City Bangkok Showbiz Latest News and Updates

The pace that the world’s seas are rising threatens a “mass exodus of biblical proportions”, the chief of the UN has warned.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Multi-territory Asian streaming platform Viu is to deliver a Thai version of hit drama series “Reborn Rich.” The 16-episode Korean drama was produced by Korea’s JTBC Studios and Viu, aired on JTBC in Korea between November and December 2022 and was branded as a Viu Original in the 16-territoires in which it operates. Its story sees a long-term employee of a large family-run conglomerate falsely accused of embezzlement. After he is shot on an overseas business trip, he finds himself in the body of the family’s grandson and decides to use his new identity as a means by which to take revenge on the family and the corporation.

BLACKPINK have announced a brand-new stadium show in Europe, as part of the Encore leg of their ongoing ‘Born Pink’ world tour.Today (March 23), the quartet revealed on their official Twitter account that they are set to perform at the Stade de France in Paris, France on July 15. The stadium Encore show will take place about seven months after the girl group toured Europe in December 2022, which included two shows at the Accor Arena in Paris.“We are so excited to come back and play in Paris, at the Stade de France this time, in July,” BLACKPINK said in a statement, per the official Stade de France website.

Harry Styles is a global phenomenon. While not everyone may understand it, there's no denying the impact the former One Direction star has on his fans.

K-pop girl group IVE will be releasing a new single ‘Kitsch’, ahead of their first studio album.Today (March 21), the Starship Entertainment act unveiled a teaser clip announcing their upcoming pre-release single ‘Kitsch’. Due out on March 27 at 6pm KST, the song will be part of IVE’s first studio album ‘I’ve IVE’ arriving on April 10.Titled ‘It’s our time, Kitsch’, the teaser clip features individual close-up shots of IVE as a snippet of the energetic new track plays, with the members chanting “kitsch” over a thumping beat.In addition to ‘Kitsch’, IVE’s upcoming studio album will also include new tracks ‘Blue Blood’ and ‘Not Your Girl’, which the group previously performed at their first concert ‘The Prom Queens’ in Seoul last month.Following the release of ‘I’ve IVE’, the six-member group will be embarking on their first Asia tour ‘The Prom Queens’ in June.

Brian Walsh, the popular Australian TV and film executive credited with a key role in Neighbours‘ global success, has died unexpectedly aged 68.

Deadites are everywhere in Lee Cronin’s newest film Evil Dead Rise. Taking place in cosmopolitan Los Angeles, these wacky demons still cause high-rise havoc in the modern era. Also written by Cronin, a true fan of the franchise, the movie stars Alyssa Sutherland, Lilly Sullivan, Morgan Davies, Gabriele Echols and Nell Fisher. It is interesting seeing these stories shift from a male to female perspective, showing that women can also be heroes of the supernatural as well. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Filming has begun on Tom Waller’s true-crime thriller, “Kiss of the Con Queen,” with real-life victim Eoin O’Brien (“The Last Full Measure”) taking the lead role. He plays actor duped by an impersonator to travel to Indonesia on the promise of auditions for a leading role in a DC origins series, only to discover that he had been scammed by the infamous Con Queen of Hollywood. In the real world, the alleged perpetrator, 41-year-old Indonesian food blogger Hargobind Tahilramani, is accused of pretending to be both male and female Hollywood executives and having swindled hundreds of victims of millions of dollars. He was arrested in 2020 after an FBI manhunt and is currently in prison in the U.K. where he is fighting against possible extradition to the U.S. The U.K. court hearings have been dramatic and disturbing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Thailand’s film censors have upset the release of local horror movie “Hoon Payon,” which should have arrived in cinemas pn Thursday. The film had a successful world premiere screening on Tuesday at a gala in Bangkok. But censors have since intervened to demand five scenes be cut and to impose a 20+ rating on the Five Star Production picture. The rating means that spectators must be age 20 or older, thus excluding the film’s key teenage demographic, and it obliges cinema operators to check the ID cards of all patrons. The film’s story involves a man who travels to a village in a border region where his brother, a novice Buddhist monk, has been accused of murder. As more bodies pile up, the man questions the villagers’ blind faith in a supposedly protective doll or mannequin.

Carol McGiffin has revealed her incredible figure celebrated her birthday on the beach in Thailand with her husband. The Loose Women presenter turned 63 by soaking up some winter sun in Phuket, Thailand. Sharing a series of pictures with her 147,000 followers on Instagram, the TV star showed off her toned figure and washboard abs in a white bikini top and denim mini shorts.

abroad has turned into a nightmare after a boyfriend fell from the third floor balcony of their hotel. Shauna Ellis has made a desperate plea to the public after her 23-year-old partner Kieran plunged from a considerable height leaving him in need of life-saving surgery. Kieran, from Castleford, suffered a fractured pelvis that has caused internal bleeding just ten days into his and Shauna's holiday to Thailand.

A couple's holiday in Thailand quickly took a turn for the worse when one woman's boyfriend became involved in a serious accident.

Carol McGiffin has shown off her incredible figure as she celebrates turning 63 while on holiday in Thailand with her husband Mark Cassidy.

BTS’ Suga is going on his first-ever world tour and plans to hit up dates in the US.

Carol McGiffin is celebrating her fifth wedding anniversary while on a holiday to Thailand with her husband Mark Cassidy. The pair got married during a secret ceremony in Bangkok back in 2018.

For those of us who want to book a getaway to one of the most popular destinations in the world, you may not have to go as far afield as you might think.

A Thai princess next in line to the throne has reportedly suffered a heart attack while out on running and is 'unlikely to recover'. Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand had been out with her dogs when she apparently collapsed in the Khao Yai national park in north east of Bangkok, the Mirror reports.

EXCLUSIVE: Released in August, Louis Koo’s sci-fi action thriller Warriors Of Future has become not just the highest-grossing local film in Hong Kong ever, but the highest-grossing Asian film ever released in the territory, with a gross of HK$81.7M (US$10.5M). The film also raked in $100m in China over the summer and is currently number four in Netflix’s global ranking of non-English language films after launching worldwide on December 2.

RealD has signed separate deals with India’s PVR Cinemas and Taiwan’s Shin Kong Cinemas as Asia’s exhibitors smarten up their tech offerings ahead of the global rollout of Avatar: The Way of Water in mid-December. 

A fugitive paedophile who fled Scotland after being convicted of possessing indecent photos of children has been jailed.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor and online influencer Alexis Ren has signed on to star in Latency, a gamer action thriller written and directed by James Croke.

To compose the music for Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives — the true story of the global effort to rescue a Thai soccer team — composer Benjamin Wallfisch (Blade Runner 2049, the It movies) had hoped to traverse all of northern Thailand to absorb the culture, knock on doors and ask folks if they wanted to play something for him.

Netflix has revealed its debut slate of original Thai productions, including four feature films and two TV series.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief International streaming company Netflix has unveiled six new titles representing its first wide-ranging slate of content from Thailand. Its four films and two series span the comedy, suspense and comedy drama genres and hail from six different local production firms – GMM Studios, International, GDH, Song Sound Productions, Transformation Films, 18 Tanwa and Jungka Bangkok. Significantly, too, they are sourced from established directors or producers. Writer-director Prueksa Amaruji’s dark comedy film “Lost Lotteries” is produced by Ekachai Uekrongtham (“Beautiful Boxer,” “Pleasure Factory”) and will stream from mid-November.

WFMZ. CNN’s article about the visit, on which Coren shares a byline, was still online.Both CNN reporters were in the country on tourist visas and were not authorized to work in Thailand, according to the Bangkok Post.

Following the announcement of huge cuts to the BBC World Service, with many staff being asked to relocate overseas, journalists have said plans to move the Vietnamese service to Thailand will pose dangers to press freedom. 

Naman Ramachandran The BBC has revealed wide-ranging savings proposals across its World Service that will result in the closure of 382 positions and the relocation of journalists from London to Asia and Africa. The move is part of a push towards digital and a wider savings plan. Under the proposals, some half of the BBC’s 41 language services will be digital only. The relocation proposals include the Thai service moving from London to Bangkok, the Korean service to Seoul, the Bangla service to Dhaka and the “Focus On Africa” TV bulletin to broadcast from Nairobi. “Changing audience needs around the world – with more people accessing news digitally – go alongside a challenging financial climate. High inflation, soaring costs, and a cash-flat licence fee settlement have led to tough choices across the BBC, and the BBC’s international services need to make a saving of £28.5 million [$30.7 million], as part of the wider £500 million of annual savings and reinvestment to make the BBC digital-led,” the BBC said in a statement.

SEVENTEEN has released the music video for ‘Limbo’, his fourth official solo single.“Close your eyes / Follow the light that awaits you / Don’t hesitate / Your dream will become reality,” the idol (real name Wen Junhui) croons in the mysterious visual accompanying his latest release.‘Limbo’ comes over a year after the 2021 release of ‘Silent Boarding Gate’. Much like his last solo single, and previous releases ‘Crow’ and ‘Can You Sit By My Side?’, a version of ‘Limbo’ in Jun’s native Mandarin is also available.Apart from his solo releases, the idol has also contributed tracks for television dramas — the latest of which is a Chinese-language version of Paul Kim’s ‘Dream’ for The King: Eternal Monarch.Jun, along with his bandmates in SEVENTEEN, is set to kick off the Southeast Asia leg of their ‘Be The Sun’ world tour with a two-day residency in Jakarta this weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Columbia Pictures and local developer Amazon Falls have confirmed that their Aquaverse theme park will open in Pattaya, Thailand on Oct 12, 2022. The development is the Sony Group’s first theme and water park and was delayed for roughly a year by the COVID-19 pandemic. With Thai authorities having already dismantled most of their pandemic-era measures and poised to soon drop COVID from its list of notifiable diseases (expected to happen on Oct. 1) multiple large entertainment projects are now rushing to open. Carnival Magic opened in Phuket earlier this week, while another, Bangkok World, is expected to open adjacent to the Siam Amazing Park on the outskirts of the Thai capital on Nov. 25, 2022.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief SK Global’s “Thai Cave Rescue” series faced almost as many obstacles as the specialist divers drafted to bring out 12 boys and their coach from a waterlogged grotto in summer 2018 in front of a blaze of media attention and an expectant Thai nation. The show debuts on Netflix on Thursday, a timing that means it follows three feature-length depictions and multiple news media specials retelling the watery events. It is also the retelling that is most closely associated with the Thai government, which auditioned prospective production companies and streamers and has carefully held the real-life rescued youngsters close to its chest.

SEVENTEEN’s Jun will be dropping a brand-new solo single titled ‘Limbo’ later this week.On September 19 at Noon KST, Jun (real name Wen Junhui) announced the upcoming release via SEVENTEEN’s official Twitter account with a mysterious teaser image. The ‘Limbo’ teaser features the singer showcasing his back, while a gloved hand rests atop his shoulder.‘Limbo’ is due out on September 23 at 1:00pm KST.

Coronation Street star Adam Hussain has shared a sweet message to his former co-star Millie Gibson after she recently filmed her last scenes. The actress, who plays Kelly Neelan, has bowed out of the ITV soap after three years with her dramatic exit set to aire during a special 'Super Soap Week' this month.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag cut Phil Jones and Brandon Williams from his Europa League squad due to their prolonged recovery timescales from injury.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent It took a pandemic and a lockdown for “Drive” director Nicolas Winding Refn to make a directorial comeback in Denmark, where he had delivered the “Pusher” trilogy early in his career. “Sometimes the strangest things come in mysterious ways, and this is one of those,” Refn says of “Copenhagen Cowboy,” his Netflix original series, slated to world premiere Sept. 9 at the Venice Film Festival. Since “Drive,” Winding Refn has directed the Bangkok-set thriller “Only God Forgives,” with “Drive” star Ryan Gosling; “The Neon Demon,” with Elle Fanning playing an aspiring model in Los Angeles.; and the Amazon Prime Video series “Too Old to Die Young,” starring Miles Teller as a grieving cop in crime-ridden Southern California. He was preparing another project set abroad when the pandemic hit.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Film studios in Asia-Pacific are expanding the scale of their operations and want location incentives to keep pace. “Incentives are fundamental, they are an expectation [of production managers] and having one is no longer a USP,” said Rashid Karim, CEO of Iskandar Malaysia Studios. He was speaking at the Content Asia summit conference in Bangkok on Thursday. The IMS facility opened ten years ago around the same time as Malaysia introduced a location production incentive scheme. These days, the scheme offers a generous 35% uncapped rebate. But since the scheme launched, rival locations in the Asian region including Thailand, India and Mongolia have launched or are in the process of launching rebate schemes.

Erik ten Hag hailed the potential of Tyrell Malacia after the left-back excelled on his full Manchester United debut in the victory over Liverpool.