Sa kinababaliwang bisyo… IAN, GAME MAMATAY PERO TAKOT MA-PARALYZE

ni Julie Bonifacio - @Winner | October 25, 2022

Hinintay talaga namin na mainterbyu si Ian Veneracion sa presscon ng international project niya titled One Good Day produced by Studio Three Sixty na mapapanood sa Amazon Prime Video. At hindi nasayang ang paghihintay namin kay Ian kasama ang ibang members ng entertainment media for more intimate questions.

Ian is in the business for 40 years now. He’s been working since he was seven. Sa tagal niya sa showbiz, inamin ni Ian na nangarap din siya nang todo pagdating sa material things especially nu’ng first half ng kanyang career.

“I think the first half of my life was laging addition. I want more like this. I want more money. I want a bigger house. I want more cars and blah-blah-blah. After siguro 35 (y/o), I started subtracting na. I want to subtract. Simple and be happy with life.

"For example, the house I’m living in now is more of uh, not an artista house. But I’m perfectly fine living there with it for the rest of my life. I don’t need anything more,” pahayag ni Ian.

Although, nagko-collect daw siya ng mga motorsiklo.

“I enjoy motorcycles. I don’t need more. So, it’s like subtracting and seeing that I’m okay with uh, parang ‘yun na. Imbes na more, more, more, time to get rid of desire,” esplika niya.

Kahit sumasali sa mga car races before, hindi raw siya nahilig sa pangongolekta ng sasakyan which most actors do.

“I think it’s too expensive to collect cars. I’d rather collect motorcycles. Motorcycles are cheap.

The most expensive motorcycle siguro na would be P2 million. Harley Davidson? No, Ducati, BMW, mga ganu'n. Pero kung kotse, the most expensive ones, grabe, P25… P30… P40… P50 million.”

Ayon pa kay Ian, his most expensive motorcycle ay nagkakahalaga ng P1.5 million. But higher than that amount, ayaw na raw niya.

“Yes, meron na. Oo, isa ‘yan sa meron ako ngayon. Pero maraming bikes ka na mabibili with less than a million pesos. Even with P300,000 you can buy a nice bike,” sabi ni Ian.

Dagdag pa niya, “Kotse? Parang…ewan ko. I’m happy with the basic ano, ‘yun nga. Hindi, nasa Pilipinas ka, sa totoo lang. Sa'n ka naman tatakbo nang sobrang bilis na puwede, na legal, na ano. Unless magre-race track ka lang, ayun. Pero ‘pag sa race track ka lang, sayang naman, bibili ka ng kotse, pagkamahal-mahal.”

Bukod sa motorcycles, ang isa pang hilig niyang i-collect ay gitara. Pero tapos na raw siya sa pagko-collect ng gitara. Mukhang "Kota Kinabalu" na si Ian pagdating sa mga gitarang gusto niya.

“How much ba my guitar? Siguro, mga $6,000. Gusto kong makakolekta ng piano, ha? Kung bibigyan, kung kaya. Pero hindi, eh. Una, you need so much space. May Weinstein ka d’yan, may Yamaha 67 ka d’yan, ‘yung mga ganu'n. Wow, sarap! Pero, guitars way cheaper,” sabay ngisi ni Ian.

Anyway, balik-action film genre si Ian sa One Good Day sa direksiyon ni Lester Pimentel Ong.

Sa mga ‘di na nakaabot sa teen years ni Ian sa showbiz, sumikat din siya noon bilang action star.

Certified hit ang launch niya as action star sa pelikulang Alyas Baby Face. Then, kaliwa’t kanan ang ginawa niyang action films with the leading production outfits noong dekada '90 gaya ng Seiko Films, OctoArts and Regal Films.

“Na-miss ko (ang paggawa ng action film),” pag-amin ni Ian, ‘at kaya pa.”

In real life, marunong pala talagang bumaril si Ian.

“Yes,” diin niya. “I had to, like early because I started my first action movie when I was 15. So, doon pa lang, kailangang marunong na, nag-training na ako. So, I was into firing during that time and before I started doing action movies, in martial arts, I started when I was five. And it’s been part of my life ever since.”

And this time, mas may angas na ang pagbabalik ni Ian sa action-genre with One Good Day dahil mas astig at mas delikado ang mga scenes na ginawa niya sa series.

“Uh, fears? Marami,” sagot niya kung ano ang mga kinatatakutan niya sa buhay.

“One of my fears ay maging paralyzed for example. Uh, I have no issues with death. Uhm, that’s why I enjoy the sports. I do sky-diving, para-motoring, motorcycling stuff. Uh, usually ‘yung fear ko is for others, for my loved ones, for my friends, mas doon ‘yung fears ko.”

First time nagkatrabaho si Ian at ang director niya na si Lester, bagaman parehong nagtrabaho sa ABS-CBN noon, never daw silang nagkaroon ng chance na maka-work ang isa’t isa. Nagkakilala na lang daw sila sa set ng One Good Day at naging magkaibigan.

Si Direk Lester is a former Wushu international champion and a businessman, at the same time.

Nakapagtrabaho siya sa mga fantaserye ng ABS-CBN as a stunt director. Ilan dito ang Panday at Lastikman hanggang sa nakapagdirek na sa Imortal, La Luna Sangre at Bagani.