HOT Magazine March 15, 2015 | Page 41

W hen writer/director Henry MacRae travelled to Thailand in 1923 to make his film ‘Miss Suwanna of Siam’, he probably had little idea that this was the start of a long and successful relationship between Hollywood and Thailand. Since then, thousands of films and tens of thousands of television programs and commercials have been filmed in Thailand. It is not just Hollywood producers that recognize the country’s attractions as a location. Producers from Japan, Europe, Australia, India and many other countries regularly film in the “Land of Smiles”. For many, the most iconic use of Thailand’s settings is still James Bond’s ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ in which islands of Phuket were used as the base of 007’s arch-villain, Scaramanga. Marlon Brando filmed in Thailand in 1963, appearing with Thai statesman Kukrit Pramoj, who went on to become Prime Minister of Thailand. One of Bruce Lee’s most famous films ‘The Big Boss’ was filmed in Thailand too, along with both the original and the remake of ‘Around the World in 80 Days’. In films like ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’, ‘Bangkok Dangerous’ and ‘The Hangover Part II’, Thailand was a crucial part of the story. But there have been many occasions where shooting has taken place in Thailand to represent the scenario of a totally different country. All the Rambo films had sequences filmed in Thailand, where the country represented Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. In ‘Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’, Krabi was used to depict the home planet of the Wookiees. In “The Killing Fields”, Thailand’s locations were made to look like Khmer Rouge-era Cambodia. Hua Hin’s own Centara Grand Resort (then known as the Railway Hotel) was portrayed as Phnom Penh’s leading hotel in the hectic days just before that city’s fall. The film went on to win 3 Academy Awards. Having experienced Thailand, directors and stars often return. Oliver Stone, Wong Kar-wai, Jackie Chan, and Jean-Claude Van Damme are regular visitors. Thailand has featured in many international TV series. Chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Bourdain, Rick Stein, Ken Hom and Japan’s Iron Chefs have all shot culinary programs in Thailand. For globe-trotting series like ‘The Amazing Race’, ‘The Bachelor’ and ‘Survivor’, Thailand is a regular feature. In recent years, the rising economies of other ASEAN nations have also created new opportunities for the Thai Mar 15 - Apr 15 , 2015 41