MANILA, Philippines?Since the movie is to be shot with live sound, an American film crew in Bohol has rented and fenced in an entire rice field and moved a neighboring chicken coop a mile away.

?We?ve already made arrangements with the guy who owns the sabong (cockfight) roosters,? indie filmmaker John Sayles quipped, with the characteristic wit and candor also evident in his Oscar-nominated screenplays for ?Passion Fish? and ?Lone Star.?

?We built a rooster condominium for them far away from our set,? he told Inquirer Entertainment in an interview held between camera tests in Quezon City.

And the rice field?

?We basically bought the rice harvest in advance. We may harvest some or burn some, depending on the story. The farmers planted the three-month, instead of the four-month, rice variety. So it?ll be ready by the time we start shooting next month (February).?

Just to be safe, the production also contracted the only person who owns a motorcycle in the village.

After all, motorbikes were nonexistent in northern Luzon in the early 1900s, the setting of Sayles? latest film, ?Baryo.?

Just what attracted this American indie maverick (who also megged Bruce Springsteen?s iconic ?Born in the USA? music video) to a little-known chapter of Philippine history?

?In my readings, I stumbled on the Philippine-American War, which is hardly tackled in history books. I saw parallels between the Philippines and Vietnam and the other wars we?ve been in,? Sayles recounted.

He immersed himself in historical documents from that era, he said, including diaries of American soldiers, Nick Joaquin?s books and Jose Rizal?s novels in original Spanish.

Three years later, he came up with his own novel. ?I?ve yet to find a publisher for the novel, but when I focused on the script, it took me only a month to write it,? said Sayles.

The English script was translated to Tagalog by local screenwriter Jose F. Lacaba.

Filming ?Baryo? can be a mighty challenge, Sayles admitted. After sifting through tons of material, he must recreate history in organic detail?the sound of coughing motorbikes and crowing roosters, notwithstanding.

?Our production designer, Rodel Cruz, is building a village on the edge of a rice field,? he related.

Although he is bringing in American actors (like DJ Qualls and Garret Dillahunt) to play the occupying army, Sayles will work with homegrown talents like Joel Torre, Ronnie Lazaro, Irma Adlawan, Spanky Manikan, Rio Locsin, John Arcilla, among other actors.

Off-cam support

Behind the camera, he?s also supported by Filipinos led by longtime associate editor and co-producer Mario Ontal and cinematographer Lee Meily, who will use a Red digital camera.

?The only technicians who will come from the US are the sound recorders and boom operator,? Sayles said.

After the six-week shoot in Bohol, he plans to do the post-production in Manila as well?in RoadRunner in Quezon City.

?Our imaging supervisor from RoadRunner will be on the set in Bohol, to make sure everything is calibrated,? he explained.

?The technology is here,? he said, expressing confidence in Filipino technicians. ?The quality of their work is very high; it?s just that, usually, they are not given enough time.?

Sayles said his goal in ?Baryo? is ?to combine local talent? with the American indie work ethic, which allows plenty of time for pre- and post-production.

?It?s an ambitious project. We plan to do a period piece, a war movie, with a budget of $1.5 million.?

In light of the indie budget, digital technology is a big boost, he explained.

Instead of spending it on film stock, the production can splurge on art design (like the village, costumes, props and rooster condo!) which will make the film more authentic in the end, he noted.

Sayles, who not only writes but also edits, composes songs and acts in movies, is impressed with the local actors, too.

?They can move from different styles of acting ? from theater to telenovelas, from big movies to indie films,? he said.

E-mail: bayanisandiego@hotmail.com