Dolly de Leon to start working with Nicole Kidman in January

De Leon signed up with CreaZion Studios as one of its clients —MARINEL CRUZ

Actress Dolly de Leon has announced that since Hollywood labor disputes were settled earlier this month, she will be flying to Munich, Germany, to finally begin working on Season 2 of the mystery-drama series “9 Perfect Strangers” with actress-producer Nicole Kidman, no less.

“We will start shooting on Jan. 15, so I will fly there on the first week of January,” de Leon told Inquirer Entertainment during the opening ceremony of the 2023 QCinema International Film Festival over the weekend. Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” where de Leon plays one of the main characters, was the festival’s opening film last year.

“I’m not really ready for it yet. Because of the strike, I didn’t read the script that was sent to me. I waited until everything was over. Now, I’m just waiting for them to send the rest of it. I only have the first six episodes. I’m waiting for the seventh, eighth and ninth,” she added.

De Leon is expected to stay in Germany for six months. “I’m hoping that my stay there will be shorter. There’s a possibility that the shooting will only last for four months,” she said. “Expectations? I’m going to have so much fun doing it, and I’m already sure of that. I also know that it’s going to be challenging because the cast is so small. It’s going to be super cold there, too—it will still be winter when I arrive. That’s also part of the challenge, and the fun.”

The award-winning actress continued: “I already saw the first season (currently streaming on Prime Video). In the second season, Nicole’s character is going to be way crazier! The story is about a psychiatrist who treats her patients with therapy, as usual, and with some hallucinogens. She has nine patients, and in Season 2, I’m one of them.”

Booked and busy

De Leon shot two Hollywood films earlier this year: Nathan Silver’s comedy “Between the Temples,” starring Jason Schwartzman and Carole Kane; and Paul Feig’s action-comedy “Grand Death Lotto,” starring John Cena, Awkwafina and Simu Liu.

“It’s going to come out on Prime Video sometime next year. It’s both action-packed and funny,” she said of “Grand Death Lotto.” “It’s set in the very far future of Hollywood. It’s about a bunch of people who are into buying lotto tickets. The story gets interesting when one wins a jackpot prize because anyone can kill that person and take the prize.”

“When you say ‘Oscar campaign,’ you don’t just go around and say, ‘Vote for us!’ You say, ‘Please watch our film,’ so you reserve theaters, you give people tickets so they can watch the film for free. You send out screeners. You host dinners, soirees. You host a lot of events and this costs a lot of money.”

The film is special to her because it was the first-ever Hollywood film that she has done, she said. “I was very nervous at the start. I really felt intimidated. But I quickly realized that they were all so warm, nice and friendly, so I felt at home right away—on my first day on the set,” said de Leon, this time, during a press conference organized for her by CreaZion Studios, which also announced that it will now manage all her career-related affairs here in the Philippines.

De Leon also shot Alex Thompson’s “Ghost Light” early this month in Chicago. The story, by writer Kelly O’ Sullivan, is about a family’s way of healing through theater after experiencing death among its members, she explained.

Besides acting

At the media gathering, de Leon was asked to talk about the fact that she isn’t merely a working actress in Hollywood, but also a voting member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Science (Ampas). She then explained the importance of her being the first and only Filipino actor included in the Actors’ Branch.

“First of all, everything happens via email. I would get email invitations asking me if I’d like to go to screenings or get screeners. But because I’m based here, I recently filled out a form requesting for screeners. I’m about to watch films for free! I’m excited about that,” she began. “I was also asked if I could vote for the International Branch. While I’m already under the Actors’ Branch—meaning I can vote under the best actor/actress and best supporting actor/actress categories—I was also asked to vote under the best international feature film category. I declined because I have a film that’s under consideration for a nomination, ‘Iti Mapukpukaw,’ and I feel that it’s a conflict of interest because I will definitely vote for that. At least, I get to vote in those four categories and, to me, that’s very important because we now have a voice and finally it can be heard.”

When asked for updates on the Oscar campaign for a nomination for Carl Joseph Papa’s animated drama “Iti Mapukpukaw,” de Leon said it kind of breaks her heart that the campaign is having a hard time taking off. The film needs at least P6 million for promotions and, so far, they have only raised half of it, she said.

“The challenge is the funding. You need a lot of money for people to watch,” she began. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but when you say ‘Oscar campaign,’ you don’t just go around and say, ‘Vote for us!’ You say, ‘Please watch our film,’ so you reserve theaters, you give people tickets so they can watch the film for free. You send out screeners. You host dinners, soirees. You host a lot of events and this costs a lot of money.”

De Leon pointed out that, while the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has already given financial aid, the film needs more from other arts-related branches of the government. “The fee for the public relations person alone costs $20,000. PR people schedule interviews, meetings and book restaurants. They get paid a lot because they do all the leg work. So far, we’ve been doing a lot of activities to raise funds, but things have to happen soon because voting should be done by mid-December.”