Eric Quizon

"Nobody, Nobody but Juan” is the official entry of Comedy King of the Philippines Dolphy to this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival which opened last Dec. 25. And according to its director Eric Quizon, the storyline of the movie was hatched in 30 minutes!

Eric explained that he was in the States when it happened. It was after he got a call from Joe Aldeguer who wanted to do a movie with Dolphy. The original plan was inspired by “Slumdog Millionaire” and it would be about giving out a lot of prize money to people and making them happy. But he was skeptical about the movie’s plot.

“I’m not the type who would like to do a movie because it is something like this or that. So I told him that I’d call again. After 30 minutes, I returned his call and suggested to him a movie that would be close to the hearts of Filipino-Americans in the United States,” he explained. “And it is in relation to ‘Wowowee,’ the number one show on The Filipino Channel. That’s where we patterned the whole film.”

His inspiration came partly from watching “Wowowee” when he received the call for a movie project. And he pitched the story of his father, Dolphy, watching “Wowowee” and discovering his long lost best friend through the show. That would prompt him to go back to the Philippines, go to the studio of “Wowowee” to how ask how he could be reconnected with her friend. His goal is to really find his long lost love through his long lost friend!

His storyline was given the green light by Joe Aldeguer as well as his father. And the three combined – RVQ Productions, Joe Aldeguer Productions and Kaizz Ventures – to produce “Nobody Nobody but Juan” from the screenplay written by Bibeth Orteza with collaborations from Dolphy himself.

“For me, this is a perfect movie for him. I’ve always wanted to do a movie with my dad as a Fil-Am. And I was just thinking of a connection to the Philippines. And it was a great idea to have ‘Wowowee’ in the film because you see all these ‘balikbayans’ in that show,” Eric pointed out.

What he also liked about the story was that a lot of people can relate to it. Like him, he has seen an episode wherein long lost family members were reunited in the said show. Like the role of his dad who lives in a home for the aged, a lot of old Filipinos abroad enjoy watching such show. And it has often been a reason for them to visit the Philippines after decades of living in the States.

But why the title “Nobody, Nobody but Juan?”

“The original title was ‘Juan’ which was thought of by Bibeth. ‘Juan’ because it is very Pinoy and it sounds like the number one and my dad, Dolphy, being number one. And then ‘Wowowee’ is also the number one show in TFC. So ‘Juan’ refers to the Pinoys and being number one. And my dad who always wants to be up to date injected ‘Nobody, Nobody’ from the popular song ‘Nobody,’” laughed Eric.

“Nobody, Nobody but Juan” is the third film wherein Eric directed his dad. Describing it as a heartwarming and touching movie, it is a film wherein Dolphy actually plays his real age of 81 years old.

“It is also something vey close to his life like his life on the stage. In the film, the flashback would show his life as a performer with his best friend and love interest. The film has some semblance of truth. If you’ve read his biography, the love of his life Aida was mentioned there and that’s the name of the woman he wants to find in the film,” described Eric.

Also in “Nobody, Nobody but Juan” are Eddie Garcia, Gloria Romero, Pokwang, Epy, Vandolph, G Toengi, Heart Evangelista, Eugene Domingo, Bearwin Meily, Mar Lopez and with the special participation of Willie Revillame.

“Originally, this was a story between Dolphy and Willie. But Willie begged off because of his busy schedule. He didn’t want to be a cause of delay. But he wanted for the film to push through and still be a part of it… one thing very nice about ABS-CBN, ‘Wowowee’ and Willie was that they gave their services for free for my dad,” he revealed.

But why release the movie on Christmas Day and compete with other film entries to the MMFF?

“I think this is the best time to show a movie like this. It’s Christmas and if you want to be happy then this is the right movie to watch,” he smiled. “After everything that has happened around us, we all want to be happy and laugh!”

The film is also a celebration of Dolphy’s 65th anniversary as an entertainer. And more are in the works for the Comedy King in 2010. There’s “Pidol Cup 2” on May, the “Rock and Rebuild Foundation,” a concert to benefit the Dolphy Foundation and help Habitat for Humanity. Its goal is to raise money to help the 300,000 families displaced by typhoon Ondoy.

Then the Dolphy tour continues in the States on May.

“The whole family will surely enjoy ‘Nobody, Nobody but Juan.’ Every shooting day was a surprise for us from my dad. So expect a lot of surprises from Dolphy in this film,” expressed Eric.