Dennis Trillo was supposed to tie with John Arcilla for the “Best Actor” award at the 78th Venice International Film Festival.
This was according to one of the jury members Chloé Zhao, also an award-winning Chinese filmmaker, in a behind-the-scenes video that producer Quark Henares shared on Twitter on September 15.
Zhao is the first Asian woman and second woman ever to win best director at the Academy Awards for her film “Nomadland.”
In the clip, Zhao told Trillo: “If we could give you a joint award, we would give to both of you. But we weren’t allowed to.”
Chloe Zhao then told Dennis that they really wanted a tie but Venice wouldn’t let him. She said she googled him because she thought he was a real prisoner only to find out he was a matinee idol of some sort. pic.twitter.com/3MCpL3an8n
— Quark Henares (@quarkhenares) September 14, 2021
Henares also shared that Zhao thought Trillo was a real prisoner given his character in the movie.
“Chloe Zhao then told Dennis that they really wanted a tie but Venice wouldn’t let him. She said she googled him because she thought he was a real prisoner only to find out he was a matinee idol of some sort,” he wrote in the tweet.
Trillo likewise shared the video of Zhao complimenting him on Instagram.
He captioned the post: “Ok lang yun rekdi, Bawi ako next time!🏆🤣” adding the hashtag #chloezhao and tagging Henares.
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Volpi Cup for Best Actor
Arcilla and Trillo were the main stars of the Erik Matti-directed movie “On the Job: The Missing 8.”
Arcilla won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the prestigious film festival.
The veteran actor thus became the first Filipino to receive the much-coveted title. Arcilla reportedly bested other big names such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Isaac and Tim Roth.
Moments with Bong Joon Ho
In a Twitter thread, Henares also showed other photos and videos where other jury members, including award-winning Korean director Bong Joon Ho, praised Trillo after the awarding ceremony.
Bong made international headlines last year after his 2019 masterpiece “Parasite” swept major awards in film production such as the prestigious Best Picture award at the Oscar’s.
Henares recalled that he was the one who approached Bong first and introduced Trillo, who was a fan.
“Bong then motioned to the jury members and they all excitedly swarmed Dennis. Cynthia Erivo told him she thought he was excellent (and holy sh** C.E. is herself one of my favorite young actresses) and Sarah Gadon delightedly said he looked so different,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trillo also previously shared a video clip where Bong, Erivo and German director Alexander Nanau congratulated him.
“Yung magpappicture ka lang sana, tapos ganito ang nangyare,” read the caption.
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In the short clip, Nanau could be heard telling Trillo, “We all loved it.”
The Kapuso actor then thanked them, saying: “Thank you so much. We really appreciated it.”
The “On-the-Job” producer also shared more video clips of their team’s dinner wherein Bong dropped by their table.
Henares also shared some snippets of their discussions about OTJ and Bong’s films.
At the end of thread, he greeted Bong on his birthday, which was on September 14. He uploaded a clip of the renowned director quoting a line from the movie.
“Here he is, quoting the film. What a lodi. Pibertday, Bong Joon-Ho!” Henares wrote.
Here he is, quoting the film. What a lodi. Pibertday, Bong Joon-Ho! pic.twitter.com/DGM5ZUi2yp
— Quark Henares (@quarkhenares) September 14, 2021
Matti’s OTJ movie is a sequel to the 2013 action-thriller “On the Job.”
It follows a corrupt journalist, played by Arcilla, who looks into the mysterious disappearances of his colleagues, and his dealings with a prisoner, played by Trillo, temporarily freed to carry out assassinations.
Filipinos can soon stream it once it airs as a miniseries on HBO Asia.
READ: French film on illegal abortion, John Arcilla win top prize at Venice festival
