She’s been in show business for 21 years now, but it’s only in her latest movie “BuyBust” that Anne Curtis experienced doing the most challenging stunts.
The actress divulged there’s this “one long shot” that took 57 takes across three days before they got it right. It was one continuous shot wherein four cameramen were exchanging video cameras as they were moving to capture the action.
Anne Curtis stars in 'BuyBust'
“So I come from downstairs then straight up to the roof – then down again! I would have a fight sequence then run up again until I fall off,” she recalled in Filipino.
Director Erik Matti applauded Anne’s dedication to her craft. He said that on hindsight, he wouldn’t have been able to finish the movie if Anne weren’t that physically fit.
“Or it will be finished but the shots would mostly have been cheated,” he related in Filipino. “I would’ve faked some of the actions to make these simpler. But because of Anne’s stamina we were able to do it. Just think of the three minutes of climbing and running, going down, jab and kick, and a rainy scene where she ran across roofs,” he remembered.
They had 17 takes on the first day then 21 takes the next day yet only achieved the best outcome on the third day around four or five in the morning.
The director admitted it was not an easy role, and even he, himself, couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for the actors. He shared that one mistake by any member of the cast would have delayed production.
“It is like a dance in which timing is very important. If someone misses his cue, then it is not only Anne, but also the stuntman, crowd, bit players who need to repeat the scene from the top,” he explained.
Although it’s a huge production, Erik noted the story of “BuyBust” is “very simple.”
“I’ve done ‘On The Job,’ ‘Honor Thy Father,’ other films that have complicated stories. But ‘BuyBust’ was really imagined to be like a news feature,” was how he puts it.
“It’s just a simple story about a group of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency(PDEA) agent. They belong to one team which is the team of Victor Neri. And he recently just got promoted as a team leader so he has never been in a field. And then he and his members are going for a buy bust operation.”
The climax of the story starts when the new team was called to join another team force and hold a buy bust operation in an unfamiliar place. They will find themselves trapped inside it after being set-up and betrayed.
Pinay action star?
In the two years they were making the film, Anne underwent heavy training for six months. She took crash courses in martial arts, shooting, etc.
“There was a lot of mental and physical training for this role,” said she, who claimed not using a double at all.
The role was so difficult to play that Anne threw up on the first shooting day but she soldiered on.
“The moment it was pitched to me over the phone by Direk Erik, the moment that Boss Vincent del Rosario told me about the concept I was so inspired,” she said. “I always keep saying this – I’m so hungry for a role like this.”
She believes it is the reason she did not appear on the big screen in the last two years.
“Finally this (‘BuyBust’) came up and it was a definite yes. I told myself that I needed to make that film. That’s why even though it is physically, mentally and emotionally challenging I still accepted it and now I’m so happy with the results,” she enthused.
Aside from “BuyBust” and her big hit a couple of months ago in “Sid And Aya,” it seems like 2018 is her year as she has a third movie on the way. It is the horror flick “Aurora,” a finalist in the coming Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).
She is also scheduled to have another solo concert at the Big Dome on Aug. 18 to mark her 21st anniversary in showbiz.
Anne is leaving the country soon to attend the screening of “BuyBust” at the New York Asian Film Festival to be held July 15. She will be with co-star Brandon Vera and director Erik.
On the other hand, two international companies have joined forces to ensure “BuyBust’s” international success: XYZ Films, the movie’s sales agent and Well Go USA Entertainment, the movie’s official distributor in North America, which will start playing it in US cinemas starting Aug. 10.
Well Go USA Entertainment, an international film distributor, is the same company responsible for the distribution of the international hit, “Train To Busan,” which features Korean Superstar, Gong Yoo. They will formally launch the movie to the public on July 19 during the 21st Annual Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza at the San Diego Comic Con.
On July 18, “BuyBust” will have its Canadian premiere in the Fantasia International FilmFestival as well as Asian premiere in the Buncheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
Aside from the film’s screening in the US and Korea, the movie will also be seen screened in the Middle East, Hong Kong, and Singapore soon.
“BuyBust” opens in local cinemas on Aug. 1, from Viva Films and Reality Entertainment.
Other cast members are Arjo Atayde, AJ Muhlach, Joross Gamboa, and Nonie Buencamino.