WHITE LADY’s JEFF TAN: A BORN FILMMAKER

Jeffrey Tan, the youngest of the late Universal Records producer Bella Tan’s 2 children, knew early on that he wanted to be a filmmaker. “Ako ang mas exposed sa aming dalawa ng sister ko sa showbiz. Unlike me, she feels that it isn’t her world.” Direk Jeff, who recently stopped using Jett “TM” Tan as his monicker, has more than good lineage to back him up. Consider this: he is armed with a Multimedia Arts degree from the College of Saint Benilde, and also owns a small production house called Screencraft. Jeff has directed stylish and memorable music videos for “Mano Po 3,” R& B Prince Jay-R, and Gary Valenciano. Tan was even supposed to make his directorial debut a year ago. “That was postponed because I was in the USA with my mom, where she was having her chemotherapy treatments,” relays Jeff.

Now, isn’t it refreshing to hear about a director who is a dutiful son as well? Directing was Jeff’s true calling because some months back, he got a call from Regal Films producer Roselle Monteverde-Teo asking him if he wanted to direct “White Lady,” a horror flick starring a young, hip and talented cast composed of Angelica Panganiban, JC de Vera, and Pauleen Luna, among many others. This was right after Roselle received an excellent screenplay written by Don Michael Perez and Joel Nu ñ ez which gave the decades-old stories about the White Lady a more contemporary, 21 st century spin that also had the elements of a youth movie.

Needless to say, after Jeff heard the scary but moving story of Perez and Nu ñ ez’s take on the White Lady from Roselle, he immediately jumped on board. “Na-excite ako sa visual possibilities ng kwento,” says direk Jeff. “At nang nabasa ko na yung script, lalo akong na-intriga kasi buong-buo ang mga characters at ang mga kwento nila.”

Jeff didn’t think twice about accepting the assignment for his very first feature film, even though he felt nervous very early into the process. “Story conference pa lang, nakaramdam na ako ng matinding pressure. Lahat ng tao, nakatutok sa akin. I had to live up to everyone’s expectations.

A chilling tale of an avenging spirit roaming an idyllic college in Laguna, “White Lady” is different because the director uses special effects not simply to wow the audience, but to support the story he is telling. “Hindi lang ito pananakot,” says direk Jeff, “may dahilan ang pananakot dito. Sa kwento nga namin, ginagamit ng White Lady ang mga bagay na kinatatakutan ng mga victims niya para mag revenge sa mga may atraso sa kanya.”

Indeed, one of the many heart-stopping moments in the film shows the character played by Ketchup Eusebio being overwhelmed by more than a hundred rats because he’s scared to death of the rodents. This was the most difficult scene to shoot, but cast and crew quickly forgot the grueling task of bringing it to the screen when they saw the finished scene.

Screenwriter Don Michael Perez, who wrote two of Regal Films’ most acclaimed hits (“Kuya” and “Mulawin The Movie.”) is all praises for Jeff’s work. “I was taken aback when I saw the rushes of White Lady,” says Perez. “I knew that Jeff would at least be good with the visuals because he’s a music video director. But even I wasn’t prepared for how creepy and atmospheric his shots were. And not only that, everyone in the cast realized their roles excellently. This wasn’t a case where the director just concentrated on the visuals and didn’t take care of the actors’ performances. Every aspect of direk Jeff’s work was wonderful.”

Co-writer Joel Nu ñ ez agrees. A brainstormer and writer for GMA Network’s most popular series (including “Mulawin” and “Click”) Joel is also making his debut as a movie scriptwriter with “White Lady”. “I’m very pleased that the first movie I co-wrote turned out so well,” confesses Nunez. “As a fan of the horror genre, I couldn’t ask for a better director than Jeff Tan. He truly elevates the ghost and horror genre to another level, and I’m sure audiences will be riveted to their seats during the movie.”

Shot over a two-month period in UP Los Ba ñ os, “White Lady” starts scaring audiences on July 19, four days before its director's 24th birthday (he was born on July 23). “I hope that it makes money and that the public takes to it. We're very confident that we have a good project. Perfect birthday gift sa akin kapag nagustuhan ng mga tao yung movie.” To get a scary experience the White Lady, log on to www.regalfilms.com/whitelady/ to view full trailer, photos, production notes, and other free downloads. You may also text LADY ON to 4627 for Smart and 2364 for Globe, Sun, TM and get exclusive trivia and logos. ###