Thursday, September 10, 2009

Thanit Jitnukul thinks the time is right for Bang Rajan 2

Bang Rajan was one of the early films that hit the scene when Thai movies starting going "inter" back in the late 1990s and 2000s. Directed by Thanit Jitnukul, it received the deluxe treatment for a DVD release in the U.K., and in the U.S. it was "presented by Oliver Stone".

An Alamo-inspired, blood-drenched tale of clanging swords, clashing mustaches and the greatest water buffalo ever committed to film, Bang Rajan was a huge hit, one that Thanit Jitnukul has probably been wanting to follow-up on ever since.

That's not to say he hasn't been steadily working. Most recently he helmed the handsome, socially conscious teenage drugs drama Samchuk and did a pretty sweet short for the patriotically stirring Water Drops of Life omnibus.

He also had a comic role in the recent Phranakorn musical comedy E-Som Somwang Cha Cha Cha. And it's at Phranakorn where Thanit shopped several of his latest projects, including Bang Rajan 2

Daily Xpress has a story about it. Here's an excerpt:

Thanit says he started writing the sequel a few years ago but kept the script to himself. Then, a few months ago, he decided to present a few projects, among them Bang Rajan 2, to Thanaphon Thanarungroj, owner of Phranakorn Film.

[...]

“Thanaphon was immediately interested in this project. I think maybe the time is right to do the film as the story is all about harmony in society,” says Thanit.

Word is that a lot of directors are approaching Phranakorn, which is keen to produce movies after it's had so many hits. Thanit is hoping for a budget of around 40 million baht, which is about the same as what was spent on the first Bang Rajan, but it would still be the largest project ever by Phranakorn, which keeps its budgets to a minimum.

Still, there's the niggling problem of how to continue the story of Bang Rajan, because according to that story, everyone's lives were sacrificed to delay the Burmese advance on the capital of Ayutthaya. What more is there to tell?

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