What’s the prize or price of wearing a crown?
MANILA, Philippines — Women have varied aspirations in life. There are those who see themselves as corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and advocates. Some also dream of becoming a beauty queen, replete with a sash and a crown.
In the GMA Pictures movie, “Red Crown,” twenty-five ladies have signed up to join the anniversary edition of the Queen of the Islands pageant. They keep their eye on the goal, that is, to emerge as the winner, with fame and fortune as the prize. What’s perhaps unknown to them is the “price” behind the prize they’re aiming for. That’s an engaging turn in the story of ambition, determination, endurance and resilience. Will it be a survival of the prettiest or a survival of the fittest?
Those who have watched it may have the answer, but those who will should consider what its director, Dominic Zapata, said in a brief interview with this paper.
“Usually, when I accept work, I want to feel first… what it brings to the table, whether it be a TV show or a movie, whatever project,” shared he. “Parang ano ba yung bentahin nito, ano yung (it’s like what its) unique selling proposition is. So, yes, I get that it’s a suspense-thriller.”
But what appealed to him was the idea of Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes, GMA Network senior vice president: the film’s campy element. Dominic remembered that the first time he worked on something campy was the “Darna” TV series of Angel Locsin, and the “Temptation Island” of filmmaker Joey Gosiengfiao is a camp example and classic.
The “Red Crown” movie is part of Dominic’s further learning and understanding about the Filipino take on the campy cinema.
“It’s something very Filipino, where a situation could be really serious. But Pinoys being Pinoys, we don’t take the situation so seriously,” described he.
Since the Filipino camp genre is evolving, he said that “I don’t want to miss out on the chance to update myself with our brand of campiness.”
Aside from that, Dominic shared that there’s satire and social commentary as well.
It’s premised within the intention of entering a pageant and knowing what they’re giving up, as one could glean from his answers. Part of it is what the queens are betting on and sacrificing if ever they read the fine print. There are things a person may stand to lose when he or she enters into something, said he. “So, maybe it also tells you that when you become part of something, unawain mo kung ano talaga (you better know it), like, what you’re actually giving up,” added he. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be an organization… it could be a friendship, it could be an agreement, it could be choices in life where you don’t realize right away what you may be giving up.”
In directing the movie, he had to hold on to something that’s real as somehow part of research and inspiration. The reality TV competition “Drag Race Philippines” caught his interest because it has campiness, a sense of humor and a spirit of competition, Dominic said, “but at the same time, masakit sa kanila kapag nakikita nilang natatalo yung mga kasamahan (it’s tough for them to see fellow competitors being eliminated).”
The “Red Crown” also had a good number of consultants on board, pageant-wise. All this matters since the movie called for a level of authenticity.
What makes this particular movie interesting is it has tapped real-life beauty queens, who share their acting potential and have worked with actresses. The latter have also been given the chance to have a glimpse of what pageantry is, solely based on the movie story.
Asked about the three things that represent the red crown in the movie title, Dominic had this to say: “In terms of the genre, it’s an odd mix kasi of pageantry, suspense, thriller with gore… meron silang growth, eh (the queens competing for the Queen of the Islands have growth)… (it’s) their growth after the experience.”
Please watch the movie in cinemas nationwide.
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