At the film's Asian premiere on Friday, Bangkok's La Scala cinema was crowded with movie fans and local and Asian celebrities. Delighted fans screamed when stars such as Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Segal and Jennifer Tilly appeared at the event.
Asian stars Rick Yone (Die Another Day), Leon Lai (黎明) and Christy Chung (鍾麗緹) also drew noisy cheers from the fans. Christy Chung, who stars in the Thai box-office hit Jan Dara, attracted special attention from Thai audiences when she introduced her new boyfriend, Chinese rock musician Yen Cheng-hsiang (嚴政翔), to the public.
Somewhat embarrassing was the fact that most of the stars present did not have films screening at the festival, and the filmmakers of the competition films did not turn up at the ceremony.
The Hollywood-style reception did not please everyone in Thai film circles. "I doubt this extravaganza will help strengthen the Thai film industry," one Thai filmmaker was quoted as saying in the Bangkok Post.
Others disagreed. "I think one of the main goals of [the Thai government] is try to make Thailand the destination for shooting Asian scenery, and to bring more international filmmakers to Thailand to make films," said Ladawan Kongcharoenvoot, a film producer. "If the goal can be achieved, it will also be helpful to the Thai film industry," she said.
RSS