MATAPOS magwagi ng Volpi Cup sa pagka-best actor sa 2021 Venice Film Festival para sa kanyang pagganap bilang Sisoy Salas sa pelikulang On the Job: The Missing 8 ni Erik Matti, bet namang maging global actor ng batikang si John Arcilla para ma-represent ang Pilipinas sa world cinema.

Sa digital mediacon para sa bago niyang pelikula para sa nalalapit na Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), ang Pinoy adaptation ng sikat na Korean film na A Hard Day under Viva Films, sinabi ni John na gusto niyang i-explore ang pagiging kontrabida sa international scene.

Type raw niyang maging isa sa freak people sa X-Men o kaya naman ay magkontrabida sa Batman.

“I wish I can join a film project with those iconic heroes on DC,” aniya.

Dagdag ng aktor, “Parang ang sarap niyang i-explore. I want to see myself as a global actor because we’ve been opening globally. We’re already there. We’re seen on international screen and we got the citation. We were parang… inilinya nila tayo sa mga popular and great actors from the globe, ’no, tulad nina (Gerard) Depardieu, sila Brad Pitt…”

Pagdating naman sa A Hard Day, sinabi ni John na mixed emotions siya na matutuloy na itong ipalabas sa MMFF.

Ito raw ay dahil nang ma-cancel ang screening nito bilang original entry sa dapat sana’y Metro Manila Summer Film Festival, valid ang rason dahil nga sa lockdown na ipinatupad sa bansa sa kataasan ng Covid-19 pandemic.

“I don’t have any like, parang wala akong… okay lang sa akin, parang ganu’n. It’s okay. I have mixed emotions also especially these days because I want it to be seen sa large cinema. But, somehow, there’s another variant happening outside of our country. And ang pandemic is still here. Of course, I’m so happy that we’re going to open our cinemas now. But I would like to ask everyone to be more cautious pa rin and stay safe and keep on following (the minimum health) protocols.

“We have to enjoy this moment kasi for the first time again after two years, meron uli tayong ganito, we have to take advantage of this reopening but at the same time, we have to be cautious,” paalala ng aktor sa publiko.

Puring-puri naman ni John ang co-star niya sa A Hard Day na si Dingdong Dantes na kasalukuyang kasama ng misis niyang si Marian Rivera sa Eilat, Israel.

Bilang co-actor, very respectable raw si Dingdong, ani John.

“Dingdong is a very respectable person, a very respectable actor. You cannot just throw yourself in the scene without considering what you will do or how you will attack that particular scene,” tukoy niya.

Bale magkalaban ang dalawa sa istorya bilang sina Lt. Ace “Alas” Franco (John) at Detective Edmund Villon (Dingdong).

Hindi umano pinanood ni John ang original Korean version ng A Hard Day tulad ng hindi niya panonood sa Korean version ng isa pang Pinoy adaptation film na Miracle in Cell No. 7.

Katwiran niya, “I didn’t want to preempt myself. Kahit ’yung Miracle… ’di ko pinanood. I just base my characterization by the way it was presented by the script to me plus, of course, the guidance of my director. I don’t want to copy anyone,

I want it to be fresh.”

Sa ilalim ng direksyon ni Law Fajardo, ang A Hard Day at iba pang MMFF entries ay mapapanood simula December 25.