Actor Thanachart "Arty" Tulyachart insists he had no problem acting in the indie rural hit, Poo Bao Tai Ban, even though its director swears he won’t work with the young star again.
Thanachart ‘Arty’ Tulyachart.
Arty and the film’s producer Montonsakrit Chusrida were forced to go before the media last week after director Uten Sririwi let off a broadside against the star, who like the director himself hails from Khon Kaen.
“I haven’t promoted Arty as the star because I'm not happy with him,” Uten said in a Facebook post.
“He showed a lack of respect. He didn’t read the script, didn’t rehearse, wouldn’t give me a schedule … things reached the point where we almost couldn’t get the film finished.
“I had to ask phu yai to negotiate if I wanted to book him for a scene. I had to ask them again before he would work on the soundtrack … even for the film’s opening in Khon Kaen, he refused to show up.
“Arty said he didn’t want to work with me again, but when the movie started to do well, he started taking back his words. I'm not asking for much. He shouldn’t look down on me. A simple apology would suffice.”
Poo Bao Tai Ban is a sleeper, a low-budget hit from the E-San Indy Film Studio.
Mr Montonsakrit, who said he eventually persuaded the director to take down the post critical of Arty, puts down their misunderstanding to a generational split.
“Uten was born in Isan, and is imbued with the place. He wanted a country feel. Arty is a member of the new generation. Many takes were necessary for each scene before Uten was happy with the result. It was a hard shoot, because it took place between someone of the older and newer generations,” he said.
Uten recalls one clash on set with Arty, who took exception to his repeated requests for a new take.
“Just what do you want … a movie, or a lakorn [which can have multiple takes], even though you know nothing about lakorn?” the outspoken Arty asked. The actor came to fame in big-budget hits such as Boonchu 9 and Before Valentine.
Mr Montonsakrit said the problem also lay in the haphazard, indie way in which the film was made.
“It’s an indie film, so we are like a family. We didn’t know the shooting schedule from one day to the next," he said.
“I was looking after Arty on set. Sometimes when he was busy with school or exams I just called and cancelled the shoot. I failed to give the director a reason. When we met each other again, Uten didn’t ask me for an explanation for Arty’s no-show.
“Next time we will have to work in a more disciplined fashion. But I have spoken to the director now, and everything's fine.”
Arty, who denied having a problem with Uten and insisted he could work with anyone, said he didn’t believe an apology was necessary.
“I didn’t take it to heart. I just went out for a game of football to let off steam,” he said.
Not so high in the sky
Actress and singer Suteewan “Baitoey” Thaveesin admits her English is poor, but says there’s nothing wrong with loving the language, even if she gets it wrong occasionally.
Baitoey is under attack after her internet critics unearthed a TV clip in which she appears to assert she passed an exam to be an air hostess, including its strict language requirements, but was held back only on health grounds.
Suteewan ‘Baitoey’ Thaveesin.
The sexy singer denies ever going that far, saying she travelled by air often as a child and took the course just to see what it would be like.
“It was a foundation course. You have to pass many stages. I failed because I'm prone to migraines and have sinus problems,” she told the TV show.
The fuss over her air hostess claims follows a robust debate on her Instagram account, after critics took issue with the captions she posts in English to accompany her picture posts. In one picture, she holds up some packed durian fruit, a gift from members of her fanclub. “My dinner big thank very FC,” the caption reads.
Critics said if that was the best she could muster, she should stick to Thai. Shortly after, a post appeared under Baitoey’s name in which she gives five sample sentences English — passable grammatically, but rather basic.
“I’m fine thank you and you; sit down please; go went gone; thank you teacher; see you again tomorrow,” her post read.
Undeterred, her critics said they were surprised that a singer who makes so much of her English skills could come up with nothing more impressive than basic schoolgirl English.
Asked about the fuss last week, Baitoey said a friend penned the sample sentences, just for fun.
“We were out somewhere and she put up the post in my name just to be a tease,” she said.
“I admit I'm not strong with English, but I have loved it since I was a child, and posted in English since I started playing with Instagram three years ago. I don’t claim to be anything special.
“I don’t read most of the comments, though I admit some of them hurt. Elders in the industry understand that social media allows me to express myself and is a personal thing. No one has tried to shut me down.”
Step in the ring and say that!
Actress Bongkot “Tak” Khongmalai says critics are reading too much into a social media image of her infant child in which she appears to be showing too much breast.
Tak posted an image of herself on Instagram holding her son, Khao Hom. She is wearing a black lace see-through top which appears to show off her copious bosom.
Appearing at a social function last week with her husband, billionaire Dtac founder Boonchai Bencharongkul, Tak said critics went too far with their comments.
Bongkot ‘Tak’ Khongmalai.
“Khao Hom happened to be moving in my arms at the time, and pulled at the fabric of my top. It was just a casual picture we took at home,” she said. Khao Hom, the couple’s first child, is nine months old.
As a new mother, Tak was under attack on the internet recently for looking too fat. During pregnancy, her weight ballooned from 58kg to 94kg.
Tak said she is losing weight as she prepares to take on her first acting role since parenthood. Critics claimed she had resorted to computer trickery to give herself a slimmer look, after Tak posted images of herself looking slender by the family swimming pool.
The actress denies the claims, saying she works out every day to get her weight down. She says she has lost an impressive 25kg over the past nine months, and has another 15kg to go.
“It’s an action movie, in which I act and produce. I have to get fit for the role. If I can’t lose the weight, I won’t be able to jump very far,” she joked.
Tak works out at home with the help of a personal fitness trainer five days a week. “He gave me a blood test, and also found me a dietitian to advise me on what to eat.”
In one image on her Instagram account, Tak is boxing with her trainer, who is wearing a serious looking dagger on his waist.
“Pi Bonchai joins the workouts to give me encouragement. He does press-ups, and has a taut and tight looking stomach to show for it. That trick has yet to work for me,” she said.
