Coco Martin partners with Erik Matti and Dondon Monteverde for two major projects

October 18 ------ 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 press conference 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 also something with a strong heart, a strong story of 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 on 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, a 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 a 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 would think about you, they would 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.

Source: philstar.com