What The Exorcist did to direk Jerry

He’s a self-effacing, low-key director. He admits having butterflies in his stomach as he sits beside Pops Fernandez for the presscon of Videoke King, their latest project for Star Cinema.

Director Jerry Sineneng is so self-effacing you end up asking yourself, "Do I intimidate people that much?"

Actually, Direk Jerry has no reason to squirm in his seat. He has a string of blockbusters to his credit, like Mara Clara, The Movie, Ang Pulubi at ang Prinsesa, FLAMES, The Movie, Kung Ayaw Mo, Huwag Mo, etc.

His TV shows, a mirror of his versatility in comedy and drama, are top-rated: Pangako Sa ‘Yo, Esperanza, Labs Ko Si Babe and Maalaala Mo Kaya.

He has handled almost all aspects of filmmaking save for camera and makeup. Thus, Direk Jerry was a production designer and manager, scriptwriter and assistant director before he got his break as director.

The humility is borne of the fact that Direk Jerry ate humble pie when he was starting out as scriptwriter (he won in the Fernando Poe Jr. scriptwriting contest). His scripts– products of his labor – were lambasted by then more senior writers. And his ego naturally suffered a big blow.

"It broke my heart," he recalls.

But one person believed in Direk Jerry so much he actually urged him to try directing. That person is Peque Gallaga.

One day, Gallaga asked Direk Jerry to oversee a scene involving 300 talents.

"Do as you see fit," he instructed the then greenhorn director.

When Gallaga took a peep at the camera, he made some corrections with the angle and handed his verdict.

"You’ll be a director someday," he told Direk Jerry.

Those words, as we know by now, turned out to be prophetic.

It’s a dream come true for the boy whose parents loved going on movie dates at Dalisay Theater. At five, he would lock himself in his room and watch a horror movie.

It was while watching The Exorcist that the future director decided what he will become someday.

"The head-turning scenes (Linda Blair had several as the girl possessed by the devil) fascinated me. I asked myself, ‘How will I handle this if I were the director?’" says Direk Jerry.

Action films also intrigued him, and he would watch open-mouthed as Bruce Lee executed his flying kicks and death-defying stunts.

So even while he buried himself in medical books as a college student to please his father, Direk Jerry never forgot the movies in his mind.

Without his lawyer-father’s knowledge, he enrolled in a filmmaking course at UP the very first time the course was offered.

"It was sheer luck, because otherwise, I would have taken the course abroad, which is more expensive," recalls Direk Jerry.

Luck was again on his side when he entered the classroom and discovered his teachers were the likes of Laurice Guillen, Ricky Lee and Marilou Diaz-Abaya. Straight from the horse’s mouth.

With them, he basked in "the joy of creating an experience whose effect on the people you show it to is a question mark."

It’s that joy Direk Jerry wants to transmit to moviegoers as he makes Robin Padilla perform a full-length song as the "Videoke King," or Pops Fernandez’s boyfriend.

"Yes, I convinced Robin (as the mechanical engineer whose single goal in life is to marry the woman he loves) to cut his long hair. And guess what?" the director asks. "Robin didn’t have a voice coach!"

His two main stars, the director adds, were a joy to work with. They had no airs, thus allaying Direk Jerry’s fears that he’ll have a hard time dealing with celebrity egos.

The director may have handled such big names in the showbiz firmament, like Maricel Soriano (Soltera), Judy Ann Santos (Mara Clara, The Movie), Jolina Magdangal (Labs Kita, Okey Ka Lang), and others, but he’s not resting on his proverbial laurels.

The road to excellence is lined with many more challenges. Direk Jerry dreams of doing a political-bold film. He also wants to explore the gay movie genre.

"Studying," he reveals, "is a never-ending process."

So he wants to learn cinematography and master the language of the medium he loves so much. Such passion is its own reward.