Film producer Dondon Monteverde said there is no rivalry between him and his sister Roselle Monteverde in the film production business.
Dondon recently met with members of the press during the partnership launch of his Reality MM Studios and Gerald Anderson’s The Th3rd Floor Studios, where he was asked how he handles competition with his sister Roselle.
‘Una sa lahat, gusto natin suportahan ang pelikulang Filipino. It’s not a competition. It’s really more about producing more films, makapag-bigay ng trabaho, makapag-bigay ng maraming proyekto para maipagmalaki natin ang gawang Filipino. Nagsusuportahan kami (Roselle). Walang inggitan. Fair competition,’ he said.
Dondon’s studio is working with Anderson’s studio for the upcoming film ‘Rekonek,’ which explores a global internet outage and human connection.
Dondon and Roselle are children of the late Lily Monteverde, widely known as Mother Lily, who founded Regal Entertainment Inc. (also called Regal Films). Under Mother Lily’s stewardship, the company produced long-running franchises such as ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ and ‘Mano Po,’ which launched the careers of many stars.
Following Mother Lily’s death last year, Roselle now leads Regal Entertainment, while Dondon heads his own production outfit, Reality MM Studios (formerly Reality Entertainment). The studio was co-founded by Dondon and filmmaker Erik Matti.
One of Regal’s latest major releases is the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2024 entry ‘My Future You,’ a romantic comedy starring Francine Diaz and Seth Fedelin, which was among the final films green-lit by Mother Lily before her passing.
The company is also moving ahead with the 17th ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ installment, titled ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll: Evil Origins’ (2025), which is set to premiere at this year’s MMFF.
Meanwhile, one of Reality MM’s recent projects is the adaptation of ‘Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum,’ a horror thriller starring Enrique Gil, Jane de Leon and Alexa Miro, among others.
Reality MM also announced a major collaboration with Coco Martin to co-produce two big-budget action films: ‘On the Job: Maghari’ and ‘Maypagasa: The Battles of Andres Bonifacio,’ both set for 2027 release.