In Remembrance of His Majesty: What Visitors Should Know

Mourning Period for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Thailand is in an official period of mourning following the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

In this regard, Benetone Films and the Thailand Film Office would like to inform that all foreign production shoot in Thailand is permitted as usual. However, we would request you to observe the following:


• Many Thai people will be wearing black or white clothing as a sign of mourning. This is not required of visitors but if possible, they should wear sombre and respectful clothing when in public.

• Visitors should refrain from conducting any inappropriate or disrespectful behaviour.

• Tourist attractions will be open as usual with the exception of Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and the Grand Palace, as they will be the venue of the Royal Funeral Rites.

• The Government has asked for the cooperation from the entertainment venues; such as, bars and nightclubs to consider the opening of their business operations during this time. The decision will be made by the individual owners.

• Most of the traditional and cultural events will be taking place as usual, although the celebrations may be changed for appropriateness as a mark of respect, or the events may be dedicated to the memory of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

• All transport, banks, hospitals and other public services will be operating as usual.

• The related authorities have stepped up safety and security measures for all Thais and visitors to facilitate their travelling around the country.

• For any enquiries, please contact our TAT domestic offices or Tel.: 1672.

Bentone Films would like to thank all visitors for their understanding and supporting Thailand during this period of time.

Benetone Films to line produce “Its Entertainment” starring the Khiladi Akshay Kumar

Bangkok, Thailand – Benetone Films announced that it has been chosen to line produce Akshay Kumar’s next starring venture, “Its Entertainment” which will be directed by the debutants Sajid- Farhad and produced by Ramesh Taurani. The movie pairs the Khiladi with TamannaBhatia and will begin shooting around various locations in Bangkok by the end of June.

This is not a first time that Benetone Films has had an opportunity of working with Akshay Kumar. Over the last few years, the production house had line produced big budget Akshay starrers such Chandni Chowk to China, Housefull 2, Blue and Desi Boyz. In fact, a couple of months back Benetone Films also line produced soon to be released BOSS which is directed by Anthony D’ Souza, the director of Blue.

More information will be updated by the company on its website here and also on its social presence at Facebook.com/benetonefilms and Twitter.com/benetonefilms

Shan Masala Ad - India

Here's the release of our ad with Shan Masala. Shot mostly in the studio in Bangkok, the agency came to Thailand for the availablity of skilled technicians. The cameraman and food stylist from India specialize in filming food products and that's made very clear by their attention to detail and colorful beauty of the food. Take a look:




Visit our Facebook page for behind the scenes production stills.

Vir Das Is Coming II

Vir Das Is Coming

Benetone Live Launches New Website

That's right. Our friends at Benetone Live have launched their new website and it's well worth a look! For you forgetful people, Benetone Live is the new division of the Benetone Group that plans and manages artistic performances, live entertainment, and social events in Bangkok. They have already put on some fantastic events, bringing in top notch international and local talent.

Take a look at the website for all the details on the Vir Das performance coming to Bangkok on November 27th!

BLUE Crew Sees Work in Action

The crew from Benetone Films that worked on the smash hit BLUE (read about BLUE here) , which opened last weekend to great reviews, was treated to a private screening of the film last night at Paragon Cineplex. The audience was thrilled by the action sequences and there were even some cheers and applause from individual crew members when the bigger stunts they'd worked on played out on the screen. It was a great night with a great movie and proud moment for Benetone Films.

Levi Strauss India TVC - Starring Shahid Kapool

Here's a look at our TVC filmed in Thailand for Levi Strauss India starring Bollywood heartthrob Shahid Kapoor:

Toonpur Ka Superhero - Coming Soon!

Scheduled for release this December is the mixed live action and animation film (think Space Jam) Toonpur Ka Superhero. We worked with Stunt Director Jack Gill (Death Race, Wild Hogs, Talladega Nights) and a US based stunt team to pull off some hectic sequences.

We got permission from the aviation department to land a helicopter in the middle of the sea on a huge (over 100 meters) barge that we had to modify to accommodate the helicopter's massive size and weight. It was the first time anyone has been given the permit allowing such a maneuver.





We rigged two barges to pull off a stunt where a jetski does a jump and complete flip over a pier.





We also shot a stunt at the Hilton Arcadia in Phuket with a huge rigging that carried a motorcycle across two buildings (over 200 meters).




It was a great shoot and we cant wait for the release of this one. Check out the official movie website here.

"Chunnu N Munnu" - Notes From The Crew

It just so happens that shooting just finished for the new family film Chunnu N Munnu and, as promised, here are a few more behind the scenes photos from this really fun upcoming feature and some nice words from the crew:







"...you redefined team work - every member of your team was amazing as a worker and more as humans... thanks to you and your team" - Aziz Sajawal, Director

"...What struck me was the efficiency, punctuality and above all the humanity that was evident in abunance with the whole team. This made for a very happy unit and this what made this long and continuous schedule really possible..." - Nadeem Khan, Dir. of Photography

Big thanks to Aziz, Nadeem, and the rest of the crew for such a great shoot!

New Feature! - "Notes From The Crew"

We thought it would be nice if, when we finish a project, we share with you a little more from the shoot (i.e. stills, clips, etc.) and some notes from the crew we worked with. Partly we like this idea because you get to see a little more of what's happening behind the scenes and get a sneak peak at upcoming movies and commercials. And partly we like this because the crews we work with always have such nice things to say!

Keep an eye out for the first installment coming soon...

The Most Expensive Bollywood Movie Ever Made

Deep crystal blue water and intense action scenes are the formula for the new Bollywood blockbuster hit BLUE, set to be released this Diwali weekend (October 16th). Shot on location in The Bahamas and Thailand (nice!), BLUE is the most expensive Hindi movie ever produced. For Hindi movie fans this is a long anticipated project, and with the nods it’s getting from viewers outside the traditional fan base, the movie promises to be an international mega-hit.
BLUE is the story of three friends (Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, and Zayed Khan) living in the Bahamas in search of a sunken treasure. Lara Dutta plays the character of a glamorous beach babe and Katrina Kaif makes an appearance to round out the star appeal of the film. The story is fueled by danger, deceit, and action. Lots of action: In the air, on the ground, and for the first time in an Indian film, underwater.

One of the biggest draws to this film is its “international” feel. Director Anthony D’Souza made it clear that he “tried to make a film that looks like it is from Hollywood but is in fact a 100 percent Bollywood film.” And producers spared no expense to help him, bringing in some of the best film technicians from around the world. Specialist cinematographer Pete Zuccarini (Pirates of the Caribbean, Deep Blue Sea) was brought in to capture the beauty of the ocean and underwater sequences. Fast paced action sequences – we closed roads and highways and blew up all kinds of vehicles for these shots - are guaranteed to get you wide-eyed thanks to James Bomalick (Fast and Furious – Tokyo Drift, Live Free or Die Hard).

Make-up artist Nickolette Skarlatos (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3, The Soloist) and hair stylist Clarabelle Saldanha (Transformers) brought their expertise even adding that Lara Dutt’s look was very similar to Hollywood star Megan Fox.

To impress music fans, the Oscar winning pair of composer A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire, Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and sound engineer Resul Pookutty (Slumdog Millionaire), were brought on to compose the tracks and handle sound for the film. More publicized, however, might be mention of Australian sensation Kylie Minogue, who was brought on to sing and dance for two of the most talked about songs and became the highest paid (more than $1 million) foreign star ever in a Hindi movie for doing so.

All in all, BLUE has the makings of a fantastic movie and Benetone Films is very proud to say we were a part of it. Here’s the official trailer (all the stunts not underwater were shot in Thailand), take a look and set aside some time in October to see the film:

Nasser Khan – Sights Set on Bollywood Star in "Shadow"

Before you read this article I’d like you to close your eyes and, while keeping them closed, go to the kitchen and pour yourself a glass of water... Okay. Close your eyes and go to the closet and select what you’re going to wear tomorrow... Alright. Close your eyes and go ride a motorcycle… drive a jet ski… and jump off a building.

I'll wait here.

....

Did you do all that? Did you remember to keep your eyes closed the entire time? Good. Now you have some idea of what it’s like to be Nasser Khan, one of our personal heroes and star of the new action film “Shadow – The Dark Side of Truth”.


See, Khan was born with cataracts and has lived his life with only 10-15% vision in his left eye, completely blind otherwise. Despite this disability though, he was top of his class until visibility became too much of a problem and he was forced to drop out (in Class VIII). He then studied electronics repair and the tannery business, and in 1995 opened his own tannery. He became increasingly interested in the IT sector and in 2000 became the first blind man to pass all four Microsoft certification courses (MCSE, MCSD, MCSA, and MCDBA) which carried him on to opening several computer centers. Next came investments in real estate, and then insurance. He's also an accomplished musician on various instruments.

He's basically Donald Trump and Stevie Wonder.
And now, he’s tackling the big screen and performing all his own stunts... which mean he's also Jackie Chan.
He's Donald Wonder-Chan.

For “Shadow – The Dark Side of Truth” Khan co-produces, acts, sings, dances, and performs a series of incredible stunts (ahem, you heard me right the first time: without the help of a stuntman). We line produced a good portion of this film and were blown away by his story and his performance. Apparently we weren’t the only ones - his beautiful co-stars Sonali Kulkarni and Hrishita Bhatt had nothing but praises for the man who Bhatt said was “a dream person to work with."




Yes, the movie is deliberately (and overtly) being marketed for the appeal of Khan’s real life story (he is, after all, a businessman first). But no, it does not come into the actual film where the integrity of the story and the rest of the cast is well maintained. This is an intense, energetic, and novel Bollywood action film and we highly recommend you checking it out – especially the parts in Bangkok!

*Author’s notes:

The movie was just released in India last week, so it won't be available right away for most of us, but I'll keep you posted as that changes.

I'm including this picture of "Shadow" stars Nasser Khan and Hrishita Bhatt for many many many of my own reasons:

Also... I will assume you didn’t actually try any of things I suggested when we started… but if you did, I hope you’ve cleaned up the floor, put away your work shirt and bicycle shorts, and I hope you were wearing a helmet. And from now on leave the wild stunts to the people who are actually visually impaired and know how to do them.

A Bollywood Homage to Classic Kung Fu

Chandni Chowk to China is Bollywood’s first ever Kung-Fu comedy and it’s now available on DVD. Now normally we like to take some time to highlight our contributions to a project… and this time is no different, it'll come later… but there’s a lot more going on with this movie than just some amazing work on our part.


First of all, Bollywood’s never before made an attempt at breaking into the Kung Fu comedy realm (think Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow). But CC2C, which is much easier to say, incorporates the stylized comedy and superb stunt coordination with Indian themes and Bollywood choreography (think Jackie Chan and Stephen Chow dancing and singing in Hindi).


The film lucked out in getting Warner Brothers to co-produce and distribute the film in the US – WB’s first Hindi project – which helped to bring on some really big names for the project: from India is the routinely zero-to-hero star Akshay Kumar (Welcome, Singh is King) and the stunning Deepika Padukone (Bachna Ae Haseeno, Love Aaj Kal) ; from China is legendary Shaolin-style martial-arts actor Chia Hui Liu; and from the US is Hollywood actor (and real life martial artist) Roger Yuan. These actors are brought together for some beautifully coordinated fight sequences – including the first ever that the Chinese government has allowed to be shot on the Great Wall - thanks to action choreographer Huan-Chiu Ku (Fist of Fury, Romeo Must Die, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon).


Did you get all that? Point is, these are some serious martial-arts people here and the folks from Bollywood really held their own in such unfamiliar territory (click here for an article on Huan-Chiu Ku’s doubts about Kumar) and it’s worth taking a look.



Another notable fact about this movie is that a large portion of it was filmed in Thailand (you knew it was coming). The crew decided to bring the shoot to Thailand for more than half of the film thanks to the low cost of shooting and the ease of attaining production permits. Benetone Films was there to scout locations, get said permits, assist stunt coordination with proper rigging (one of the best rigging crews that Huan-Chiu Ku said he's ever worked with, thank you), and recreate an entire Chinese village.



The film was met with mixed reviews and a good deal of controversy (completely banned in Nepal by the Nepalese government) over an apparent misrepresentation of the birthplace of Buddha. See the trailer here and if you like what you see (and have 2 and a half hours free... and don't live in Nepal) check out the movie!

Indian Cinema beats US ,UK and China

Facts and figures which surprised the whole world:

Recently European Audiovisual observatory known for its in-depth study of Film, Television, video and multimedia Industry came out with its latest report Focus 2009 on Film market trends of different countries of World. Though the whole world already knew about the combined mass production of movies across India is much higher than any other country in the world, there were certain figures revealed by the study which surprised not only the cinema goers in India but the entire world.

It was evident that being the highest populated country of World , theater admission would be more as compared to other countries, but as high as 3.29 bn, which is equivalent to the combined figure of the other top 9 producing countries of World, reflects the interest of Indians towards cinema.

Though Bollywood has been misapprehended as Indian cinema for a long time, it accounts for 22% of the total films followed by Telugu and Tamil films accounting for 21% and 13% respectively. Growth in multiplex screens which now accounts for 65% -70 % of the total Indian box office boosted the revenue graph which increased by 12% compared to last year revenues.In 2008 Indian box office reached $ 1.8 bn with average ticket price as low as 25 INR on the other hand another Asian country Japan with an average ticket price as high as 600 INR reached $1.9bn mark. Unites states on the other hand generated revenues close to $9.7bn with theater admission of 1.3 bn approximately. Average ticket price in United states is $7. Similarly United kingdom touched a whopping figure of $8.5bn with only 164 million people going to theaters in 2008. Thus Indian cinema beats other countries when it comes to no. of movies produced and theatre admission whereas lags behind in box office collection.

Every year Indian film industry bears a loss close to $ 1 bn due to piracy which is eating a big portion of revenue generated every year. Film fraternity is trying hard to curb such practices and the day it’s eradicated, Indian cinema will give tough competition to other countries in terms of net box office revenues.
Source: Out of Box: August, 2009
http://www.outofbox.in/indian-cinema-factsfigures/

The Benetone Films Blog is back in action!

THAT'S RIGHT!

Our blog has been out of commission for a while but we're back now in full force! We'll be bringing you the latest TV and film production news, behind the scenes from our newest projects, and even some surprises along the way. Thanks for joining us!


Here's a quick update of some of what's been going on with us recently:



TV:



"Domino's Pizza" Commercial - We just finished a really funny commercial for Domino's Pizza delivery service starring MTV India's hottest VJ, Cyrus.











Film:



"Chunnu N Mhunnu" - We're currently line producing this family film that follows a young hotel owner and his lovable chimpanzee friend as they fend off a bullying corporation that wants the little hotel for their own.







"LUCK" - Finally this highly anticipated, star-studded action film has been released and we're really excited about this one! Benetone Films headed the production of the climactic action sequence that is sure to blow you away!












That's just a little to get you caught up with some of our projects. Want to see some clips? Take a look at our YouTube page to see lots of 'em at www.youtube.com/benetonefilms .



Have any questions? Requests? Wanna tell us how you feel (probably loved) one of our projects?


Feel free to drop us a line!


And don't forget to keep checking back for our latest happenings...

Headlines: Bollywood trains cameras on Thailand

By Rohini Bhandari

23 February 2007, 10:45 AM

MUMBAI: Bollywood, ever in search of exotic locales, seems to be setting its sights on Thailand. E Niwas' De Taali and Nagesh Kukunoor's Bombay to Bangkok are two forthcoming films, which will be shot in the country.
Thailand too is keen to welcome Bollywood with open arms. In 2006, of the 450 foreign film productions produced in Thailand, 79 were from India. These included ads, music videos, short films and feature films.

In the most recent and enterprising Thailand – Bollywood connection, Mukta Searchlight Films' Bombay to Bangkok will be extensively shot in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. In fact, it was the city itself that inspired director Nagesh Kukunoor to script his film. He says, "As a frequent visitor to Thailand, I truly enjoyed the place. During my research, I found that Indians and Thais are 'same same but different' (which incidentally, is the tagline of Bombay to Bangkok). It was with this basic concept that I wrote Bombay to Bangkok as a romantic comedy."

Ghai's earlier film, 36 China Town too was shot in Thailand. In recent times, films like Kaal and Anthony Kaun Hai have been shot in Thai cities. While Kaal was billed Rs 10 million (Rs one crore) for a 10 day shooting schedule, Anthony Kaun Hai was shot for a period of 30 days for Rs 16 million (Rs 1.6 crore).

"The rates differ on the basis of the script, producer and scale of the film. Another factor that determines the rates is how well our country is projected in the film," says Thai Consulate General Jesada Chavarnbhark.
Chavarnbhark, who was present at the launch of Bombay to Bangkok says that if a documentary or commercial film is to be shot in Thailand, the relevant permissions can be obtained within one day.

Currently, the country does not offer rebates or subsidies to filmmakers, but will soon chalk out plans and rates that will make Thailand an enterprising destination for Bollywood filmmakers.

Source: Business of Cinema

Production Stills: Macroman Ad - Featuring Hritik Roshan

First look at behind the scene of the making of Macroman TVC. One of the largest undergarment manufacturer in India is introducing a new Brand of undergarment target towards men. They have select Hritik Roshan as the Macroman. Hritik Roshan is the current sensational hearthrob of Bollywood cinema. The ad was shot entire on location in Bangkok's Chinatown. The above photos are from one scene of many action sequence in the Ad.

The TVC is directed Jeff Balsmeyer. Jeff was the Writer/Director of Danny Deckchair, a feel good comedy shot entirely in Australia. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0337960/

More Production Stills from Macroman Shoot:-

Benetone Films Showreel

Hi, link below is our showreel for the Feature Films. Thailand is a fantastic location for film production. Beside TVC, Benetone Films has experience in line producing for over over 30 Bollywood productions. If you would like our complete showreel or further information about shooting in Thailand or quotes please do not hesitate to email us at contact@benetonefilms.com