Nora Aunor at the LGBT rally in Marikina—PHOTO COURTESY OF UP BABAYLAN
Superstar Nora Aunor keeps a journal, where she jots down the vivid dreams she had the night before.
She plans to direct a movie based on her dream diary.
“I will turn over the notebook to Kuya Ricky, who’s writing the script,” she told the Inquirer. She is referring to Ricky Lee, the scriptwriter behind Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala,” which features one of La Aunor’s most unforgettable performances.
In 1989, she directed “Greatest Performance,” which costarred Tirso Cruz III, Michael de Mesa and Julio Diaz.
Unfortunately, that directorial stint was never released, and the reels of the film were lost in a fire, she recalled. “Gumastos na ako noon ng P3 million pero nasayang lang (I had already spent P3 million, but it all went to waste).”
Before directing her “dream” movie, she is set to headline a film on an advocacy close to her heart, the LGBT community.
Last June, she attended an LGBT rally in Marikina, to celebrate gay pride month. The production team, which is headed by director Lito de Guzman and producer Joel Miguel, took footage of La Aunor at the rally, to include it in the coming movie.
She has never shied away from crossing gender lines onscreen, portraying a lesbian in a feature film, Danny Zialcita’s “T-Bird at Ako,” and a short film, Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Kinabukasan.”
“Hindi dapat matakot na gampanan ang mga role na tulad nito. Ito ay isang katotohanan sa ating lipunan (We shouldn’t be afraid to play roles like this. This is a reality in our society),” she said.
Fanny Serrrano wrote on Facebook that he had received an offer to play the Superstar’s brother in the yet-untitled LGBT film.
“Fanny and I got to work in my old drama anthology, ‘Ang Makulay na Daigdig ni Nora’ in the ’70s. Magaling si Fanny,” Aunor recounted.
Serrano admitted that the new assignment had caught him by surprise. “I’m excited. My heart was pounding when Guy (Aunor’s nickname) and I talked. She kept thanking me. I told her that I should be the one thanking her.”
Nora Aunor at the Urian—PHOTO BY ERICKSON DELA CRUZ
Also in the cast are Rosanna Roces and John Rendez, who will play the parents of a gay man.
It is Roces’ fourth time to work with the Superstar. They had previously shared the screen in Alix’s “Padre de Familia” and “Kinabukasan” and Joel Lamangan’s “Hustisya.”
“I always get nervous … siyempre Nora Aunor yata ’yan,” Roces exclaimed.
Aunor was a ninang in the same-sex union of Roces and partner Blessy Arias last December.
If plans push through, Paolo Ballesteros, who romped away with a slew of awards for his gender-bending star turn in “Die Beautiful,” will be part of the film, as well.
“Oh my God! I’m going through all sorts of emotions … nervous, excited … add experiencing a bum stomach, because of tension,” Ballesteros quipped.
The two movies will hopefully mark the return of the Superstar’s NV Productions, the same company behind her classic movies, “Banaue,” “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos” and “Bona.”
Meanwhile, Aunor got baptized as part of Members of the Church of God International, which is behind the TV program, “Ang Dating Daan,” last Friday. This is the same group that has been helping with her treatments, to recover her singing voice, which she had lost after a botched cosmetic procedure in Japan seven years ago.
If all goes well, she plans to travel to Boston, Massachusetts, before the end of the year, for the corrective surgery.
“But I want to be in the country, to attend all the events organized by the fans for my 50th anniversary, in October. It will be a busy month,” she noted.