Erich Gonzales is wearing two hats for the soon-to-be-released hardcore action movie We Will Not Die Tonight. She is both lead actress and coproducer of the movie that’s part of the official selection of the 2018 Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino, an annual festival showcasing contemporary local films that have never been released in the Philippines.
In between her thrice-a-week grind on the set of her daily television series The Blood Sisters, where she plays all of the three complicated central characters, Gonzales found time to finish this movie that started as a germ of an idea with her filmmaker-friend Richard Somes.
Somes and Gonzales previously teamed up in a horror genre movie, Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang, where their friendship blossomed. “Richard had this vision for me to play an out-of-the-box, femme-fatale type of character, and when the opportunity presented itself, there was no turning back because we got so very excited,” Gonzales volunteered.
Schedules were on top of the list of things that had to be sorted out. Being the lead actress of an ongoing TV series is already difficult enough, but Gonzales knew in her heart that she wanted to see this film take flight so she made a lot of adjustments and sacrifices. And then there’s the monetary investment that she had to take care of before the green light could be given.
“Everything just fell into place, and I’m just thankful that the film is finally in the can and ready to be shared with the local audience. I have to admit that there were kinks along the way, but we had a solid team that shared a common dream, that’s why work often did not seem like work.”
If the actual shoot was tough, the preparations Gonzales went through were equally as challenging. “I trained very, very hard. I took up muay thai lessons, I had gun-shooting exercises with experts, I did a lot of mixed martial arts routines, I had to learn how to use native weapons like balisong, I went through the entire course of self-defense techniques in fighting,” she narrated.
She also needed to keep fit. “You can see my frame, and it’s almost fragile, so I had to train and workout to keep fit not only to achieve a toned female fighter’s body but also to increase my stamina, resistance and overall well-being. The movie has a lot of chasing, running and high-octane fight sequences, so I had to be physically fit and mentally alert to be able to make the scenes as believable as they needed to be. And my director is one that doesn’t want any compromise so I, together with our hardworking cast, had to level up every work day.”
Gonzales sliced off a huge chunk of her hard-earned savings to bankroll the principal photography phase of the production. “In fact, most of the actors in the cast also came in as producers, that’s why Richard and I are thankful that everyone was on the same page in terms of vision for this film. We all believed in the concept and how the finished product should look on the big screen, that’s why it’s more of a labor of love,” she volunteered.
Playing pivotal roles in the very brutally brave film are Paolo Paraiso, Max Eigenmann, Jess Mendoza, Thou Reyes, Alex Medina, Nico Dans, Rino Marco and Mark Dionisio. The movie also serves as the comeback film of former award-winning child actress Sarah Abad, who is now a young mother married to Kamikaze rock band lead vocalist Jay Contreras; and is the debut project of Marella Torre, daughter of thespian Joel Torre.
We Will Not Die Tonight had its world premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival a few weeks ago and it was received very well. Critics couldn’t believe that an all-out action thriller was made on a very small budget and shot in less than 10 days. It must be the heart of Gonzales, Somes and the entire team that no doubt saw through every step of the filmmaking process.
The film is being talked about as one of the entries that will take the coming all-Filipino festival in August by storm. And a strong one it will be.