Viva to distribute ‘Tagalized’ Asian films
Viva Entertainment, Inc.’s Vincent del Rosario III believes dubbing foreign films in Tagalog, including those coming from other Asian countries, will lead to patronage of better quality films in the Philippines.
Viva Entertainment, Inc.’ s Vincent del Rosario III believes dubbing foreign films in Tagalog, including those coming from other Asian countries, will lead to patronage of better quality films in the Philippines.
He added that with this move, people would likely choose to watch topnotch Asian flicks over Hollywood outputs, particularly some so-called “B-movies.”
To deliver on this aim, Viva partnered with SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc. (SMLEI) in launching the first-ever “Tagalized” movie house in the Philippines, SineAsia Theater.
There will be one SineAsia Theater in the following branches: SM Megamall, SM Sta. Mesa, SM Fairview, SM Iloilo, SM Bacoor, SM Cebu, SM Manila and SM North EDSA. Depending on market response, the lifestyle and entertain- ment solutions company is prepared to establish a SineAsia Theater in all their branches nationwide.
Del Rosario feels this development will change the local movie landscape and create a much-needed balance in film distribution between local movies and imports. “Sa ngay
on kasi, may oversupply for western or Hollywood films, kulang ’ yung Asian titles,” he explained.
The idea of SineAsia Theater came about when del Rosario and his father, Viva Entertainment Inc. founder Vicente “Boss Vic” del Ro- sario, noticed the Filipinos’ “appetite” for Asian content, based on the success of the company’s Tagalized Movie Channel (TMC), the country’s first local pay- channel featuring Tagalog-dubbed foreign films.
Thinking the results merely a “fad” at first, del Rosario said they began to notice Asianovelas enjoying consistently high ratings all over the region. This prompted them to push through with the endeavor.
Far from this being the first attempt to localize foreign films, del Rosario recalled that 20 years ago, Warner Bros. released Tagalog- dubbed versions of the Wesley Snipes-starrer “Passenger 57” and Harrison Ford’s “Regarding Henry.” Though the attempt failed to gain traction, the Viva executive is confident their efforts would work better this time because local audiences seem more used to watching Asian films dubbed in Tagalog. “Mas madaling ma- appreciate ng Pinoy ’ pag naka- dub na eh, kesa ’ yung nagbabasa,” he said, adding that stories tackled by Asian films resonate more with Filipinos.
For now, Viva is committed to feature no less than 20 Tagalized films – from countries such as South Korea, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and even India – every year in the next five years.
They mean to release a fresh title fortnightly. “Though may weeks na wala only because either Metro Manila Film Festival, Holy Week, or kung merong malaking- malaking Hollywood movie na ipalalabas,” he explained.
They are also setting their sights on localizing promotional materials of these Asian movies “Para mas madaling maintindihan, mas madaling i- communicate,” del Rosario said.
He assures the public that these movies are always new or at least never- before- seen, kicking off with the just-released Lee Min Ho-starrer “Gangnam Blues” for SineAsia’s grand launch on Mar. 4. (With report from Bhenj Agustin)