ANTOINETTE JADAONE
Film writer-director Antoinette Jadaone is all about making audiences happy. This she has proven with the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Story movie “English Only, Please.”
She further bolstered her reputation via “That Thing Called Tadhana,” which earned over R120 million at the box-office despite problems with piracy.
Now, she’s added a feather in her cap, with “You’re My Boss,” reportedly hitting the R100 million mark in six days.
“Mainstream kind of girl ako. From the start talaga, I don’t make films for myself. Kumbaga ’yung success ng pelikula ko, natutuwa ako kapag madaming nanunuod. Nalulungkot ako kapag kaunti ang tao. So, ginagawa ko pa lang ang pelikula, ‘Dapat madaming makanuod nito. Dapat madaming maka-relate.’ Hindi ito parang experimental film, na tayo-tayo lang. From the start, ang sensibility ko talaga is mainstream,” Antoinette said in an interview during her launch as Globe’s newest ambassadors a few days ago.
Antoinette admits using social media to gauge people’s opinion of her movies. “Nagbabasa ako ng reviews. Nagchi-check ako ng hashtag. Check and balance din iyon sa gawa mo. Pangit din kasi kung galing na galing ka sa sarili mo, na parang wala ng magaling ikaw na lang. Kapag nakikita mo ’yung comments ng mga tao, parang bumaba ka din,” she explained.
She learned through social media how people appreciate it when they can relate to the characters in a story, noting, “Pagkanuod nila ng ‘Tadhana,’ sinasabi nila na very relatable. Parang sila daw si Angelica, or sana sila si Angelica or parang friend nila si Angelica noong nasaktan.”
“So, parang na-realize ko na ’yung mga tao kapag nanunuod ngayon, mas gusto nila kapag ’yung pelikula, nakaka-relate sila. Hindi ’yung parang may wall na ‘Ah si Angelica ito, umaarte lang.’ Based sa comments nila na ‘Parang ako iyon,’ kahit ’yung pelikula ay very cinematic, masarap pa din makakita na parang totoong buhay ’yung pinapanuod mo sa sine.”
More, social media helps Antoinette push her films including “English Only, Please,” which was promoted primarily via Facebook. It was also through Facebook that Antoinette and her team were able to raise funds for the use of Whitney Houston’s “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” in “That Thing Called Tadhana.”
“It helps… it’s the easiest way,” Antoinette said. “…What happened with ‘EOP,’ we had zero TV ads but nag-capitalize kami sa Facebook ads. Naging viral ’yung isang trailer. Sa Twitter naman, when you have a good film, isang tweet lang ang dami ng nari-reach. On the flipside din, kapag pangit ang pelikula mo, ang dali lang din ng reactions ng tao.”
While many express appreciation for her movies online, a blogger called her out on “That Thing Called Tadhana” supposedly causing a jam of tourists in Sagada last Holy Week.
Antoinette disagreed with the blogger’s view, deeming the increased tourism in Sagada a “positive thing.”
“’Yung Sagada, nakadating na ako doon ng five times. Kapag Holy Week, madami talagang tao doon… It came from a genuine love for Sagada. So, ’yung pag-feature ko ng Sagada, it was for other people to see na there’s a place where you can just stare at the sunrise and be above the clouds. Feeling ko it was a positive thing. Nakatulong siya sa tourism ng Sagada, iyon nga lang… hindi naman namin in-expect na magiging ganoon ang effect…It’s just unfair for the blogger to blame everything on the movie as if walang nagawang maganda ’yung ‘Tadhana’ sa mga nanuod. Feeling ko naman, kahit papano may natulong ’yung movie sa Sagada,” Antoinette said.
As to her film’s feel-good vibes, Antoinette, who trained under director Bb. Joyce Bernal, explained, “Ganoon kasi ’yung mga gusto kong pelikula. Rom-com girl kasi ako. So, ’yung mga favorites ko, ‘Don’t Give Up On Us,’ ‘One More Chance,’ ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Ito ’yung mga pelikula na kahit ilang beses mo na panuorin, gusto mo pa din kasi relatable.”