BY PABLO A. TARIMAN
BOOK authors in the popular category are now having the good times of their lives with movie executives jumping on the first opportunity to get film rights of bestselling books.
Bob Ong’s “Aba, Nakakabasa Na Pala Ako” landed in the stable of Viva Films which made a well-received movie version of the book starring Jericho Rosales and Andi Eigenmann, among others.
Young author Bianca Bernardino penned a love story, “She’s Dating The Gangster” in the social media-based publishing site, Wattpad, and it became a bestseller. It is now the title of a Star Cinema film starring Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo.
Another teenage story entitled, “Diary ng Panget” — also published in free literature website, Wattpad and authored by a teenager known only as Who Is That Girl — logged 12 million reads and it landed once more in the Viva Films creative group and is now a movie of the same title starring young stars Nadine Lustre as the insecure diarist, James Reid as look the arrogant heartthrob, Yassi Pressman as her best friend and Andre Paras as the friendly campus looker.
A quick look at one edition of “Diary Ng Panget” published by PSICOM publishing company reveals a teenage author-narrator nicknamed Eya who keeps a diary containing a day-to-day chronicle of her own work-a-day world.
Eya’s background is rich enough for another teleserye but the author skips her class origins and makes an interesting account of her travails as working student, personal housemaid and confidante of campus heartthrobs (played by Reid and Paras) and as close friend of a thoughtful British-Filipino student (played by Pressman).
A sampling from her diary entry revealing her social background: “My name is Reah Rodriguez, they call me ‘Eya.’ Isa akong serina.Joke lang, isa akong normal na babae na pinugadan ng pimples at kakambal ng walis tambo ang buhok. May pagkapandak din ako pero hindi naman ako unano, malapad pa ang noo ko. May ipapabasa ako sa inyo, ang aking diary. Ssh!!! Top secret ito. Huwag niyong ipagkakalat! Oo makaluma akong tao, alam kong hindi na uso ang diary dahil may blog na pero mahirap lang ako, wala akong pambili ng computer para mag-blog.”
Written in contemporary Pilipino also understandable to non-teenagers, the “novel” is a quick read at 128 pages with long narrative quotes from the main character trying to survive as a working student and trying to please her campus friends and employer.
As it is, the book is also an engrossing teenage account of one awakening from stirrings of love and infatuation.
Consider her description of Chad played by Paras in their first encounter: “Bigla siyang umakbay sakin, aba porket pogi siya ang lakas ng confidence niyang umakbay sa kung sino sino? Sexual harassment eto oy! Pero uyyy kinikilig naman ako, inaakbayan ako ng pogi, first time in my life na nangyari ito! Wahaha.”
Her description of the arrogant heartthrob on their first encounter in the campus: “Nakarinig ako ng tawa sa likod ko kaya napalingon ako nang makakita ng isang napakagwapong lalaki. Ang puti at pantay na pantay ang mga ngipin niya. Tapos ang pula pa ng mga labi niya at sobrang kissable.”
Eya is also overhelmed by his fair skin without any trace of pimples or blackheads. She drools: “Immune ba ito sa pimples? Ang tangos pa ng ilong niya.”
Her adventures (and misadventures) inside and outside the campus are pretty hilarious highlighted by a masked ball scene where she agreed to bring Chad’s electronic necklace to his crush (Pressman). But something went awry during a planned brownout with her best friend put in a funny, if, uncompromising, position.
The book, for all it’s worth, is light and fun stuff for teenagers and Viva Films made sure the characters fit the description of the book.
Paras at 6”4’ as Chad is indeed a looker, Lustre as Eya fits the part and for the most part, Reid as Cross Standford with his perfect look is bound to earn high voltage screaming from teenage fans. Pressman as the Fil-British girl Lori projects inborn natural charm
“Playing Chad will be a breeze as on my part as I will be playing myself,” said Paras during a recent presscon.
Not for Reid. “I am the opposite of Standford in real life and I think it is a challenge playing what you are not as a private person.”
Yassi pointed out she is elated she can truly relate to the character in the book. “The character Lori has many things in common with me, “ Pressman added.
Viva Films SVP June Rufino averred the company actually believed in the box office drawing power of the book. “That’s the reason we invested on these young performers who pretty much capture the characters of the bestselling book.”
Will the Wattpad bestsellers be the country’s answer to the Harry Potter phenomenon? What keep the teenage readers turning pages and transforming unknown writers into bestselling authors?
Suzie Faloon — who contributes to eHow — figures out the teenage book market: “Teen readers need a writer who knows how to grasp their attention and keep them interested. It takes a detail-oriented author with a true knowledge of how to draw upon a reader’s emotions to keep a teen turning the pages. Teens enjoy a fantasy world, but the book has to make perfect sense.”
The movie version of “Diary ng Panget” — opening on April 2 — is directed by Andoy Ranay (“When The Love Is Gone”) with script by Mel del Rosario.