There's no magic when movies are born

Published on October 8, 2007

A couple of film directors shared memories of their teetering - and humorous - first steps on ModerNine's "Cheepajorn Lok" show, hosted by the Nation Group's Suthichai Yoon.

Pen-ek Rattanaruang's debut, "Fun, Bar, Karaoke", got its legs in a meeting with Kiat Iampungporn, the big boss at Five Star Production.

Pen-ek was deep into his pitch, only to realise that Kiat had dozed off. He carried on regardless, and then suddenly Kiat woke up, and just as abruptly said, "How much is this going to cost?"

Pen-ek let a figure plop onto the table, waking up Kiat even more.

"With that kind of money I could make a picture that's packed with action - you should be able to make your movie for half that!"

Obviously he'd heard enough of Pen-ek's plot line before he nodded off, and the budding director knew it. He immediately responded to Kiat's counter-offer: "Okay!"

Then there was the time that Kiat, possibly feeling stung by some film critic's lacerations, decided to get a critic to actually make the movie for a change and see what happens. Veteran scribe Sananjit Bangsapan was picked as a candidate.

A meeting was arranged for midnight. It could have been perfect for a suspense thriller, but as it turned out, the get-together was better suited to a short film.

Kiat: "Do you want to make a movie?"

Sananjit: "Yes."

Deal done. Absolutely no discussion about plot or, amazingly enough, the budget!