DARRYL YAP IS ABOUT TO OFFEND YOU AGAIN

Darryl Yap is about to offend you again. Or, maybe just bring out your secret delight for vulgar humor with his upcoming feature, Para Kang Papa Mo.

Dressed in an all-black ensemble — black kimono jacket over black shirt and black skinny jeans and chunky black leather sneakers — Viva's star director sat on the executive swivel chair last 23 October to answer questions from press members inside the boardroom of the entertainment giant's office.

Yap explained that Para Kang Papa Mo, with a tentative November release, is about a guy (Mark Anthony Fernandez) who sells sex services to men and who ends up spawning a gay son (Nikko Natividad).

The film is set in the '90s, backdropped by barangay elections, and in the present day. It merges members from the hit '90s group Gwapings (Fernandez and Eric Fructuoso) with the modern-day Hashtags (Natividad and Zeus Collins).

But the comedy is not all about prostitution. Yap described it simply as a "father-and-son story."

"It's a very irreverent film. It's a crass film, very natural — kung paano mag-usap ang mga taga-squatters' area," he described.

Artist-provocateur

If that does not sound cheeky enough, Yap rattled off his future projects with Viva, with titles that would give your grandma a heart attack, such as Pokpok with a Purpose; or tickle your curiosity, such as Mamafia (a portmanteau of mama and mafia), Mercy and Seoulmate, which will star a major actress whose name he said he couldn't disclose yet.

But it's not as if Yap cares about what you think about his brand of entertainment. After all, the artist-provocateur, who openly admits to cashing in on people's bashing (he's rich and he doesn't hide it), is a stubborn creative and sticks to his artistic expression based on his philosophy of "always being true to your truth."

To those who have not seen and talked to the Jowable director in person, the 36-year-old Yap is actually anything but crass. He is erudite and polite, but also too honest to a fault. Listening to him speak, he's a quote-of-a-moment guy who spills juicy inside stories to the thrill of the press.

He openly talked about his big fight with close friend Senator Imee Marcos during the filming of the first of his Marcos trilogy, Maid in Malacanang (2021), to the point that he quit in the middle of the shoot — but returned after renegotiations and reconciliations.

He also confessed to hating his first Vivamax project, Paglaki Ko, Gusto Ko Maging Pornstar (2021) and its sequel, such that he begged off from doing future sexploitation films.

Severe stress

Meanwhile, with the Marcos films, co-produced by Senator Imee (his frequent creative enemy), Yap revealed his severe stress: "Feeling ko, kung babae lang ako, nakunan na'ko sa sobrang stress! Nakakabaog siya, sa totoo lang, na gawin 'yan. You have so many bosses! (I feel that if I were a woman, I would have miscarried over the stress. It would render you sterile to do the films. You have so many bosses!)"

Mabuhay Aloha Mabuhay (MaM), the final installment to the trilogy, is still greenlit — but pushed to a later date. "Probably in late 2024," Yap said.

But despite his stress, as well as battling writer's block with the Marcos films, Yap pushes himself back to work, because "mukha akong pera (I like money)," he said, laughing.

Yap said he is grateful that Viva trusts him and that "they never interfered with my script." He has made 15 films for the studio so far.

He also gives credit to Viva for his success and for giving him his lucky break.

"Ang pagkakaiba ko lang ay nabigyan ako ng pagkakataon. Maraming mas magaling sa'kin, maraming mas marunong, maraming mas matapang, pero may mga sineswerte na nabibigyan ng pagkakataon (The only difference with me is I was given the opportunity. There are many others who are better than me, smarter, braver, but others do get lucky to be given opportunities)."

Even with Viva's confidence in him, Yap, who is somewhat of a showbiz outcast, said he is aware that plenty of people in the industry still hate his guts. But, clearly, he's not bothered. For one, he still racks up millions of views for every video content he releases on his Vincentiments page.

How would he like to be remembered someday?

His answer: "Aside from the first director who tackled the Marcos story, I want to be remembered as someone in showbiz… but always outside of show business."