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REGAL FILMS Being in show business for over forty years now, Regal Films has established its name in making movies that practically entertained virtually all kinds of moviegoers among Filipinos. While modern-day competitors like Star Cinema stick to producing films with the romance and romantic comedy genres, Regal has produced all kinds of movies thinkable from action, animation, fantasy, comedy, family, documentary, romance, pornography, historical epics, drama, horror, suspense and so forth. Many Filipinos consider Regal as a symbol of national art and culture thanks to its heritage, stars and impact on the people. The following are a few notable films released by Regal:
"REGAL BABIES" Actors whose careers began at Regal (or whose success is linked with Regal) are often referred to as "Regal babies." Among the stars who have deep roots with Regal are Kris Aquino , Aiza Seguerra , Christopher De Leon , Vilma Santos , Angel Locsin , Richard Gutierrez , Cogie Domingo , Danilo Barrios , Vhong Navarro , Lotlot De Leon , Ramon Christopher , Susan Roces , Ara Mina , Aubrey Miles , Janice De Belen , Eddie Garcia , Tito Sotto , Vic Sotto , Joey De Leon , Rene Requiestas , Richard Gomez , Maricel Soriano , Maxene Magalona , Dina Bonnevie , Oyo Boy Sotto , Chynna Ortaleza and Marian Rivera . TRIVIA
CONTROVERSIES Yamashita: The Tiger's Treasure In the 2001 Metro Manila Film Festival, Regal's Yamashita: The Tiger's Treasure won the Best Picture award over the much favored Bagong Buwan (a film about the military conflict in Muslim Mindanao). Many moviegoers and critics were shocked over its selection for the top award as the movie was presented as an adventure comedy film tackling the legend about the lost gold of Yamashita in the Philippines. For the most part, Yamashita was a fantasy and its subject matter was considered irrelevant to "Filipino values", current events or even culture. Prior to its release, Yamashita rode a wave of hype as "the Philippine answer to Hollywood's Pearl Harbor" due to an action sequence featuring Japanese Tora-tora airplanes attacking a Philippine base (similar to what happened in Michael Bay 's movie). The sequence was produced with the most advanced Filipino special effects at the time. Aubrey Miles In 2002, Regal Films announced its decision to heavily invest its resources on Aubrey Miles, who back then was a new sex symbol in the Philippines. As part of its publicly announced investment, Miles signed a multi-million Peso movie contract with the company and her first major movie Prosti was released as a pornographic feature backed by lots of media hype. Miles also appeared on Regal's other films (either as lead actress or supporting actress) such as Sanib, Xerex, Gagamboy, Kuya, Singles, A Beautiful Life and Pa-siyam. Aubrey Miles is widely believed to be highly overpaid as an actress with Regal Films. Insider reports that circulated in the media stated that the actress was paid at least P2 million to as much as P6 million per film. Despite having a minor role in A Beautiful Life, Miles was paid P5.8 million, which was P3 million higher than what she received in Xerex. Although the grand old film company never admitted it, the entire public greatly believes that Aubrey Miles is already a mother of a 3-year-old child, whose father continues to be unknown today (though some believed it was a college student who was responsible). Inside reports revealed that as part of the deal between Regal and the sexy actress, the company has committed to preserving Miles' motherhood secret as long as she continues to work and bring them success. Veteran actress Dina Bonnevie revealed in a highly publicized interview that Miles was already a mother, which was exactly the reason why during the casting of the movie Mano Po 2: My Home, she refused to play a role as the mother of Miles (who was considered for a daughter role). In the end however, both actresses did not appear in Mano Po 2. In late 2003, when Miles deliberately did not show up for an evening shooting for the film Kuya, Regal patriarch Lily Monteverde contacted the actress through cell phone and out of frustration, she threatened that she will reveal her secret child to the public. Miles then responded and rushed back to work that same night. Despite the resources, critics branded Miles a poor actress. While Prosti (a movie about Philippine prostitution) became a success and brought to her some fame, Miles' succeeding movies Xerex and Sanib were both commercial failures and were critically panned. To date, none of Aubrey Miles' other movies could match the commercial success of Prosti, which made P29 million. In addition, Miles has received a estimated P38 million in salary payments from Regal since 2002. Feud with ABS-CBN and Star Cinema A feud between Regal Films and ABS-CBN erupted in late 2003 when the latter's film company, Star Cinema , released the comedy '' Mr. Suave '' starring Vhong Navarro . Lily Monteverde had long planned on releasing Navarro's first-ever starring role under Regal's banner; the film was ''Gagamboy'', a Filipino superhero movie inspired by Marvel 's '' Spider-Man ''. But due to extended post-production for special effects, ''Gagamboy'' was not released in 2003 as planned. Regal instead scheduled the film for a January 1, 2004 release as part of the 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival's 2nd half salvo. Unfortunately for Regal, Star Cinema's ''Mr. Suave'' was released months ahead of ''Gagamboy'' and officially became Navarro's first leading role. To this day, Regal has no official business deals with ABS-CBN or Star Cinema. Displeasure over 2005 MMFF awarding and film festival boycott Due to her anger over the results of the 2005 Metro Manila Film Festival, Regal founder Lily Monteverde shocked the public by announcing her company's boycott of film festivals in the future and her assertion that she would encourage other producers to do likewise. In confirming the announcement, Regal Films released an official press statement, which read as follows: :"Regal Entertainment Inc., while appreciative of the many accolades and awards received by its film Blue Moon, would nonetheless like to voice its concerns over the unclear and confusing basis that may have applied by the MMFFP jurors in deciding the winning entries in certain categories. :In particular: :1) On the choice of (OctoArts Films') ''Kutob'' as winner of the Gat. Antonio Villegas Award: The Gat. Antonio Villegas Award is given to the film which best showcases and exalts Filipino values. Since ''Kutob'' is a film about a psychotic young man, what are the Filipino values supposedly depicted by this movie? :2) On the Best Director Category: The quality and excellence of a motion picture largely depends on the skill and performance of its director. The movie ''Blue Moon'' exemplified excellence and technical superiority, as shown by the fact that it was awarded Best Picture, Best Story, Best Screenplay, Most Gender Sensitive Picture, as well as the texters' vote awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress. :Considering the numerous awards for ''Blue Moon'', it is unusual that it did not get the jurors' nod for Best Director. What were the standards considered by the jurors for this category? :3) On ''Mulawin'' (co-produced by Regal Films with GMA Films): ''Mulawin'' was the only motion picture graded "A" by the Cinema Evaluation Board, and this grade recognized the superior acting in, and technical quality of the movie. :Despite this fact, ''Mulawin'' did not win a single award. Again, what standards were utilized by the MMFFP jurors, and how different were these from the standards applied by the Cinema Evaluation Board? :4) On comments made by an MMFFP juror: Regal is particularly disturbed by comments made by one juror, reported in the newspapers, praising the movie ''Kutob'' even before the awards night. :Considering that jurors are supposed to be neutral and unbiased, Regal would like to request an explanation from this juror on comments he made to the press, which seem to indicate bias and partiality. :My heart tells me to return the awards. This is how I felt last night out of anger. Not only was I deprived but also my colleagues involved in the creation of the motion pictures, ''Mulawin'' and ''Blue Moon''. However, Regal has been advised by its legal counsel that, pursuant to its contract and undertaking with the MMFFP at the time it joined the Film Festival, it is bound to honor and uphold the decision of the Awards Committee. Nevertheless, we believe that our concerns are critical and serious, and deserve discussion, debate, and consideration. As a producer, we serve the moviegoers who will appreciate the movies. The moviegoers are our ultimate judges of our accolades." EXTERNAL LINKS
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