Judy Ann Santos co-produced her new movie
Drama queen Judy Ann Santos revealed the challenges she faced as a producer of her Metro Manila Film Festival 2024 entry Espantaho.
Juday has been in the industry for many years already. Now, aside from being the lead star of her new movie, she also co-produced this. This movie is directed by Chito S. Roño and from the screenplay of Chris Martinez.
In a recent interview, based on the article in The Philippine Star, Juday shared that in producing, everyone in the team was really observing.
She said that they had no idea about the technical side, especially in movies. However, they really wanted to try this out and what it would be the setup in producing.
Juday admitted that she was hesitant at first if she could pull this off. “Parang hindi ko masyado kaya,” she laughingly said.
Espantaho is not the first project that Judy Ann Santos produced. The first one was the 2008 movie Ploning. She said that she had a good experience but she admitted that she was not ready at that time because she knew nothing but to spend money. At that time, the actress was focused on returning the money of other investors.
Juday also admitted that her “makatao” personality made it difficult for her as a producer. “Masyadong makatao yung puso ko… For example, bumabagyo — automatic para sa akin, sige, huwag na lang tayo mag-shoot ngayon kasi kawawa naman yung mga tao,” she said.
She prioritized the well-being of the crew and she did not mind the deadline. The actress is focused on providing the needed things for the location because she thinks that she can still earn money in some ways.
Then, she shared that it was raining in some scenes in Espantaho but they did not intend the rain to be included in them.
“Pinanindigan na rin namin kasi hindi kami aabot. Umabot na kami sa punto na gusto namin ipa-CG (computer graphics) ang basang kalsada. So hindi nga ako pwede maging producer kasi nga, ‘Sige i-CG natin.’ ‘Juday, mahal ang CG.’ ‘O sige, ‘wag natin i-CG (laughs),” she shared.
Despite the challenges she encountered as a producer, Judy Ann Santos said this is an opportunity for her to learn on the job.