Richard Gomez couldn’t help but get emotional as he saw the faces of entertainment reporters moments before the media con of his upcoming film ‘Salvageland,’ which also stars Elijah Canlas.
‘Namiss ko na kayo. Naiiyak ako. I missed you guys. Namiss ko kayo talaga. Siyempre ang tagal kong artista, diba? Masarap bumalik sa home turf (I missed you all. I feel like crying. I missed you guys. Of course, I’ve been an actor for a long time, right? It feels so nice to be back at your home turf),’ he told the entertainment press, including Inquirer Bandera, while wiping off his tears.
The actor-turned-politician is one of the lead stars of the Lino Cayetano-helmed ‘Salvageland,’ which tells the story of a veteran policeman (Gomez) and his rookie son (Canlas). While the veteran has thoughts of leaving his post for good, the rookie still has the excitement to prove himself in his chosen field.
‘Na-interview ako sa labas. Na-overwhelm ako noong nakita ko ang old faces ng mga kaibigan ko, may emotions na lumabas sa’kin, I’m so happy to be back in the circle. Ito ‘yung kinalakihan ko eh,’ Gomez explained during the media con, when asked why he became emotional upon seeing the faces of the entertainment press.
(I was interviewed outside. I was overwhelmed when I saw the old faces of my friends. There were emotions that rushed from me, I’m so happy to be back in the circle. This is where I grew up.)
Since ‘Salvageland’ marks Gomez’s first film in seven years since ‘Three Words to Forever,’ he admitted that he was nervous when he got back into the grind of filmmaking after a long hiatus.
It took time before he adjusted to the working environment, but it was the professionalism of Cayetano and his co-stars that reminded him why he missed doing movies in the first place.
‘Kinakabahan ako kasi ang tagal ko nang hindi gumagawa ng mga pelikula,’ he said. ‘Very realistic, this story. I just came from being a mayor and kay Direk Lino na nag-mayor din dati. Alam na namin ang galawan nito and ang organization, alam namin ang trabaho ng isang pulis.’
(I’m nervous because I haven’t been making films in a long time. This story is very realistic. I just came from being a mayor and Direk Lino became a mayor in the past as well. We know the workings of the organizations involved, including the job of a policeman.)
Delving into the storyline, Gomez shared that the film talks about the things that policemen have to do at some point in their careers.
‘There are things na kailangang gawin ng isang pulis, and noong binigay sa’kin ang character, sakay na sakay [ito] sa’kin, and especially bilang mayor, meron kaming mga pulis na gusto mag-retire na. So alam na namin bakit gusto na nila mag-retire from the service. it’s very realistic,’ he said.
(There are things that policemen need to do, and when the character was given to me, I connected so much with it. Being a mayor once, we had policemen who wanted to retire. So we understand why they want to retire from the service. It’s very realistic.)
When asked if ‘Salvageland’ marks Gomez’s comeback in the entertainment industry for good, he said that it would come down to the script, director and potential co-actors.
‘I really enjoyed doing movies. I love the cinema. Ang lagi ko lang hinihintay is magandang script, magaling na director, magandang production, and magagaling na artista (What I’m waiting for is a good script, a good director, a good production, and great actors),’ he said.
The film – set for a Nov. 26 release – also stars Mon Confiado, Cindy Miranda, McCoy de Leon and Angela Morena.