Film director Songyos Sugmakanan questioned himself for doing soap operas because those showing on Thai TV are not really, so to speak, his cup of tea.
Maxine plays a tomboyish girl who dresses as a man in order to land a job at a coffee shop.
But when TrueVisions executive producer, Attaphon Na Bangxang, asked him to do a remake of a popular Korean series, it was an opportunity for the award-winning film-maker to offer something new to the local TV industry.
The project, however, puts him under great pressure since the original Coffee Prince was a phenomenal hit even though it aired as a Channel 7 morning programme back in 2007. Its legions of Thai fans even took tours to see filming locations, such as at The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince, at Hongdae, Seoul.
The story in the 2012 Thai production takes place in Chiang Mai with the set of the coffee shop located in a soi on Klong Chonprathan Road. The 30-something director loved being in the Lanna city for the filming, which took almost half a year.
"It reminded me of my early days as a movie director when I worked upcountry for months, filming Fan Chan [My Girl] in Phetchaburi and Dek Hor [Dorm] in Chon Buri and Ratchaburi," he says. "Back then we had more time shooting movies. Likewise, more time and effort have been dedicated to filming Coffee Prince in order to achieve the same quality as Korean and American series."
‘‘Working on Coffee Prince’s 17 episodes compares to making eight movies,’’ said top director, Songyos Sugmakanan.
One of Studio GTH's top directors, Songyos affirms that his focus is still film. Last year, his film Wai Roon Pan Lan (Top Secret), a biopic about a teen-turned-billionaire from selling dried seaweed, could have done better at the box office if there hadn't been the flood crisis.
After the October screening of this movie, the director began concentrating on the making of his first TV drama, which premieres tonight, from 9pm, on True Asian Series. It differs from other productions as the cinematography, via single camera filming, is supposed to give the same feel as watching a movie.
"Working on Coffee Prince's 17 episodes is like making eight feature movies," he said.
"One of the biggest challenges is to make it as appealing as the original in terms of emotional expression. The acting is still movie-style but more expressive, but of course the Thai cast can't copy the Korean actors."
A romantic comedy, Coffee Prince builds on a relationship between a tomboyish girl dressed as a man working at a coffee shop run by an heir to a food company who becomes confused about his sexual preference when he falls in love with this "male" employee.
In the original, the chemistry between Korean stars in the lead roles, Yoon Eun-hye and Gong Yoo, absolutely hooked Thai viewers, and now they will get a chance to compare the experience watching the Thai counterparts, Inthiporn "Maxine" Tamsukhin and Weeradon "Mac AF6" Wangcharoenporn.
The cast also includes former contestants of reality shows, True Academy Fantasia and Coffee Master, and so Songyos had to direct a roster of young and inexperienced actors, who have to live up to the Korean actors in the original TV series.
"In movies, I often get to work with new actors, who bring something fresh to the silver screen. Likewise, there's an advantage of featuring fresh faces for a TV series," he said. Coffee Prince's young actors are inexperienced about life and love and so it's my job to help them understand the underlying emotion required for the acting."
The director hopes that viewers watch the Thai version without making a comparison because that wouldn't be fair to the young local actors. As much as possible, it aims to offer the same feel as the original but with Songyos's directing mastery and superb cinematography.
"I would like to hear feedback from Thai fans of the original Coffee Prince, hopefully they make a judgement whether they like it or not based on pure feelings when watching this new version without comparing it to the original. Like my movies, I'm always open to criticism," he said.
From today, Coffee Prince airs every Thursday and Friday, from 9pm, on True Asian Series (TrueVisions 64).
The romantic comedy stars Weeradon ‘Mac AF6’ Wangcharoenporn and Inthiporn ‘Maxine’ Tamsukhin.
