Chop Suey Meets Big Time Papa (1978)

Image courtesy of Simon Santos and his Video 48 blog

1978 - Chop Suey Meets Big Time Papa (Liliw Productions)  

[Release date 3rd February 1978; newspaper ads list the film as "Chop Suey Met Big Time Papa", which according to Dante "Boy" Pangilinan is a typographic error]  

Director Dante "Boy" Pangilinan Screenplay Coran Ridon Caballes Producer "Twinkle" [Caballes] Executive Producers Peter M. Caballes, Cora Ridon Caballes Music Anthony Castillano Assistant Director Eddie Nicart Fight Instructors Mando Pangilinan, Oscar "Oca" Reyes 

Cast Ramon Zamora (Chop-Suey), Weng Weng (Big Time Papa), Mike Cohen (Crime Boss)  

KUNG FU/SPY/COMEDY  

THE LOST MOVIE PROJECT: Piecing together the fragments of the Philippines' vanished cinema

Andrew Leavold on Chop Suey... [from The Search For Weng Weng book]; full Eddie Nicart interviews are HERE and HERE, and Dante 'Boy' Pangilinan's interview is HERE

In late 1977, Dante "Boy" Pangilinan presented Weng Weng to Cora Caballes as main foil to Ramon Zamora (They Call Him Chop Suey [1975]). "I have my belief to that small kid to be a big star. So, she read my synopsis and my treatment. 'OK, when do you like to start your filming?' Right then and there. 'OK!' 

"I'm very thankful to my Ninang. 'You're ready? Shoot!' Weng Weng is very happy. 'Direk, can I already make that film as one of the lead roles, with the famous Ramon Zamora?' 'Yes! You already proven that in our first film. That's your testing ground. And this time you have plenty of leading ladies!' 'OK!'" Dante laughed. 

Chop Suey Meets Big Time Papa (1978) was Weng Weng's first lead as secret agent "Big Time Papa" roping in hapless martial arts instructor Zamora to bring down an American crime lord (Mike Cohen, aka Professor Von Kohler in For Y'ur Height Only) and his syndicate. Once again, Dante was sketchy on the film details, but did remember the film's contrabida well. "Mike Cohen's a good actor," recalled Dante of the squat, big-browed White Goon from countless local and international productions, Tony Ferrer actioners and Chiquito comedies; a retired Colonel operating a theatre in Malate’s Harrison Plaza while lending out is rotund, officious presence to local and international productions. "He's already well-versed in Filipino [film]making. He already understands more Filipino dialects, and he even talked Tagalog when I directed him!" 

Don Gordon Bell served time as one of Cohen's red-jumpered goons in the Tony Ferrer-starring Sabotage 2 (1979). "Colonel Michael Cohen was a great man. Served in the guerilla forces during World War 2 in several places of Luzon. He had stories that have proven true about the actions of Filipino guerrilla units against the Japanese/Korean troops during the occupation. He was a Captain in the US Army and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, made honorary Filipino citizen by former President Marcos. Mike was a great friend of the lads during our years in Filipino cinema, working with us as a character actor in a number of films. A Russian Jew, Mike was willing to do anything, even suffered a bite from a poisonous snake during a shoot. He insisted on finishing the scene after treatment!" Sadly, Colonel Cohen died soon after the snake bite.  

"What I most admire about Mr Mike Cohen," said Dante, "as far as compensation is concerned, he understands the budget of the Filipino filmmaking." What kind of budgets are we talking about? "This time Ninang Cora Caballes gave me an even higher film budget, because this film already, one of the lead roles, Ramon Zamora, is already proven as an actor, and box office, during that day." How much exactly? Dante laughed... "During that day, around 300,000 to 400,000 [pesos], it was already a big budget, excluding the publicity. Just for filmmaking, for Chop Suey…." And the previous budget for Sila… was much smaller? "It's already from 100,000 to 250,000. During that day. That was 1976, already a bigger compensation, the value of the peso during that day is very big." 

Eddie Nicart in The Game Of Death! (1974)

Chop Suey… also marked Weng Weng's first association with Eddie Nicart, a person who, after Peter and Cora Caballes, would transform his life beyond recognition. "Eddie Nicart is my assistant director, and Mando Pangilinan, my cousin, is the fight instructor of Eddie Nicart. Because they both belong to SOS Daredevils, they are like brothers in that association of stuntmen. He's very nice, Eddie Nicart is a good man…" 

For Chop Suey…, did Eddie and Mando train Weng Weng to be a stuntman? "Yes. That's when Mando and Eddie Nicart already started Weng Weng training more on the stunts, more on action. So Weng Weng, in this small size, become more effective as an action star."  

Eddie Nicart’s previous stunt and acting work with Johnny C. Pangilinan and son Dante on a number of films - most notably in Dugo At Pag-ibig Sa Kapirasong Lupa (1975), and playing the revolutionary Luis Prang in Gomburza – led to the offer of Assistant Director with Liliw Productions, as well as supervising Weng Weng’s training. “Although not like the other outfits which were big, but they were doing lots of films - even non- Weng Weng. So I sometimes join those films as [fight] instructor, or actor. So when Weng Weng arrived, Ninang Cora knows me. When they did Weng Weng, Boy [Pangilinan] did not have his crew, unlike me, I have a five-man crew, and we can already make movies. It’s all there - the caterer, the crew, we were all working. Even though I’m the director, sometimes, I’m still the caterer, I would be cooking. We all were moving, working. We can do it cheap. So when I say that we can finish a film in one week, we can do it. Fifteen days, seven days…  We can do it. We were intact. We were together. It was teamwork. 

“The first time I saw him,” Eddie told me of his first meeting with Weng Weng, “they said that he was discovered in the streets of Baclaran. When I first saw him in the [Caballes’] house, I told myself that if this kid will be dressed and trained properly, his [career] will fly. Because he can comprehend things. He obeys. And when I [teach] him karate, he has good footwork. And I said that if he will be trained properly, he will have better moves. And that’s what happened. We taught him. We brought him to the gym.”  

Eddie and his assistant directors-cum-fight instructors Mando Pangilinan and Oscar 'Oca' Reyes put Weng Weng through an SOS Daredevils’ version of Boot Camp for several months. By training’s end, Weng Weng was the real deal, a professional stuntman and genuine miniature Goon.  

Everyone says he was already a blackbelt in karate before he started in films? “I do not [believe that]. It was with our trainings that he became a blackbelt. Because when he was with us in the gym, he was made to wear the belts. First, the white belt, and then he was promoted to brown, and then red… because of his abilities. But at first, I did not notice that. When he was still not with Ninang Cora, I did not know how he was. I know that he was just a stand-by in Baclaran. Because nobody was really taking care of him. His brothers did not know that he would turn out like that.” 

Where did you train Weng Weng, I wanted Eddie to answer. "Mostly at SOS, and at the Karate Club of our friends. That’s where we train him karate. And for his stunts, he trains at the SOS gym. That’s where we teach him. Jump off the building, jump off the bridge! It was okay. The kid was obedient, even though he was like that. Because he’ll do whatever you tell him to. When you tell him to jump, he’ll jump. He does not have any fear. Probably because he’s slow in the head, but it was good because he was obedient."  

How long did you have to train him? "Months. A couple of months, I think. Karate, jumps, fight scenes. Most especially the fight scenes. It should not come off awkwardly. And this is because Peter and Cora want to turn him into a leading action star." 

Chop Suey Meets Big Time Papa was enough of a minor hit to make money for the Caballes. “As far as I know,” said Dante, “before I started the film, they only renting the one-space apartment. But when I made these films Sila… and Chopsuey…, they already own that place. Why? Because of the outcome of my movies. When I visited them, wow, they already owned that apartment."