Roselle Monteverde The Original Regal Baby

There are Regal Babies and there are Regal Babies, dozens and dozens of them. And then there’s The Original Baby and she’s none other than Roselle Monteverde who has happily taken the helm of the family-owned company from her mother, Regal Matriarch Lily Monteverde, who steered Regal into becoming an empire.

“She now takes care 90 percent of Regal,” said Mother Lily who was with us at the Summer Palace at the EDSA Shangri-La when Conversations interviewed Roselle. “She is very capable,” added Mother Lily who is all praises for Roselle’s scholastic record (Roselle graduated with a Business Administration degree from University of San Francisco). “I’m in charge now of only 10 percent of Regal,” prompting Roselle to quip, “She takes care of the money.”

In case you haven’t heard, the Regal Empire started with popcorn. Mother Lily put up popcorn machines, one at the former Good Earth Department Store on Rizal Ave. and the other at the Cherry Foodarama (Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City). That was in 1962. With P10,000 that she borrowed from a relative, Mother Lily bought a copy of the tearjerker All Mine To Give that grossed more than P500,000. Tubong-lugaw is how they call it. The astute businesswoman that Mother Lily is, she made that money grow and grow…and continues to grow up to now. Regal would later produce a Tagalog version of that movie, titled Araw-Araw, Gabi-Gabi which was also a moneymaker.

The eldest among the five children of Mother Lily and Remy Monteverde (he’s fondly called Father Remy), Roselle is mom to a brilliant lawyer, Keith (who graduated cum laude from Boston University, married to Taiwanese Winni Wang) and Bridget Teo. Roselle started working for Regal in 2001.

What is a typical day in your life?

“I’m always on my mobile phone because that’s where I get everything about my daily tasks. I usually wake up at 5:30 a.m. and check the calls and my e-mail. I start calling people. By mid-morning, I’m done with answering calls and e-mails and then I do my regular workout, two hours at the gym until lunch. Then, I attend meetings or visit the set. Every minute matters. I panic if I don’t answer a call or a correspondence. I don’t want people to wait for my replies, otherwise it would be unproductive. How my day ends varies, but usually at 9 p.m. before sleeping, I read scripts and turn in at around midnight or 1 a.m. My body clock has been used to that kind of schedule.”

What about weekends?

“More relaxed. I have a lighter load on weekends, unless I have to check a shooting. I hear Mass. Since my two kids are abroad, one in the US and the other in Australia, I spend time with my father, bring him to church and we have lunch together. I’m all by myself so I don’t spend so much time at home.”

How similar are you to your mom?

“We are both hands-on and we are both OC (Obsessive-Compulsive). Actually, I’m more OC, especially when I am discussing things with directors kasi I don’t want any miscommunication, but not to the point of dictating to them. I just want to know. We talk about the budget which has to be reasonable, calendar (shooting) days, etc. It’s really a collaboration. I’m open to suggestions.”

And how are you different from your mom (who can talk to three different people on three different phones without missing a beat, believe it or not)?

“I think I’m more focused. My mom’s mind is super-active, her mind works very fast. She says one thing one minute and says another thing the next minute. She’s not done with one thing yet and she starts on a new thing. She has so many things in her mind.”

What about post-dated checks?

“I leave that to her. As soon as I approve the payments, siya na ang bahala.”

What about relationship with directors and artists?

“As I’ve said, I am open to them. I give them leeway in creativity. I can make suggestions and give inputs but I don’t impose on them. They just have to describe to me what scenes work and what type of movie sells.”

What about dealing with the movie press?

“Oh, my mom is good at that. Sometimes, she’s the intrigera pa. But me, I just listen.”

How did you learn the ABCs of showbiz?

“You know, I grew up observing my mom conduct business. She does it even at home. But I’ve always been into business. When I was in the US, I took care of the company’s entertainment product distribution. We were raised and trained to be in business.”

What about choice of material?

“The material has to be different from what we have been doing, something that the audience would embrace. We have to keep on re-inventing. The trend changes fast so you just have to keep up with it with an open mind.”

Do you play favorites?

“No. I treat everybody equally.”

Your mom was (and still is) a movie fan. What about you? (Mother Lily: “My idol now is Piolo Pascual. I feel 50 years younger when I see him, hahaha!”)

“I grew up watching movies. Growing up, all I did after school was watch movies.” (The family owns a string of theaters around Sta. Cruz, Manila, including Podmon, Lords and Jennet. — RFL) “Our family used to distribute Japanese movies like Godzilla. After school at St. Jude (near Malacañang Palace), we would watch at Avenida Rizal while waiting for our sundo. We loved watching our own movies, those starring Maricel Soriano and the Regal Babies.” (During her time, Mother Lily would skip classes and chase her favorite stars, especially Nida Blanca. — RFL)

How do you deal with the competition from other companies?

“The competition comes from other places. With advances in technology, anybody with a camera can make a movie as long as mahilig ka. The Age of Digital Camera is here. It’s more challenging now than during my mom’s time. Before, cinema was the only form of entertainment; people go to the cinema to watch movies. Before, the ticket price is P50; now, P200, P250 or P300. Now, it’s all free. There is cable, there is television, there is mobile phone, there’s everything! It’s not really competing with technology, you just have to use it. But the core of the business is the content, what stories can you tell and what entertainment can you give. That’s where the challenge lies.”

And piracy?

“That’s a problem. Because of digital streaming, people don’t care; they can just upload and upload. So you just have to police it, you have to monitor it and have it taken down. But it’s hard to stop.”

When you produce movies, what do you consider more, making money or winning awards?

“If we produce good movies that make good money, so much the better.”

How can you tell if new talents will go far?

“First, it’s their eagerness. If they are eager, they will listen to you. It’s not just the looks. Ang daming pretty faces but not all of them will make it. They really have to be remarkable — the way they talk, the way they act. Now, before they purchase tickets, people will think hard what movies are worth their money.”

Of the dozens of movies Regal has produced under your watch, what are your favorites?

“A lot. Off-hand, I can only think of Mano Po 1: Family; Shake, Rattle & Roll 8; and Blue Moon.”

How do you see Regal 20 years from now?

“We will still be around entertaining people.”

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