I.T.A.L.Y.: An interesting journey

The cast visited three continents, four countries, and eight cities to shoot “I.T.A.L.Y. (I Trust and Love You)," GMA Films’ third-quarter offering for 2008. But according to director Mark Reyes, their trip abroad wasn’t exactly a vacation; after all, it's no joke traveling around the world when you have daily deadlines to meet! No star treatment! It’s a good thing everything was so picturesque; the constant supply of beautiful imagery made things easier for direk Mark. “As a filmmaker, the minute that you’re out of the usual sights you see in Manila, you tend to be very creative—yung tipong ‘Dapat mauwi ko itong shot na ito; kailangan ko maipakita sa tao.’ And the conditions were more comfortable [abroad]—mas malamig. Hindi mo [rin] mararamdaman yung puyat mo kasi 7 p.m. na doon, mayroon pang araw!" The first thing that direk Mark told his cast was that they wouldn’t be given any special treatment during the trip. “Noong una pa lang naming meeting, sabi ko na, hindi ko kayo maitatratong artista pag dating sa Italy, dahil kakaunti ang crew natin, very skeletal, kasi nga mahal magbuo ng isang production doon. Kung kakailanganing hingan ko kayo ng pabor na magbuhat ng ilaw, magbubuhat kayo." To give us a better idea of their manpower shortage, he explains that on a normal basis, he’d have around 150 to 200 crew members in a film production. But when he was shooting I.T.A.L.Y. in Europe, he only had 15. “So just do the math—pag gusto kong mag-kape dito, ‘Can I have coffee? Thank you!’ Doon, ako [ang gagawa] at kami-kami lang [ang magbubuhat] ng mga bagahe." Luckily, everyone helped each other out. “Hindi kami namroblema sa artista at all pag dating doon," shares direk Mark. “To think na napakahirap ng ginawa namin—we had eight cities to go to [in less than three weeks], na hindi biro na minsan natutulog kami sa tren, gigising kami, kaunting tulog sa hotel, sakay ng barko, shoot sa barko, tapos sakay sa eroplano. So talagang ang hirap! Walang nagka-attitude—yun ang gusto ko sa nangyari; bilib ako sa artista namin, and then sila-sila yung may buhat ng costume, yung producer kong si Joey Abacan [naman], boom mic!" Another factor that made their lives easier was the presence of Filipinos aboard Costa Majica, the ship that took them around Europe. “Kung wala yung Filipino crew doon, siguro nahirapan kami times 10! Pero dahil nandoon sila, nakatulong nang malaki yun." He says that the kitchen staff even cooked Filipino food for them to make them feel at home, since everything that they ate was pasta! Here are some places they visited: In Italy, they went to Genoa, Milan, Florence, Pisa (“I think we’re just one of the few international crews that shot a film in Pisa, kasi out of the way yun, e. Kung baga kung sa Maynila ka, pupunta ka ng Bicol—ganoon kalayo. At wala siyang airport doon—by train lang siya or by car."), Rome (“We visited the Spanish Steps."), Fontaine de Trevi (“Yung famous fountain doon, kaunting international films lang ang nakapag-shoot, one of which is GMA Films"). Other stopovers were at Palma de Mallorca in Venice; Barcelona, Spain; Napoli, Italy; Marseilles, France; and Tunisia, Africa. “So sa bawat port, mayroon kaming highlight. Nag-travelogue kami na pelikula na ‘Amazing Race’ na all in one!" exclaims direk Mark. BTS trivia Some of the most memorable experiences of the crew happened behind the scenes, like when it got so cold that the cameramen couldn’t move their hands! “Alas kwatro ng umaga noon, siguro mga 5 degrees na lang ang lamig," narrates direk Mark. “So hindi na magalaw ng cameraman ko yung pagpihit ng camera! Sabi ko, ‘Change focus, change focus.’ Sabi niya, ‘Direk, hindi ko na magalaw yung kamay ko sa lamig!’" He continues, “Venice was very memorable to us, kasi si Jolina was wearing a wedding gown [for the scenes]. [E] ang mga Italyano, very romantic people. So noong nakita nila na naka-wedding gown si Jolina, pinapalakpakan siya—‘Belissima, belissima! Brava! Brava!’ Si Jolina, sabi niya, ‘Direk, akala yata nila…’ Sabi ko, ‘Wag kang maingay, bayaan mo na, we’re getting the shot because tuwang-tuwa sila sa atin! Baka mamaya, hindi tayo pansinin niyan!’" “Ang Italyano, dalawa yan na extremes. Either super helpful or super mataray. Buti na lang mayroon kaming mga nakatrabaho na super helpful at na-meet na super bait," he says. And of course, who could forget Rufa Mae’s scene in Tunisia where, in direk Mark’s words, “pinagkaguluhan siya?" “Kakaibang experience rin yun! It’s Europe, but it’s Africa, [although] not the Africa that we know. It’s part of the Arab territory. So puro Arabian yung nandoon, [at] pinagkaguluhan si Rufa Mae [kasi] alam mo naman ang Arab culture, lahat ng mga babae naka takip talaga! E si Rufa Mae, naka-hot pants [at] plunging neckline! Pinagkaguluhan siya, [and] ang tawag sa kanya doon ‘Paris Hilton!’ Nag-away mga tao doon, [pero] buti na lang nagawa namin yung eksena, tapos umalis kami kaagad! Yun ang memorable sa Tunisia naman." The only locations where they had their “downtime" were in Barcelona and Marseilles, “We were still shooting, pero ‘good time’ na, kasi ang [usual] work hours namin, pagkagising, trabaho kaagad, tapos tigil for dinner, then trabaho ulit pag nasa crew ship kami." Direk Mark shares with pride that I.T.A.L.Y. isn’t only filled with scenes that have never been seen before, it also boasts of a stellar cast made up of Jolina Magdangal, Rufa Mae Quinto, Rhian Ramos, Mark Herras, Eugene Domingo, and Dennis Trillo. And he stresses that merely watching the flick is as good as a vicarious trip to Europe. “I’m sure na pag napanood niyo ito e para na rin kayong bumiyahe papuntang Europa. Malalaman niyo rin po ang buhay ng ating mga OFW—kung gaano kahirap, kung gaano kasaya, kung papaano magtrabaho sa crew ship, at kung papaano bumiyahe. He finishes off, “I’m sure you’re going to enjoy this trip. Love is a journey, and I.T.A.L.Y. is a very interesting journey to take." - iGMA.tv