Andrea del Rosario topbills Vivamax’s ‘May-December-January’ film
ABS-CBN has been recognized once again alongside the world’s best in communication by bagging two honors at the 2022 Gold Quill Awards, the prestigious annual awards program by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) that recognize communication excellence.
The country’s leading content provider won for its internal COVID-19 awareness project and its “Kapamilya Himig Handog” employee songwriting contest in IABC’s premier awards program that will have its awarding ceremony in New York City, USA.
With the goal of helping mitigate the COVID-19 cases within the organization, ABS-CBN’s “Act As If You Have the Virus” campaign won in the Communication Skills division with its masterful use of visuals and language to reiterate the importance of adhering to safety protocols and to reawaken a sense of caution in the workforce.
“Excellent approach to reaching the challenging business purpose,” commented one evaluator, while another said, “very well done work for the resources you had available. Impactful messaging and imagery.”
Meanwhile, the entry for “Kapamilya Himig Handog,” ABS-CBN’s first employee songwriting competition that is an offshoot of the country’s premiere songwriting competition organized by the company, was commended for being comprehensive and having a clear call to action.
The project enabled the company to discover new songwriters and at the same time fulfill the dreams of employees with songwriting talent to have their works get heard by the world.
Its top five song entries now comprise the OPM Fresh Songwriters Series Vol.1 EP available for streaming on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, and other digital platforms while the corresponding lyric videos have a combined total of 70,000 views as of writing.
“The corporate communications team did a great job in maximizing a limited budget to produce high production value content that engaged employees and amplified the key messages,” said one evaluator.
IABC’s Gold Quill Awards, which recognize excellent communication work for more than four decades, drew a total of 406 entries from 16 countries in 2022, with only 125 winning after being evaluated by a remarkable group of blue-ribbon panelists.
ABS-CBN has two of the seven Gold Quill Awards received by the Philippines this year. It also won Gold Quill Awards for its Sagip Pelikula film restoration project (2019), “Wow at Saya” audience experience program (2018), and election advocacy campaign “Boto Mo, i-Patrol Mo” (2011).
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The trailer of the upcoming Vivamax movie titled “May-December-January” has garnered more than four million views. Directed by Mac Alejandre from the script of newly-minted National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee, the film stars Andrea del Rosario, Gold Azeron and Kych Minemoto who appeared in the popular BL movie “Gameboys.”
In an interview, Direk Mac shared that “May-December-January” was one of the several storylines of Ricky approved by Viva. In one of his discussions with the famed writer, he told him the story suits him and he said he wanted to do it.
So when Boss Vic (del Rosario) asked him what he wanted to do after “Silip sa Apoy,” Direk Mac brought up the film.
During their casting meeting, Boss Vic asked him who he had in mind. “I said no one in particular but I want an actress who can play a mom to a 19-year-old, and is still attractive and desirable to young men. He mentioned Andrea and I said yes. I remembered some films she did before that made a mark on me. She is still very attractive and desirable. Boss Vic called Andrea right away and a commitment was made,” direk Mac explained.
The roles of the two boys took a longer time to cast. He was eyeing different actors but they were not available given their timetable. Viva sent him videos and photos of several actors but they didn’t seem fit. It was Boss Vic again who mentioned Gold’s name and Direk Mac agreed. He is a good actor and fits the role.
For the role of Migoy, Direk Mac wanted an actor who is young but has maturity as called for by the character. It was Boss Vic again who thought of asking The Idea First producer and director Perci Intalan for a recommendation.
“Perci suggested Kych. I asked Perci kung mahusay. Perci assured me that with the proper guidance he would do well. I trust Perci. He is a dear friend. I met with Kych. Perci was right. He fits the role and is very good in the movie. We’ve finished the movie and some people have seen it already. My three actors did very well. I am proud of them.”
“May-December-January,” a story of unconditional love, will hit cinemas very soon.