Love Letter: James wants another shot at the movies

Well, good luck with that now that his debut feature, “First Love”, appears to have been a Bt20-million flop, in sharp contrast to his TV series. Set in Phitsanulok province, the romantic comedy was about a guy who learns ballroom dancing to impress a local lass.

The fiasco “didn’t upset me at all because I didn’t have high expectations, even though I did my best”, James says.

Actually he was on the movie set long before he began work on the television show, but that wasn’t evident when even his die-hard fans fell silent after the film premiered last month. 

James is in a consoling mood. “I’d love for my fans to just consider my development and follow my next project. I’m sure it will be great.”

At the moment that looks like “The Letter to Remember” (“Jod Mai Kwaam Song Jam”), a sequel to 2004’s “The Letter”. 

And that movie will be crucial too for director Nonzee “Oui” Nimbutr, still grieving over his late producer Duangkamol Limcharoen.

For James it will be a chance to prove himself under an esteemed veteran’s direction. It’s crunch time, folks.

 

 

Born to be fit

Showing other celebrities how it’s done, TV host Vuttithorn “Woody” Militajinda has shed a load of kilos and sculpted some hefty muscles to grace the cover of Men’s Health and demonstrate that good looks translate into good business. The cheerfully chubby Woody is slinging a six-pack now while pocketing the advertising revenue for his self-help documentary “All New Woody”.

He looks great and, more importantly, people on the social networks say he’s inspired them to get in shape too. Woody got things rolling online by posting a photo of himself saying that, despite the title of one of his chat shows, he’s not “Kerd Ma Kui” (born to chat) but “Kerd Ma Uan” (born to be fat). He said his uncle, TV producer Varayuth “Kai” Militajinda, told him “You should quit show business if you get any fatter!” 

“For more than 30 years I never took care of my figure, so it was my dream to have a good body,” Woody says. “I vowed to myself that I’d have a nice body before I was 40.” He started by cutting back on the carbohydrates, but the big motivation came last March. “P’ Tong [Chatchawin Unhanun] asked me to be on the cover of Men’s Health and I was really excited because I’m not a star – it would be like the reward of my life!” 

Six months later he’s outdone all expectations, having allowed himself no room for failure. His staff found him a good trainer and Woody began working out at the only time slot available in his tight schedule – in the early morning. “My trainer arrived at 4.45am and I had only from 5 to 6.15 to train. It was tough for the first 15 minutes and I wanted to give up, but things got better.”

Woody says he feels on top of the world now. “Money and fame don’t matter for me now. This was a matter of overcoming myself, and that’s a much greater achievement.” He’s now inviting anyone who’s serious about getting fit to come to his office and he’ll guide them to success. To begin, he offers a tip: “Look yourself in the eyes. When you do that, you’ll have the motivation.”