With a new trailer and more than 70 additional cinemas starting New Year’s Day and January 2, the black comedy “Deadma Walking” is likely to extend its theatrical run beyond the end of the Metro Manila Film Festival on January 3.
The film, which won two MMFF awards (Best Supporting Actor and Best Float) and was nominated for several more, has been warmly received by critics and audiences alike. It is one of only two MMFF entries to have been graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board. (The other one is Best Picture winner “Ang Larawan”.)
In a recent thanksgiving press conference two days after the MMFF’s “Gabi ng Parangal” awards night, lead actors Joross Gamboa and Edgar Allan Guzman expressed their gratitude for all the accolades “Deadma Walking” had been getting but at the same time also revealed that we won’t be seeing them playing gay roles again, at least for a while.
Joross — who was nominated for the MMFF Best Actor award that was won by Derek Ramsay for “All of You” — said he already has two movies in the can slated for an early 2018 release. There’s Star Cinema’s romantic comedy “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes” where he plays the love interest of Judy Ann Santos and which also stars Angelica Panganiban and JC de Vera. The film has a January 17 playdate.
And then there’s “BuyBust,” Erik Matti’s much anticipated crime thriller topbilled by Anne Curtis and mixed martial artist Brandon Vera. Joross said audiences will be surprised with his over-the-top performance of one of the film’s antagonists. Joross said the film is also scheduled to be released early this year.
“You’ll see the exact opposite of how I approached my role as John in ‘Deadma Walking,’ a different kind of Joross in my next two films,” the actor told InterAksyon and other media in mostly Filipino during the press conference.
For Edgar (or E.A.), who admitted to having prayed at the St. Claire Monastery in Cubao for an acting win, the actor said he was not at all disappointed at seeing his name among the nominees for Best Supporting Actor even though there was a strong clamor for him to be considered for Best Actor.
“I’m just happy to be nominated and of course, eventually win the award. I’m also relieved that I was also not pitted against my good friend Joross,” he said.
E.A. hopes that his MMFF win will lead to more projects in addition to the hit teleserye “My Korean Jagiya,” which has been airing on GMA Network since last August. The actor, however, said he is unlikely to accept offers to play gay roles again in the meantime as he doesn’t want to be typecast.
“I have played gay characters several times already. And also, I felt that I have given everything that I could in my portrayal of Mark in ‘Deadma Walking’ so maybe not anymore for now,” he explained.
Both Joross and E.A., however, are happy that “Deadma Walking” has been well-received by the general public. With its PG rating by the Movie and Television Review Classification Board, the movie has become one of the most universally appealing entries in the MMFF.
Produced by T-Rex Entertainment and distributed by OctoArts Films, “Deadma Walking” is based on the Palanca-winning screenplay by Eric Cabahug. Directed by Julius Alfonso, the film is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
Watch the film’s new trailer here: