Born on Jan. 4, 1978, director Lino Cayetano is the youngest of four kids of the late Sen. Renato Cayetano. "The eldest is Pia, followed by Allan, then Renren, at ako na," he says. "Pia and Ren are married."He finished grade and high school at the Benedictine in Alabang then took up Mass Communication in UP. "In high school, I was into social science, politics and sports. But in college, I planned to take up broadcasting sana, kasi idol ko si Noli de Castro. It was also at that time that my dad went into radio and TV and he realized the power of the media in helping more people. When I took up some film courses, that's when I changed my mind and wanted to be a director. I saw Ishmael Bernal's Manila By Night and realized you can make films where you can incorporate your views about politics and life. Pwede pala. I also like Lino Brocka's Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag. After graduation, I took cinematography and film directing classes at the New York Film Academy, New York University and the School of Visual Arts. I was eager to direct my first narrative film, but when I returned here, wala naman akong makuhang trabaho so I taught film courses in UP for two years."
It was GMA 7 that first gave him the chance to direct on TV. "I had this concept na 'Who Wants to be an Artista', parang Who Wants to be a Millionaire. GMA naman had its concept about a reality search at naging swak ang ideas nila with mine, so that's how StarStruck was born."
He directed the very successful first StarStruck that produced the likes of Mark Herras, Jennylyn Mercado, Yasmien Kudi, Katrina Halili, Cristine Reyes and Nadine Samonte. The next StarStruck finds didn't become as popular as those of the first batch. By then, Lino has moved to ABS-CBN.
"They offered me to direct the Maalaala Mo Kaya episode about my dad's life story, with Ronaldo Valdez playing my dad and John Lloyd Cruz as me. It turned out so well they even replayed it, then they offered me a contract to do films and TV shows for them, so, nagpaalam ako nang maayos sa GMA. I was given the chance to work with director Maryo de los Reyes in two teleseryes, Anghel na Walang Langit and Calla Lily. I consider him my mentor as I learned so much from him."
As we're having lunch, we notice he's eating nothing but greens so we ask him if his diet is restricted after he donated part of his liver to his dad. "Bawal sa 'kin ang fatty foods kasi when part of my liver was removed, inalis pati gall bladder ko as it was attached to my liver. Now, I must have periodic checkups to see if my liver is doing okay."
Writer Mel del Rosario, who scripted his first full-length film, I've Fallen For You, says he is a producer's nightmare. "Not because he goes overbudget but because ang dami rin niyang fans na nagpakuha ng litrato with him kaya nadi-disrupt ang shooting," she adds. "Sabi ko nga, mabuti pa yung mga baklang director na walang fans, hindi naiistorbo ang trabaho sa set. I told him if this first movie of his wouldn't click, gagawin ko na lang siyang bold actor."
Lino has become a celebrity himself due to his involvement with Bianca Gonzales before and now, with KC Concepcion. He and Bianca broke up after she was linked with Zanjoe Marudo when they were on PBB Celebrity Edition.
Now, despite the rumors that he and KC are playing beautiful music together, Lino chooses not to talk about it.
"There are people who are very open and comfortable talking about their personal life and I'm not one of them. It's my own choice. But I don't hide naman my admiration for KC. After all, she's beautiful and very talented. I also want to thank her mom (Sharon Cuneta) for all the nice things she said about me."
Lino was supposed to direct his first film last year yet, an episode in the supposed trilogy, 'Wag Kang Lilingon.' "But they scrapped the third episode and made it just a twin bill. I felt so sad then."
But Mel, who has helped launch the careers of many directors, says what happened then turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he's now given the chance to do a full-length film and not just one episode in a trilogy. She's confident I've Fallen for You will be a hit.
"I saw the rough edit at magaganda ang visuals niya. The movie is not just about the love story of Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson but also that of their elders, Albert Martinez and Lotlot de Leon as Kim's parents, and Chin Chin Gutierez and Lloyd Samartino naman kay Gerald. I told him nga, 'Aba, marunong ka pala magdirek, may kinabukasan ka.'"
"It's really worth the wait as I don't want the usual romance na pampakilig lang, kasi when you're 17, hindi lang naman lovelife ang priority mo," adds Lino. "I'm thankful to Star Cinema that they allowed me to do the film I had in mind, as I also want to face, the choices they have to make in life, and the consequences they have to face as a result of their decisions. I want a movie that offers good values for the whole family."
In the story, Kim and Gerald have the same name: Alex Reyes. There's a reason behind this. It will turn out that Kim's dad and Gerald's mom were once sweethearts and Kim's mom has a difficulty accepting the fact that Gerald's mom is really her husband's one true love. How this affects the love affair of Kim and Gerald is part of the film's very absorbing plot line.
What kind of films does he want to make later? "I feel very strongly about family life so I want to do a drama about relationships between a father and a son or a daughter. The Hollywood film I really like is The Godfather series of Francis Ford Coppola as it's really about a family."
What does he prefer: Box-office success or artistic acclaim? 'That's a tough question. I think I just want to make films that people will watch. As of now, basta happy ako with my first film and I'd like to thank all the people I worked with, from the stars to the crew, as I know we have a film we can all be proud of."
Source: The Philippine STAR Entertainment by Mario E. Bautista
