Sam Milby prepared himself mentally and physically for his
role as a mysterious call center agent in his first indie film titled Cul de
Sac. Not only that, his character will have a scar on his left cheek, just
like the 23-year-old director of the film, Juan Miguel Sevilla.
In preparation of his action sequences in the film, Sam watched films such as Fight
Club (1999), which stars Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Direk Juan Miguel
also revealed that he likes suspense thrillers so his directing style is
somewhat influenced by British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock.
Cul de Sac (Dead-End) also stars Jodi Santamaria-Lacson and Chin Chin Gutierrez. Jodi plays Sam's officemate in the call center but the director points out that Sam does not have a love team partner in this film, which is a first for the matinee idol. Chin Chin is cast as a lounge singer whom Sam believes will be able to answer all his questions.
"The title is derived from a French word which means bottom of the bag," explains Direk Juan Miguel. "But in the context of the story, it could also mean dead end. I thought of this story when I was still in college. I was looking for a place to park but I found myself in a dead end. In real life, it's not a dead end because you can actually make a U-turn.
"This is a story of a guy [Sam] who seems stuck on a
dead end. He thought he didn't have a choice but actually he has. All he needs
to do is make a U-turn."
After graduating from college, Direk Juan Miguel started
doing several music videos for bands such as Kjwan, MYMP, and Chicosci.
When he learned about the Cinemabuhay contest looking for possible projects, he
submitted the sequence of Cul de Sac that he wrote three years ago when
he was still studying Mass Communication at the Ateneo de Manila University. "I
wrote it when I was stressed at wala akong tulog," he recalls.
Cul de Sac was chosen among 39 entries submitted for funding to Cinemabuhay. This is the second project funded by Cinemabuhay of the PLDT-Smart Foundation headed by Mr. Butch Meily, president of PSF, and Albert Martinez, PSF executive director (Film Fund). In 2006, the group funded the Maricel Soriano-starrer Numbalikdiwa, which took part in the 8th edition of the Cinemanila International Film Festival.
This suspense thriller was shot in 18 days in various Metro Manila locations.
How was the experience working with the Star Magic talent?
"He's very good. On our first shooting day he seems even more excited than me.
I talked to him. I told him it's my first film and it's my concept. He also
gave me inputs regarding the story so I became a little more relaxed. I was
kind of afraid dealing with a star of his caliber but after meeting Sam, I
realized he's a very nice person. He is one of the nicest persons I've ever
met. It's not an actor-director relationship that we were able to develop."
Is he satisfied with Sam's performance? "Yes, I'm very
satisfied. He gave me more than what I asked for. Pag sinabing kong okay na,
but if he thinks that it's not a good take, he will ask for another."
What about Chin-Chin and Jodi?
"Sina Chin-Chin binabago nila yung approach. May three
methods on how to approach the character, e. Minsan nga hindi ko napansin sa
character tapos may ia-add silang something na parang to make it better."
Cul de Sac will have its premiere on November 29 at SM Manila and
it will be shown in SM cinemas nationwide starting December 3, 2008. It
is rated PG by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.