Viva Films

Viva Films

Company type	Subsidiary of Viva Entertainment
Industry	Motion pictures
Founded	Quezon City, Philippines (1981)
Headquarters	Quezon City ,
Key people	Vicente G. del Rosario III(Chairman of the Board and CEO) Veronique del Rosario-Corpus
Products	motion pictures
Owner	Vicente G. del Rosario III(Chairman of the Board and CEO)
Parent	Viva Entertainment

Viva Films is a Filipino film production company which started in 1981. This company is part of the Viva Entertainment Group.

History

Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion loveteam

Considered by many as Viva Films' crown jewel, the popular pair of singer Sharon Cuneta and Regal Films star Gabby Concepcion (who were married in 1984 and later separated) starred in the first Viva movie "P.S. I Love You." The movie was directed by veteran actor/director Eddie Garcia. Though Viva was a new film company, "P.S. I Love You" was one of the best memorable blockbusters in Philippine Cinema. The movie's theme song was sung by Sharon herself. Sharon Cuneta became one of the company's resident actresses. Viva Films also produced the last Sharon-Gabby movie, "Tayong Dalawa" (The Two of Us).

Home of Quality Dramas, Action and Comedies

Veering away from the Sharon Cuneta-Gabby Concepcion tandem, Viva became home of quality dramatic films. The "glossy" production of films such as "Sinasamba Kita", "Palimos ng Pag-ibig", "Saan Darating Ang Umaga?", "Kung Mahawi Man Ang Ulap" and "Paano Ba Ang Mangarap?" garnered critical and commercial acclaims. Viva Films also made a documentary film on the Puerto Rican boy group Menudo on their visit to the Philippines in 1985.

Viva also joined in the action bandwagon when it launched then-supporting actor Phillip Salvador as an action star in the movie "Boy Negro". It was also instrumental in introducing to the public Robin Padilla ("Bad Boy" and "Anak ni Baby Ama") and Raymart Santiago ("Noel Juico: Batang Kriminal") as new action heroes. Veteran action stars Eddie Garcia, Rudy Fernandez, Bong Revilla Jr. and Fernando Poe, Jr. also made movies for Viva.

Viva also made "glossy" comedy films like "Working Girls" and "Sa Totoo Lang" which featured serious actors and actresses as main characters instead of comedians. The company also gambled on new comedians as the '80s decade was about to end. Comedy flicks such as "Puto", "Jack en Jill", "Humanap ka ng Panget" and "I Love You Three Times a Day" launched the respective careers of Herbert Bautista, Andrew E. and Jimmy Santos. In the '90s, Viva launched the careers of Dennis Padilla and Janno Gibbs as solo comedians while reviving the film careers of veteran comedians Chiquito ("Pinagbiyak na Bunga") and Joey de Leon ("Hibangers").

Bagets, Estudyante Blues, TGIS

Viva was also known as home to quality youth-oriented films, starting with the 1984 breakthrough flick, "Bagets". The movie was topbilled by William Martinez and launched the careers of then unknowns Aga Muhlach, Raymond Lauchengco, JC Bonnin and Herbert Bautista. With its box-office success, the company produced a sequel "Bagets 2" with Ramon Christopher, Jon Hernandez and Francis Magalona joining the original cast, the success of the 2 Bagets film made it the flagship movie of VIVA films & it set the trend for youth-oriented movies in the 80's which other film companies copied, but they never matched nor equalled the success brought about by The 2 Bagets films.

In 1989, Viva introduced its second batch of young stars via the youth-oriented comedy "Estudyante Blues". It introduced to the public young stars & That's Entertainment mainstays such as Vina Morales, Gelli de Belen, Keempee de Leon, Raymart Santiago and Dingdong Avanzado. The movie was also a resounding success, despite the fact that "Estudyante Blues" became an earlier hit via the Philippine music airwaves as a single sung by Freddie Aguilar.

Viva later on entered into television production by partnering with GMA Network. Their first venture together was the soap opera "Villa Quintana" in 1993 with Donna Cruz and Keempee de Leon as lead stars. However, it was the 1995 youth-oriented series "TGIS" that gave Viva its biggest success as a television producer. Headlined by Angelu de Leon, it gave birth the careers of Bobby Andrews, Michael Flores, Onemig Bondoc, Red Sternberg, Raven Villanueva and Ciara Sotto. The success of the TV series was later translated to the big screen, when the "TGIS" group became box-office stars via the movies "Takot Ka Ba sa Dilim?" and "TGIS the Movie".

Reputable Starmakers

Viva also created its own stable of stars by discovering fresh faces and relaunching the careers of some celebrities and turn them into major stars.

In the '90s, the company was able to discover fresh faces in Dawn Zulueta, Tonton Gutierrez, Nanette Medved, Rustom Padilla, Anjanette Abayari, Gary Estrada, Ariel Rivera and Mikee Cojuangco whose respective launching movies were greatly supported by moviegoers at the box-office.

Also in that decade, Viva was also instrumental in repackaging Cesar Montano from supporting actor to action star, Albert Martinez from matinee idol to character actor, Vina Morales, Donna Cruz and Ana Roces from teen stars to leading ladies, and Regine Velasquez from concert artist to leading lady status. The gamble paid off as these stars were able to quickly gain a following among fans.

The new millennium also paved way for Viva to discover more new talents via its talent search shows "Star for A Night" and "Search for A Star". Multimedia concert artists Sarah Geronimo, Mark Bautista and Rachelle Ann Go are among the products of these shows.

As the Viva family grew, the company put up Viva Artists Agency to manage the respective careers of its stars.

Viva Queens and Princess

Viva Films is known best in its publicity machinery, thus making its stable of female stars as Movie Queens and Princesses of Philippine Showbiz.

Sharon Cuneta is the undisputed Viva Movie Queen since the 1980s after doing several Flicks with Major Box Office Directors from Serialized Comics Characters to long suffering heroines to Young Love, To Drama and Action. There were other actresses who were Viva female leads like Dina Bonnevie, Dawn Zulueta, Alice Dixon and Nanette Medved.

Regine Velasquez became the Second Viva Queen with several titles with The Biggest Actors such as Aga Muhlach, and Christopher De Leon, Richard Gomez, Robin Padilla,her biggest Romance Movies are with Aga Muhlach in Romantic Comedies, with Most Watched Movies such as 1999's Dahil May Isang Ikaw and 2001's Pangako Ikaw Lang and This 2010's Of All The Things as their comeback and finished movie and after Sharon's decision to do movies little leave with her Mother Major Movie Production as she had to do a few Projects with Star Cinema Alongside with the same actors under Star Cinema and a comeback movie with Richard Gomez in 2003 Walang Kapalit as her last seen movie under VIVA.

Vina Morales, Donna Cruz, Angelu de leon, Anne Curtis are considered as the VIVA Movie Princesses from the 90s to early 2000s. These four popular young actresses headlined Viva's youth oriented flicks that scored big at the box-office and Anne Curtis is still on Top Of Box-Office reciepts til Present after hit Movies like Wag Kang Lilingon A Mid 2006 Flick When Love Begins,(2008) Babe, I love You (2010) which are all under VIVA and Star Cinema both Summer Blockbusters and In Your Eyes (2010) under VIVA and GMA Films

And to this date, Sarah Geronimo is the next VIVA Princess After hit movies as a Lead such as 2008's A Very Special Love and The Multi Awarded Sequel You Changed My Life which ringed the Box Office in 2009 with More than Millions as A Valentine Presentation under both VIVA and Star Cinema for both movies and VIVA Films Hating Kapatid with Judy Ann Santos just this August which became a Box Office Certified Hit, which is not similar to 2002's heavy Drama Movie MagKapatid which starred Judy Ann Santos and Sharon Cuneta as sisters with Dingdong Dantes and Christopher De Leon. because both movies are under VIVA but Hating Kapatid is A Romance-Comedy Family-Drama on Half Sisters and MagKapatid is a Heavy Multi-Awarded Drama and MMFF 2002 Awardee.

Steady decline, Resurrection and Co-Production

As the '90s decade was about to end, Viva's presence as a big-time movie company was threatened with rising costs, movie piracy and declining film production. But this did not stop them from evolving and reinventing themselves into a multi-media company.

"Lastikman: Unang Banat," an entry for the 2004 Metro Manila Film Festival, would have been the last movie for the company. However, after an almost 2-year hiatus, Viva Films made a comeback by co-producing with new players GMA Films and Star Cinema while producing its own films. Among the movies that the company co-produced or solely produced were "Till I Met You" (GMA Films) "Wag Kang Lilingon" (with Star Cinema), "Ang Cute ng Ina Mo" (with Star Cinema), "Paano Kita Iibigin" (with Star Cinema), "Ouija" (with GMA Films), "Apat Dapat Dapat Apat: Friends 4 Lyf and Death" (with On-Q 28 Productions), "Ikaw Pa Rin: Bongga Ka Boy" (with Unitel Pictures), "When Love Begins" (with Star Cinema), "A Very Special Love" (with Star Cinema), recently in 2009, Status: Single (with On-Q 28 Productions), You Changed My Life (with Star Cinema), and Patient X (with GMA Films and RGUTZ Productions), and on 2010, Babe, I Love You (with Star Cinema),Working Girls (with GMA Films and Unitel Pictures), Hating Kapatid, and In Your Eyes (with GMA Films). "Patient X" marks the first Viva movie of rising young actor Richard Gutierrez followed by "In Your Eyes", while "Working Girls" marks the first Viva movie of 1st Starstruck princess Jennylyn Mercado, who can be the next Viva princess, after she signed a contract with Viva Entertainment.

Viva also made a big comeback in the awards derby when its 2008 Metro Manila Filmfest entry "Baler" captured most of the major awards given by local award-giving bodies.

Viva movies on TV

During the early '80s, Viva tied up with IBC-13 & GMA Network to air their early releases every Saturday nights. The movie block, entitled "Viva Box Office Hits", showed early movies of Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion and other early releases by the company. In 1988, Viva pulled out of IBC and transferred the movie block to GMA Network. During the GMA era, "Viva Box Office Hits" were shown on Thursday nights for two years with the latest releases from 1988 onwards. In 1992, Viva renewed their contract with GMA-7 where their latest movie releases starting in 1991 onwards were shown every Thursday nights. The movie block was renamed "Viva Sinerama". It was also during the GMA era where Viva aired another movie block on Monday nights called "MVP (Monday Viva Presentations)" in 1994, primarily to compete with ABS-CBN's then top-rating movie block "Regal Presents" and "Star Cinema Presents" . During the new millennium, Viva diversified its movie library where it was aired randomly on IBC-13 (via Viva TV channel) and ABC 5 (via the Viva Box Office movie block).

From free TV, Viva was able to tie up with Star TV to create an all-Filipino international movie channel in 1996, called Viva Cinema. Viva Cinema aired over 300 movies coming from the Viva library, including latest releases. It also aired behind-the-scenes outtakes and refreshing entertainment shows. The partnership between Viva and Star TV ended in July 31, 2003 when Viva created its own movie channel, PBO (Pinoy Box Office) and entrusted the entire Viva movie library to ABS-CBN by allowing it to air over Cinema One. Co-productions of Viva and Star Cinema are also aired exclusively via ABS-CBN's movie block Kapamilya Blockbusters and Studio 23's movie blocks Barkada Nights and Lunch Box Office, and via Viva Cinema and Viva Prime Channel. Co-productions of Viva and GMA Films are excusively aired via GMA Network's movie block Kapuso Movie Festival and via Viva Cinema and Viva Prime Channel. Viva Prime Channel air mostly action and Drama movies at 7:00 p.m. only every other week of the month. Viva Cinema return on February 2009 along with the launch of Philippine DTH's Cignal Digital TV of the same month.

Other Film Outfits owned by Viva

• Neo Films-started production with "Manalo, Matalo, Mahal Kita" in 1995, "Sabado Nights," and "Ikaw Na Sana." The critically-acclaimed 2003 film "Ang Huling Birhen Sa Lupa" was the last movie of Neo Films.
• Falcon Films- started production in mid-1990s. The films produced by Falcon are "Sobra-Sobra, Labis-Labis," "Gayuma," "Lihim," "Indecent Professor," "Doctor X," and the multi-awarded "Rizal sa Dapitan."

P1.1-billion IPO

On January 2008, Viva chairman Vic del Rosario announced that Viva Communications expects to raise P1.1 billion (1 US dollar = 41.48 pesos) through approval of the initial public offering (IPO) by the Philippine Stock Exchange, on listing date of March 5. It plans to sell up P 92.8 million new shares and P 49.9 million secondary shares at P 12.93 / share (offer is 35% of the company's issued and outstanding capital stock). It appointed Banco de Oro (BDO) Capital and Investment Corporation as lead underwriter and Abacus Capital and Investments Corporation as co-lead underwriter. Viva's net income was P 121 million for January to October, 2007, double its 2006 earnings and projects net profit of P 330 million this year.

See also

• Sine Novela - movies of VIVA Films remaked by GMA Network for Afternoon drama in Television
• Babangon Ako't Dudurugin Kita - a Non-Sine Novela created by Gilda Olvidado and VIVA Films remaked by GMA Network for Primetime drama in GMA Telebabad.

External links

• List of Viva Films Movies at IMDB.Com