Lorna Tolentino recalls co-starring with ‘Shogun’ star Hiroyuki Sanada in 1995 film
MANILA, Philippines — Did you know that Lorna Tolentino once portrayed leading lady to Japanese superstar Hiroyuki Sanada, who most recently played Lord Toranaga in the megahit Disney+ series “Shogun”?
We first learned about this through a social media post of the “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” actress’ son Rap Fernandez, where he shared an old newspaper advertisement for the 1995 film “Sigaw ng Puso,” showing Lorna, Hiroyuki and Sharmaine Arnaiz as lead cast.
Megged by Japanese director Kazuko Omori (best-known for directing ‘90s classic “Godzilla” movies), the Japanese-Filipino co-production was released in Japan under the title “Kinkyu Yobidashi: Emergency Call.”
According to the film’s synopsis, Hiroyuki played a young medical doctor who decided to be stationed in the Philippines and serve patients in Smokey Mountain in Tondo after a heartbreak. Lorna played his medical colleague and eventual love interest.
“The (production) staff was Japanese also with Filipino counterparts here para mas magkaintindihan nung time na yun,” Lorna recalled to The STAR in an exclusive interview.
While film details escape her now, one of the memorable parts was shooting in a hospital in Subic.
“Sa Subic namin ginawa yung buong film. Nag-stay kami sa Subic ng ilang araw din yun. Naka-lock-in kami, hindi kami umaalis… yung hospital dun parang nagsara na so yun ang naging (setting) namin. Dun halos kinunan lahat sa hospital scenes… It wasn’t difficult to shoot with a Japanese production because there was an interpreter.”
After the film premiered in theaters, she together with her late husband, the action star Rudy Fernandez, and their kids, flew to Japan to meet up with Hiroyuki, etc.
“Nagpunta rin kami ng Japan, na-meet din namin siya doon ulit after nung nag-showing na with Rudy, with our children. Ayun namasyal kami tapos na-meet namin siya tsaka yung producer ulit. Nag-dinner lang kami.”
At the time of our interview, Lorna had yet to watch “Shogun,” the historical drama based on the 1975 book of the same title by James Clavell.
The just-concluded 10-part series earned global acclaim, drawing comparisons to the monumental HBO series “Game of Thrones” and predictions of multiple Emmy nominations. In a media release by Disney+, Goldderby.com, a US-based entertainment website tracking races in award-giving bodies all year round, has named “Sh?gun” as the frontrunner in the Outstanding Limited Series category, with Hiroyuki Sanada (Lord Toranaga) and Cosmo Jarvis (John Blackthorne) considered as strong contenders in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series/TV-Movie competition.
Lorna, on the other hand, is very much aware of the show because of her kids. “My son, who was doing the archiving of my old films and his Papa’s, saw the (old clipping) of ‘Sigaw ng Puso,’ and said, ‘Mama, nakapareha mo pala si Shogun.’ They could no longer remember meeting him because they were still very young then when we went to Japan.”
“Nakakatuwa nga kasi marami na talagang nag-re-rave sa kanya,” she further said of one of Japan’s celebrated actors, who previously starred in such Hollywood films as Tom Cruise’s “Last Samurai,” Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick” and “Avengers: Endgame,”
When they first worked together, she said, “S’yempre hindi pa siya talagang… starting pa lang hindi pa ganun kasikat bata pa siya rin yun eh… Nagugulat ako nung paunti-unti kasi biglang nakakasama na siya sa mga Hollywood films na ‘Uy, kasama si Hiroyuki o.’ It makes you proud kasi alam ko na magaling siya kasi naging leading man ko siya.”
Meanwhile, after “Sigaw ng Puso,” Lorna also received offers to audition for other international projects. But as it was, the actress dubbed as the local industry’s grandslam queen for her sheer number of acting awards was already swamped with acting work, particularly focusing on teleseryes.
Now, almost 30 years since that experience with “international co-production,” Lorna is trying to explore international collabs but this time in her capacity as a film distributor. Partnering with fellow actress Sylvia Sanchez’s Nathan Studios, she helped bring to Philippine theaters last year the Japanese mystery-thriller “Monster” by Cannes Palme d’Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda and the American action thriller “Silent Night” by John Woo.
She and Sylvia will again be going to Cannes this May 14 to 25 to explore possibilities and opportunities of collabs with other producers, and find titles that hopefully will click with local audiences. They’re looking to acquire more Asian cinema titles — Japanese, Korean or Bollywood.
In light of the struggles producers are facing in the Philippines, she decided to venture into film distribution, aiming to help encourage people to return to cinemas first.
Lorna said that “Monster” and “Silent Night” didn’t fare that well in the domestic box-office. As a distributor, she admitted that the reception got her frustrated knowing that the films they brought in were good — not blockbuster but commercial, highly-acclaimed but not high-brow — however, people were not going out to see them.
Still, based on her experience as co-chair of the Metro Manila Film Festival 2023, the highest-grossing edition of the December film festival of all time, she could say, “If people really want to, they will go out and watch the film.”
Despite the challenges, Lorna said she’s enjoyed dipping her hands into film distribution. “I enjoy it because it’s a learning process, and also for the networking opportunities.”
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