The Pacman is all poised to display his boxing prowess to the hilt in the movie about a streetsmart boxer who overcomes a lot of challenges in life.
Not surprisingly, he was very inspired during filmmaking, the kind of inspiration he experienced when he challenged Erik Morales in a bout early this year.
"Super at home ako dito sa bago kong pelikula. Masasabi kong napaka-realistic ng aking role at sobrang nakaka-relate ako," the famous boxer quips.
The movie, produced by Madame Violet Sevilla for Violett Films is similar to The Champ and Rocky, two great movies about boxing.
Working in this genre, Manny says, gave him the chance to present the real drama of a struggling boxer. "Sobrang nakaka-inspire ang ganitong klaseng movie kasi may matututunan ang manonood," he says.
With a good story and an idol of the masses as lead actor, Madame Violet also chose a competent cast composed of Eddie Garcia, Aubrey Miles and Juliana Palermo.
A no-nonsense actor, Eddie is the acknowledged Actor’s Actor and FAMAS’ two-time hall of famer.
His work for GMA 7, Darna, where he plays an offbeat role, easily sums up his dictum: There are no small roles, only small actors.
Aubrey is back from a long hiatus in the movies. She is glad that she has been given a new lease in acting. Known as a sexy star, Troy Montero’s girlfriend is not appearing in her sexiest self in this film as her scenes were limited to a few romantic scenes.
Beauty and brains Juliana Palermo has shown that she’s more than a sexy bombshell.
Her fluency in the King’s language is an advantage she uses to the hilt when she writes a column for The Philippine STAR. She was introduced in the movies via www.XXX.com.
Juliana has remained mysterious, the kind legendary bombshells are made of. The actress, who bagged the Best New Movie Actress award from the First Golden Screen Awards, was last seen in the award-winning movie Panaghoy sa Suba. She also finished an independent film, Kaleldo.
Introducing in the film are newcomers Aldrich Sevilla and Mike Ong. Aldrich, grandson of Madame Violet, is only 17. He’s a Pre-Law student at the Ateneo de Manila. He’s long been passionate about acting. That’s why he is very glad he has been given a chance to do this movie.
Mike, on the other hand, is an acting wannabe who has attended acting workshops before he was asked to be part of the flick.