ERIC QUIZON COMES OUT STRAIGHT
Special to PHNO By Alex Jimenez (NEWSFLASH
Entertainment Columnist)
Manila,
July 18, 1998 - Manila’s filmmakers stumbled on a lucrative box
office formula when they discovered that the gay way pays at the box office.
First came SIBAK, followed by PRIEST, then ANG LALAKI SA BUHAY NI SELYA.
Now comes PUSONG MAMON which is set to be shown mid-July.
Eric Quizon’s Kaizz Ventures produced PUSONG MAMON for VIVA. Unfortunately, its director Joel Lamangan suffered a heart attact in the middle of the shoot, leaving Eric with the task of completing it.
"Joel was there, protecting me from everything else. Then it happened. I was saddled with the film. The first two days really shook me up. I really had to think, well, this is Joel’s vision, Joel’s story and I determined never to waiver from his original intent."
The prospect of hiring another director wasn’t feasible as far as Eric was concerned. "That would have meant additions to the budget. I was really reluctant because everybody was saying ‘You. You’re competent enough to take over.’ It isn’t that simple at all so I am just thankful that the film had a seamless texture to it. But it was a whole new ball game to me. I had to figure out things not just from a performer’s perspective, but more importantly from a director’s point of view as well and it divides your focus. I’m okay when it comes to focusing on details, I have no problem maintaining continuity with my scenes as an actor. I’m not a very organized person and that added to the difficulty of my situation."
"It’s really a fun movie that we’ve come up with. I was really enjoying my role with Albert and Lorna. (He and Albert play a gay couple turned topsy turvy when Albert gets Lorna pregnant.) After all, I could pay full attention to the details of my role."
Eric mating with Albert on screen was unthinkable even only a year ago. Surely, there is much hilarity involved in some obviously contrived situations that obviously cannot happen in real life. There are moments when the film feels more like a fantasy-propaganda soapbox extolling the gay lifestyle and appealing for acceptance of such a lifestyle as normal.
"But times have changed; attitudes have opened up. SELYA was heavy stuff. We decided to go the other way. It’s funny and light. Actually, at the start, I thought I would be more comfortable teaming up with Tonton Gutierrez. We began together as ramp models. I wouldn’t be distracted at all having to perform those intimate scenes with him. However, my chemistry with Albert really worked out and it shows in the film. Besides, unlike in other movies of this sort where one of the partners is straight, both he and I essayed gay roles. So that really makes a difference."
Simulating sex for the big screen can stretch one’s patience and composure to the limits. Imagine doing all these intimate things with a stranger, in front of strangers, amid the searing klieg lights and a rolling camera.
"Sure, I close my eyes and imagine that I’m making it with someone I desire. Still, reality creeps up on you. One must really fall in love with his on screen partner for that particular moment when the scene is being shot. Yet must deal with the discomfiture of beard stubble of another man rubbing against your face, or his saliva wetting your lips."
Eric’s acting skills are often underrated. What makes PUSONG MAMON interesting is that because he does not "act" the role. There's an interplay of subtlety and restraint while veering away from burlesque stereotyping of gay characters.
It’s not the sexual fireworks that makes PUSONG MAMON sizzle. Undeniably, an air of intimacy and sensuality that accompanies true romance -– between man and woman and, also, between man and man -- pervades many moments in the film. Eric shines brightly in the scenes where he plays the role of the emotionally injured and short-changed partner acutely feeling the threat of having to compete for the affection and attention of a lover who he now must share with others. The fantasy of romance elevated to a fine art makes movies memorable. Evidence of Eric’s incisive skill lies in the way he injects these elements into every role he plays.
"I really don’t know. As far as my sexual experiences are concerned, there are occasions when you just go about it and then you want to get the whole thing over and done with. People swallowed the myth that I’m such an antiseptic person. Surely, with the right person whom I know and trust, sex takes on the dimension of full-blown relationship. Intimacy and sensuality become natural in that context. Still, there are two sides to my character. Push the wrong button and I just go cold. No remorse, no looking back. Everything just comes to a halt. Although we may still remain friends, an invisible wall has gone up between us and there’s no breaching that wall. See, much of what you see in the roles I play and in the films I make come straight from my own life. LANGIT SA PILING MO and PAGDATING NG PANAHON are stories that parallel certain events in my own life. Who you are and what you are will definitely influence your approach to a role or narrating a story in visual terms."