Why direk Joey doesn’t follow any rule

He is undoubtedly the country’s most prolific writer-director, doing an average of three films a year for his own line-producing outfit, Available Light.

Last year, he did Phone Sex with Ara Mina, Bakit Pa with Jessa Zaragoza, and Luksong Tinik, which won for him the Best Director, and for Lorna Tolentino the Best Actress, awards at the Manila Film Festival.

This year, Jose Javier Reyes has made four acclaimed films: Bukas na Lang Kita Mamahalin with Angelu de Leon and Diether Ocampo, Tunay na Mahal with Maricel Soriano, Yakapin Mo ang Umaga with Lorna Tolentino, and the Metro Manila Filmfest entry, Sugatang Puso, again starring Lorna with Christopher de Leon, Cherie Gil, Patrick Garcia and Carlo Aquino.

Aside from these films, he also found time to write the scripts of films directed by his best friends: Nag-aapoy na Laman and Arrayyy! for Don Escudero, and Shame for Manny Castañeda.

"I have another film completed last year, Toro, which got very positive feedback at the Berlin Filmfest last February, but which has yet to be released here," he adds. "And I’ve also completed Boyet with Ricky Davao."

What makes him so productive?

"Matindi po ang pangangailangan," he laughs. "Honestly, I don’t follow any rules. When I sit down to write a script, I don’t labor over it waiting for inspiration or nagpapa-mood. I just do it. And when I direct a film, I take the point of view of the producer. Gusto ko, mabilis ang trabaho, so we won’t go overbudget. That’s why I like to work with good, efficient people, because they help lessen your burden and your headaches."

As a former professor in La Salle who branched out to scriptwriting and then to directing, Joey’s favorite subjects on film are romance and family dramas. His best romances are May Minamahal, Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal and the Robert Almanish Radio Romance with its multitude of characters and stories.

His best family dramas are Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin, Batang PX, and Minsan Lamang Magmamahal. All these films won awards. How come he is so good in making films about romance and family when his is not even married?

"I never wished to be married, but to have a kid, yes. It’s hard to live with me because of my work. Most of the time, I’m out taping or shooting. When I’m home naman, I write. And I’ve long realized that I can never share my bedroom and my bathroom with anybody. But I’ve always been a sucker for love stories. I love Love Story with Ali McGraw as the dying Jennifer Cavilleri. And like everyone else, I fell in love with Sleepless in Seattle. But at my age (46), I have come to demystified romance for myself. It’s hard to fall in love, harder still to remain in love. There’s a lot of hard work involved. E, ako pa naman, kapag in love, baliw. The last time I had a serious relationship was about six years ago. When I look back and read my entries in my diary then, yuckkk!"

He gets his stories from friends and other family members.

"I’m a keen observer of relationships and how they affect people, how marriages break up, how some are emotionally devastated at the end of a relationship and how others survive and do a complete turnaround. I record them all in my films. Now I know that the more I know my man, the more I love my dog."

Where did he get the story for Sugatang Puso, touted to be a strong contender is Best Picture?

"From Mother Lily herself. When she gave the project to me, the script’s first draft has been written by someone else. It’s about an illegitimate child, played by Patrick Garcia, who lives with his father, Christopher de Leon, who’s by then married to a widow, Lorna Tolentino, who has her own son, Carlo Aquino. Patrick has run away from his own mom, Cherie Gil, and is welcomed by Lorna with open arms. But Carlo dies in a car accident, with Patrick driving the car, so Lorna blames him for it. In the first script, it turned out to be very mawkish. Lorna sued Patrick and there are even court scenes. I told Mother, I’ll have to write a new script, and she agreed. Ang natitra, ‘yung germ ng idea ni Mother na: What if your own son is killed by your own stepson? The casting is Lorna-Boyet na talaga, but I added Cherie Gil character. Now, everyone is talking about how good Cherie is and I’m happy for her."

The film is basically very quiet, with Lorna shown breaking down only once.

"I really prefer quiet scenes because the hysterical ones, you see that on TV dramas all the time. So gusto ko, maiba naman. And I’d like to thank all my actors because they delivered exactly what I wanted."

His next project is a satire on the advertising world, tentatively titled Narinig Mo Na Ba ang Latest? for Star Cinema starring Aga Muhlach and Joyce Jimenez.

"Then I’d go to Seiko Films where I’ll do a sexy movie about greed and money starring Brigitte de Joya, Rodel Velayo and Leonardo Litton. I’m also developing a new version of Paraisong Parisukat, based on the original play of Orlando Nadres which has been filmed before starring Vilma Santos. This time, I’ll focus on the submissiveness of Filipinos, especially the women, na niloloko na, but they allow it. I want Ana Capri to star in the lead role. I think she’s a vastly underrated actress, but the Europeans saw her great potential after watching her in Toro."