NEWSFLASH 

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TOM CRUISE TO SHOOT NEXT MOVIE IN RP?

Manila, March 12, 2000 Tom Cruise is no stranger to the Philippines, having spent many weeks in Ilocos shooting the movie “Born on The Fourth of July” during the Cory administration.

News from Hollywood these days is that Tom Cruise is returning to these shores to shoot yet another war movie, this time set in World War II.

The lead character, played by Tom, is an American general, Wendell Fertig. That’s the movie’s working title: “Fertig.” Columbia Pictures is the studio financing the film, which has no confirmed director as yet.

The film will be shot entirely in the Philippines.That means Tom Cruise will be here for not less than two months.

Just like “Born on the Fourth of July” whose Vietnam and Tijuana sequences were filmed in Ilocos, Fertig will employ many Filipinos in the cast, including hundreds of extras.

The location manager visited last week and scouted at least four principal locations: Subic, Clark, and Magdalena and Pila in Laguna. Principal photography may start as early as next month.

Tom Cruise hopes to take on the true-life role of an American soldier who became a hero during the Second World War.

Variety reports that "Fertig" is a script written by playwright William Nicholson, based on the life of Wendell Fertig, who distinguished himself while serving in the Philippines. Cruise only got his hands on the script early in January, the paper said.

According to historian Guillermo Sanchez in his book "A Simple Man and His Destiny" Medina, Misamis Oriental was where General Wendell Fertig Military District Commander for Mindanao had his headquarters. And it was in Mindanao that he showed his mettle.

After General Edward King surrendered the Luzon Force on April 9, the Japanese stepped up their attacks on Corregidor and by May 6 had put a regiment ashore. Facing annihilation if he did not capitulate, Wainwright surrendered and ordered his commanders in the rest of the Philippines to do the same. One by one they did, and by the end of June, organized resistance in the Philippines had come to an end.

But as the Japanese soon found out, this did not bring the end of all resistance. Thousands of Filipino and American soldiers some acting individually, some with the encouragement of their commanders -- formed guerrilla units of varying sizes. On Luzon, which held the bulk of the Japanese army in the Philippines, guerrillas were restricted to gathering intelligence and harrassing the Japanese as best they could. Further south, such as on Mindanao where Colonel Wendell Fertig commanded about 38,000 men, guerrilla resistance was strong enough that the Japanese never gained full control over large areas. Wherever they were, however, those in the resistance did all they could to survive and prepare for MacArthur's promised return.

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