Friday, January 12, 2007

ThaiMovie ::: MAKABPHA

ThaiMovie ::: MAKABPHA

ENGLISH TITLE: The Golden Riders
ORIGINAL TITLE : MA KAB PHRA
PRODUCER : THAWATCHAI PHANPAKDEE
CO- PRODUCER : SUKHUM MATHAVANIT
DIRECTOR : UDOM UDOMROJ (NOTE: Director Udom Udomroj had been reknown during the decline of Thai cinema in the 1990's for his meticulous works in Puk Pui, Khoo Tae Song Loke and etc. He came back to directing after eight-year absence, spending most of his time in producing.)
SCREENPLAY : THONGKAUL TAVEPRUNGSENUKUL
SCREENPLAY CONSULTANT : BHANDIT RITTAKOL, VIKIT KAJORNPRASANT, ARAN SUWATWONGCHAI, SUKHUM MATHAVANIT, TEERAWAT RUJEENATHAM, BOONSONG NAKPHOO, VACHARAPONG SUWANMANEE
PRODUCTION CONSULTANT : POONSAK UTHAIPANTH
GENRE : DRAMA – COMEDY
CASTS : AMARIN NITIPHON...ELDER SITHI
WATCHARABUL LEESUWAN..POL
PU-PRAYA LUNBERG....TANGMO
APICHAN CHALERMCHAINUWONG...NOVICE LEK
NOPPADOL DVONGPORN... VENERABLE GRANDFATHER
PISAL AKKARASENEE...CHIEF YOT
RELEASE : 12/28/06
SYNOPSIS :
Astrologer foretold that Novice Lek’s fate would be grimly influenced by his father’s birth sign so young boy novice Lek must embark on a journey that will take him far away from his home. He is to be ordained as a Buddhist monk for three months at a remote temple deep in Thai mountains. On a train he met a young man Pon, who was running from his problems and an attractive girl Tengmo, trying to get over her broken heart. They all traveled to the same destination but for different reasons but their destiny joined them in an adventure from the moment they’ve met.
Elder Sit sent Novice Ko on a horseback to pick up Novice Lek at the station.
Old Abbot of this remote temple was keeping secret that will bring ex con Tony to stir a lot of trouble. Getting a greedy corrupt Village chief to his side wasn’t hard and soon the peaceful temple was in chaos. Abbot, Elder Sit , Phra Lap and two novices were about to loose their temple.
Tengmo’s heart ache will get her in a trouble that will bring Pon in to her life and they both will end up falling in love while defending each other and the temple.

Thai Movie :: Charlie from 'Dorm' Selected for Star Summit Asia at Pusan; 3 Thai Films in Pusan This Year



Charlie from 'Dorm' Selected for Star Summit Asia at Pusan; 3 Thai Films in Pusan This Year


Seoul / Only three Thai films are selected for the 2006 Pusan International Film Festival: Syndromes and a Century by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Dorm by Songyos Sukmakanand in “A Window of Asian Cinema” and Khan Kluay in a showcase category called “Ani Asia! A Leap of Asian Feature Animation”. All will be shown only, not in any competition.
While Thai films are underrepresented this year at the Pusan International Film Festival, young Thai actor Charlie “Nack” Trirat is selected for the Star Summit Asia program.
The festival introduces the Star Summit Asia program this year to shine spotlight on rising Asian stars who have the potentials to be internationally famous. Selected by the filmmakers and other Asian film industry experts, these stars will participate in numerous activities including press conferences, interviews, and meeting interested companies. There is no age limit but the actor must be in one of the films selected for the festival. Charlie Trirat is the lead actor for Dorm, a Thai film chosen to compete against 38 others in “A Window on Asian Cinema” category.
Other rising stars selected include:
Hwang Jung-min ( South Korea): A Bittersweet Life, A Good Lawyer’s Wife
Aoi Yu ( Japan): All About Lily Chou-Chou
Kashi Yu ( Japan): Linda Linda Linda, Death Note
Zhou Xun ( China): Perhaps Love, Beijing Bicycle
Do Thi Hai ( Vietnam): The Quiet American
Ha Jung-woo ( South Korea): The Unforgiven, Madeleine
Tony Yang ( Taiwan): Formula 17 (Names are subject to change)
Charlie has been introduced as, "Born in 1993, Charlie may seem too young to be included, being only 13 years old, but he is a veteran actor who has been acting more than 10 years. Debuted on the screen with Once Upon A Time This Morning at the age of one and playing the main role in films such as Dorm and My Girl, he is the top child actor in Thailand."
Charlie has been selected in the Casting Board category which will showcase Asia's top and coming stars that have the talent to rise above, into the internaitonal spotlight. The stars have been recommended by respected filmmakers and industry figures in Asia. The selected will participate in various events such as press conferences, production meetings, and interviews.


By Anchelee Chaiworaporn and Sorradithep Supachanya

14 September 2006

Thursday, January 11, 2007

ThaiMovie : The Trail of Ong Bak and Tom Yam Goong


ThaiMovie : The Trail of Ong Bak and Tom Yam Goong


First it was Somrak Khamsing, then Paradorn Srichaphan, and now comes the turn of movie idol Tony Jaa. All share one thing in common: their fame has helped boost world recognition of Thailand .
Somrak Khamsing became the first Thai boxer to grab an Olympic gold medal a decade ago, while tennis-player Paradorn Srichaphan hit the headlines when he entered the world's top twenty rankings a few years ago. Tony Jaa has also turned the world's attention to Thailand with his authentic martial arts in his first leading role, Ong Bak: the Thai Warrior .
Last week, Tony Jaa was appointed a Cultural Diplomat by the Culture Ministry, following the Sports Diplomat role previously given to Paradorn. If the Culture Ministry had existed at the time of Somrak Khamsing's great Olympic victory, no doubt some ‘diplomatic' role would have been found for him too.
In the same week, deputy prime-minister Suwat Liptaphallop also chaired an award presentation and party for the production team of Ong Bak after the film's successful release in the US last month.
Shot in 2002, Ong Bak firstly quietly caught the outside world's attention with the visit of a Hong Kong producer. He was surprised by the authentic action style that used no wires or special effects, in stark contrast to Hollywood action flicks. One year later, the film became a domestic smash taking a staggering US$2.75 million. It remained 2003's top grosser for several months until overtaken by the nostalgic sentiment of My Girl in October.
Ong Bak 's international journey was triggered by the sale of the film to French distributor EuroCorp, owned by the world-famous director Luc Besson. In the first week of release in France in April 2004 it opened in the fifth spot in the charts, selling 440,495 tickets on just 281 screens. Twenty screens were immediately added.
Quoted in Screen Daily on 16 April 2004 , EuropaCorp's head of marketing remarked that Besson felt that “as such a big discovery the film needed someone known to act as a sort of godfather.” Unsurprisingly, having Luc Besson as his ‘godfather' has boosted Tony Jaa's international profile no end.
Ong Bak and Tony Jaa have since jetted into cinemas in Hong Kong, South Korea, Dubai, France, Poland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Austria, Germany, Spain and more. Such numerous trips affected the production of sequel Tom Yam Goong : originally planned to finish in early 2005, it is still delayed to this day.
Thus when Ong Bak reached the world's movie capital, the US, it inevitably caused a sensation, further elevating the homeland's national pride. Four days after its first release on 10 February 2005 , the film had earned $1,334,869 from 387 theatres. After one month, the total gross reached US$ 4,014,412 – almost half of the film's worldwide takings. According to sources in the US-Thai community, during the release the US-based search engine yahoo.com reported that searches for Ong Bak information increased by an incredible 1135%. At the same time, Tony Jaa was reported by Thai newspapers to have received warm welcomes from such big names as the rapper RZA. Indie idol Quentin Tarantino left him a special message and suggested a future collaboration. Even Tom Cruise showed interest by asking for a personal copy of the movie to watch at home.
This success has opened the international doors wider than ever. Ong Bak is currently on release in Australia and shortly scheduled to arrive in countries including New Zealand, the UK, the Philippines, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Turkey.
While the first film is still on tour around the world, Tom Yam Goong is on the verge of a premiere at Cannes, probably in the market. Right now the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, whose chairman is also the owner of Sahamongkol Film International and the producer of both films, is busy preparing a team of 100-200 people to invade Cannes in May in support of the film. Although Tropical Malady was selected as the first Thai official competition entry last year, this year no Thai films have been invited as yet. Thus, unfortunately, no other Thai films will benefit from the high-profile promotional campaign for Tom Yam Goong .
Tom Yam Goong is confidently anticipated to be on the brink of smash success. The producers will use several tactics to push the film to an even wider audience. Thai pop singer Tata Young, Asia 's darling in recent times, has been approached to sing the movie's theme song. It is also expected that the film will have a simultaneous worldwide release on 12 August. Oh, and that's not all. Even a tie-in computer game has been prepared for release. By the time the movie is released, “Tony Jaa's Tom-Yam-Goong: The Game” might already be in your computer.
Though some might dispute whether they really belong in the top ranks of world cinema, Ong Bak and Tom Yam Goong are good examples of how world-renowned, authentic Thai food and martial arts are being smartly exploited to improve Thailand 's standing in the cinematic world.

ThaiMovie : Tom Yum Goong Videogame To Be Released


ThaiMovie : Tom Yum Goong Videogame To Be Released

Those who wish they could perform high-flying stunts like the hero in the 2003 Thai action flick, Ong-Bak, will have a chance in the upcoming videogame Tony Jaa Tom Yum Goong: The Game , to be released in August this year to coincide with the film.
Based on the plot of the action film Tom Yum Goong, this 3-dimensional videogame will allow players to assume the protagonist role and use Muay Thai skills to defeat members of an international mafia gang and rescue the prized elephant.
The game was modeled after the film's main star, Panom Yeerum (known internationally as Tony Jaa). Programmers captured Jaa's movements by recording his real actions in video format before meticulously created realistic 3-dimensional animations for the game's characters. While this process took longer without a “motion capture” equipment used in animated films such as The Polar Express, it cost much less. The videogame will allow players to execute 30 different Muay Thai movements.
The game originated with computer programmer Pongsuk Hirunyapuek in 2003 when he approached Somsak Tejaratanaprasert, owner of Sahamongkol Film, the studio behind Ong-Bak 's success, about creating a videogame based on the popular film. Mr Somsak advised him not to develop a game based on Ong-Bak because the movie would be a distant memory by the time the game was fully developed but instead to base on the upcoming film Tom Yum Goong , which reunited director Prachya Pinkaew and Mr Jaa.
With 10 million baht of investment, Mr Pongsuk established GameNoLimit production company with 15 programmers to develop the game. A demo version of Tom Yum Goong: The Game debuted in the Thailand Animation and Multimedia 2005 Convention in January. The full version will be available in August this year to coincide with the theatrical release of the film in Thailand and abroad.
Story and pictures are courtesy from the website http://www.pantip.com/tech/games/tyg
Tony Jaa Tom-yum-Goong: The Game Scoop
http://www.pantip.com/tech/games/tyg_scoop_56k.wmv
http://www.pantip.com/tech/games/tyg_scoop_56k.wmv
Tony Jaa Tom-yum-Goong: The Game Trailer
http://www.pantip.com/tech/games/tyg_scoop_56k.wmv
http://www.pantip.com/tech/games/tyg_trailer_hispeed.wmv
Sorradithep Supachanya is a 24-year-old graduate from a college in the U.S.A who is very helpful in his volunteering to our website.

ThaiMovie ::: 10 Thai Films celebrate 10th Pusan Film Festival



ThaiMovie ::: 10 Thai Films celebrate 10th Pusan Film Festival

Coincidentally or not, Pusan International Film Festival, the best film festival in Asia, will celebrate its 10th anniversary with the selection of 10 Thai films, four of which are international premieres. The premiered lists include three mainstream film The Tin Mine, Midnight My Love, and My Space. But it will be the last title Innocence that will hit local headlines in the next following days. The film is made on an independent basis, and directed by former Miss Thailand Ariya Chumsai, and her co-director Nisa Kongsri.Shot in digital, Innocence tells the story of hilltribe children in a boarding school in the Northern Thailand, who are taken by the school's principal to see the water's end as a way to fulfil their dreams. Ariya's filmmaking interest was first shown out when her project, also co-worked by her co-director Nisa, was selected as one of twenty films in the PPP funds in 2003 where the directors can discuss with potential investors and buyers. Innocence will be

screened in the wellknown independent section Wide Angle, together with another independent project 3 Friends by Aditya Assarat, Mingmongkol Sonakul, and Phumin Chinaradee. No Thai films has entered the New Current category this year, the festival's only competition section dedicated to the first and second works of new directors, though all of them can fit into the criteria. Citizen Dog will show its Asian
premiere outside Thailand in A Window of Asian Cinema section, including Jira Maligool's The Tin Mine, and Kongdej Jaturanrassame's Midnight My Love. My Space, a film that was coincidentally expanded from a student thesis work, has been selected in the APEC Special program. It will introduce 20 films from APEC nations that are programmed under the theme of 'conversation'; it is to acknowledge the importance of the Summit to be held in Busan in November and to help understand the cultural diversity.Last but not least, four old Thai films by Rattana Pestonj, the director who died of his arts, are programmed in a very interesting special section called 'Re-mapping of Asian Auteur Cinema.' The program intends to Asia's leading cineastes whose works have been often neglected on the international scope but hailed by the home ground audiences. All of Pestonji's existing copies Sugar Is Not Sweet (1965), Black Silk (1961), Country Hotel (1957) and Dark Heaven (1958) will show to foreign audiences for the second time, after their premieres in Singapore in 2002. Black Silk was one of the earlier Thai films that was selected into the competition at Berlin International Film Festival in 1961. More information: http://www.piff.org

By ::: Anchalee Chaiworaporn

HongkongMovie : Focus Films joins One Ton Cinema to produce Wisit Sasanatieng’s ARMFUL



HongkongMovie : Focus Films joins One Ton Cinema to produce Wisit Sasanatieng’s ARMFUL


Hong Kong – Singapore-based One Ton Cinema and Hong Kong-based Focus Films Limited have signed a deal memo to co-produce Thai New Wave director, Wisit Sasanatieng’s up-coming film, ARMFUL. With proposed casts members from Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Thailand, and set in 1970’s South East Asia, ARMFUL will be a truly unique Pan-asian co-production.
Focus Films, helmed by award-winning actor and filmmaker Andy Lau and fresh from their recent success with their debut project, FOCUS: First Cuts, is joining One Ton Cinema on their debut project developed less than a year ago, and will be spearheading the investment and appointment of a sales agent for the film, with an estimated budget of USD8Million. The co-production will realise a Chinese-language, action-packed and stylized tragicomedy with influences ranging from Chinese martial arts films of the 60s and 70s and the gritty realism of contemporary revenge tales.
Wisit’s directorial debut in 2000 was the genre-blending Tears of the Black Tiger - the first Thai film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard. His second film was Citizen Dog (2004), a contemporary romantic comedy set in Bangkok premiering at the Locarno International Film Festival. The two films were picked up for distribution by Miramax and Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp respectively.
Daniel Yu, producer and Chief Operating Officer of Focus Films, said, “We are excited to be working with One Ton Cinema and Wisit on such a ground-breaking project, showcasing the region’s promising talents to audiences across Asia and beyond. This project is a testament to our commitment to continue delivering compelling and innovative films to audiences while working with new partners and cutting edge filmmakers.”
Focus Films is one of the most forward and exciting companies in Asian film today. It is our honour to have their partnership and collaboration on our debut project. ” Kevin WY Lee, producer and Creative Director of One Ton Cinema commented. “We look forward to making a great film with them and Wisit.”

ThaiMovie : Thai Indie Film in Vancouver; Apichatpong Among the Jury


ThaiMovie : Thai Indie Film in Vancouver; Apichatpong Among the Jury




Independent film director Urupong Raksasad leaps to fame this year when his documentary The Stories from the North is chosen to compete in the “Dragons & Tigers” category in the 2006 Vancouver Film Festival.
Urupong is the one to watch after winning the Digital Spectrum JJ-Star Award, one of the two top prizes at the 2006 Jeonju International Film Festival in South Korea this past May, for The Stories from the North and now bringing the same film to Vancouver.
The jury members this year include the Thai independent director Apichatwong Weerasethakul, Cashiers du Cinema editor Jean-Michael Frodon, and independent film critic and former editor at The Village Voice and Time Out London Jessica Winter.
Apichatpong will also showcase his latest film Syndromes and a Century. Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s short feature Twelve Twenty will also be screened.
The Festival’s handbook praises Urupong’s work as here: "Uruphong Raksasad is the real, back-to-nature deal. After majoring in film and photography at Thammasat University, he began working in the film and TV industries in Bangkok as an editor and post-production supervisor. Four disillusioning years later he gave it all up and went back to the North (he was born in Chiangrai) to live a more natural life... and to become an indie filmmaker. His graduation film March of Time became the first of these Stories from the North. Each chapter in this startlingly beautiful film is set and shot in villages in Lanna (the name means “a million rice paddies”). There are nine in all, or perhaps 8?, each one a carefully judged vignette: children trying to scare each other with ghost stories, a man carrying a child through a field to the road, an 84-year-old woman looking forward to her death, a farmer protecting his water buffalo from a gang of rowdy bikers. This poetic (and gently surreal) portrait of a time, a place and a people gradually reveals the absence of young adults, all of whom have fled to big cities; these are communities of the very young and very old. Some of the chapters recreate Uruphong’s own childhood memories; all of them capture a way of life that will soon be gone."
Tony Raynes, a renowned British film critic, made the selection of films competing in the “Dragons & Tigers”. Past Thai entries included Daeng Bailey and Young Gangsters (1998) by Nonzee Nimibutr, Tears of the Black Tiger (2001) by Wisit Sasanatiang (which won the award in 2001, Mysterious Objects at Noon (2001), Blissfully Yours (2003) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Isan Special (2003) by Mingmokol Sonakul, and Crying Tigers (2005) by Santi Taepanich.
Aside from Apichatpong’s and Urupong’s works, two other Thai independent films that were selected for this category in the past were Motorcycle and Waiting, two short films by Arthit Assarat.
The Stories from the North will vie for the US$5,000 prize, along with the following films:
BETELNUT (Yang Heng) – China
DOG DAYS DREAM (Ichii Masahide) – Japan
DO OVER (Cheng Yu-Chieh) – Taiwan
FACELESS THINGS (Kim Kyong-Mook) – South Korea
GEO-LOBOTOMY (Kim Gok, Kim Sun) – South Korea
LOST IN TOKYO (Ikawa Kotaro) – Japan
STORIES FROM THE NORTH (Uruphong Raksasad) – Thailand TODO TODO TEROS (John Torres) – The Philippines

By Anchalee Chaiworaporn / Sorradithep Supachanya