn’t going to be Sue. Kasi sa lahat ng first choice ko, si Sue pa yung hindi matutuloy.

“And then naayos naman, thank goodness, naayos naman ng management niya yung schedule niya,” saad ng direktor.

Ni-require daw ni Direk Mike na basahin ng mga artista ang nabuo nilang research para gampanan nang tama ang kanilang mga role.

Nag-prepare sila ng mas manipis na reference bible para sa mga artista at ito ang binasa nila.

Bukod pa riyan ay nag-training din ang mga artista para sa fight scenes. Lahat daw kasi ay may fight scenes—mula kay Vic hanggang sa mga prinsesa.

Si Vic ang unang nag-training sa lahat. Mahaba ang training period ng Eat Bulaga! host.

“He started training around June or July of this year. Ang sipag ni Bossing. He was the first to train,” sabi ni Direk Mike,

Sabay raw dapat magte-training sina Vic at Piolo, pero busy sa isang project ang Kapamilya actor.

“So sumunod lang si Piolo. Si Piolo naman ang intense, ang bilis. He trained very quick and very hard.

“For Bossing, mas gusto ni Bossing yung approach na matagal pero regular,” kuwento ni Direk.

Direk Mike Tuviera (leftmost) with the cast of The Kingdom during the movie’s grand mediacon, 
Photo/s: Nikko Tuazon

BOX-OFFICE PROSPECTS

Bukod sa intense physical training ay pinaghandaan din ni Vic ang kanyang dramatic performance.

Ang The Kingdom kasi ang unang straight drama movie ng beteranong komedyante.

Tanong ng PEP, may pag-aalinlangan ba sila na baka manibago ang MMFF audience dahil hindi na fantasy-comedy ang pelikula ni Vic para sa Pasko?

Sagot ni Direk Mike, hindi siya nag-aalala rito, at hindi naman nila masyadong iniisip ang box-office prospects ng pelikula.

“Yung box office naman, no one can really predict. No one can really tell what will hit and what won’t hit.

“Ang pinakaimportante sa amin, what we owe the audience, is the best film that we can do. And I think that’s what we did,” sabi ni Direk Mike.

May iniisip na nga raw silang maaaring maging sequel at spin-offs ng The Kingdom.

Maaari raw nilang i-explore ang mga kuwento ng mga taong nasa labas ng royal palace, tulad ng mga rajah, o mga namumuno sa mga probinsya.

Puwede rin silang gumawa ng mga prequel.

“It’s such a rich world, and hopefully people would love the movie enough to want more stories from this world,” sabi niya.

Sa huli, hinihiling ni Direk Mike na tangkilikin ng MMFF audience ang The Kingdom.

“Ang message ko sa kanila is, this may not be the kind of movie that they usually watch but I promise you, if you give it a try, you will be very, very surprised.

“We promise you that it will be a very rewarding experience.”