Coming soon to a theater near you: Bob Ong’s “Lumayo ka nga sa akin”.
Fans of Bob Ong, rejoice! His latest novel, “Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin,” is about to get made into a movie. Just don’t expect the bestselling author to come out and acknowledge the applause. True to his mystique of anonymity, only his publisher showed up to sign the contract with the producer.
Nobody knows who Bob Ong is. That is not his real name. His identity is a tightly guarded secret at his publishing house, Visprint. The guessing game is part of his growing legend as possibly the most successful Filipino author today.
“Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin” came out just last December, and instantly came to the attention of Viva Entertainment. Pre-production is already in progress for “Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin,” a satirical look at commercial filmmaking with three different stories rendered in screenplay form.
“I have doubts about the suitability of ‘Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin’ for a feature film,” he noted in his first email to Viva. “It could be tricky, and much of the humor could be lost in translation. I don’t see it as a movie at the moment. But if you have a vision and a team which is up to the challenge, I’d be glad to let my publisher discuss the possibilities with you.”
For the past few years, Viva has been trying to start a specialty division that will house fresh, forward-thinking, out-of-the-box films. The perfect material has eluded the company until he read Ong’s 9th novel.
“‘Lumayo’ is what we have been looking for,” Del Rosario said. “It’s the kind of non-formulaic film with commercial appeal that we want our new division, Sunshine Films, to carry.”
Viva has tapped Mark Meily, award-winning writer and director of acclaimed comedies ‘Crying Ladies’ and ‘La Visa Loca’ and the historical film ‘Baler,’ to lead the project.
The choice has received Ong’s approval.
“I’d like to express my confidence in Mr. Mark Meily,” he wrote. “While I cannot tell which director might be best suited for this, I am comforted that Viva didn’t pick a bad one.”
“Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin” will hit cinemas later this year.
this is cool.. we need more movies like this di yung puro commercialism lang.. id rather choose Ong’s Macarthur sana gawin nila yun pero this one is superb pano kaya nila gagawin to? NICE ONE
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