Erich Gonzales is out for blood in ‘We Will Not Die Tonight’
By NEIL RAMOS
Not a few were surprised with Erich Gonzales deciding to star in the action-packed thriller “We Will Not Die Tonight.”
It’s understandable though, given how the 27-year old actress is known more for doing mostly straight, mainstream fare.
While some are left scratching their heads, Gonzales herself thinks the move a no-brainer.
“As an artist, you really want to explore the depths of your abilities. You don’t want to keep on doing the same thing over and over again,” she said during a recent interview.
“This is the reason why I took on ‘We Will Not die Tonight.’ It’s a means to further expand my skills, my talent,” she added.
Well, it’s not as if Gonzales just woke up and decided to just jump into it eyes closed.
A quick look at her body of work hinted of her daring.
In between cutesy patootsie fare like “I Do,” “Suddenly It’s Magic,” or “Once A Princess,” Gonzales also worked on the political “Noy,” the psychological thriller “Corazon; Ang Unang Aswang,” and the crime drama “Mariposa (Sa Hawla Ng Gabi).”
This is exactly what prompted “We Will Not Die Tonight” director Richard V. Somes to tap her for the film.
“From the moment I first met her, I knew she is not run-of-the mill,” he said. “She has this fire inside her.”
Note the two first collaborated on “Corazon; Ang Unang Aswang,” followed by “Mariposa (Sa Hawla Ng Gabi).”
“With Erich I saw somebody who’s willing to take a risk,” added Somes. “She really doesn’t care much for her sweet, wholesome image. She is an actress first and foremost and she’s willing to go to great lengths to prove herself worthy of the tag.”
Prove it she did.
“Her commitment to ‘We Will Not Die Tonight’ surprised me,” said Somes. “I thought I knew her but seeing the kind of work she put into it, including the gym work, the martial art lessons, doing action scenes without a stunt double, she actually scared me.”
Gonzales has a rather practical explanation to this.
“I produced the film so it’s but natural to give my all to make it work,” she said.
She admitted, however, “There are times when I got scared, like there was this one time when I actually got electrocuted executing a scene, I really thought it was the end of me!
“And there’s another where I was almost strangled in a mesh of barbed wires…”
But the pain was all worth it.
Gonzales said, “Hearing all the good things being said about the film when it had its world premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival a few weeks ago was quite exhilarating. It made all the hard work more meaningful.”
But would she actually do it again?
Well, don’t look now but according to both Gonzales and Somes they are already thinking of doing a sequel, and with more dangerous stunts.
Then again, that’s another story.
“We Will Not Die Tonight” is an entry to this year’s “Pista Ng Pelikulang Pilipino,” running from Aug 15- 21.
