On the Job

On the Job (2013)

On The Job is about the ambitions and passions of four men trying to make a living, for themselves and their families. It shows the parallels between two prison inmates who are contract killers, and the two agents of the law investigating the murders. As they get caught in a web of machination of corrupt government officials, their jobs lead them on a head-on collision against each other with their loved ones as collateral damage.

Date of release
2013-08-28
TMDB
6.6 / 10 (88)
Runtime
1h 59m
Genres
Action, Crime, Thriller
Director
Erik Matti
Collection
On the Job Collection

Casting

Interesting facts

On the Job is a 2013 Philippine neo-noir and crime thriller film written and directed by Erik Matti, who co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Michiko Yamamoto. Starring Gerald Anderson, Joel Torre, Joey Marquez and Piolo Pascual, it tells the story of two hit-man prisoners who are temporarily freed to carry out political executions, and two law enforcers tasked with investigating the drug-related murder case connected to the prison gun-for-hire business. The film co-stars Angel Aquino, Shaina Magdayao, Empress Schuck, Leo Martinez, Michael de Mesa, Vivian Velez, and Rayver Cruz.

Production

Director Erik Matti was inspired by a Viva Films service driver, an ex-convict who said that he used to be temporarily freed from prison to commit contract killings and reincarcerated. Matti shelved his idea until he ended his hiatus from directing with The Arrival, a short film he released to positive response at several film festivals in 2009.

During the writing process and after the final draft was complete, Brown was unable to attract investors; some felt that the story was too nontraditional for Philippine cinema or too large a risk for the overseas market. Star Cinema (the Philippines' largest production company) refused to make the film in 2010, deeming it too violent compared with their usual romantic-comedy projects.

Reality Entertainment, an independent film company co-founded by Matti, co-produced On the Job with Star Cinema. Reality Entertainment co-founder Dondon Monteverde, Lily Monteverde's son, said that many studios were impressed by the script but were reluctant to finance a big-budget action film. Although the production team considered cutting the film's budget, they decided against it in the hope of shifting away from low-budget films.

Joel Torre, who plays Mario "Tatang" Maghari in the film, had already been cast before Matti's script revision. Torre said about the role, "[Mario] stuck with me, fought for me. And that gave me a lot of confidence, a Bushido Blade samurai." Matti asked Piolo Pascual to play attorney Francis Coronel Jr.

Richard V. Somes was the film's production designer and action choreographer. To prepare for the prison scenes, the production crew built a set in an abandoned building in Marikina and hired 200 extras to play convicts. Principal photography took 33 days on location in a number of Manila areas, including City Hall, a Light Rail train station, and Caloocan. The opening scenes were shot during the annual Basaan Festival in San Juan.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended