Direk John-D believes in forevermore

He calls himself a romantic, but not a hopeless one, a Peter Pan who dreams of happy endings and all things nice and beautiful. No wonder Star Cinema big boss Charo Santos-Concio didn’t dilly dally in giving this TV director his break on film: the Kristine Hermosa-Jericho Rosales starrer Forevermore.

The romantic movie is the right prescription for those who love to look at the world with rose-colored glasses the way Direk John-D Lazatin does. Yes, Virginia, it’s a great world after all, despite the heartaches and obstacles that threaten true love.

The mango orchard where Kristine and Jericho’s romance blooms says it all: our national fruit will only yield a ‘sweet’ harvest if those who take care of it have nothing but love, pure love for each other.

With a twinkle in his eye, Direk John-D proves, doubting Thomases aside (you can’t help it, especially if you’re a debuting film director), why the movie is his, from the moment brainstorming started to the time shooting packed up for the last time.

"I believe in forevermore," he chirps. Like the cock-eyed optimist who never says die, the 33-year-old director has had heartbreaks (who hasn’t?), but unlike others who put their heart under lock and key, he has always managed to bounce back. And suddenly, the world is a better place to live in again.

You see it in the way Kristine and Jericho’s eyes lock after a stormy quarrel, how they pledge to have and to hold once the smoke clears.

"Johnny Delgado once told me you can’t change the world, but you can make someone happy," Direk John-D muses. "I like the feeling."

Moviegoers will also like the feeling of family connectedness in Forevermore.. The rapport between grandfather (Nestor de Villa) and grandson (Jericho) is as Filipino as the mangoes around which the story revolves. Direk John-D made sure of that.

Johnny Delgado’s words ring loud and clear in the director’s mind again: "When you impart a value on TV (Direk John D has directed, among others, Maalaala Mo Kaya, Arriba, Arriba and Whattamen), it goes a long way. For instance, if you pray before meals, you impart a value to your kids."

The award-winning actor is not the only Johnny who has influenced the young director a lot. Johnny Manahan (Mr. M in showbiz circles) taught Direk John-D the ropes of TV writing in such top-rated shows as Palibhasa Lalake, Okidokidok and Ang TV.

Those ten years writing for various shows have paid off. A day after Charo Santos-Concio offered him to direct Forevermore, the Atenean Mass Comm graduate got a call from Charo’s sister Malou, also an ABS-CBN executive. Can he start on the project two days after?

The swiftness of it all surprised Direk John-D, who swears, "I never used politics (to get the break). "He dropped everything, and found himself facing his creative team that very Monday.

Loyalty must have played a big part in getting the (film directorial) job.

"I’m a homegrown ABS-CBN talent," he reveals. "I got offers from other film outfits, and I could have accepted them. All I had to do was inform ABS-CBN."

But not once did he take up the offers.

The best rewards, they say, are reserved for those who wait.

Fasten your seatbelts as director John-D takes you on a magical journey of life and love that will make you wear rose-tinted glasses once more. In this stressed-out times, this could just be what the doctor ordered.