Celso Ad. Castillo was once
regarded as “the enfant terrible of the Philippine cinema” on one end of the
spectrum but also labeled as “The Messiah” on the other. No less than colleague
Peque Gallaga once hailed him and the late Lino Brocka as “the greatest Filipino
filmmakers this generation has produced”.
In a career spanning more than five decades, the enigmatic filmmaker has created some of the greatest and most unforgettable films in Philippine cinema.
Covering genres as varied as action, horror, drama, comedy, fantasy and even soft porn, he has brought us classics like “Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop Sa Balat Ng Lupa”, “Asedillo”, “Patayin Mo Sa Sindak Si Barbara”, “Nympha”, “Pagputi Ng Uwak…Pag-itim ng Tagak”, “Paradise Inn”, “Virgin People” and “Burlesk Queen”, among many others.
But as great as the plotlines of those films have been, Direk Celso’s greatest story may be his very own. This week, the director will launch “Celso Ad Castillo: An Autobiography and His Craft”, a book he himself describes as “a journey of an artist”.
“Actually, it’s more than just a journey, it’s an adventure. It’s a trek into an eerie man’s mind in the real world and in the insanity of a make believe one. Are you ready for that?” Castillo said as a challenge to readers in an interview with InterAksyon.
More than the average film buff, Castillo’s book seems to be intended for those who want to pursue a career in the film industry, particularly in filmmaking.
“I taught screenplay writing and film directing at the Asia Pacific Film Institute for a year and I was telling my students that to study filmmaking, they should study the director. They should know how a director’s mind works because moviemaking is problem solving like jigsaw puzzle or Kubrick’s cube,” he pointed out. There are theories you learn from school but to come up with a viable film project like the quality of film being cinematic is where the director’s mind should work on its own.”
The mercurial and often controversial director then gave a glimpse of some of the juicier stuff that fans of his films can expect from what also seems like a tell-all book—his mostly adversarial relationship with most of his film’s stars.
“How does a director deal with a Fernando Poe, Jr. in the making of an epic film like ‘Asedillo’? How does he cope up the travails of filmmaking, with Vilma Santos missing on the set and Bembol Roco shaving his head at the height of shooting ‘Pagputi ng Uwak’? How do you solve a problem like Vilma Santos who offered to return the money she had received for refusal [sic] to do the dance sequence in ‘Burlesk Queen’?”
Next:’A director and his film must become one.’
In a career spanning more than five decades, the enigmatic filmmaker has created some of the greatest and most unforgettable films in Philippine cinema.
Covering genres as varied as action, horror, drama, comedy, fantasy and even soft porn, he has brought us classics like “Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop Sa Balat Ng Lupa”, “Asedillo”, “Patayin Mo Sa Sindak Si Barbara”, “Nympha”, “Pagputi Ng Uwak…Pag-itim ng Tagak”, “Paradise Inn”, “Virgin People” and “Burlesk Queen”, among many others.
But as great as the plotlines of those films have been, Direk Celso’s greatest story may be his very own. This week, the director will launch “Celso Ad Castillo: An Autobiography and His Craft”, a book he himself describes as “a journey of an artist”.
“Actually, it’s more than just a journey, it’s an adventure. It’s a trek into an eerie man’s mind in the real world and in the insanity of a make believe one. Are you ready for that?” Castillo said as a challenge to readers in an interview with InterAksyon.
More than the average film buff, Castillo’s book seems to be intended for those who want to pursue a career in the film industry, particularly in filmmaking.
“I taught screenplay writing and film directing at the Asia Pacific Film Institute for a year and I was telling my students that to study filmmaking, they should study the director. They should know how a director’s mind works because moviemaking is problem solving like jigsaw puzzle or Kubrick’s cube,” he pointed out. There are theories you learn from school but to come up with a viable film project like the quality of film being cinematic is where the director’s mind should work on its own.”
The mercurial and often controversial director then gave a glimpse of some of the juicier stuff that fans of his films can expect from what also seems like a tell-all book—his mostly adversarial relationship with most of his film’s stars.
“How does a director deal with a Fernando Poe, Jr. in the making of an epic film like ‘Asedillo’? How does he cope up the travails of filmmaking, with Vilma Santos missing on the set and Bembol Roco shaving his head at the height of shooting ‘Pagputi ng Uwak’? How do you solve a problem like Vilma Santos who offered to return the money she had received for refusal [sic] to do the dance sequence in ‘Burlesk Queen’?”
Next:’A director and his film must become one.’
In revealing some of the behind the scenes stuff that most people never knew about, Castillo underscores the need for the director to be “on top of this business.”
“How does a total novato enter a tough business like the movie business and reach the top of the line? A director and his film must become one so that there will be total unison in pursuing the dramatic conclusion of a film masterpiece,” he stressed.
One of 12 veteran filmmakers to receive a production grant from the Film Development Council of the Philippines for its Sineng Pambansa: Master Directors Edition scheduled for 2013, the multi-awarded director continues to make at least one film a year, his last being the made-for-TV movie “Medical Center”, starring Denise Laurel, Ara Mina, Zoren Legaspi and Ryan Eigenmann.
He also dabbles in acting and was last seen in the 2011 teleseryes “Reputasyon” for ABS-CBN and “Babaeng Hampaslupa” for TV5.
-Source: interaksyon
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