Lasting impressions

With Carlo J. Caparas’ “Joaquin Bordado” ending this week, director Mac Alejandre shares a few words with iGMA on how it’s like to head one of the most ambitious and action-packed shows on Philippine television. Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Interviewed with Jason S. Lim. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. It’s no easy feat When asked about the biggest challenge in directing the series, direk Mac answers that it’s the attempt to stay true to the genre. “The genre is an action-fantasy-drama, and [it] requires a lot—not only physically, but creatively. The biggest challenge was to not only be at par, but to exceed the output that is usual in this kind of genre.” He continues, “[It’s] very difficult to do, but that is the very reason I commend the people working behind Joaquin Bordado, because I think we may not have succeeded all the time, but in our moments of success, we felt gratified that we were able to do it.” Risking lives Bordado is known for its intricate fight scenes that usually end up in 24 Oras’ “Chika Minute” segments because of accidents while taping them. But not even life-threatening occurrences could stop Robin Padilla from trying to beat his last stunt! “Robin is the fight choreographer of the show. He conceptualizes the action scenes and executes them,” explains direk Mac. “So ang number one fear ko ay safety niya at mga taong involved sa paggawa ng ganoong eksena. Yun ang una kong iniisip.” “So pag gumagawa ng ganoong eksena, siguro mahigit limang beses niyo akong maririnig na sisigaw, ‘Make sure it’s safe, Robin kung may duda ka, don’t push through with it!’ But hindi sila nakikinig!” He reasons out that those who perform the stunts usually get a different kind of adrenaline rush as opposed to that of an onlooker’s. “Of course, may iba silang adrenaline rush doon na ine-explain nila sa akin na hindi ko nararamdaman dahil nandito ako—feet firmly on the ground! So yun ang fear ko. It’s always for them. They are the experts in that field, [but] they [usually] try to outdo the last stunt they did, which increases my fear all the more!” One of the accidents that really affected direk Mac was the motorcycle incident where Robin fell off the bike due to a miscalculated move of a gate operator. “May mga kinukwento sila sa akin [katulad noong] helicopter [scene na] nagkaroon ng kaunting mali sa maneuver, na nararamdaman na ni Robin na nandiyan na yung blade [ng helicopter]. [Pero] hindi ko nakikita yun e, kasi malayo [ako]. So nagfi-fear ako after noong kwento [na lang]! Pero itong [sa motorsiklo], [natakot ako] talaga dahil [nandoon] yung motorsiklo [sa harap ko!]” And of course, who could forget the scene where Robin single-handedly wrestled with wild animals (a tiger and a python to be exact)? “The scene with the animals was shot in the other unit, so what I saw was the finished product,” says direk Mac. “Syempre nakakatakot di ba? But pag kinuwento ni Robin kasi sa akin, naka-konteksto na sa enjoyment niya, e! [Tipong], ‘Yang mga tigreng yan, innate silang mga boxers [pala]!’ Nasa ganoong kwento na. Sasabihin ko, ‘Robin, ang laki-laki niyan, nasa harap mo siya!’ [Pero] ibang point of view pag kinukwento niya. Sa kanya, wala yung ganoong fear. Syempre sa akin malaki.” Surprisingly, the drama scenes were the ones where Robin got more exhausted—not the action sequences! “An action-adventure-fantasy-drama works when the humanity comes out. It becomes accessible, it becomes sympathetic, it becomes ‘real,’” explains direk Mac. “That is what I enjoyed doing after doing all the fantastic rigging and spectacular action shots, and very physical adventure type scenes.” “Doing drama becomes a very good counterpoint, and just like the other day, we did a heavy drama scene between Robin and Iza (Calzado), and then Robin said, ‘Mas nakakapagod gawin ito!’ It’s true. Doing drama is very tiring. It may not be physical, but emotionally, it’s very, very tiring.” It’s clear that Bordado definitely made an impression on Philippine television, but how exactly does direk Mac want the show to be remembered? “As a show that kept its promise on giving not only high quality entertainment, but trying to stretch out the parameters of doing primetime soaps,” he answers. “Given the present standard of Philippine primetime television, the people behind Joaquin Bordado tried to work not only within the box, but [also] out of the box sometimes. [We tried to keep] the expectations of the audience at a very high level and at the same time, [we tried to] contribute [to] the improvement of the quality of primetime television—which I think, sincerely, from the bottom of our hearts, that we really tried to do.” Don’t miss Joaquin Bordado's final episodes this week, right after 24 Oras! Text ROBIN or IZA to 4627 to Feel the Fun with Fanatxt! To receive picture messages from them, just key in GOMMS ROBIN ON or GOMMS IZA ON and send to 4627. Each SMS costs P2.50 for GLOBE, SMART, TM, and TALK N TEXT, while it costs P2.00 for SUN subscribers. Each MMS costs P5.00 for all Networks. (This service is exclusively available in the Philippines.) Talk about the show’s finale week in its iGMA Forum thread!