A sequel to Zombadings 1?

CEBU, Philippines -  Their title suggests a follow-up to the critically-praised comedy-horror starring rising actor Martin Escudero. So shall Filipino movie fans expect a Zombadings 2 in the works?

The visionary team behind Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington said they would be very happy and aren't closing any doors on creating a sequel and beyond, much like in the tradition of the longest-running Philippine movie franchise Shake Rattle and Roll. But being that their production company is all made up of writers brimming with countless concepts, it becomes quite a challenge voting on what to do first.

“We’re open for a sequel. In our group, which is called Origin8, all eight of us are writers. Some of us direct, others produce. Because we’re all writers, we have a lot of story ideas and we don’t know what to do first. We rarely unanimously agree. Zombadings was one of the rare cases where we unanimously agreed to make it into a film,” said Zombadings writer-producer Raymond Lee during a press conference at IPARS restaurant before an advance screening of their indie film at SM City Cebu.

Lee is the writer of Star Cinema box-office gems Milan and In My Life, and producer of the well-loved 2005 indie hit Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, which told the story of a gay boy’s coming-of-age in the slums of Manila.

Interestingly, it was from Lee's real-life encounter with a young homophobe that brought to life the flick's premise. The zombie element came much later in the script development.

"It is actually based on a real incident. I was walking along a street one day when a boy who looked about five years old suddenly called out to me ‘Bakla!’ in a taunting tone. I was caught surprised since it happened in Lucban, Quezon, and what I knew of that place, it was very gay-friendly," Lee narrated.

He continued, "For a boy that young to already have a negative impression towards gays was what really bothered me. I didn’t answer back but it crossed my mind, 'What if someone cursed him to become gay too?' That same afternoon, I told Jade Castro [the film's director] that I had an idea for a movie."

And so Remington was born, a heterosexual boy who likes to make fun of gays and so is cursed to turn gay himself when he turns 21.

Lee co-wrote the material with Michiko Yamamoto (writer of Magnifico). Lending wonderful acting support are Roderick Paulate, Eugene Domingo, Janice de Belen, John Regala, Kerbie Zamora and Lauren Young.

Director Jade Castro, who helmed the love story Endo, said, “We wanted to push ourselves creatively and make a film that we can be proud of, a film where the sensibility and sense of humor really came from us.”

Lee and Castro doubled their marketing efforts, especially upon learning that they had the same opening date with another comedy by Star Cinema. According to them, Star had initially scheduled a drama topbilled by Derek Ramsay, Anne Curtis and Cristine Reyes on the August 31st date, which was why they were surprised (and "stressed", said Castro) with the switch. They talked to Star Cinema, confident that they enjoyed good relations with the film outfit for penning many award-winning movies for them. But Star didn't budge.

Acknowledging that they couldn't compete with the film company's publicity machinery, the Zombadings team relied on word-of-mouth to advertise their film.

Lee said, "We’re not credible endorsers since it’s our movie. So what we did, we lined up a lot of advanced screenings all over the country because we want the audience themselves to judge whether the film is good or not. The best endorsement comes from someone who has no stake and investment in the film. If that person would praise it, I would rather believe him more than an actor or producer of the film."

"A lot of people we didn’t know personally blogged and tweeted positive things. That’s the strategy we thought of --- let other people advertise for us. Hopefully, they liked the movie enough to be makulit endorsers of the film,"he added.

Aside from Cebu, they held advanced screenings at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Davao, Iloilo, Los Banos, and select Metro Manila theaters. Even celebrities they weren't personally acquainted with attended the screenings and gave their film glowing endorsements, especially about how its lead star is the new actor to watch out for.

The Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) of the Philippines had also given the film an A, the highest grade, calling it "an incredible achievement with an amusing and rare synergy of horror, comedy, satire, and drama."

Now, Lee and Castro can heave a sigh of relief.The film reportedly did well in Metro Manila, judging by the long queues, so that 12 theaters were added last week, totaling to 69 screenings nationwide. (FREEMAN)