In a surprising turn of events, three of the country’s biggest names in the film industry – Coco Martin, Erik Matti and Dondon Monteverde, announce their epic collaboration projects. First is the prequel to ‘On The Job’ featuring the story of Joel Torre’s Tatang character – ‘On The Job: Maghari.’ Second is Matti’s first time doing an action-biopic of a Filipino hero, ‘May Pagasa: The Battles of Andres Bonifacio.’
How did this collaboration come about?
“Matagal na nag-uusap kami ni Erik na gusto naming makatrabaho si Coco tapos nagkikita sila in some gatherings. It just so happens na death anniversary ng mother ko, after the mass nakita ko si Lea Calmerin (Batang Quiapo staff), sabi ko Lea baka pwedeng i-meet mo na. After the mass sabi ko kay Lea na paki-set naman kay Coco, gusto namin talagang makatrabaho si Coco. Dun na nag-start,” producer Dondon Monteverde of Reality MM Studios shares.
Two big titles, ‘On The Job: Maghari’ and ‘MayPagAsa: The Battles of Andres Bonifacio.’
“Nung nag-meeting kami, we brought with us several ideas but none of them were these. Meron na kaming na-approve, meron na kaming napili, meron na siyang mga gusto, and then eventually, sa haba ng usapan namin, we ended up deciding on these two titles instead. ‘Maghari’ is the story of Joel Torre’s character, Tatang, in On The Job, but how he ended up in prison. It’s set in the 1990s, it’s the story of Tatang, Mario Maghari and how he finds a way to protect his family and eventually, in protecting the family, he ends up in prison. Nung pinag-usapan namin ‘yung concepts una, we started with kind of humble projects na okay naman kay Coco, but then, when we started discussing this, we realized for such a partnership na ganito kalaki, we had to choose a much bigger project to go with it. So we ended up with On The Job and Bonifacio. Sa ‘Bonifacio’ naman, it’s scary to do a historical, biography of a person. Mainly because it’s open to everyone’s opinion about it, and what they learn in school. Historians would also have their ways of telling the story, but this one, tanggalin natin ‘yun. We are just excited to tell the story of ‘Bonifacio’ because his story is really, really interesting. And it speaks about the times now, ang nangyayari sa bansa natin, ang nangyayari sa kanya dati up to now is still happening to modern times, we’re also shooting it modern, we’re using rock music, we’re updating it because it really is about what’s happening now,” direk Erik Matti explains.
“Actually, para sa akin, napakahabang kwento nito kasi nung araw nung napanood ko ‘yung ‘OTJ,’ ‘yung ‘BuyBust,’ sabi ko, sino ba naman ang lalake o artista na hindi papangaraping makagawa ng ganung klaseng proyekto at makatrabaho si direk Erik Matti at si sir Dondon. Nung ina-analyze ko siya, honestly bilang artista, naghihintay ka na sana mapansin ka, mabigyan ka ng pagkakataon, ma-consider ka sa isa sa mga projects nila. Actually, nung napanood namin ‘yung BuyBust, ni-require ko lahat ng nasa production ko, nanood kami sabay sabay. Kaya sinabi ko sa sarili ko na sana mapansin nila ako pero hindi nila ako tinatawagan, hanggang gumawa na sila ng OTJ2. Dumating sa pagkakataon na sinabi ko sa sarili ko na baka hindi pa ako enough, baka siguro, sa mata ko, kaya ko makapag-action, makapag-drama, makaarte ng konti, pero siguro kanya kanyang panlasa eh. Baka siguro sa panlasa nina direk Erik at sir Dondon, baka hindi pa ako enough. Tahimik lang ako, tapos sabi ko sa sarili ko, kung hindi talaga nila ako nako-consider, bakit hindi ako na lang ang gumawa ng isang proyekto na baka sakali, makagawa din ako ng ginagawa nila. Pero dahil sobrang busy ko sa Batang Quiapo, dire-diretso lang trabaho. Until nung kinuwento ni sir Dondon na gusto ako makausap. Kinilabutan na ako nun. Honestly, hindi ko sinasabing ang tagal kong hinihintay ito. Ang tagal kong pinangarap makatrabaho sila,” Coco Martin shares.
What made this the right time for their collaboration?
“When we sat down, nung kinu-kwento ni Coco na matagal niya nang gustong mag-trabaho kami lahat, gumawa ng project together, ang una kong sinabi is we were just waiting for the right time. The right time and project na perfect din sa’yo (Coco). When we sat down, we knew from the get-go what we want to see from a Coco Martin movie from our end. Gustong gusto namin talaga to bring out the best of Coco, not just what we see in Batang Quiapo, Probinsyano, but together with that, ang lakas ng lahat ng legacy niya sa indie movies niya dati. He was this boy-next-door, hindi mo pa nakita na kinakawawa, parang biktima na siya. So, we wanted to bring that together, not just the hero in him, but also the dramatic actor in him. Kung minsan, baka isipin ng marami, baka isipin ng marami ma-overshadow na ng pagka-action hero niya ‘yung dramatic actor past niya, pero from the very beginning, Coco is really a dramatic actor. And we looked for a material that not only showcases good action, because that’s what we both do mostly, but also something with a strong heart, something with a strong story on humanity and I think dun kami lahat nagtagpo-tagpo. All the pitches, I think the reason why napunta kami sa ‘On The Job: Maghari,’ sa ‘Bonifacio,’ kasi ang lalaki ng mga emosyon ng mga kwento na ‘to. The other ones we pitched were closer to popcorn movies than just a really good story. Ito, popcorn movie pero malakas ‘yung kwento. Malakas ‘yung kwento ng bida, malakas ang kwento ng title roles which is Maghari and Bonifacio. I think that’s where we agreed altogether, lahat kami, para wala nang question kung ano ang gagawin naming project,” director Erik Matti shares.
‘On The Job: Mahari’ is set to arrive in cinemas in 2026, while ‘May Pagasa: The Battles of Andres Bonifacio’ will be released in 2027.
Watch our video coverage of the media conference below: