On the Job

On the Job
The film's poster. At the top, Piolo Pascual is shown pointing a pistol in a wide shot, and his running silhouette is to the left. Gerald Anderson is shown center-left, covered in blood and looking on his left with a grim and intimidating expression. He is shown far left with Joel Torre, both with their backs turned and handcuffed with a shoulder bag strapped on them. Torre is shown center right with the same expression as Anderson's with his right hand extended below, presumably pointing a gun. Joey Marquez is shown bottom left, running in the middle of a crowd. The abbreviation "OTJ" is shown bottom right, written in large, bold typeface; above it is a list of the cast and below the film's full title in small and red uppercase text.
Philippine theatrical release poster
Directed byErik Matti
Screenplay by
Story byErik Matti
Starring
CinematographyFrancis Ricardo Buhay III
Edited byJay Halili
Music byErwin Romulo
Production
companies
Distributed byStar Cinema[1]
Release dates
Running time
120 minutes[2]
CountryPhilippines
LanguageTagalog
Budget₱47 million[3]
Box office₱13.4 million[4]

On the Job (abbreviated as OTJ) is a 2013 Filipino neo-noir crime thriller film[5] written and directed by Erik Matti, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michiko Yamamoto. Starring Gerald Anderson, Joel Torre, Joey Marquez and Piolo Pascual, it tells the story of two hit-man prisoners (Anderson and Torre) who are temporarily freed to carry out political executions, and two law enforcers (Marquez and Pascual) tasked with investigating the drug-related murder case connected to the prison gun-for-hire business. The film co-stars Angel Aquino, Shaina Magdayao, Empress Schuck, Leo Martinez, Michael de Mesa, Vivian Velez, and Rayver Cruz.

The inspiration for On the Job came from a Viva Films crew member who said he had been temporarily released from prison to commit contract killings before he was reincarcerated. Star Cinema initially refused to produce the film in 2010, deeming it excessively violent compared with their usual rom-com projects; by 2012, however, they agreed to co-produce it with Matti's own film production company, Reality Entertainment. Filming took place in Manila and lasted 33 days, on a production budget of ₱47 million (about US$1.1 million).

On the Job was shown as part of the Directors' Fortnight at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where it was praised and received a standing ovation on May 24. The film was released in the Philippines on August 28, 2013, and in the United States and Canada on September 27 of that year. It received positive reviews from foreign and domestic critics. In 2021 the film and its sequel On the Job: The Missing 8 were re-edited as a six-part HBO Asia miniseries titled On the Job.[6][7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Deals was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference prodnotes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Dimaculangan, Jocelyn (August 15, 2013). "OTJ (On The Job) budget reaches almost P50 million; Piolo Pascual became emotional when OTJ received standing ovation in Cannes". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  4. ^ "Philippines Box Office: September 11–15, 2013". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  5. ^ "The 8 best action movies on Netflix right now". Business Insider. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  6. ^ "Everything We Know About HBO's On The Job So Far". Esquiremag.ph. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (July 28, 2021). "Venice Competition Philippines Title 'On The Job' Sets HBO GO Premiere in Asia, Reveals Trailer". Variety. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.