Making quite the splash on
showbiz news over the past few weeks was the eventual cancellation of an entry
to the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival. The movie in question, Quantum Films’ horror
flick “(K)ampon” starring one-time Queen of All Media Kris Aquino in a rather
anticipated big-screen comeback, ran into an insurmountable snag when her lead
costar Derek Ramsay bowed out of production due to scheduling conflicts. While
Gabby Conception was available to pinch-hit, his replacement notice came after
a deadline for casting changes enforced by the MMFF executive committee. Some
observers have since described Ramsay’s last-minute departure to have been an
unprofessional action that ruined Kris’ cinematic return.
But in Derek Ramsay’s own words
as shared to Inquirer.net, that
accusation is far from the truth regarding what happened to put the brakes on
the making of “(K)ampon” with Kris Aquino. He said as much to the Inquirer during an interview with the
actor last Sunday, August 18, in Davao where he was doing a media appearance
with his GMA soap costar Andrea Torres as part of the Kadayawan celebration.
According to Derek, what happened with “(K)ampon” was a perfect storm of
production delays, a deluge of work opportunities and some seriously bad
timing.
Ramsay notes that he readily
accepted Quantum Pictures’ casting of him opposite Kris Aquino for the horror
movie, seeing it as a grateful action due to having earned MMFF acting awards
from past Quantum-produced movies “All of You” (2017) and “English Only, Please”
(2014). The part was not finalized however, and some developmental delays on
the part of Quantum made them think they would not start in time to complete
the project for the MMFF. They told Derek this, prompting him to start looking
for other production offers. When Quantum Pictures reversed its earlier
assessment, the actor already had finalized commitments that cannot be canceled.
In light of that cavalcade of
missed chances, Derek Ramsay thus has to speak out against calls of his “unprofessionalism”
that led to “(K)ampon” being on its precarious situation. By the time he left
the project due to schedule conflict, Quantum had yet to officially contract
him for his part, and no scenes for the film with him have been shot. Thus, his
participation was never confirmed to begin with. Ramsay also expressed that he
understood the strict guidelines the MMFF imposes on its participating movies,
which mandates disqualification from the festival if they were not followed to
the letter.
Derek has the distinction of
being a talent for the “big three” Filipino TV networks of ABS-CBN, GMA7 and
TV5 (formerly ABC5). His latest contract pegs him as a Kapuso talent since
April 2019, and he currently stars on primetime drama “The Better Woman” with
Andrea Torres, who plays separated-at-birth twin sisters in a complex romantic relationship
with Ramsay’s character.
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