ARIEL VILLASANTA’s movie, “Kings of Reablity Shows”, will be shown on November 27 and he says it’s a one-man show as he gives himself sole credit as lead actor, producer, writer, director, editor, in charge of sales, marketing and creatives. “I mortgaged my house para lang matapos ko itong movie na ito,” he says. “Two years in the making ito and this is dedicated to all struggling artists. Anuman ang kahinatnan nito, okay lang. Ayoko lang yung mag-regret ako pagtanda ko at magsisi ako kung bakit hindi ko ito ginawa.”
Ariel is the other half of the comic duo, Ariel and Maverick, who did TV shows and movies in the 1990s. They were supposed to do a movie for GMA Films to be shot in the U.S. but it was suddenly scrapped. “Dahil doon, nasaktan si Maverick. Kasi nag-presscon na kami, reding-ready na kami, tapos biglang hindi itinuloy.
"Ako, may day job. Siya, wala, so bigla siyang lumayo sa lahat. Puedeng na-depressed, pati ako, hindi na ako kinausap. Ni hindi sumasagot sa text. Hindi ko alam kung nasaan siya ngayon. Ang message ko sa kanya, kung anuman ang nangyari, sana, yung pagkakaibigan namin, hindi mawala, nandiyan pa rin. Sana mapanood niya itong movie at kontakin niya ako.”
He asked the help of various big celebrities who appear in his movie for free, including Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Alden Richards, Vice Ganda, Anne Curtis, Coco Martin, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, Sarah Duterte, Isko Moreno, Empoy Marquez, Gen. Bato de la Rosa, Jose Manalo, Suzette Ranillo, Regine Tolentino, Jasmine Trias of ‘American Idol’, even the late Eddie Garcia, and don’t be surprised if you’d also see Pres. Duterte himself.
He was once married to businesswoman and former TV host Cristina Decena. Did he ask her help for the movie? “Yes, tumulong siya at kasama rin siya rito sa movie. Friends naman kami. We’re okay. Walang issue sa amin pagdating sa pera.”
Ariel’s mom, the late Mommy Elvie who used to have her own reality show on TV5, was the sister of Joey de Leon’s late mom. “I miss her so much. We don’t say I love you to each other at ang lambingan namin, yung nilalait niya ako. Sinasabi niyang pangit ako, hindi gaya ng daddy ko na maayos daw, at ako, hindi. Nami-miss ko yun sa kanya and I also dedicate the movie to her.”
“Kings of Reality Shows” is produced by Lion’s Faith Productions and distributed by Solar Films.