Nonzee's "Timeline" doesn't need the twittering, thanks

 “I figured it would set a new standard of prosperity for Thai films,” Nonzee says – and he expected “Khu Kam” to do just as well. “But I was wrong about that one, so the new prosperity turned to be just a flash of fireworks, gone in seconds.”

Nonzee, who almost single-handedly revived the opulence of the movie industry’s golden era with 1999’s “Nang Nak” and 1997’s “2499 Antapan Krong Muang” (“Dang Bireley’s and Young Gangsters”), says they were massively successful for reasons quite different to what made “Pee Mak” a billion-baht hit.

His movies turned into phenomena thanks entirely to word of mouth, since the Internet was still young and there was no Facebook. These days the social networks spread the word. “But who cares? After all, the ultimate goal for commercial filmmakers is making a profit at the box office.”

Nonzee’s latest, “Timeline Jodmai Khwam Songjam”, hits the screens on February 13, and he did briefly consider taking full advantage of the social media to promote it.

“Each film has its own strengths, though, and the social media won’t benefit them all,” says the director. He needn’t worry about strengths – his stars are Jirayu “James Ji” Tangsrisuk and Jarinporn “Toey” Joonkiat, who not only star in the film but also sing the title song together. Their drawing power had sponsors queuing up, easing the burden of promotional costs.

“This is the most sponsorship deals I’ve ever had in my entire filmmaking career!” says Nonzee.

 

This play’s got punch

Asanee “Art” Suwan used to be an actor. Then he returned to his first love, muay thai, which got him the roles on stage and screen in the first place. And now he goes by the name Attaporn “Art” Suwan. 

It was Art’s skill in kick-boxing that landed him the lead part in Ekachai Uekrongtham’s 2004 film “Beautiful Boxer”, where he played the celebrated fighting ladyboy Nong Toom. Then he donned the padded gloves again for the stage play “Boxing Boys”, also directed by Ekachai. 

So what happened next? He went back to beating people up in the ring.

Last year, though, Ekachai summoned him back to the stage. The director needed his fists again. He cast Art as Prachao Sua – the king of Ayutthaya known as “the father of muay thai” – in the play “Muay Thai Live – The Legend Lives”. Ekachai has told him to bring out the king’s “generous side” rather than the macho, combative aspect.

Well, it wasn’t as easy as that. Art had to go through the whole casting process. More than 300 other actors wanted the role, but Art knocked them all out, so to speak.

The muay thai scenes are a piece of cake for Art, of course, but he’s struggled to change his lifestyle during rehearsals. He prefers to eat at 3 or 4 in the morning, for example. Ekachai wants his stars in top shape – six-pack abs – for the daily shows, however, and he’s set a strict fitness and nutrition regimen. 

We’ll see how Art looks when the curtain goes up tomorrow at The Stage, the new theatre at Asiatique the Riverfront on the riverside.