In 2008, Weinstein Company was ready to roll out its
latest project titled Shanghai to be shot on location in the Chinese port of the same name when
tragedy strikes. The Chinese authorities unexpectedly revoked
the permit a week prior to the shooting, which meant the company had to walk
away from the sets that had been built at a cost of US$ 3 million. Moreover,
they were now forced to look around for a new location that could imitate the
Chinese city in addition to building new sets quickly, efficiently and at a
lower cost.
Luckily the solution was not that
far away. The production company chose Thailand and discovered that locations
like Hua Lamphong Railway Terminal, Si Racha, Chachoengsao and Samut Songkhram,
were precisely what they were looking for. The project got underway and by
August 2008, the production was wrapped.
The above incident is one of the
many instances where Thailand has been chosen to be a double for well known international
places. Other well known examples include: Ridley Scott choosing Chiang Mai to
shoot parts of 2007’s American Gangster, as did Sylvester Stallone for his
fourth installment of Rambo in the same year; Werner
Herzog’s PoW drama Rescue Dawn cheated Thailand for
Vietnam in 2005.
This tactic has not been limited
to feature films alone. Many of the international commercials have been shot in
Bangkok and surrounds, with the city doubling as New York, Medieval Europe,
modern China and New Orleans. This award winning commercial from Acer
(China), which we at Benetone Films had a pleasure of working with; cheated the
streets of Bangkok as one of the busy streets of a Chinese metropolitan city.
Our work with UOB commercial
showcases a high upper class international feel closer to Europe which was once
again shot in Thailand!
Of course, international
producers are not turning to Thailand on the strength of its beautiful
locations alone. The other reasons that make Thailand such an attractive place
for shooting are its versatility, flexibility, modern infrastructure and its
cheap, experienced and hard working crew. Additionally, the local officials are
churning out incentives making shooting in the country more attractive than
ever.
Benetone Films itself in the recent
years has been seeing more and more commercials being shot here in Thailand.
Our clients from US, Indonesia, India, Israel, China and etc. share the same
sentiments to the attractiveness of Thailand and have been coming back to shoot
with us again and again citing services from a leading production company like
us as another highlight of working in Thailand.
Truly there exist no boundaries
in Thailand to unleash your imagination and making your vision come true.
To work with us in bringing your vision
to life, please feel free to contact Khun Kulthep or Khun Rachvin at contact@benetonefilms.com
You can also look at more commercials which were line produced by us at our YouTube Channel
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