SantaFe.com

- Notes provided by Lionsgate Films. -

An adrenaline-charged action thriller, Lionsgate's BANKGOK DANGEROUS stars Nicolas Cage (LEAVING LAS VEGAS, NATIONAL TREASURE) as Joe, an anonymous assassin takes an unexpected turn when he travels to Thailand to complete a series of contract killings. Joe (Nicolas Cage), a remorseless hitman, is in Bangkok to execute four enemies of a ruthless crime boss named Surat. He hires Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm), a street punk and pickpocket, to run errands for him with the intention of covering his tracks by killing him at the end of the assignment. Strangely, Joe, the ultimate lone wolf, finds himself mentoring the young man instead whilst simultaneously being drawn into a tentative romance with a local shop girl. As he falls further under the sway of Bangkok's intoxicating beauty, Joe begins to question his isolated existence and let down his guard ...just as Surat decides it's time to clean house.

Directors The Pang Brothers (The Eye) paint an explosive picture of the Bangkok underworld, illuminated with neon and saturated in violence. From a screenplay by Jason Richman, BANGKOK DANGEROUS is based on the Pang Brothers' wildly popular Hong Kong action film of the same name. Starring alongside Cage are Shahkrit Yamnarm (Belly of the Beast), Charlie Young (Seven Swords), Panward Hemmanee and Dom Hetrakul (Sniper 3). The film is produced by Jason Shuman, William Sherak, Nicolas Cage and Norm Golightly. Andrew Pfeffer, Derek Dauchy, Denis O'Sullivan and Ben Waisbren serve as the executive producers.



ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

"No one knows who I am. No one knows where I am."
- JOE

In 2005, while preparing to work with Hong Kong-based filmmakers Oxide and Danny Pang on their first English language film, The Messengers, producers William Sherak and Jason Shuman decided to screen the rising stars' entire body of work. They were bowled over by what they saw.

One film in particular fascinated Sherak and Shuman: the original Thai language film Bangkok Dangerous. A dark and surprising thriller about a deaf mute hitman and his apprentice, Bangkok Dangerous was released in 1999 to international critical acclaim and had appeared at a number of international film festivals, even winning the International Critics Award (FIPRESCI) at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival

Sherak says he and his partner knew immediately the film would translate brilliantly to an English-language remake. "We became big fans of the original Bangkok Dangerous. As we got to be friends with the Pangs, Jason and I told them we thought it was a really interesting story that should be remade in English."

For their parts, the Pangs were equally intrigued. Identical twins born in Hong Kong, the brothers have made several cult favorite films including The Eye, a supernatural thriller recently remade in English starring Jessica Alba.

This time, however, the Pangs were being offered a rare opportunity to recreate their own film. "We thought it would be an interesting challenge to update the concept after more than six years," says Oxide Pang. "We were able to take the same concept, the same idea, refine it considerably and bring it to a bigger audience."

To adapt the original film, Sherak and Shuman brought on Jason Richman, writer of the 2002 action comedy Bad Company, starring Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins. In addition to updating the story, the producers wanted to make sure that Richman captured an accurate picture of Thai culture, so they arranged for him to spend time in Bangkok and experience it first-hand.

"We came out to Thailand for about a week to do a research trip," Richman remembers. "Once we were there, the script came to me very fast. It certainly didn't take as long as usual. I think the opportunity to meet the people and to experience the city beyond all the usual tourist locations gave me much of the inspiration I needed.

"The time I spent there was instrumental in opening my eyes to how beautiful the people and culture are in Thailand. Coupling the peaceful nature of the country and the actions of a killer for hire was a wonderful exercise for me," he says.
The producers were delighted with the script. "It's a very simple story told very well," says Sherak. "Nowadays, we see movies that have such complicated plots that we lose much of the characterization. What Jason did was simplify the plot so the audience can focus on these interesting characters and their lives while still enjoying the thrills of the plot."

The Pang Brothers were pleasantly surprised by the streamlined development process. "I had heard that normally there are multiple writers involved with Hollywood scripts," says Danny. "Jason took this one from the first draft to the final draft and brought us a no nonsense script that was true to the original movie."

From the project's inception, Richman, Sherak and Shuman felt there was only one actor who could do justice to the role of Joe. "We had Nicolas Cage in mind for Joe while we were developing the script," says Sherak. "The character of Joe does not have a lot of dialogue, so we needed an actor who could use his aura and inner life to convey emotions. Nic is perfect for that."

Cage, an aficionado of Asian cinema who had worked with Hong Kong action maestro John Woo on the hit film Face/Off, was already an admirer of the Pang Brothers' work in general and of Bangkok Dangerous in particular.

"What I liked about the original movie was the style and the editing and the pacing of the film. When I saw the new script, I was intrigued by the relationship between my character, Joe, and Shahkrit's character, Kong, as a teacher-student relationship that ultimately becomes a friendship. I always think it's interesting to see different cultures cooperating, co-existing and getting along."

Producer Norm Golightly, president of Cage's production company, Saturn Films, adds: "We thought it would be fantastic to combine a big Hollywood star with (some) authentic Asian filmmaking. It's a really fresh experience for Nic and I to be on someone else's turf - working the way they work, doing things the way they do things."

While landing a star of Cage's caliber was an enormous boost for the film, it also raised interesting questions about the best way to adapt the script. In the original version of the film, Joe is deaf and mute-disabilities which underscore his isolation. "We had seen a lot of movies about killers and we thought they were wasting too much time talking," explains Oxide. "We thought that in reality, a killer wouldn't speak a lot, he would need to focus all his time and attention on his target. The idea of a deaf mute killer came from that."

In the new film, however, the character's isolation comes not from a physical limitation but from his inability to speak Thai and his unfamiliarity with the local culture. "We decided that coming to Bangkok as a westerner and not speaking the language created a similar distance between Joe and his surroundings. Thai is such a hard language to pick up, you're almost as lost as if you can't speak or hear."

In a reference to the original film though, Richman decided to include a deaf-mute character - Fon. Fon is a beautiful young woman, whose instant connection with Joe underscores their mutual isolation especially because of the difficulty of communication from both sides. "I really like the bond between Nic's character and Fon," says the screenwriter. "It's a unique relationship-a sincere love story-and it was great fun to work on."

"The eyes tell you everything."
- JOE

Having teamed up for more than a dozen movies to date, identical twin directors Oxide and Danny Pang have developed a unique approach of collaborating that would probably be impossible for filmmakers who do not share the same DNA.

"It's like we just combine all of our two powers to become one," says Oxide. "We work on the script together and then put together storyboards for the film."

"When we finish this procedure, we can work separately because we both have the same idea of what should be happening," adds Danny. "On any given day, maybe I'll be shooting, tomorrow it might be Oxide. If it's not a big scene, normally we will separate."

Sherak marvels at the brothers seeming ability to read each others' minds, even when they weren't on set at the same time. "What amazed everyone on the team is the connection between Danny and Oxide. "You can talk to one of them on Monday and finish the conversation with the other one on Tuesday and they're both in the exact same place. It's very weird, but it makes it easier because they can work on alternate days and build on each other's work seamlessly. Despite some differences in personality, they seem to think exactly alike when it comes to directing."

Production designer James Newport concurs that working with two directors was very different from anything he had experienced before. "There seems to be a psychic connection between the two of them, they can almost finish each other's sentences. If you can't find Oxide, you go and ask Danny, and he seems to know what you're talking about even if you never talked with him about it before. They seem to have taken each task and divided it right down the middle."

One thing the Pangs agreed on was that they were thrilled to be working with Nicolas Cage, an actor who Danny calls "one of our idols in the movie world."

"I've loved his work since Birdy, directed by Alan Parker. I don't know if a lot of people are familiar with this movie, but I remember first seeing him in this."

Oxide adds that Cage was a dream to work with. "We were making changes to the story as we went along, and Nic was always open to our ideas and our direction," he says. "Our English is not too good, but he spent the time to try to understand what we were saying. We never felt like we were directing a 'superstar.' "

"Nic Cage is Nic Cage," says Sherak. "He's amazing; he's brought such life to this character. He has the ability to tell an entire story with expressions. He's playing opposite a character who is deaf-mute, so it's all about expressions and he really slammed that home."

Cage says he was fascinated by his character's many contradictions and complexities. "Joe is coming from a military background, but he's a killer for hire, a mercenary. He has been beleaguered by family problems his entire life. I would say that he is evil, if I have to label him, and that he is trying to find a way out of that.

"He's coming out of his of violence, his demons, because of the girl he meets, Fon, and her sensibility, her kindness, and also because of Thailand, because of Bangkok itself. He's becoming more interested in peace and that's where the character goes into conflict, because it's not his nature, he really can't be peaceful because of what happened to him as a boy."

Cage has high praise for Charlie Young, the actress cast as his love interest, Fon. "The chemistry with Charlie was terrific, she's a great lady, she's kind, she's charitable and she's a really good actress," Cage says. "I think it's going to be unique. You don't see a lot of movies where there's a love story that joins different cultures."

The producers were equally impressed with the Hong Kong star's performance. "Charlie Young really brought her A-game," says Sherak. "I think the scenes with the two of them are exceptional."

Young learned sign language for her role with the help of Katitha Rattanasin from the National Association of the Deaf. Rattanasin says of the actress, "She's a fast learner and was extremely committed. Charlie even taped the lessons we had together so she could study on her own later on and communicate with deaf people in real life situations."

In addition to sign language, Young had to learn how to perform a well known traditional Thai dance. "It was very challenging," she says. "I had only seven days to practice, and then I had to dance with a group of professionals. Thank goodness I had an excellent teacher and she worked very hard with me.

"When I came to the set that day, I was very nervous because I had had so little practice and I didn't want to disappoint anyone. My teacher told me in Thai, 'I support you all the way. Try your best and you'll be okay.' I almost cried at that moment. I knew I was going to do the best I possibly could."

In terms of character, Young decided not to do a lot of additional preparation for her role, "I feel that sometimes you should not think too much when you read the script. The immediate feeling is more important. I wanted Fon to be as unaffected as possible. I wanted her to appear very natural."

Conversely, Shahkrit Yamnarm, who plays Kong, immersed himself in the screenplay to develop the role of the hitman's apprentice. "I did a lot of homework with the script, reading it over and over, memorizing it and getting into the character, getting to know Kong as well as I could, until I became him. I also trained in motorcycle riding and some of the martial arts moves, which was fun."

Sherak was thrilled with Yamnarm's performance. "Shahkrit is fantastic, he just really knocked his role out of the park," says the producer. "He has the potential to be a very big star all over the world, and I hope it happens, because he's such a great guy and he's so talented."

Yamnarm describes his character as a street kid, a hustler, selling cheap watches to tourists. "He's good at what he does, but living in the big wide world, I don't think that he's that smart. He's not actually a hitman, he's more of a helper. He doesn't shoot anyone, but he learns a lot from Joe. There are a lot of emotions, a lot of understanding between these two guys who are totally different, but both are quite isolated from the world. They are men who do what they have to do to survive, that's what they have in common."

The actor made the choice not to watch the original Bangkok Dangerous before shooting began. "I was afraid seeing it would influence me and I wanted to make this role my own. I'm going to go watch it after I finish this movie."

As he carries out his secretive courier duties for Joe, Kong falls in love with Aom, a beautiful "coyote" dancer, who performs in a club in Bangkok's red light district. Thai television star Panward Hemmanee makes her first film appearance as Aom, who also acts as go between for Joe and his employer. "I auditioned alongside many other actresses," she recalls. "We had to do a dance scene, it was a bit embarrassing, but I did it."

"The character I play is both gentle and strong inside," she says. "When she is at work, she's super tough, but on the inside, she just wants to be loved like everybody else. It's a very sexy role. During the dance scene I was afraid that all of the other coyote girls who were dancing beside me would be sexier than me. All the time I was thinking-what do I have to do to be even sexier?!"

Nirattisai Kaljareuk, a well-known Thai actor and director, plays the vicious gangster Surat who hires Joe, without ever meeting him, to slay his enemies. "I studied for the role by watching a lot of mafia movies. Surat is so completely opposite to who I am in real life-it was a great deal of fun to be that evil."

"The best way to defend yourself is to
know when something's going to happen."

-JOE
The final, and perhaps most intriguing character in the film, is Thailand itself. As producer William Sherak explains, "In our movie, Bangkok is not just a location. The city and the people in Bangkok eventually make our assassin decide he doesn't want to kill anymore. The culture turns him away from violence and the people he meets make him aware of his own shortcomings. He discovers something we all realized when we first came to Bangkok: This is a magical place."

Nicolas Cage recalls experiencing that magic as soon as he stepped off the plane. "I felt the air and I thought this place is really beautiful; there's a great energy here. It's free. Isn't that what 'Thai' means, 'free'? There was a freedom in the air and there was a kindness that I felt there that I really admired."

The Pang Brothers made every effort to present an accurate depiction of modern Thailand without romanticizing or mythologizing it "Sometimes a foreign director imagines a country to be a certain way and adds the elements of his imagination. We tried to shoot this movie in the real Thailand, to show the culture of Thailand and the country's spiritual life."

The filmmakers incorporated many traditional Thai symbols, including the elephant, which holds special significance to the country's primarily Buddhist population. Cage was fascinated by one of his pachyderm co-stars, a young elephant that interacts with the crowd.

"I was very touched by that scene," says the actor. "It was a baby elephant and he was very sweet. He seemed like he was smiling when I was feeding him. I don't get to act with elephants that often, so it was a highlight for me."

All in all, the film used about 47 locations in Bangkok and nearby provinces, including the city's red light district, parks, squatter settlements, business centers, the Chao Phraya's river banks and luxurious five-star hotel suites. Location manager Andrew Perry observes that in ten years of working in Bangkok, he has never seen a movie do all its shooting there. "The city's traffic congestion and narrow streets can present a problem for big productions," he said.

"One of the locations the directors specifically requested was the Kao Luang Temple in Petchburi, about two hours south of Bangkok," says Perry. "This is for the scene where Fon takes Joe to a temple. It's deep inside a mountain cave filled with Buddha statues. Sunlight pours down from an opening at the top of the mountain -- it makes the cave really, really beautiful."

The shoot was disrupted briefly by an event no one on the set could have anticipated. Halfway through production, a military coup overthrew Thailand's prime minister, dissolved Parliament and suspended the country's constitution temporarily. Thankfully, it was a peaceful overthrow: not a single shot was fired and the set was back up and running the next day.

"Television stations shut off and production halted for an evening, recalls producer Norm Golightly. "I saw some tanks in the streets and feel like I survived a little part of history. We certainly couldn't know the coup was on the calendar. It would have to be the most unexpected event I've experienced, not only on this film, but on any I've ever worked on."

"First time in Bangkok?"
-KONG

For James Newport, the show's production designer, BANGKOK DANGEROUS was a labor of love-love for the Thai capital and its culture. "Thailand is a second home for me and I've always wanted to show modern day Bangkok on film. Bangkok stands in for other cities quite often, but today's Bangkok is a very exciting city, visually, and showing it was a great challenge of the project," said Newport.

Finding a temporary home in the city for the protagonist provided Newport with an opportunity to blend old and new Thailand. "Joe's employers got him a place that's out of the city, very remote," he says. "There's some very exciting architecture going up in this town and then we looked back at traditional Thailand and we blended the two."

One of the most exciting scenes in this movie is also one of the most picturesque, being set in a location unique to Thailand: the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. In a complex and thrilling set piece, Joe chases an assassination target through the area's canals. "It took us at least a week to complete the scene," says Danny Pang. "The market attracts masses of people, which makes it much more difficult to shoot. Nevertheless, the merchants and residents in the area welcomed us warmheartedly, as they understood that this movie is a chance to show the world the charm and beauty of their simple lifestyle.

"We have a wooden boat chase, rarely seen in movies, and also Nic rides a motorcycle chasing after the long-tailed wooden boat. As we like to do, we split the work up, so I shot the boat scene and Oxide the motorcycle scene."

"The floating market is spectacular; it's a magical place for an action scene," says Sherak. "Western audiences aren't used to seeing anything like it, unless it's a set, but we didn't change anything. There are people really there with those grocery carts and those little boats and that's how they live every day."

The villain Surat's fortress captures another facet of Thailand, notes Sherak. "In reality, it's a tannery. It smelled just terrible, but we thought it was a cool place for the scene. I loved the juxtaposition of the compound itself being so rundown and then Surat's office at the top of the compound so clean and perfect. It's a bit like how he views himself versus all the people who work for him."

Golightly is extremely impressed by the country's extensive filmmaking resources. "Thailand is lacking nothing in terms of film production. The locations are absolutely unbeatable. This has been about the best experience I have had working on a film in terms of talented and efficient crews. Everyone was absolutely wonderful on our crew from top to bottom."

"Pain is weakness leaving the body."
-JOE

Golightly observes that while BANGKOK DANGEROUS' action and unique characters make it an entertaining film, it offers a compelling subtext as well: "There's a theme of redemption and the idea of second chances running throughout the movie."

Oxide Pang compares BANGKOK DANGEROUS to Tom Yum Goong, a famous Thai dish. "It's very spicy and sometimes people fear the spicy, but they're always tempted by it. When you first taste it, you might be apprehensive because you don't know what it will be like, but then you sense a bit of sour, a bit of sweet, and a bit of spicy as well, like our movie."

His brother Danny adds, "We know that the audience response is out of our control now, but we hope that after watching the movie, and comparing it to the first, we believe people will think it's even better."

While acknowledging that Joe isn't a role model in the traditional sense, star Nicolas Cage suggests the character's transformation from hitman to hero can be inspirational for audiences. "People change all the time," he points out. "Some people don't believe in change, but I don't subscribe to that philosophy. I think that people can be awakened through a teacher, or through a romantic experience or just getting off an airplane and feeling what's in the air."





















ABOUT THE CAST

Academy Award®-winner NICOLAS CAGE (Joe and Producer), one of the most versatile actors of all time, is equally well known for his poignant portrayals in both drama and comedy. NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS represents Cage's fifth collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer following THE ROCK, CON AIR, GONE IN 60 SECONDS and NATIONAL TREASURE. His memorable performance as an alcoholic drinking himself to death in the MGM drama LEAVING LAS VEGAS, directed by Mike Figgis, earned him an Academy Award. He also received a Golden Globe and Best Actor awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics and the National Board of Review. Cage further solidified his leading man status when he received Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations for his dual role as twin brothers Charlie and Donald Kaufman in Spike Jonze's quirky comedy ADAPTATION, which co-starred Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper.
Before NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS, Cage portrayed Johnny Blaze in GHOST RIDER, based on the Marvel Comics character, directed and written by Mark Steven Johnson. The film immediately set a new record as the highest-grossing opener for the Presidents Day weekend. Cage's other recent starring roles have been in Neil LaBute's THE WICKER MAN, Oliver Stone's WORLD TRADE CENTER, Gore Verbinski's THE WEATHER MAN and Andrew Niccol's LORD OF WAR. He was also heard as the voice of Zoc in the animated film THE ANT BULLY. Cage was last seen in Lee Tamahori's sci-fi thriller NEXT.
At the end of 2002, Cage released his feature film directorial debut, SONNY. Cage cast an impressive group of actors, including Golden Globe® winner James Franco, Mena Suvari, Brenda Blethyn and Harry Dean Stanton. The film was accepted into the 2002 Deauville Film Festival. Golden Circle Films, Vortex Pictures and Cage's Saturn Films produced the picture.
Cage's production company, Saturn Films, produced the 2002 Universal Pictures film THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE, and, in 2000, the critically acclaimed Lionsgate film, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE.
Cage's many other films include MATCHSTICK MEN, WINDTALKERS, CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN, THE FAMILY MAN, BRING OUT THE DEAD, 8MM, SNAKE EYES, CITY OF ANGELS, FACE/OFF, GUARDING TESS, RED ROCK WEST, IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, KISS OF DEATH, HONEYMOON IN VEGAS, VALLEY GIRL, THE COTTON CLUB, RACING WITH THE MOON, THE BOY IN BLUE, PEGGY SE GOT MARRIED, Joel and Ethan Coen's RAISING ARIZONA and VAMPIRE'S KISS. It was Cage's portrayal of a tormented Vietnam vet in BIRDY that first established him as a serious actor. Directed by Alan Parker, BIRDY won the jury prize at Cannes. Cage then received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor for his role as Cher's lover in MOONSTRUCK. David Lynch's WILD AT HEART, starring Cage and Laura Dern, won the Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.
Some of Cage's other honors include a Golden Globe nomination for his role in HONEYMOON IN VEGAS, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Montreal World Film Festival, and the first ever Distinguished Decade in Film Award at ShoWest.
Cage was raised in Long Beach, California and lived there until his family moved to San Francisco when he was 12. Cage began acting at age 15 when he enrolled in San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre when he appeared in the school's production of "Golden Boy." He later moved to Los Angeles, and while still a high school student landed a role in the television film "The Best of Times." He made his feature film debut in RUMBLE FISH.

SHAHKRIT YAMNARM (Kong) is a Thai actor very well known in his native country. After studying in New Zealand, Yarnarm returned to Thailand and landed a coveted role in the movie Kon puan sai fah. He subsequently appeared in the films Rak Awk Baep Mai Dai (O-Negative), Yaowarat, February and Bicycle and Radios as well as many popular Thai soap operas. BANGKOK DANGEROUS is Yamnarm's second English-language role. His first was the Steven Segal action film Belly of the Beast.

CHARLIE YOUNG (Fon) was discovered by a talent scout in 1993. Since her first television commercial for Hong Kong TSL Jewel Product, she has starred in more than 20 films including memorable performances in Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time and Tsui Hark's The Lovers. Other movie roles include Andy Lau's All About Love and Tsui Hark's Seven Swords, which opened the 62nd Venice Film Festival. Most recently, she starred in Jackie Chan's New Police Story, which earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 28th Popular Cinema Movie Awards in Hong Kong.
In the field of music, Young has released nine solo albums and received numerous awards including; Best New Singer Award at the Hong Kong Top 10 Music Awards, the Hong Kong TVB Award and the Hong Kong Commercial Radio Music Award.
In 1997, she temporarily gave up performing to concentrate on her image consulting business, with a client list including artists such as GiGi Leung, Leo Ku, Ekin Cheung, Lee Hsin Chieh, Anita Yuen and Shu Qi.
Young shares her unique style and beauty advice in different newspapers and magazines as well as in two books, Non Fashion Image Style and Natural Beauty. Her most recent book, Love, Once Again, about her experiences in China, Thailand and Indonesia, was released in August 2006.
Despite Young's busy schedule she finds time to lend her high international profile to numerous charitable causes, especially those concerned with children's welfare and the protection of the environment. She serves as an ambassador for various such organizations including UNICEF and WWF Hong Kong.

PANWARD HEMMANEE (Aom) is a well known Thai entertainer making her feature film debut in BANGKOK DANGEROUS. In 2001 she began pursuing a modeling career before accepting her first acting role in the Thai TV series "Pleng Pah Fah Lom Dao." She later received acclaim for her role as a jealous wife in the series "Ploeng Payu," and has since appeared in numerous TV shows.

NIRATTISAI KALJAREUK (Surat) is a well-known Thai film and television director who was born into the family that founded one of Thailand's leading entertainment companies. In collaboration with his family's company, Kantana, he co-founded the Mahidol University International College at Mahidol University, Thailand. He has also served as guest lecturer at Thailand's Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University.
Kaljareuk is now Director at Kantana Movie Town which was founded in 2002, Director at Kantana Animation Co. Ltd, and Executive Director at Kantana Video Production Co. Ltd. He has received 29 awards for his directing work.
Kaljareuk holds an M.A. with honors in Thai Classical Dance and Dramatic Arts from Suan Dusit Rajabhat University in Thailand.

DOM HETRAKUL (Aran) graduated with a business degree from Mahidol University in Thailand, but discovered show business while at college. He was discovered at a magazine modeling contest and later became a guest celebrity on many TV shows. After finishing school, he earned a leading role on the Channel 3 TV series, "Ha Kom" as well as parts on "Koei Likay," "Lay Lub Salub Rang" and in Thai movies including Sua Jone Pan Sua and Lah Raberd Muang. He has appeared in a number of Hollywood movies including Sniper, Vampire Returns and The King Maker.





ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS


OXIDE PANG (Director) started his career as a telecine color grader, before moving to Thailand in the early 1990s to film TV commercials. In 1996, the Hong Kong-born filmmaker directed his first feature film, Who is Running? He partnered with his twin brother Danny Pang to direct Bangkok Dangerous, which was invited to participate in internationally renowned film festivals, including the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the International Critics Award.
In 2001, the Pang Brothers were invited by Applause Pictures' Peter Chan to return to Hong Kong to direct their first Hong Kong movie, The Eye. A huge success in China, The Eye was distributed in the U.S. and spawned a sequel, The Eye 2. Recently, Pang made his first solo directing debut with Abnormal Beauty. Other recent directing credits include Re-cycle and The Messengers. He is also a producer on The Omen, Maha Utt and Tesseract.

DANNY PANG (Director) is an established film editor and emerging director who has quickly made a name for himself as a major filmmaker in Hong Kong. Born in 1965, Pang won the Best Editing prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1998 for the film The Stormriders. Active in both Hong Kong and Thailand, he directed and edited the Thai film, Bangkok Dangerous, with his twin brother, Oxide. The film won several major awards, including the International Critics Award, at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival.
Pang continues to divide his career between Hong Kong and Thailand. He is co-director of successful Hong Kong films The Eye and The Eye 2. Pang also directed the Thai film Nothing to Lose and the action comedy Leave Me Alone. He continues to lend his superb editing skills to other films, and won the Best Editing prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Andy Lau's Infernal Affairs.
Along with his brother, Oxide, Danny Pang is a producer on The Omen, Maha Utt and Tesseract. His recent directing credits include Re-cycle, and The Messengers.

WILLIAM SHERAK and JASON SHUMAN (Producers) are founding partners of Blue Star Pictures, a full service production company with a first-look deal at Revolution Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Under the banner, Sherak and Shuman produced the 2003 hit horror film Darkness Falls, as well as the 2004 romantic comedy Little Black Book, with Brittany Murphy and Holly Hunter. The company's first television movie, the Emmy®-nominated "Dawn Anna," starring Debra Winger, aired on the Lifetime Network. They recently produced The Messengers, a supernatural horror film directed by the Pang Brothers and produced in partnership with Sam Raimi for Mandate Pictures and Columbia Pictures.
Upcoming films include Daddy Day Camp, a sequel to the 2003 hit Daddy Day Care for Sony, the horror western entitled The Burrowers with writer-director J.T. Petty for Lionsgate, and a update of the popular Bachelor Party franchise at Fox. They also have dozens of projects in development, including the medical drama Unfinished Country to star Samuel L. Jackson, the broad comedy Big Brothers, with Luke Greenfield directing, and I Hate Valentine's Day, a romantic comedy written by and starring Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding).
The duo's other producing credits include Comic Book Villains for Lionsgate and the independent films The Hard Easy and Four Dogs Playing Poker.

NORM GOLIGHTLY (Producer) is president of Nicolas Cage's production company, Saturn Films. After growing up in Canada and Florida, Golightly attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and began his motion picture industry career working at Creative Artists Agency. Golightly subsequently worked as a development executive with actor-writer-director Ben Stiller. He joined Saturn Films in 1997 as vice president and became president in January 2001.
Saturn Films' first production was the acclaimed Shadow of the Vampire, for which Willem Dafoe earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Ann Buchanan and Amber Stiley earned Academy Award nominations for Achievement in Make-up. Shadow of the Vampire marked Cage's first endeavor as a producer. Golightly served as an associate producer on the film.
Golightly and Saturn Films recently produced The Life of David Gale, directed by Alan Parker, starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet, and Sonny, Cage's directorial debut, which starred James Franco and Mena Suvari.
Golightly and Saturn produced Lord of War for director Andrew Niccol and served as executive producer of The Weather Man, directed by Gore Verbinski. He also served as executive producer on the action adventure box office hit Ghost Rider, starring Nicolas Cage as well as World Trade Center directed by Oliver Stone. Golightly most recently produced the action thriller Next starring Nicolas Cage and Jessica Biel and released via Paramount Pictures.

ANDREW PFEFFER'S (Executive Producer) 30-year career in the entertainment industry has included work as a producer, executive and attorney, with experience and expertise in virtually all areas, including production, distribution and marketing, financing, legal and business.
He began his career in 1970 as an attorney with the prestigious Los Angeles law firm of Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, where he represented a broad range of entertainment- related clients. He has held executive positions at American Communications Industries, Empire Entertainment and Epic Productions and co-founded Signature Entertainment Group, and Pfeffer/Goldblatt Productions. In 1997 Pfeffer formed Pfilmco, working with Donald Zuckerman.
Among Pfeffer's dozens of film credits are Thick as Thieves (starring Alec Baldwin, Rebecca De Mornay and Andre Braugher), which premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, The Big Brass Ring (based on Orson Welles' final screenplay and starring William Hurt and Nigel Hawthorne), Beat, starring Courtney Love and Kiefer Sutherland, which also premiered at Sundance, Dreaming of Julia (starring Harvey Keitel, Iben Hjejle and Gael Garcia-Bernal) and the critically-acclaimed The Man from Elysian Fields (starring Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Olivia Williams, James Coburn, Julianna Margulies and Anjelica Huston), which released theatrically by the Samuel Goldwyn Company.
More recently he produced Say Nothing with William Baldwin and Nastassja Kinski for HBO. Pfeffer executive produced and line produced Santa's Slay and Running Scared, starring Paul Walker and directed by Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), both for Bret Ratner's Rat Entertainment and Media 8 Entertainment. In 2005, he line produced The Messengers, directed by Hong Kong-based Oxide and Danny Pang, for Sony and Sam Raimi's Ghosthouse Pictures.
Mr. Pfeffer is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a law degree (cum laude) from Columbia University. His hobbies include classical music, opera, motorcycling and power boating. He resides in Santa Barbara County, California.

DECHA SIMANTRA (Director of Photography) began his career in the entertainment industry fifteen years ago as an assistant to the director of photography on a television commercial. A self taught camera man and cinematographer, Simantra went on to shoot commercials for seven years before directing his first film, Olpatiga. As director photography on the original Thai production of Bangkok Dangerous, he earned a best cinematography nomination from the Thailand National Film Association. He has worked with the Pang Brothers on films including The Eye, The Eye 2, The Eye 10, Re-cycle and The Tesseract, which won him the Best Cinematography Award from Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival. He has also directed a number of Thai movies, including Kote Rak Eng Loei.

JAMES NEWPORT (Production Designer) is a writer and Emmy®-nominated production designer of both film and television who divides his time between Thailand and Los Angeles. Newport's film credits include Brokedown Palace, The Stepfather and Heart Like a Wheel. For television, Newport designed the pilot episodes of "The Lyon's Den," "The Shield," "The Education of Max Bickford" and "China Beach." His work on "The Piano Lesson" for the Hallmark Hall of Fame was nominated for an Emmy in Art Direction.
Newport's first novel, The Vampire of Siam was published in 2004 by Asia Books, followed by Ramonne in 2005 and The Reckoning in 2006, completing The Vampire of Siam trilogy. He recently completed Chasing Jimi, a novel about Jimi Hendrix. In July of 2002, he was invited to the Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand to be an artist in residence for a day of painting with elephants. That experience gave birth to the first Thai Elephant Painting Calendar, a collaboration between Newport and his longtime friend Patrick Shrimp Gauvain. The 2005 calendar was published and distributed internationally by Pomegranate Press.

SURASAK WARAKIJCHAROEN (Costume Designer) is a graduate of King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, Ladkrabang. He began his career in the entertainment industry designing costumes for a television talk show and soon became the designer for the show "Teen Talk," produced by GMM Grammy, one of Thailand's biggest entertainment companies.
Warakijcharoen has served as stylist for model Sonya Cooling, Thailand's superstar singer Tata Young, Swedish fashion publication M Magazine and the band Twin. He has worked on six of Oxide Pang's previous movies.