Hollywood’ On Location in Bangkok

After a fairly dry spell, Bangkok-based actors, including myself, are breathing a sigh of relief with significant productions either already in town or coming soon. The film already here is called

Formosa Betrayed, but because of the controversial nature of the storyline, until recently it has been referred to as, “Where Sleeping Dogs Lie.” I worked on the film as an actor in late May and had a spectacular time on what was an extremely well-run film set.

The plotline (based on a true story): “In the early 1980’s, a small-town detective (James Van Der Beek) is assigned to investigate the murder of a respected professor. Through his investigation, he unearths a spider web of international secrets that have been thriving within college campuses across America for decades. His investigation takes him across the Pacific to the island nation of Taiwan, where with the help of the outspoken widow and an unlikely spy, he learns that the professor’s killing was not a random act, but a desperate move by a scandalous government intent on keeping its nefarious activities under wraps.”

Yes, in Formosa Betrayed, Bangkok is being used as Taiwan, so when the controversy breaks about this movie at a later date, you’ll know why.

The synopsis continues: “Our detective soon finds himself on a collision course against the U.S. State Department, the Chinese Mafia, and the Nationalist Chinese Government…in a land where the truth is not what it seems and the only people he can trust cannot be trusted at all.”

Stars in town for the other film, Shanghai, include John Cusak, Ken Wattanabe, and Gong Li. Again because of a controversial plot, Thailand is being used as China because the production’s film permit was cancelled by Chinese officials. The film is being brought to us under the tutelage of Harvey Weinstein, and the synopsis, according to the Internet Movie Database, explains: “An American man returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor, and discovers his friend has been killed. While he unravels the mysteries of the death, he falls in love and discovers a much larger secret that his own government is hiding.”

The secret out here is that Hollywood is in Bangkok, as are some big stars! Are you ready for your close-up?