Sa presscon ni Toni Gonzaga para sa ALLTV talk show niyang Toni, maging sa forthcoming 20th anniversary concert niyang I Am Toni, inilahad niyang marami siyang natutunan sa asawang si Paul Soriano.
Read: Toni Gonzaga, ibinahagi ang aral na natutunan niya mula kay Joey de Leon
Anu-ano naman ang natutunan ni Direk Paul sa kanyang misis?
“You know, honestly, outside looking in, if I can a step back and just, you know, from a perspective of not being her husband, or her producer or her director…” umpisa ni Paul sa mediacon nitong Disyembre 5, 2022, Lunes, sa Winford Hotel, Manila.
“And just outside looking in, I really believe Toni is probably the most powerful celebrity today.
“Only because the criticisms and the hate that she’s getting are from equally powerful people too.
“You don’t rattle relevant people if you’re not doing something better than them, di ba?
“And you know, of course, you know, I’m her husband, and I’m very extremely proud of her. She’s also one of the strongest people I know, right.
“Ahh, and I’ve seen her in her darkest moments. I’ve seen her being very vulnerable but she chooses to get up every day and face that camera.
“She could have easily just moved out, taken all the criticisms and just, you know, go somewhere else.
“But what did she choose? She chose to create her own show. She chose to make a concert. She chose to make a film. She’s facing it head on.
“If that’s not powerful, I don’t know what is, right? Ahhm, you know I always tell her, ‘You are at the right place at this right time.’
“Because if you also study the path of her career, she’s also been one of the most heavily criticized.
“If you go back to her transfer, her network transfer and all that stuff… she’s been on very high profile shows.
“So I really believe she’s one of the strongest and most powerful women in the Philippines today. And she’s not stopping. So that’s quite remarkable."
Read: AMBS President Maribeth Tolentino, tikom ang bibig sa balitang mahigit P500M ang TF ni Toni Gonzaga
Pagpapatuloy ni Paul, “Whether you love her or hate her, you have to give credit where credit is due. For me.
“You don’t agree with her politics, you don’t agree with what she’s doing, but you have to give credit where credit is due.
“She’s not stopping and I don’t think she ever will. Even if I try to tell her to slow down, wala. Diretso-diretso. She has her mind on the prize and she’ll claim it.
“So, if she’s all praises for me, I’m extremely proud of her and I, you know, learned so much from her and you know just being happy being her husband.
"I’m proud to be her husband as well. Parang I feel so blessed."
MY TEACHER
Si Paul Soriano ang direktor ng 48th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) official entry na My Teacher, kung saan bida si Joey de Leon at ang wife niyang si Toni.
Nasa cast din ng My Teacher sina Ronnie Alonte, Loisa Andalio, Carmi Martin, Rufa Mae Quinto, Kakai Bautista, Jackie Lou Blanco, Pauline Mendoza, at Kych Minemoto.
Read: Coco-Jodi, Vice-Ivana, Ian-Heaven, Joey-Toni movies pasok sa MMFF 2022
“Hopefully, this will also start and signify the comeback of cinemas and of course the industry that we all love so much, the film industry,” lahad ni Direk Paul.
“So hopefully you all can support My Teacher and, of course, the other seven entries also.
“And may this be the beginning of a merry Christmas and hopefully the rollback to all of us going back to the cinemas. I know we all miss it so much.
“So, parang ano — revenge cinema, di ba? May mga revenge travel, revenge shopping, so let’s promote revenge cinema where this Christmas we can see long lines, happy families, everyone coming together as we celebrate the industry that we love so much, ang pelikulang Pilipino.”
A MOVIE FOR TEACHERS
Konsepto ni Toni ang istorya ng My Teacher. Adhikain niya para sa mga guro ang pelikula.
Kuwento ni Direk Paul, “The teachers are very underrated. Sila talaga ang, you know, if ever one of our heroes growing up.
“They’re the ones who give us our education. They’re the ones who sacrifice so much to teach us.
“So she said, ‘Maybe we can shed some light and write a story about the teachers.’ And she wanted to play a teacher.
“I know, some of her inspirations were yung the movie The Intern, Blind Side, yan ang mga parang pegs niya dito.
“So we talked about it and I told her, ‘Look, Tin, if you want and you feel passion about this idea, why don’t you start writing it?’
“Actually siya ang nagbuo ng concept, e. Siya ang nagsulat ng story. As you all know, Toni loves to write.
“So she wrote this and then, yeah, eventually we got a team and we started writing the script.
“And of course the next question was, after we finalized the concept, we wanted to do something a little bit also unique.
“So we also started studying and marami diyan kung igu-Google nyo. Maraming mga senior, nagbabalik sa high school.
“I believe din sa show niya, Toni Talks, and Toni… nag-feature siya ng mga hindi pa natapos ang high school. Kasi, it’s never too late naman, e. It’s never too late, di ba?
“Ahh, so she wanted to say, parang, whenever you start, also make sure you finish. So, parang we were reading all these inspirational stories about these senior citizens going back to high school.
“And that’s where I kinda came in. I said, ‘That’s actually very nice, ano? Because when you have… in this case, the character of Joey de Leon going back to high school, you have now parang the old school meets the new school.
“So, yan ang mga unique kuwento dito sa My Teacher. An example would be yung mga old school, di ba, mahilig silang magsulat, di ba? Mahilig silang magbasa. Or they like to sing, di ba?
“Yung mga new school ngayon, puro text, message, email, TikTok, di ba? So, may konting ganyan.
“When you see the movie, you will also sana introduce to a new generation the old school way of doing things. So, yan, we started writing it and writing it.”
TONI ON WORKING WITH JOEY
Pangarap ni Toni na makatrabaho ang itinuturing niyang mentor at idolo sa showbiz, ang icon na si Joey de Leon.
Pag-amin ni Direk Paul, “And of course that’s our next challenge because we had to approach him, di ba? And of course ahhh… it’s been a while since we’ve talked to him.
“But you know, what I can say about Joey de Leon is, once we’ve pitched to him the project, ang sabi niya, ‘Anything for you, Toni. Ang lakas ka sa akin,’ sabi niya.
“Exact words ni Joey de Leon. And of course to hear that from a very respectable icon in our industry, we were very honored.
“So, after a couple of months, we found the right timing, and Joey said yes. So of course excited si Toni, no.
“And of course ngayon ang direktor, di ba? Sino ang magdidirek ng movie? Initially naman, honestly, I wasn’t the original director of the film.
“Because I was actually directing a movie which I shot last August called The Fisher. So, parang I thought na kung magba-back-to-back ako, baka hindi ko kaya, ano.
“Ahh but when the initial directors that we were talking to, parang it didn’t work out because of schedule and stuff, and then I looked at myself, who wouldn’t want to work with Joey de Leon, di ba?
“Parang… icon yan. Parang… in my filmography as a young filmmaker, I can say that I worked with the Joey de Leon whom also we all know doesn’t do too many movies now, di ba?
“I think his last movie was sabi niya, decade ago, e, di ba? And of course I get to work with my wife. It’s been a while since I worked with my wife. My first, first film was with my wife in 2009, yung A Journey Home.
“So I said this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. And I haven’t also directed in a while, di ba? Kasi pandemic, di ba?
“So I said, sige, you know let me take the challenge to direct My Teacher. And that’s kinda started it. Everything came together. When we talked to Ronnie, to Loisa who agreed to come on board, parang ratsada lahat, smooth lahat ang process.
“And then we got into MMFF. So, parang you felt na this project is a big blessing because we always feel na kung aligned lahat, parang walang problema. “Schedule, actors. We shot the film. Even during the pandemic, walang major COVID cases.
“Our greatest concern I know with him was of course si Joey is 75 years old. We were also of course very cautious about yung health niya.
“We promised the De Leon family that we would take care of Tito Joey. And yan blessing talaga, we finished everything, parang smooth lahat.”