Nadine Lustre finally top bills her first romance movie called Ulan without her real-life boyfriend James Reid. Joining him in the film is Carlo Aquino as one of Lustre’s love interests. Initially teased as a movie about ‘self-love’, the flick looks to be a horror-romance based on the teaser but director of the film Irene Villamor said on the media conference that the film is more of a romance drama magic realism that plays on a Tikbalang folklore story.
Director Irene Villamor brought us the certified blockbuster films: Camp Sawi, Meet Me in St. Gallen and Sid & Aya: Not a Love Story.
After Viva films released the official trailer of Ulan, the outpouring support from netizens was instantaneous. Ulan trailer hit the no.1 spot in the country's trending topics, followed closely by Maya, Nadine Lustre, Carlo Aquino, and Direk Ayrin - all major players in what already appears to be a much-awaited film this summer.
Breathing the life to the character of Maya is Multimedia priness Nadine Lustre. She was personally chosen by writer-director Irene Emma Villamor who describes her as a modern Filipina and really has that depth to understand concepts like this and brave enough to plunge in to a role of Maya.
From the very start, Nadine showed dedication to immerse herself in the role and to connect with her director. Direk Irene further shares, "Nadine and I sat on the first day of shoot and we talked for almost an hour, naka-costume na siya nun, ready for blocking na. But I had to pause and we just sat away from the crowd and talked about the bigger things in life. About what this movie means to me and to her. About our nervousness. And I said to her this is going to be our journey together, because Maya has been there with me since I was young"
It was for a film class way back in 1999, when Direk Irene created a 5-minute narrative about a girl named Maya. "Her dream was to climb a tree in their backyard, but her mother would always catch her and reprimand her. Until one day, she finally climbed it and saw what a fantastic view it was - roofs of different corrugated, rusty metals, top of other tress, some birds. And she was wishing her mother could also see it. That was really the gem of the character Maya and she never left me since. It evolved into a short story when I was already a script continuity supervisor under Direk Joyce (2004-20005). Direk Joyce caught me writing and read what I wrote and said to turn it into a screenplay so I did," Direk Irene concludes. Ulan is her first screenplay. Bb. Joyce Bernal serves as this movie's creative producer.
Getting Carlo Aquino to play Peter was a breeze. Direk Irene commends the award-winning actor for being so good in understanding the character and findings connections with the role.
Ulan also features Marco Gumabao and AJ Muhlach, the most promising actors of their generation, as Maya's ex-lovers. Young Maya is played by Ella Illano, while the grandmother is played by Ms. Perla Bautista.
Breathing the life to the character of Maya is Multimedia priness Nadine Lustre. She was personally chosen by writer-director Irene Emma Villamor who describes her as a modern Filipina and really has that depth to understand concepts like this and brave enough to plunge in to a role of Maya.
From the very start, Nadine showed dedication to immerse herself in the role and to connect with her director. Direk Irene further shares, "Nadine and I sat on the first day of shoot and we talked for almost an hour, naka-costume na siya nun, ready for blocking na. But I had to pause and we just sat away from the crowd and talked about the bigger things in life. About what this movie means to me and to her. About our nervousness. And I said to her this is going to be our journey together, because Maya has been there with me since I was young"
It was for a film class way back in 1999, when Direk Irene created a 5-minute narrative about a girl named Maya. "Her dream was to climb a tree in their backyard, but her mother would always catch her and reprimand her. Until one day, she finally climbed it and saw what a fantastic view it was - roofs of different corrugated, rusty metals, top of other tress, some birds. And she was wishing her mother could also see it. That was really the gem of the character Maya and she never left me since. It evolved into a short story when I was already a script continuity supervisor under Direk Joyce (2004-20005). Direk Joyce caught me writing and read what I wrote and said to turn it into a screenplay so I did," Direk Irene concludes. Ulan is her first screenplay. Bb. Joyce Bernal serves as this movie's creative producer.
Getting Carlo Aquino to play Peter was a breeze. Direk Irene commends the award-winning actor for being so good in understanding the character and findings connections with the role.
Ulan also features Marco Gumabao and AJ Muhlach, the most promising actors of their generation, as Maya's ex-lovers. Young Maya is played by Ella Illano, while the grandmother is played by Ms. Perla Bautista.
The biggest challenges of this film were creating the rain effect which happened almost everyday and deciding how the tikbalang would look like. In the end, the inspiration came from the paper mache works of artisans they encountered while filming in Pila, Laguna. The team decided on that look and acknowledge the crudeness and the innocence of it all.
Ulan tells the story of Maya who was raised by her grandmother. As a child, Maya became aware of the mythical create called "Tikbalang" (half-horse, half-human) and the superstition that rain pours in the middle of a sunny day when two of these creatures are being wed. According to her grandmother, it means that heaven is not in favour of this union.
As a young woman, Maya is a hopeless romantic. She works in a publishing company as an editorial assistant. She has fallen in love and has been heartbroken twice. And then she meets Peter who is kind, thoughtful, helpful and every bit a boyfriend material. But Maya realizes that each time she's onto something good, rain falls all of a sudden. Must she now take it as a bad omen? Is it heaven's way of telling her that she's about to face a bitter fate?
Ulan is a product of hard work and passion. Part of the team is the award-winning cinematographer Neil Daza. Rivermaya's 90s classic song "Ulan" is turned into a much subdued ballad making it the film's official theme song. Heto na Naman by Rice Lucido is part of the soundtrack.
For Nadine Lustre, who has hailed for her performance in her last movie "Never Not Love You", this is a new opportunity to shine outside a love team. How Maya cultivates self-love as the plot unravels is something to look forward to.
Catch Ulan in cinemas nationwide beginning March 13 2019.
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