Sen. Marcos recalls Nora Aunor’s professionalism, work ethic in ‘Himala’

Sen. Imee Marcos (left) and Nora Aunor. Images: Facebook/Senator Imee R. Marcos, Courtesy of Experimental Cinema of the Philippines

While it’s been 42 years since the release of “Himala” in theaters, the professionalism of Nora Aunor was not forgotten by Sen. Imee Marcos, saying the screen veteran was a “trooper” on set.

The Ishmael Bernal-helmed “Himala” was produced by the now-defunct Experimental Cinema of the Philippines where Marcos served as the director general. Starring Aunor as the titular Elsa, the senator reiterated that the screen veteran was the only one who could do the character justice.

But at the time, Aunor was tied to a different studio that didn’t allow her to do another film, among other challenges.

“Ang tanging makakaganap lang ng Elsa ay si Nora Aunor. Ang problema lang magulo ang buhay niya. Pati ang kontrata niya, magulo,” Marcos recalled during a pandesal forum in Quezon City.

“Kasi nakatali siya sa isang studio, ‘yun pala, ibang himpilan [ang pelikula] at ayaw siyang bigyan ng laya para gumawa ng ibang sine,” she continued.

(The only one who could portray Elsa was Nora Aunor. The problem was that her life was messy. Even her contract was messy since she was tied to a studio. The film was produced by a different firm, so she wasn’t allowed to work with the film as it’s not tied with her studio.)

READ: Finally, a national artist: Nora Aunor on receiving highly coveted title after several snubs

Marcos also recalled that Aunor initially didn’t show up on schedule due to personal concerns. This ultimately led to them and the production company agreeing to do a lock-in taping instead.

“May isang time dahil nga magulo, hindi nasipot si Ate Guy sa schedule. Natakot ako. Baka hindi tayo masipot and project ito ng gobyerno. Sabi ni Armida Siguion-Reyna, ikulong natin [lock-in taping]. I-shoot sa malayong lugar, sa Ilocos,” she said, although she didn’t disclose how the late actress was involved in its production.

“Nagpirmahan kami ng page-by-page [agreement] ng mga schedule, lugar na sa Paoay, Ilocos Norte, at ayun na nga,” she further added.

(There was a time that Ate Guy didn’t show up on schedule due to personal reasons. I got scared. I thought she might not show up, especially since it was produced by the government. Armida Siguion-Reyna suggested that we should do a lock-in taping instead, and for it to be shot in Ilocos. We eventually signed a page-by-page agreement of the schedules, setting in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, and the rest was history.)

Touching on Aunor’s work ethic, Marcos shared that the screen veteran always arrived on time and was fully prepared to go on camera. Another behind-the-scenes moment showing the actress’ professionalism was managing to show up on set even though she came from a road accident the previous day.

“Lagi siyang on-time, nakapag-almusal siya nang alas-ocho at ready na to roll,” she said. “Tapos may time na nauwi siya sa Maynila at naaksidente sa kalayuan ng lugar, naaksidente si Ate Guy d’un. Trooper na trooper siya. Sabi niya, ‘Shooting? Kaya pa yan.’ Pinagpilitan niya kahit may sugat siya sa braso.”

(She’s always on time. She takes her breakfast at eight in the morning to ensure that she’s ready to roll. There was a time that she went home to Manila and she got into a road accident, perhaps due to how far Ilocos was. But she was a trooper. She said, “Shooting? I can still do it.” She pushed forward even if she had wounds on her arms.)

The senator also spoke about the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2024 entry “Isang Himala” which is based on “Himala: Isang Musikal,” with the majority of its storyline covering the 1982 film.

“Nakakataba ng puso na walang kamatayang kwento ang ‘Himala.’ Naging [musical] na ito sa teatro at ngayon, magiging musical film na siya sa sine (It warms my heart that the story of ‘Himala’ remains significant. It became a musical in theater, and it’s now a musical film in theaters). I’m looking forward to seeing it and I hope it does well,” she said.

To note, “Himala” was also an entry at the 1982 edition of the MMFF. It bagged a total of nine awards including Best Film, Best Actress, and Best Director.

The movie also stars Spanky Manikan, Gigi Dueñas, Laura Centeno, Vangie Labalan, Veronica Palileo, Ama Quiambao, Ben Almeda, Cris Daluz, Aura Mijares, and Joel Lamangan.