Direk Wenn’s leap of faith

Scratch the surface of director Wenn Deramas’ serious mien and you’ll find a natural comedian. Over lunch at ABS-CBN, the director of the soap Walang Kapalit tells you he sprouts wings and his body divides into two come midnight.  So woe is the actor who reports to his set late and extends taping/shooting until midnight.

The remark may be a joke, but it also tells a lot about the director’s work ethic.  He doesn’t tolerate tardiness, even among senior stars.

One time, when not a single soul in the cast showed up on the set, he simply exploded like a bomb.  He lapsed into a 15-minute shouting spree that taught the erring stars a lesson they won’t forget.

The incident may have earned the director the title "Tazmanian Devil" during a Christmas party, but he just laughs it off.  You can’t get things done if you don’t crack the whip once in a while, he figured.

The director is just as exacting with senior stars, whose lofty stature in the industry doesn’t faze him one bit.  Tired of waiting for them on the set of one of his projects, the director decided it would be best to indulge himself than  let hell break lose in a temper tantrum. 

"When one of the stars arrived, the only sound he heard was my van pulling out of the set.  I went shopping for two hours. When I returned and saw one of the senior stars, I apologized," he relates.

 Yes, he’s been there, done that, especially with Claudine Barretto. Things weren’t that smooth between director and star as they are now on the set of Walang Kapalit.

They were first worked together on the ABS-CBN  series Mula sa Puso, which turned out to be a big hit.  The projects, among them Saan Ka Man Naroroon (where Claudine played triplets) and Mula sa Puso: The Movie and Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan and Buttercup came soon after.

Somewhere along the way, Wenn and Claudine had a falling out of sorts.  That’s why, when the director learned ABS-CBN tapped Claudine as Piolo Pascual’s leading lady on Walang Kapalit, he (Deramas) didn’t know what to expect.  Until  word reached him that Claudine actually welcomed the chance to work together again. Walang Kapalit is their second movie and sixth project together.

Deramas found out that Claudine stayed true to her word.  Pregnant though she was, Claudine was a director’s dream on the set. She was game — even in that scene where they shot scenes in the women’s correctional.

Claudine’s niece Julia (daughter of Marjorie and husband Dennis Padilla) proved just as competent.  As the young Claudine, Julia’s role called for her to shed tears. At first, the girl admitted she didn’t know how to cry.  But when her Tita Claudine called to tell Julia to follow her director, she obeyed.  And delivered.

"Casting Julia was a big risk. I didn’t know if she can act.  I just know she bears a striking resemblance to Claudine and registered well on screen. So I cast her on Walang Kapalit," Deramas says.

The girl also has spunk and a flair for comedy, notes her director.  With a dad like Dennis and a grandfather like Dencio Padilla, what can you expect?

Up next for Deramas are four more projects: Two with OctoArts Films and another two with Viva Films. Deramas has a new concept for Vilma Santos and Ai-Ai de las Alas, whose latest film Ang Cute ng Ina Mo! turned out to be a hit.  Deramas directed Cute along with another Ai-Ai starrer, Ang Tanging Ina, the biggest hit of 2003.

"The main character in Ang Tanging Ina was inspired by my mother.  She’d walk from Morayta to Avenida just to sell books. She’d leave me behind in a bookstore while she earned a living for us," says Deramas, whose parents parted ways when he was young.

 Today, Deramas has gladly taken over the responsibility his mother assumed when she was raising her brood all by her lonesome.

"I think of the amortizations and the bills to pay, so I work, work, work," he relates.

The former production assistant is brimming with concepts for future projects.  One is a black comedy starring Roderick Paulate.  Deramas believes Roderick is an institution in comedy, that he’s not over the hill. Thus, a comeback is in order.

Deramas also wants to be known as the "Chaning Carlos of Star Cinema."  With the director of many a hit comedy films already out of circulation, Deramas broached the idea to director Olive Lamasan one day.

"Inang,"  he called the veteran director one morning, "I  saw this movie starring Jolina Magdangal in my dream.  Do you think we can do it?"

As Richard Bach said in Jonathan Livingston Seagull, there are no limits. Wenn Deramas would agree, a hundred percent.