Mikhail Red on working with Nadine Lustre in ‘Deleter’: She knew exactly what needed to be done
Mikhail Red explains why Nadine Lustre was the perfect choice for ‘Deleter.’
“Nadine knew exactly what needed to be done.”
These were the words of director Mikhail Red when asked to describe his experience working with Nadine Lustre on the Metro Manila Film Festival techno-horror hit movie Deleter.
In the film, Nadine plays the role of Lyra, a content moderator who is tasked to filter graphic uploads on social media.
In an interview with Inquirer.net, the director highlighted that Nadine is “very professional and very straight to the point, but she’s also very quiet and introverted. But once the production got going, nakita ko that she was also very excited about the project, perhaps because it isn’t the typical genre she’s used to. It’s something new to her.”
Mikhail pointed out that what they asked from Nadine in Deleter was not an easy task.
“Because in horror, hindi ka palaging may kabatuhang scene partner. Here, she had to imagine ghosts or an entity. She was always facing the cameras and lights, and yet, she needed to imagine what she was supposed to see,” he explained.
He further stressed that horror can be very technical sometimes.
“You have to hit your mark, you have to look this or that way, etc. I was surprised because kuhang-kuha niya and Nadine knew exactly what needed to be done. She really pulled it off, and you see that when you look at our poster and stills… where a certain ‘horror look’ is crucial,” he elaborated.
The director also shared how Nadine was able to pull off a complex character like Lyra in Deleter through her eyes.
“Nadine has very expressive eyes for a character whose struggle is very internal. As a deleter kasi, you can be very numb about the whole thing because you’re processing the whole world through a screen. There’s a Taxi Driver element to it,” he relayed.
Deleter won seven awards at MMFF’s Gabi ng Parangal on Tuesday, December 27, including the Best Actress award for Nadine.
The film also won Best Director for Mikhail Red, Best Cinematography for Ian Guevarra, Best Editing for Nikolas Red, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, and Best Picture.
In an interview with MJ Felipe of ABS-CBN News following her best actress win, Nadine admitted that she felt overwhelmed by the recognition she received.
“Sobrang unreal kasi like what I said earlier, hindi talaga namin in-expect na makakasama sa MMFF ‘yung Deleter so sobrang unreal. Parang akong si Lyra nananaginip pa rin ako,” she stated.
When asked about her reaction on Deleter bagging seven awards, she said, “Hindi talaga namin i-nexpect ‘to but I am really, really happy kasi para sa amin, para sa team Deleter, enough reward na ‘yung gustuhun siya ng mga Pilipino at gustuhin nilang panoorin, na mag-enjoy silang panoorin. So ito isang malaking bonus para sa team Deleter so I am really, really happy.”
Aside from being critically acclaimed, Deleter is also a huge box office hit.
On Tuesday, December 27, Mikhail shared on Twitter that the movie is number one in certain cinemas.
“We hoped DELETER would do well but this is a big surprise for all of us! Thank you all for your support! Forever grateful Still processing this,” the director posted.
