Strike while the iron is hot

AUNOR. Shot five movies at the same time—in the same mansion.

Year ago, when a new star was inordinately favored by the viewing and listening public, producers struck while the iron was hot and made the new fave very busy and visible indeed, with multiple starrers lined up for immediate shooting and showing!

For instance, Nora Aunor once confided to us that when she first became the toast of local Tinseltown, there was a time when she was shooting five movies at the same time—in the same mansion!

That’s right, to maximize use of her then very valuable time, her “batch” of  starrers were shot in different rooms of the same location!

It got so bad that, she plaintively recalled, she didn’t even know which scene was being shot for which film—and she had to rely on the different productions’ assistant directors to help her sort things out!

These days, however, things aren’t quite as hectic. If a film turns out to be a huge hit, it now takes months for its follow-up production to hit the screen.

“Blame” this on the fact that there are so many more stars now than in Nora’s time, each of whom is aggressively lining up his or her own potential hit— so, even current faves have to wait longer in line.

On one hand, this is an improvement, because fewer quickies are being produced, unlike Nora’s “factory” starrers of yore. On the other hand, the season’s “hot” stars can’t ride the crest of public excitement and adulation as briskly, and thus run the risk of cooling down too soon.

What should producers do? By all means, showcase the season’s faves—in better-made productions—but remember that, when it comes to “overnight” public adulation, time is of the essence—so, producers should know when to speed the follow-up process up to catch the public’s excitement—at fever pitch!

Upbeat images on TV

Generally negative realities on the small screen are happily balanced by some upbeat developments that should be highlighted and celebrated.

First off, we join  viewers in congratulating the documentary program, “I-Witness,” for marking its 15th year on the tube, with more than 800 documentaries up its ample and prolific sleeve.

If the people involved in the show want to do even better, they could consider these observations: Compared to docus shot and shown in other TV climes and cultures, ours tend to be too quickly produced, thus sometimes coming across as relatively thin and sketchy.

In addition, some docu topics here come off as too “shock-” and “pity”-oriented. In other words they go more for emotional effect rather than really understanding the complex factors that have led to the shocking reality or heartrending problem being depicted.

Finally, some docu host-producers have been calling too much attention to themselves, rather than focusing on the subject or person at hand.

We’re happy to note that some “I-Witness” documentaries are not to be faulted in this regard, so we trust that the less than judicious productions and producers will see the light, and follow their fine example.