White Knight is a film shot entirely in the Philippines in the last couple of weeks (some 23 days or so in Intramuros, Puerto Galera in Mindoro and some parts in Luzon.
We met Gregory Segal at Relish, a popular restaurant around T. Morato area last week, with his associate, Yuson Charles, and the film’s Filipino producer, Charlotte Dianco.
We talked about White Knight and why Segal, an entertainment lawyer and film producer, based in Los Angeles and New York City chose the Philippines as the location for his debut film as a director.
Segal said he works frequently as an independent producer, legal counsel to production companies, writers, directors and actors.
He said Philippines, compared to other countries, has the advantage of the language. “Most Filipinos know how to speak and understand English. And the Filipinos are a very welcoming people.”
White Knight, he said, is about an American who finds himself in trouble in Manila. “It’s a kind of thriller, the character, a retired American serviceman who decides to come to the Philippines gets tangled up in a series of murders, then a stalker begins to assassinate his romantic partners.”
The cast is a mix of Filipino and American actors. The American serviceman, Nick, is played by Lev Gorn (Russian-born) and a friend of Segal’s. Dianco helped in casting the Filipino actors for the film, like Lovely Abella who plays Delilah and Mon Confiado as Cruz. Leo Martinez also plays a special role as the Mindoro Police Chief.
The film is now in post-production and Segal hopes he could bring the film to various film markets (like Cannes) to sell it to distributors worldwide.
Does he have any plan to screen it here in Manila?
“We will see,” he said, “It depends if a local distributor would pick it up. But I love the idea of showing it here for the Filipino audience.”
Segal thinks that after White Knight, he can shoot other films in the Philippines. “I have many interesting story ideas that I can develop into films. The possibilities are endless because I find the Philippines a very interesting place to shoot films.”
The budding director said he had been here many times over—at least nine times—since he had worked in China previously and came to the Philippines for R & R where he met Filipinos who became his friends.
“Not yet! That’s one thing that’s still far from our minds. It will take some more time. We’re not hurrying anyway.”
The actress wants to concentrate first on her showbiz career. She always makes it clear that it’s on top of my priorities.
“I want to achieve my goals in the industry first. I want to save and save while the iron is still hot, so to speak. I’ll make my bank account fat first,” she quips.
It is good Jeff understands her stand.
“We have our respective work to attend to. I’m acting, he’s doing businesses. I guess we’ll reach that eventually—when the time is already right for the both of us,” KidZania Manila eagerly awaits the lucky guest who holds the honor of being its one millionth visitor expected to arrive at the play city anytime until this month.
The lucky individual will be given special treats, such as the KidZania Unli-PaZZ, an overnight staycation package from Holiday Inn & Suites Makati, and an exciting celebration inside the premiere play hub.
KidZania Manila’s CEO and Governor Cookie Salvador-Bartolome shared that the merriment extends not only to the special visitor, but to everyone who has helped the play city since its inception.
“We’re happy to have reached a great milestone in creating one-of-a-kind experiences to all our visitors in KidZania Manila. This wouldn’t be possible if not for everyone who has made this dream of ours a reality – our industry partners, Zupervisors, staff, and communities who have continuously supported our vision to build a better world for the Filipino children,” she said.
To count down the lucky visitor’s arrival, a digital counter will be put up near its entrance where visitors will scan their bracelets to show their chronological count as they enter the city.
Opened in August 2015, KidZania Manila is the 20th metropolis in the KidZania Nation around the globe. The educational family entertainment facility for kids ages 4 to 17 years old is a replica of a real city scaled down to kids’ size—with its own history, culture, language, and even currency.
“In less than three years, we have made a world where kids can fulfill their dreams and prove that you’re never too young to craft the future that you want. We will continue to carry on this vision and count many more significant events such as this for the years to come,” added Governor Cookie.
For more information on KidZania Manila and the play city’s various offerings, visit manila.kidzania.com or follow the play city’s social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) @kidzaniamanila
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G Diaries gets even more meaningful and exciting with the launch of “The Quest for LOVE,” a nationwide search that aims to help communities launch their own sustainable businesses, that will soon air as a special segment in the program this July.
Gina Lopez and partners in the private and government sectors led by Sen. Loren Legarda, Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Mark Villar, and Department of Science and Technology secretary Fortunato de la Peña announced the project that brings together government and private sector to promote widespread social and environmental development on March 8 at Rockwell Club, Makati.
Through “The Quest,” the Investments in Loving Organizations for Village Economies (ILOVE) Foundation that Gina founded, and its partners will provide financial and technical support to eight deserving organizations in transforming their communities into sites for sustainable development through agro-forestry, fisheries, or ecotourism.
The search begins with 16 organizations that will be chosen from online entries from all over the Philippines based on their track record, leaders, and the potential impact of the proposed intervention on the partner community. They will then participate in a three-day training where candidates shall pitch their preliminary plans to a panel of judges at the end of the boot camp. I Love assessors will then choose the eight candidates that will undergo the I LOVE mentoring and support program, receive Php100,000 cash, plus direct access to government support. Social enterprises, cooperatives, people’s associations, foundations, NGOs, and other socially oriented organizations are open to join the competition.
Viewers will get to follow the journey of the eight semifinalists this July on G Diaries, which launched its second season early this year.
Gina said ILOVE hopes to address the reality that although the Philippines boasts of a 6.7 percent GDP growth and is seen to be one of the top three fastest growing economies in Asia, the robust growth has not trickled down to the remotest areas of the country. She believes that the strategy to uplift the lives of the marginalized community is through inspiring them and providing them proper mentoring.
“The key is the person. The key is the partner. If you find partner that can do things on the ground efficiently and sincerely, then you have found a partner that is gold,” she noted.
Also present in the launch of “The Quest for LOVE” were Department of Tourism assistant secretary Reynaldo Lacao Ching, Department of National Defense undersecretary Cesar Yano, Department of Social Welfare and Development undersecretary Malou Turalde, Department of Trade and Industry assistant secretary Amina Fajardo, and TESDA director Sonia Lipio.
G Diaries airs every second Sunday of the month before ASAP on ABS-CBN and ABS-CBN HD. Watch online on iwantv.com.ph or skyondemand.com.ph. Visit QuestforLove.ph for more information and follow @GdiariesPH on Twitter and @GDiaries on Facebook for program updates.
