World lusts for Thai cinema
Thai movies have done quite well at the Cannes Film Festival and its built-in market for selling distribution rights around the world, where horror and action titles have predominated.
This year, though, the big demand is for an erotic Thai film, a genre that’s something of a rarity for us.
Screen Daily reports that Sahamongkolfilm International has sold the rights to ML Bhandevanop “Mom Noi” Devakula’s remake of the erotic drama “Jan Dara” to South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines. Gilbert Lim is quoted as saying there’s also plenty of interest from Japan and Europe.
“Jan Dara” is scheduled to premiere in its homeland in September, and the chief excitement has been about who would play sexy Boonlueang, the role taken by Christie Chung in Nonzee Nimitbutr’s original more than a decade ago.
Thai fans only knew that the new version stars Mario Maurer as Jan and that Bongkot “Tak” Kongmalai has a role. We now know, thanks to news filtering in from Cannes, that comedian Noi Pho-ngam’s daughter Rhatha (“Yaya Ying”) is the new Boonlueang. So much for speculation that Marsha Wattanapanich or Pornchita “Benz” Na Songkhla would get the nod.
Meanwhile Tak, who’s only just turned 30, plays Yaya’s Aunt Waad.
We also know that Japanese adult-video actress Sho Nishino has a role as well. Seems to us she should have been “on top”, so to speak.
Now all we need to know is how we can get an uncensored copy of the new “Jan Jara” in Thailand.
Nothing is real
Let’s hope Lady Gaga was simply kidding around when she tweeted that she wanted to buy a fake Rolex while in Bangkok. Surely she knows that a lot of her fans here enjoy her music via free download.
Thankfully, though, her remark generated a lot of jokes online. Gaga’s been invited to also invest in Thailand’s fake democracy, fake prime minister, fake laws, fake police and even fake good people.
Heck, we even have fake Lady Gagas!
