Phuket, no stranger to hosting foreign film productions, has yet to realise its full potential as a one-stop film location, but with its recent exposure in major Hollywood productions and growing base of production services the island is poised to became a star, reports Daniel Ogunshakin
It’s one of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history, remembered by those who saw it at the cinema when it was first released in 1962 or caught one of the countless TV replays over the decades. The year is 1961, the location is Jamaica where beautiful Ursula Andress emerges slowly from a turquoise sea onto a white-sand beach in an iconic white bikini with a knife strapped to one long leg, carrying a couple of shells. Further up the beach a watchful Sean Connery leans against a palm tree, admiring the view before venturing towards Andress to introduce himself. The scene is, of course, the first meeting between James Bond and Honey Ryder on the fictional island of Crab Key in Dr No, the first film in the now hugely successful Bond franchise.
Fast forward 50 years and that exact same scene could be re-enacted on one of Phuket’s many spectacular beaches as the island, surrounding provinces and kingdom become increasingly popular destinations for international movie and television producers. With its lush tropical jungle, white and golden-sand beaches and clear blue seas, enhanced by a dazzling sun in a bright azure sky, the picture-perfect locations of the Pearl of the Andaman create stunning natural film sets. This is confirmed by Ric Lawes, CEO and producer for Location Thailand. “Phuket has unique offerings such as the European-style architecture as well as having mountains that go down to the sea,” he says, adding, “The vegetation is different from, say, Krabi and there is also a tundra look in some areas where it is dry. The water is cleaner than Krabi and there are some unique opportunities such as shooting at Rawai pier. Phuket also has waves which are sometimes called for.”
Norbert Witthinrich, the owner and CEO of SEA Phuket Production based in Rawai in the south of Phuket agrees with Lawes’ assessment. “Having spoken to colleagues in the industry it’s clear that Phuket has a number of positive attributes when it comes to film production. The most obvious is the variety of locations, from pristine beaches to multi-million dollar villas,” he says. “Anything that is visually creative and that requires a beautiful, interesting and unique location was born to be filmed in Phuket. Other pluses are that Phuket is a good place to conduct pre and post-production, the potential to stretch a budget given the lower costs in Thailand and the infrastructure.” Indeed, in addition to beautiful natural scenery, as befits a world-class tourist destination, Phuket has an international airport, marinas, a deep sea port and a decent road system connecting it to the mainland. Throw in the relatively lower cost of labour and equipment compared to Western prices, cheap and readily available materials, huge choice of accommodations and other things important for film production and it is easy to see why Phuket should be an attractive proposition for filmmakers.
Despite all these positives for using the resort island as a film location, as yet the major players in the film industry – Hollywood and Bollywood – have largely passed it over, opting for other destinations, many close by, such as Krabi, Khao Lak and Phang Nga. Since foreign filmmakers began to use Thailand as a destination for making movies back in the 1920s just a handful of high-profile productions have been made on Phuket, including Brian De Palma’s 1989 Vietnam war crime thriller Casualties of War starring Michael J Fox and Sean Penn, the 2004 Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant romantic comedy Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and the HBO-BBC joint production Tsunami: The Aftermath filmed in 2006.
Compare that to the films made in the surrounding, less well-known provinces and nearby islands and there is some disparity. Neighbouring province Krabi can boast participation in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the Steve Coogan/Jackie Chan remake of Around the World in 80 Days and the lesser-known 2010 film The Lazarus Papers, without forgetting The Beach starring Leonardo Di Caprio filmed on Koh Phi Phi and released in 2000. Phang Nga province can also hold its own next to its more famous neighbour and can point to two James Bond films – The Man with the Golden Gun and Tomorrow Never Dies – and The Impossible, the story about the 2004 tsunami filmed mainly in Khao Lak in 2010 starring Ewan MacGregor and Naomi Watts.
Location Thailand’s Lawes believes that the reason for this disparity is people seeking to take advantage of the filmmakers. “Difficulties which cause problems for filmmakers include interference from locals and loaded costs by unscrupulous equipment rental businesses,” he says. “Plus there’s a dearth of freelance people on the island and those that are here are overpriced compared to Bangkok. TV commercials are perhaps better suited to Phuket because the higher costs of location filming and accommodations make it more difficult to make feature films. Until there is marked improvement, Phuket will remain stagnant in the feature film sector.”
While freelance production talent may not be in abundance, one company that provides support to producers looking to capture Phuket’s beauty on film is SEA Phuket Production. Founded in 2002 by Witthinrich, over the last nine years the company has provided foreign filmmakers the expertise and support in what can be a demanding environment. “SEA can supply everything a producer needs to make a project work,” says Hans Wulff, a SEA partner. “Services we provide include location scouting and management, helicopters, sail and power boats, transportation, high-end real estate, internationally recognised models, first and second unit teams, as well as getting permits and insurance, making travel arrangements, catering services and much more.” It is companies like SEA Phuket Production and Location Thailand that have contributed to the boom in the local film industry.
Statistics posted on the Thailand Film Office’s website (www.thailandfilmoffice.org) show the majority of foreign productions come from Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, the US, Europe and Australia. Thailand’s most enthusiastic film production customers are Japan and India. Japan made 123 productions of varying types in Thailand in 2010. Since 2003, the country has also seen a marked increase in the number of Indian film companies shooting here. In the past eight years the number of Indian productions has more than quadrupled, beginning at just 31 and now standing at 128. There has also been an increase in productions from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea. The increase in productions from these countries possibly reflects the changing nationalities of tourists coming to the kingdom, with visitors from India, China and other parts of the Far East on the increase
Foreign film shoots in Thailand is a good source of revenue for the country and since 2003 has generated in excess of one billion baht every year with the exception of 2009 which brought in just less than 900 million baht. Noticeably, the revenue generated by foreign filmmakers in Thailand doubled from 2009 to 2010, rising from the 888 million baht accrued in the final year of the noughties to 1.8 billion baht last year, says director-general Supol Sripan of the Office of Tourism Development which oversees the Thailand Film Office.
Thai authorities are working hard to boost the Thai film industry’s reputation but freelance filmmakers should also get credit for the growth of the film industry here, according to Lawes. “In the last decade or so the Thai film industry has grown significantly, largely due to the increased efforts of freelance producers and the internet, which have both increased international perception.” Interestingly, the number of productions made in the kingdom – documentaries, advertisements, feature films, TV series and music videos – only increased by 82, which suggests that the additional productions brought with them a significantly higher budget.
The marked increase is likely from the rise in feature films and advertisements made in Thailand in 2010. According to the Thailand Film Office, the number of advertisements made in 2010 compared to the previous year climbed from 166 to 255 – an all time high – and the number of feature films shot on location in Thailand rose from 37 to 49, also a record. The arrival of Hollywood dollars for the production of The Impossible and The Hangover 2 will have made a significant contribution. In an article in MCOT Online News, Supol said he believes that the growth would continue in 2011 because the Thai government is now offering incentives to foreign filmmakers to use Thailand as a location. According to him the government has approved the exemption of film shooting fees for local and foreign productions in seven state offices including the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Department of Fine Arts, the State Railway of Thailand, the Treasury Department, the Royal Forestry Department, the Royal Irrigation Department and Suvarnabhumi Airport. Foreign film productions are also eligible for exemption from the seven percent VAT when they return to Thailand to shoot additional films.
In March of this year the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) welcomed 23 foreign film industry leaders for a weeklong tour of the country to promote Thailand as Asia’s leading shooting location. Filmmakers from China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Sweden, the United States and Vietnam spent the week travelling from north to south, observing Thailand’s culture and lifestyle along with its natural attractions. “While we reach millions of potential visitors through our regular marketing campaigns, films are a great way to highlight Thailand’s natural beauty and attractions. They generate great interest in the country with lasting memories related to these films. This strengthens the Thailand brand and encourages people to make their first visit, or come back again,” says TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni in a TAT press statement.
The knock-on effect of these films using locations in Thailand to create their visions is a dramatic rise in tourist interest. Since the release of The Beach back in 2000 millions of tourists have flocked to Koh Phi Phi to follow in the footsteps of di Caprio, Guillaume Canet and Virginie Ledoyen, generating massive amounts of revenue for local businesses and provincial governments. The same can be said of Koh Khao Phing Kan, more commonly known as James Bond Island, after the iconic piece of land was used as the lair of Bond villain Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun. As a destination that relies massively on tourism, Phuket would stand to benefit more than most from the increased amount of exposure that a major international film would bring in terms of visitor numbers and revenue generated.
The presence of overseas production companies would also boost local and expat workers in Phuket. One such person that could benefit is Phuket make-up artist Lisa Allen. She has provided make-up services for the popular reality TV show, New Zealand’s Top Model, and has been approached by a number of producers with a view to future work in Phuket, revealing its growing appeal. “Over the last months I have received a gradual increase in interest from production companies for make-up services,” she says. “The majority of these are Western clientele and I expect to see a rise in the number of productions shot here because of Phuket being such a beautiful place and a cheaper location than other hot spots around the world like areas of the Caribbean.”
The shooting of films in Phuket and surrounding areas also provides opportunities for locals and expats to participate as background extras. Andrew Scott, a three-year resident of Phuket, has been in a number of productions in recent months after being cast as an extra in The Impossible, The Hangover 2 and a recent Swedish feature film production. “I went to a casting call for The Impossible at the Merlin Hotel in Phuket town. A few weeks later a casting agent called me and asked if I could do extra work in Phang Nga; I was there for a couple of weeks,” he says. “Films like The Impossible remind people what happened during the tsunami and what people went through, but also reminds them that Phuket is an idyllic holiday destination and provides brilliant public relations for the island.”
As Thailand looks to attract international filmmakers by providing incentives to use locations here, it is highly likely that Phuket will see an increase in productions. According to SEA Phuket Production’s principals it is only a matter of time. Witthinrich and Wuff believe that as a film destination Phuket has everything a film crew needs in terms of facilities, support and infrastructure. This can all be attained at a price that competes favourably with other popular movie shoot locations around the world.
One day in the not-too-distant future it is likely that cinemagoers will witness another screen meeting between James Bond and the latest Bond girl on a pristine, sun-kissed beach. The difference this time, however, will be that instead of being shot in Jamaica, chances are good this iconic moment will be shot on the sands of Thailand’s top island resort of Phuket.