French producer: Filipinos are the best - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=93093
French producer: Filipinos are the best

By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 11:59pm (Mla time) 10/07/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Without thinking twice, French producer Henri de Lorme asserts that the Filipino cast of the QTV comedy show “Camera Café” tops his list.

De Lorme was co-producer of the five-minute French sitcom which has been spun off in at least 30 countries—including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Spain, Greece, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. He is now the franchise holder for Asia.

“I’ve been to a lot of countries [and] seen the different versions. But, for me, the best is the Pinoy cast,” De Lorme tells Inquirer Entertainment in an exclusive interview. “The Filipinos are even better than the original French cast—who are my friends!”

Filipinos are natural entertainers, explains the French TV exec. “They can do everything: sing, dance, act. It’s ingrained in the culture.”

Director Mark Meily is all praise as well for his 17-strong ensemble, which includes seasoned performers Jaime Fabregas and Joy Viado, as well as drama actresses Angel Aquino and Assunta de Rossi, the comic tandem of Bearwin Meily and Jojo Alejar and fresh talents Tado Jimenez, Patricia Ismael, LJ Reyes, Arnold Reyes and Monica Llamas.

“Show creator Alain Kappauf and Jean Yves Robin of CALT (overall franchise holder) saw our version and were so pleased with it, they want to co-produce other CALT programs for the Philippines,” says Meily.

To think that the Pinoy cast had to go through the wringer while taping the show’s first season.

Ismael recalls that it wasn’t uncommon for them to memorize 28 scripts and tape 10 episodes a day.

Alejar admits, “Memorization is my waterloo. But Direk Mark was very patient with me.” Alejar says that he had to shape up because the script required precision. “We were not allowed to ad-lib because we depended on each other for our cues.”

Time limit

“There was a timer on the set. We couldn’t go over the time limit (three and a half minutes),” De Rossi points out. “Unlike in other shows, where the punch line sometimes gets lost in the ad libs, our show is more direct to the point. It’s quick and funny.”

Aquino compares the experience to live theater. Jimenez agrees, saying that a lot of time was spent on “rehearsals.”

“We couldn’t afford to make a mistake because we’d have to start from the top if we did,” says Llamas.

Another challenge, says petite comic Ismael, was the show’s one-camera set-up. “There’s only one camera angle. Since I’m vertically challenged, sometimes only my bumbunan (top of my head) can be seen in the frame. It’s because the other actors are so tall!”

Seriously now. Is the Pinoy audience ready for the bite-size, snack entertainment offered by “Camera Café” (which debuts on QTV on Oct. 15)?

“Today’s viewers have a short attention span. Hopefully, Pinoys will give the show a chance,” Meily says.

De Lorme is optimistic, insisting that the French and Pinoys have the same quirky sense of humor.

“We have the same spirit,” De Lorme says. “The Filipino scriptwriters quickly understood the show’s concept. I think the scripts written by the Filipinos are even better than some of the French originals.”