Hindi pa rin makapaniwala si Mikhail Red, co-producer at direktor ng Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2022 entry na Deleter, na bukod sa humakot ito ng awards sa awards night ay balitang nangunguna na ito sa takilya.
Noong January 1, 2023, inulat ng PEP Troika ang unofficial box-office sales mula sa isang source na nagsasabing naungusan na ng Deleter ni Nadine Lustre ang Partners In Crime nina Vice Ganda at Ivana Alawi.
Nakapanayam ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) si Mikhail sa backstage ng MMFF 2022 Awards Night sa New Frontier Theater noong December 27, 2022.
Ayon sa Deleter director, hindi niya inaasahan ang tagumpay ng pelikula.
Pahayag niya: "Sobrang hindi pa namin naiintindihan, nasa-shock pa kami, pina-process pa rin. Very happy kami na yung cinema nga, parang buhay na buhay suddenly.
"I think after pandemic nag-change yung viewing habits ng mga tao dahil sa Netflix. Then from Gen Z, ang laking audience na ng Gen Z ngayon, so sobrang unexpected and at the same time sobra kaming proud.
"To be honest, never kong in-expect kasi R-13 [at] horror ito... The fact na we got the slot pa lang, surprised na ako.
"Then, nung tumataas nang tumataas [ang box-office sales], parang word of mouth I think. In fact, every day, umaangat yung box office and number of cinemas."
Nasorpresa rin ang director-producer na pito ang inuwing awards ng Deleter sa MMFF 2022 Awards Night.
Kabilang dito ang Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, at Best Visual Effects.
Sabi ni Mikhail: "Still procesing, still surprised and shocked kasi nga, when we made this film, we didn't even know na mag-MMFF, parang trinay lang na i-submit ng Viva tapos nakapasok. Very shocking yun.
"Regarding Nadine, siyempre at first nai-intimidate ako na Nadine mag-i-star sa Deleter. Then I got to work with her, nakita ko nga na we share the same vision naman, e.
"Yung technique niya, talagang gusto niya rin yung craft, so nagkasundo kami agad. This is the role that she is also excited about kasi kakaiba for her, psychological thriller.
"Nag-click talaga and parang nag-align yung stars for this project. Very lucky kami sa timing, even yung producers nga sa Viva na they gave us this opportunity."
Marami ang nagtatanong kung bakit ang napiling tema ng istorya ni Direk Mikhail ay tungkol sa mundo ng pagmo-moderate ng online content.
Paliwanag niya, "Parang matagal ko nang nakikita yun sa articles and napa-fascinate ako, naiintriga...
"And the fact na nag-explore ang social media, who censors everything, who filters everything, someone has to do it now.
"Yun, through research, through watching documentaries, parang dun namin na-stumble up itong very secretive, shadowy occupation na ito.
"Bihira sila mabigyan ng spotlight except sa documentaries na siyempre very niche ang audience. I feel like na with a fiction film na genre horror, na wide audience yung reach, ang saya namin na naka-spark siya ng debate, ng interest.
"And people are now discussing the subject and at the same time nae-explore natin. We got to smuggle this type of subject to a wider platform."
POSSIBLE PART 2 FOR DELETER?
Dahil sa tagumpay na tinamo ng Deleter, marami ang nagtatanong kung may Part 2 ang pelikula lalo't open-ended ang ending nito.
Pahayag ni Direk, Mikhail tungkol dito, "Sinadya namin na parang open-ended or ambigious. In fact, yung ending, parang reflection of the character, without spoiling anything, parang it imposes the question sa audience.
"Sinadya namin siya and we'll see, we will talk to Viva. I think they are very excited right now.
"Yun ang gusto ko sa kanila, they are creatively open and free. I can't wait what to do with them next kasi may mga films kaming naka-sign with them."
Tinanong din si Direk Mikhail kung may posibilidad kaya na isali sa mga international film festival ang Deleter.
Tugon niya, "Right now kasi, we're also looking at other avenues, platforms, maybe eventually streaming, pero as long as may windows, then I will definitely submit it to festivals."
NEXT PROJECT FOR MIKHAIL RED
Pagkatapos makapagdirek ng isang horror film gaya ng Deleter, ano ang susunod niyang proyekto?
Sagot ni Mikhail, "Next ko is series, it's a sports series. Favorite genre ko rin ang sports, may tournaments sa dulo.
"Di ko pa ma-reveal anong exact sports, parang Mighty Ducks, ganyan. Ibang genre naman, walang patayan, mas fun."
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