LaLola cast misses Marky
Published On: January 29, 2009, 12:00 AM
Updated On: October 26, 2020, 09:38 PM
Before Marky Cielo passed away, he was part of the prime time program 'LaLola.' iGMA sat down with its director, Dominic Zapata, to talk to him about the show, and how they dealt with the loss of one of their own. Text by Jason John S. Lim. Interview with Erick Mataverde. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio.
When you're talking to Direk Dominic Zapata about LaLola, ang una niyang sasabihin ay bitin ang soap. "Kasi ano e, parang Kim Samsoon, medyo short run 'yung soap," paliwanang niya. According to Direk Dom, if they were given the choice, they would've wanted to extended it more. "Pero iba 'yung deal sa DoriMedia, eh." DoriMedia is the distributor who sold GMA Network the rights to remake LaLola. But in a way, masaya na rin si Direk Dom na they are ending on a high note. "Like a lover," he begins with a laugh. "Maganda nang natapos mo 'yung relationship habang masaya pa, habang okay pa ang lahat. Mabuti na rin natapos sa ganoon, kesa 'yung natapos kayo na parang buwisit na kayo sa isa't-isa, sawang-sawa na kayo sa isa't isa, ayaw niyo nang makita [ang isa't-isa]—and then at least 'yung LaLola, in the future, you will remember it with fondness." Dagdag pa niya, it's a good thing din daw to keep the viewers wanting more. He says this also makes them want to see more of the shows' stars: "Sabik sila hindi lang doon sa show, pero sabik pa rin sila sa mga artista. That's why 'yung mga soap ngayon, hindi na katulad nung mga Anna Liza na tumatakbo ng taon. Heto, pagkatapos ng soap, si Yul [Servo] is hot property—well, he really was hot property all along. But heto, at least nang matapos 'yung show, hindi nakasama sa career niya. "Yung mga artista natin, lahat sila parang naging hot property. You'd want to see more of them because nabitin ka sa LaLola; so anywhere we put them, even if it's no longer LaLola, merong pananabik ang mga tao na makita sila." One artist, though, fans will never get to see again. "'Yun nga lang, nalagasan kami ng isa. For the first time ako naka-experience ng ganoon. Nabawasan kami ng isa. And we dedicate the rest of the run to him." Direk Dom is, of course, talking about Marky Cielo. Mid-run of LaLola, news of the young actor's death spread, during the time when the show was banking episodes before going into the Christmas break.
"Of course, unang adjustment sa story," Direk Dom tells us. "I don't mean to sound so cold, pero siyempre 'pag meron kang [problema], sino-solusyon mo kaagad. So what happened was, in the story originally, he was supposed to get into an accident. Well, not really an accident, it was a staged attempt to take Aguirre's life. He was supposed to have survived that. So binago na lang namin na hindi na lang siya nag-survive. We would've, otherwise, made him leave for the States na lang. Usually that's the way out. Para naman hindi masyado masakit tingnan na he died na nga, tapos we'll kill him pa doon sa story. Pero that was the only way na hindi mo [na] siya hahanapin, because he's so pivotal. If he just left for the States, then you'd expect him to come back in the end, or at least a phone call, which we cannot execute anymore. So ganoon na lang 'yung ginawa." "In terms of sa amin, emotionally, ang bigat for a few tapings," pag-amin niya. Back in December, the team was almost shooting everyday, to beat the Christmas break. "Nakatulong when as a whole team, as a whole family, we all went to the wake after pack-up. Medyo nakatulong 'yun, mas madali nang to let go." Pero Direk Dom says na he doesn't want to completely forget: "I welcome the feeling na medyo nami-miss pa rin namin siya. Because when you stop missing a person who passed away, it’s because you're starting forget na siguro, eh. And that makes it even more sad. So I welcome the feeling na medyo ganoon pa rin, na nami-miss namin siya." And this being Direk Dom we're interviewing, hindi puwedeng magtatapos kami sa sad note. After telling us na the team is doing well now, he quickly adds, "Mas praning lang kami. Pero siguro mas binibigyan namin ng pagpapahalaga ang isa't-isa. Pero praning. Kanina lang, sabi, 'Si Direk Eddie bakit wala pa? Call time niya 10:30 and he's never late! Tawagan natin, tawagin si Direk Eddie.' Lahat, knock on wood, natatakot kanina. Tawag kami nang tawag kay Direk Eddie. Ayun, baka na-traffic lang yata raw siya. We never got to the bottom of things. As soon as he answered, okay na ako doon. Okay si Direk Eddie. Nakakapraning na ngayon. Kasi you realize how fragile life is." We whole-heartedly agree, Direk Dom. And like you, patuloy lang rin namin mami-miss si Marky. Malapit nang matapos ang LaLola! Catch up sa mga na-miss niyong mga pangyayari through the shows' video clips found here on iGMA! And siyempre, don't miss the last few episodes of LaLola, gabi-gabi sa GMA Telebabad.
When you're talking to Direk Dominic Zapata about LaLola, ang una niyang sasabihin ay bitin ang soap. "Kasi ano e, parang Kim Samsoon, medyo short run 'yung soap," paliwanang niya. According to Direk Dom, if they were given the choice, they would've wanted to extended it more. "Pero iba 'yung deal sa DoriMedia, eh." DoriMedia is the distributor who sold GMA Network the rights to remake LaLola. But in a way, masaya na rin si Direk Dom na they are ending on a high note. "Like a lover," he begins with a laugh. "Maganda nang natapos mo 'yung relationship habang masaya pa, habang okay pa ang lahat. Mabuti na rin natapos sa ganoon, kesa 'yung natapos kayo na parang buwisit na kayo sa isa't-isa, sawang-sawa na kayo sa isa't isa, ayaw niyo nang makita [ang isa't-isa]—and then at least 'yung LaLola, in the future, you will remember it with fondness." Dagdag pa niya, it's a good thing din daw to keep the viewers wanting more. He says this also makes them want to see more of the shows' stars: "Sabik sila hindi lang doon sa show, pero sabik pa rin sila sa mga artista. That's why 'yung mga soap ngayon, hindi na katulad nung mga Anna Liza na tumatakbo ng taon. Heto, pagkatapos ng soap, si Yul [Servo] is hot property—well, he really was hot property all along. But heto, at least nang matapos 'yung show, hindi nakasama sa career niya. "Yung mga artista natin, lahat sila parang naging hot property. You'd want to see more of them because nabitin ka sa LaLola; so anywhere we put them, even if it's no longer LaLola, merong pananabik ang mga tao na makita sila." One artist, though, fans will never get to see again. "'Yun nga lang, nalagasan kami ng isa. For the first time ako naka-experience ng ganoon. Nabawasan kami ng isa. And we dedicate the rest of the run to him." Direk Dom is, of course, talking about Marky Cielo. Mid-run of LaLola, news of the young actor's death spread, during the time when the show was banking episodes before going into the Christmas break.
"Of course, unang adjustment sa story," Direk Dom tells us. "I don't mean to sound so cold, pero siyempre 'pag meron kang [problema], sino-solusyon mo kaagad. So what happened was, in the story originally, he was supposed to get into an accident. Well, not really an accident, it was a staged attempt to take Aguirre's life. He was supposed to have survived that. So binago na lang namin na hindi na lang siya nag-survive. We would've, otherwise, made him leave for the States na lang. Usually that's the way out. Para naman hindi masyado masakit tingnan na he died na nga, tapos we'll kill him pa doon sa story. Pero that was the only way na hindi mo [na] siya hahanapin, because he's so pivotal. If he just left for the States, then you'd expect him to come back in the end, or at least a phone call, which we cannot execute anymore. So ganoon na lang 'yung ginawa." "In terms of sa amin, emotionally, ang bigat for a few tapings," pag-amin niya. Back in December, the team was almost shooting everyday, to beat the Christmas break. "Nakatulong when as a whole team, as a whole family, we all went to the wake after pack-up. Medyo nakatulong 'yun, mas madali nang to let go." Pero Direk Dom says na he doesn't want to completely forget: "I welcome the feeling na medyo nami-miss pa rin namin siya. Because when you stop missing a person who passed away, it’s because you're starting forget na siguro, eh. And that makes it even more sad. So I welcome the feeling na medyo ganoon pa rin, na nami-miss namin siya." And this being Direk Dom we're interviewing, hindi puwedeng magtatapos kami sa sad note. After telling us na the team is doing well now, he quickly adds, "Mas praning lang kami. Pero siguro mas binibigyan namin ng pagpapahalaga ang isa't-isa. Pero praning. Kanina lang, sabi, 'Si Direk Eddie bakit wala pa? Call time niya 10:30 and he's never late! Tawagan natin, tawagin si Direk Eddie.' Lahat, knock on wood, natatakot kanina. Tawag kami nang tawag kay Direk Eddie. Ayun, baka na-traffic lang yata raw siya. We never got to the bottom of things. As soon as he answered, okay na ako doon. Okay si Direk Eddie. Nakakapraning na ngayon. Kasi you realize how fragile life is." We whole-heartedly agree, Direk Dom. And like you, patuloy lang rin namin mami-miss si Marky. Malapit nang matapos ang LaLola! Catch up sa mga na-miss niyong mga pangyayari through the shows' video clips found here on iGMA! And siyempre, don't miss the last few episodes of LaLola, gabi-gabi sa GMA Telebabad.