Filipino film director remembers Josh Hartnett
By BOY VILLASANTA
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Filipino director Joey Romero still carries cherished memories of his interaction with Hollywood actor Josh Hartnett (who starred in films like "Black Hawk Down", "Sin City", "Pearl Harbor", "Hollywood Homicide" and "The Black Dahlia") while the latter filmed some scenes in Mindanao.
Harnett was in the country several months ago to film scenes in the film "I Come With The Rain" which were shot on location at Camp Diwalwal in Compostela Valley.
The film is about a former Los Angeles police officer (Hartnett) who quits the force and becomes a private detective. He is hired by a Chinese billionaire to find the latter's son. The search takes the detective to Hong Kong.The Chinese billionaire's son supposedly has healing powers.
Harnett's character has his own issues. He quit the LA police force after working on a case involving a serial killer (played by actor Elias Koteas) and he is still haunted by memories of the murders.
One website (
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/i_come.html) said the movie is a "supernatural detective thriller."
“Josh Hartnett is now in Hong Kong doing the longer scenes in his movie ‘I Come with the Rain’ partly done in Camp Diwalwal in Campostela Valley in Mindanao. My memories of him as an actor are very warm. He impressed me very well,” said Joey who has been given many opportunities to work with a number of foreign stars who come to the country to shoot a movie or to take a vacation.
Romero's father, National Artist for Film and prolific director Eddie Romero had the privilege of working and personally attending to Hollywood stars like John Saxon, Sean Connery, Sam Jones, Nancy Kwan, Oliver Stone, and Francis Ford Coppola among others.
“I am always lucky to have been part of welcoming and sending off famous Hollywood luminaries. At one time, I was with Tom Cruise when he did ‘Born on the 4th July’ in the country years back.
No "star complex"
Romero was pleased to find out that Harnett had a very professional and down-to-earth attitude. “Ngayon, ito namang si Josh Hartnett. Napakabait niya. Para siyang hindi sikat. Imagine, huh, sa airport pa lang, sa VIP room ng NAIA,he was very simple. Wala siyang ka-ala-alalay. Hindi tulad ng iba kong nakasama na mga sikat na Hollywood stars, ang daming mga nakapaligid. Kay Josh, wala.
“Ultimo pagkuha ng tubig sa water dispenser, siya lang ang gumagawa. He would just ask a cup from somebody in the counter and he would just serve himself.
“Wala siyang maaarteng manager o press agent na hihingan mo pa ng permiso para siya ay makausap. You could talk to him straight to his face. At masaya siyang kausap. Kung anu-ano ang kanyang ikinukuwento like no’ng ginawa niya
‘yong ‘Pearl Harbor’ at ‘Black Hawk Down.’ Siyempre, mga war movies ‘yong mga ‘yon.
"Sabi lang niya, he didn’t need a training in the military para magawa ang mga eksena niya sa pelikula niyang ginawa sa Pilipinas," Romero recalled.
(You wouldn't think he was a Hollywood star. He was so kind. He was very simple and, unlike other Hollywood personalities, didn't have an entourage of assistants. He would get water for himself from the dispenser. You could talk to him directly, without going through a manager or press agent. He loved to talk about "Pearl Harbor" and "Black Hawk Down.")
“Ang maarte pa ay ‘yong kasama niya sa pelikula na Japanese actress. Apat-apat ang alalay at parang kung sino. Si Hartnett, cowboy. I miss him,” Romero recounted.
Romero hopes to be able to catch Hartnett again in Hong Kong to discover more of the positive traits of one of Hollywood's most sought after actors.