Revilla blames wrong promo for poor box-office sales of Resiklo

Bong Revilla is proud of the achievement Resiklo reaped at the 2007 Metro Manila Film Festival awards night last Saturday, January 5. Resiklo won as the Best Festival Picture and garnered technical awards in other aspects of filmmaking. He expressed his amazement for the recognition: "Nagulat kami. Pero at least, nakakatuwa yung effort namin, na-recognize. Nakita naman natin sa mga technical awards, sa lahat ng nakuha natin – pito ba o siyam – magmula sa Best Float up to Best Picture." But the senator admits that things could have been better if they did well in the box-office as well. "Na-maintain yung pagiging number four niya. Pero at least, na-recognize yung hirap ng bawat isa. And I hope sana in the future, yung ganitong klase ng pelikula na maipagmamalaki natin, dapat panoorin at nang ma-introduce natin yung ganitong pelikula," he said. "I-move din yung awards night, dapat ibalik natin ng December 27. Hindi itong January 5. E, last day of the Metro Manila Film Festival. Sayang, di ba? Yun yung ano natin, sana ma-move nila sa dati," he lamented since in previous years, the winner of the Best Picture trophy would be able to get more earnings after it was awarded the honor. There was still a tinge of disappointment when he was asked again about his box-office expectations. He said: "Alam mo, parte ng buhay natin 'yan. Minsan, nandoon ka sa itaas. Nasusugatan ka. But you should learn to stand up and fight again. I mean, the reason why we're here, e, is to help the industry. Para mabuhay natin yung industriya ng pelikulang Pilipino. At, ipagpapatuloy natin yung pagtulong sa industriya na ito. Kasi dito kami galing. "Basta ang Imus Productions will continue to do movies like this one. But definitely, next time yung marketing namin is to target the young ones, yung mga bata. Yun yung dapat anuhin namin, kasi yung naging mali... Ang problema ng Resiklo, hindi naintindihan yung title. Hindi namin nakuha yung mga bata," he pointed out. Revilla was a bit hesitant, though, to say that there would be a sequel to Resiklo. "Of course, meron kaming pinaplano," he said. "Not Resiklo. Depende. We will see. Malay natin, baka hindi man siya naging successful dito sa Philippines, baka in other countries. Isasali natin ito sa film festivals. Tingan natin." The senator is hopeful that Resiklo would be able to gain more audience even after the MMFF run. "Yeah, sa tingin ko up to now, marami pa rin kami sa mga sinehan," he said. "Mapapanood pa rin yung Resiklo, especially now na humakot tayo ng awards. I believe that people should see the movie." - Philippine Entertainment Portal