SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014)

[dude hallenbeck]

That's the plan.

[shooby]

gallery of Skin Trade shooting in Vancouver in flickr with high resolution pics

[Jox]

Celina Jade and RP

[TEMIRLAN]

This face seems very familiar:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/49347467@ ... otostream/

[Jox]

No idea who that is but he is not in SKIN TRADE.

[GeneralMcFaiL]

This face seems very familiar:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/49347467@ ... otostream/

He played a villain in some big movie that escapes me right now.

[savagesketch]

That's James Frain. He's played a number of villains in both film and television, notably REINDEER GAMES opposite Ben Affleck, TRANSIT opposite Jim Caviezel, last summer's LONE RANGER, and most recently in TV's SLEEPY HOLLOW.

[Jox]

MM: Skin Trade seems to be a thriller first and an action movie second, are you consciously seeking more dramatic roles now?

TJ: Skin Trade has amazing action sequences, as good or better than any pure action movie. However it has a very strong story, very strong acting and a message. This ultimately appeals to a broader audience. I prefer a film with a good story, good acting and action.

http://www.manlymovie.net/2014/06/exclu ... rview.html

I'm very dubious whether it's Jaa talking and he's translated or his manager (actors rarely speak "producers" and "package" which is business talk).

Regarding ST it's also funny how he and his "team" oversells the "amazing" action, stunts and fights, whereas Dolph wants to talk about human trafficking, the drama, unusualness of the movie etc...

[Jox]

I hope the fact that so far on social medias it's been targeted primarily to Tony Jaa fans (who most seem to think it's a Tony Jaa starring vehicle) as a brainless action extravaganza with a cool cast won't hurt the film when they realize it's Dolph character's movie and not light or tongue-in-cheek...

[Jox]

Impact: Now you've just completed shooting (at least principal photography) on Skin Trade which sees you working alongside Dolph Lundgren. What can you tell us about the project and how you first got involved with the film?

Tony Jaa: Dolph and I are friends. I liked the story and the fact that it would be made in Thailand for the International market. Dolph is fun to work with... we had wanted to do a film together and Skin Trade was the right project. The casting was great and allowed for some amazing action scenes while still keeping a solid dramatic story.

It’s your official English language debut. How are you finding handling extensive English dialogue.? Is it hard to make the change from being able to film in Thai, the language in which you're most comfortable?

Actually my first English language film is Fast and Furious 7. I started learning intensive English in May last year. I have no problem with conversational English, although of course sometimes I still make mistakes. Acting in English requires me to think about the emotional tone of my lines and make sure that I convey my character's feelings correctly. This has caused me to think more about my acting... and that is a good thing. My objective has been to do international films rather than continue with purely domestic films, so English is a necessity.

The film also stars upcoming actress Celina Jade (best known to audiences as Shado from the hit television series Arrow). How have you found working with her?

Celina is fantastic. She is a very, very good actress. We had a number of scenes together and she really helped me to improve my dramatic performance. She took a lot of time to rehearse with me and practice until I had things right.

The film also features a strong supporting cast including Ron Perlman, Peter Weller, and Cary Tagawa. Was it very important for you to surround yourself with an established cast... do you find working with such strong actors helps you in terms of performance?

I did not produce Skin Trade so in that sense my input on casting was limited. I was very pleased with the casting choices. I felt that it helped separate this film from a pure action film and put it into the category of a serious theatrical action/thriller. This was important to me as I know that I need to be mindful of the quality of the films I am in if I really want to succeed on the international stage. Naturally when you play opposite actors of this caliber it literally forces you to bring your performance up to their level.

The film’s director is Ekachai Uekrongtham best known for Beautiful Boxer, what do you think he has brought to the film as a director? Do you feel more confident and comfortable with a Thai director as you can converse directly?

Ekachai brought a dramatic aspect to the film that I think is unique and interesting. It helped ensure that the story line would appeal to a broad audience. In terms of language, I am quite comfortable with a director speaking English as well as Thai. I don’t have any problems communicating in English these days.

What do you feel Skin Trade has to offer an audience, in terms of action and drama? What would you feel are the highlights the audience has to look forward to?

I don’t want to spoil the story. However I will say that the movie has a very strong dramatic story with well-defined characters. The audience will be able to identify with the characters. The story itself is clear and I think the audience will follow the message well. This combined with some fantastic action makes the movie rather unique.

http://www.impactonline.co/features/187 ... e-tony-jaa

[Jox]

I believe this shot is just promo behind the scenes (1st day of shooting):

[Jox]

[Jox]

Celina Jade interview
http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/201 ... usive.html

[Jox]

[Jox]