MANILA, Philippines – Director Erik Matti has been one busy person. After two years, his movie BuyBust is set to open in August 1 in the Philippines and he’s currently shooting Darna and revising OTJ. (READ: When and where you can watch ‘BuyBust’ abroad)

In an interview with Rappler on the sidelines of a press conference on BuyBust on July 10, Matti shared that he was rewriting the script of the movie long before the Duterte administration waged its war on drugs.

“I wanted to be very objective. I don’t wanna throw judgement on either side – either the government or the opposition or everyone else in between,” he said. 

“I want to dig deep into what could be the problem…without putting into consideration ‘yung mga nasa Facebook lang (what is on Facebook only)….I just want to be clear with that and want to think about the film from my own perspective,” the director added.

When it comes the relevance of the films he makes, Matti said he wants the viewers to be aware of what’s happening but also wants to offer something different.

“Always, I’m very conscious to put in my own personal assessment, insight into what could be a relevant story,” he said.

Darna and OTJ update

Matti also gave a quick update on his two other projects – Darna, starring Liza Soberano, and the follow-up to his hit movie On the Job.

For Darna, he said that they have formally started shooting the film.

“We’re doing simultaneous – we’re shooting, we’re preparing the requirements of the film. Darna is probably 4, 5 times of BuyBust. It’s really, really the most ambitious film I’ll be doing,” he said. 

For OTJ, Matti said he had done 15 or 16 days of shooting. He said that the storyline will be a little more complex than the first one. ( READ: HOOQ confirms second ‘On The Job’ film)

“It’s complex because in this particular franchise, I decided to focus on the media. So the story is the media, the prisoners, and the politics,” he said.

Matti said that there will be a series component after the film has been shown.  – Rappler.com