Arnel Pineda film premieres at Tribeca
04/21/2012
NEW YORK, USA - It's the real-life rock-and-roll fairy tale of Journey frontman Arnel Pineda.
"I hope it will inspire a lot people. Anything is possible," Pineda said.
Filipino-American filmmaker Ramona Diaz said it's a modern day story of how the life of a homeless Filipino changed after he became the lead singer of the iconic rock band Journey, thanks to YouTube.
"It was really about celebrating Arnel Pineda’s story, celebrating this iconic band that has made it 30 plus years and going stronger than they ever have before," said producer Josh Green.
"It's a resilience of hope, and that's the story of Arnel, set against the backdrop of amazing songs," Diaz said. "It's a story of today, with YouTube, and the Internet, social media. I mean he was discovered because a fan of his posted," Diaz said.
Before the special screening, Pineda and his Journey bandmates walked the red carpet. They include Neal Schon, Journey's guitarist who discovered Arnel on YouTube.
"Arnel popped up and I go 'Wow!" Schon said.
"Now he is enjoying a very good life because he was extremely talented and more deserving probably more than anybody I know," he added.
At the end of Tribeca's special feature screening, fans gave Arnel and the filmmakers a rousing standing ovation.
"The film was great. I really enjoyed it. It's an unbelievable story," said Flixster staff Joey Jordano.
"I think that recently so many American dreams are dying. I think this story really brings home the fact that that still is alive," said New York resident Victoria Zakhary.
Filipinos from New York to Canada came out to support their idol, Pineda.
They include Pinoy celebrities like Besside Badilla.
"I'm so happy Ramona did this beautiful story. I think his story should really be shared, kasi napakaganda,very hopeful and it's very inspirational," Badilla said.
"Maraming iyakan, hindi namin mapigil ang luha. Iyak ng iyak lalo na nung may Philippine flag natin," said Boots Babushka.
"Happy for him, at least yung journey niya narating na niya yung gusto niyang marating and maybe more," said Toronto resident Evelyn Ercilla.
Pineda and his bandmates at Journey are set to embark on another tour kicking off in California in July this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment