Use Somebody is a 2010 short feature independent film from Cagayan de Oro City directed by Cloyd Winstanley. The film tells the story of Jerome and Leslie, whose relationship is described as “M.U.” (Mutual Understanding). The two loved each other so much apart from them being best friends until Jerome decided to court Leslie, wanting her to be his girlfriend. The movie was filmed digitally and produced independently in which Winstanley would describe this as a “very independent film”. The indie film uses the local language of Cagayan de Oro which is Visayan.
The indie film was written and directed by Cloyd Winstanley and stars Mary Koren Witting, Tristan Capulong, Ian Nuer, Mitch Calotes, Ivie Auxtero, Arra Batobalonos, Caye Simpo and Joseph Waban. All except Calotes, Simpo, Auxtero and Waban are first time screen actors.
The indie film was the official entry for the 2011 CINEMAGIS film festival. It won 2nd BEST SHORT FILM for professional category and BEST ACTOR for Tristan Capulong.
Plot
The film begins with Jerome dressing up for a date in a vainly manner to meet his best friend and considers an “M.U.”, Leslie, at a popular Donuts shop in DV Soria, Cagayan de Oro City. Leslie is unusually cold to Jerome. The reason was that a week ago, Jerome courted Leslie and proposed that he wanted her to be his girlfriend. Leslie declines and cannot explain why. When Leslie asks Jerome why all of a sudden destroy a beautiful relationship by engaging into a commitment, Jerome also cannot give a “straight” answer. Jerome then recalls a conversation with his father two weeks earlier revealing that Jerome is in fact gay and that his father just forced him to have a girlfriend to prove he is a real man.
Cast
Mary Koren Witting as Leslie
Tristan Capulong as Jerome
Ian Nuer as Andy
Mitch Calotes as Joy
Ivie Auxtero as Kathy
Arra Batobalonos as Lizette
Caye Simpo as "Babe"
Joseph Waban as Jerome’s Father
Production
In early February 2010, M.U.S.T. (Mindanao University of State and Technology) student, pocketbook author and aspiring film maker April Sios-e approached Cloyd Winstanley and asked him that she wanted to make a student film which would be shown in a film festival to be held in her school. Sios-e pitched a story to Cloyd, who promised to help her with the production, a very odd and tragic story about a wife who committed suicide when she learns that her husband is cheating on him. Cloyd loved the story but feels that only a few might appreciate it and will lack “mass appeal”. While talking inside the M.U.S.T. campus, Sios-e thought of another story and pitched it to Cloyd. She had this idea that “What if this guy, who is gay, wanted so much to court this girl…”Cloyd thought “This could work! It’s a terrific conflict and a lot of people will relate to that.” Cloyd promised to work on the script as soon as he finishes the plot.
Cloyd woke up one early dawn due to the usual insomnia attack and decided to write the script to help him sleep. He finished the first draft in less than 2 hours and thought of the working title “Use Somebody” after one of his favorite songs from “Kings of Leon” saying that it’s “a story about two people who are very much in love and are just using each other.” Cloyd clears that the lyrics of the song had nothing to do with the story. He just thought that it would be the appropriate title and he could use the song as a soundtrack as well. He changed the title then to UseSomebody as making it a one word title.
He added that although the names of the characters are based on real people, their personalities are “totally different and fictitious.” When he writes scripts, he would be easily inspired if he would use real names of people he knows as reference and the “dialogue just flows right out of my head straight to the keyboard.”
Cloyd asked independent film producer Anilyn Bernardo to fund for the film. A very limited budget was approved in July 2010.
Casting
After Winstanley finished a series of hosting for the very successful event “Miss Silka 2010”, he then assembled a cast according to who would fit for the role. He met with theatre actor and professional wedding singer Ian Nuer who was one of the judges in some of the few pre-screenings of the Miss Silka pageant. Ramp model and former TV show host Marvin Mainit, one of the judges of the pageant, was asked by Cloyd to play the role of Jerome. Jerome, Cloyd said, has to be “vain, kinda metro sexual. So I want to cast a real-life model. But Jerome is not the type of gay who would go for another guy.” Ian was asked to play the role of Andy, Jerome’s bestfriend, whose totally gay. “I want Andy to be the life of the party. Kanang ma hugyaw ug katawa ang tao kung mu eksena na sya.” Cloyd only had Joseph Waban in mind to play the role of Jerome’s father. “Palangga kaayo si Jerome sa iyang Papa. He just can’t accept the fact nga bayot iyang anak. Barako gud kaayo siya.” Joseph played the role of Sisi in 2002 visayan independent film Kulasisi: Da Is2pid Boys and as Kagawad Johnny in the 2001 Visayan soap opera Kapitan Berino with Cloyd. He made the character, Jerome's father, a Barangay Kagawad in honor of Joseph's role in "Berino".
Cloyd was still eying for who to play Leslie. “Leslie has to be tisay. Medyo may pagka maldita. May pagka bakakon. She doesn’t show her true feelings and is very unpredictable. I also want to insert some mannerisms and I wanna make her ‘Obsessive Compulsive’.” Cloyd laughs as he thought that Leslie’s character is the most complicated of all. When Cloyd hosted the talent competition of Miss Silka, he watched as Mary Koren Witting showcased her talent which was oratorical and acting. Cloyd rejoiced “Nakakita nako’g Leslie!” and immediately offered the role to Koren. She won the title Miss Talent and 2nd runner-up respectively. After a few meetings with the cast, Marvin Mainit was replaced by ramp model Tristan Capulong due to Mainit’s very hectic schedule and reluctance of playing a gay role. Ian Nuer, who is a good friend of Tristan, suggested that the latter would be good for the role. Due to everyone’s busy schedule, Cloyd did not meet Tristan and never saw him in person until the first shooting day, the scene where Jerome meets Leslie in the Donut shop. Cloyd said “Nakita ra nako ang picture ni Tristan sa Facebook. Photogenic sya and he’s a model. That’s all that matters. I trust Ian’s (Nuer) judgment. Ako nay bahala sa ilang acting.”
In the 3rd draft of the script, the location for Jerome and Leslie’s meeting in the first scene is supposedly Mc Arthur park. (The first draft states that it should be shot inside the M.U.S.T. Campus) “Kay I want it somewhere very public and very masa.” according to Cloyd but changed the location to Dunkin Donuts DV Soria at the last minute when Cloyd, Ian and Koren had a meeting one night at the Donut shop. Cloyd looked around and thought the location would make the scene more intimate. “It’s the usual meeting place for young people. Besides, we would attract less attention kay we will shoot on a Sunday morning. Cloyd asked permission from his friend Armie Sobremesana, Dunkin Donuts Manager and she kindly obliged.
Professional Videographer Atoy Martinez lend his Sony DCR-HC46 Handy cam for the shoot
On October 24, 2010, the cast and crew shot the flashback scene with Jerome’s father and best friend Andy. Cloyd met with Arra Batobalonos, owner of the house where they shot the scene and said to her, “Gwapa lagi ka. Kabalo ka mu act?” Arra smiled and humbly said “Gamay” and was asked to play the role of Lizette.
In September, Mitch was asked to play the role of Joy. Mitch was then filming the independent film “Buring” in which she produced and played the title role.
Cloyd had grade school teacher and former call center agent Ivie Auxtero in mind to play Kathy. Ivie played a drug overdosed woman in Cloyd’s anti-drug commercial with Joseph Waban, who also played a drugged young man who’s about to jump from a building, in 2009 which won 3rd place best anti-drug TV commercial.
