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
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