Yan Yuzon in a mug shot he posted on Instagram.
While it was never announced that Yan Yuzon has officially left Pupil, the fact that he has not been seen with the band for quite a while and is no longer part of its lineup has led to several speculations.
That Yani, as he is called by close friends, wants to focus more on his other band Archipelago where he is the frontman. That he has had a falling out with Pupil bandmate Ely Buendia. That he is less interested in music and prefers to do movies instead.
A recent interview with the 35-year-old talented musician, writer, actor and now director more or less sheds light on such speculations. Yes, Yan considers himself a semi-retired musician and whatever involvement he has with music is very minimal these days.
“I’m done with music in a working musician’s capacity, but I am currently producing Spongecola’s next album, and I still gig with Archipelago, but that’s just something we like doing for ourselves. And by gig, I mean barely, like once every two months. I recorded a song with Alessandra de Rossi, that’s now online, but I don’t want to write songs, not right now. Now’s just not the time for music, for me,” he told Interaksyon.
Movies, however, is another matter altogether. This year, Yan’s increasing involvement with films has become more apparent. Jerrold Tarog used Archipelago’s 2008 hit “MRI” as the soundtrack of the trailer of his award-winning Cinemalaya film “Sana Dati”.
Yan (left) with Chris Villanueva in a scene from 'Ang Tag-araw ni Twinkle'.
Then, in a small but memorable performance in Gil Portes’ Sineng Pambansa entry, “Ang Tag-Araw ni Twinkle”, he played a brigadier general who spoils his drug-addicted son and seems to turn a blind eye on the latter’s misdeeds.
“I was very happy to be part of that movie, met some great people and brilliant actors, got to work with Gil Portes and learned so much. Working with Dominic Roco who played my son in the movie was great, I really admire the guy and I hope he’ll get the work and recognition he deserves as one of the finest actors of his generation, because he simply is,” he pointed out.
But that’s not all. He has an even bigger role in his current project, “Bang Bang Alley” where he is not only acting but also directing “Aso’t Pusa’t Daga”, one of the three episodes in the crime drama anthology that will have its world premiere this Thursday night at the UP Cine Adarna.
The fact that the film is produced by Ely Buendia for Curve Entertainment also suggests that Yan’s relationship with his former bandmate is far from having soured at all, as some people are wont to think.
“This film is Ely’s project, and I actually came in to replace Bob Lyren’s role in the piece, as he had to leave the country to work in Thailand. Started talks with Ely and production circa July last year, filmed late August to mid-September. And we’re premiering a year later, finally,” he enthused.
In a blog piece he wrote for Yahoo! OMG Philippines, Ely said the film, directed by himself, Yani and King Palisoc, was inspired by the story of a retired school teacher who in her youth, had “a run-in with the government resulting in her current ownership of a historically significant piece of property.”
As the film started to develop, Ely said he and co-producer Lyren “recognized the cinematic potential of developing even richer stories–stories that were based on real events and people”.
“The theme as the tie that binds our stories together is our own local culture of violence. I ended up writing a fictitious piece about the extent of political violence, based largely on the sort of stuff you see in the news, and some hearsay. Wrote it all just for this film,” Yan added in reference to his own contribution.
An accomplished theater director and performer, Yan cast Bela Padilla in the role of Jing, the journalist who survives a political massacre. He himself ended up acting in the film as well.
“Bela wasn’t initially going to play Jing and I wasn’t supposed to play Alex either. Scheduling issues forced a recast, and after names were recommended, I went for Bela because aside from being a fantastic actress, I knew she had the sort of petulant purity bordering on an almost idealistic hue of childlike naivete that you’d hate to see murdered,” he noted.
“I wanted a misguided Antigone with a tape recorder and a press badge. Bela gave me all that and more, with a subtlety that is hard to find in many young actors. She breathed life into the role I couldn’t create on the pages of the screenplay.”
With “Bang Bang Alley” already in the can and just awaiting its regular theatrical release, Yan was asked if he has any expectations for the film and what he intends to do next. His reply provided some clues.
“I have no expectations whatsoever. And I don’t really know what the plans are. I just want to go to the premiere because I want to catch up with my cast and crew, hopefully get to talk about the future with my guys. I’m itching to do a road trip movie and I do hope they’ll want to be a part of that, too.”
“Bang Bang Alley” also stars Art Acuña, Perla Bautista, Gabe Mercado, Jimmy Santos, Joel Torre, Althea Vega, Jamie Wilson and Miss World Philippines 2013 Megan Young.
Tickets are available at the gate.
With ‘Bang Bang Alley’, ex-Pupil guitarist Yan Yuzon shifts from music to movies
Source: InterAksyon.com (September 19, 2013 at 12:54PM)
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