From ice caves to spaceships, Thailand’s craftsmanship is building new worlds for film
Streaming platforms find value in basing productions in Thailand, thanks to the country’s skilled artists, talent pool and tax breaks
Now, the country is looking to fly even higher by luring in global streaming platforms with a combination of generous tax breaks and highly skilled local production crew.
Its largest and most recent catch is the sci-fi series Alien: Earth on Disney, created by Noah Hawley with Ridley Scott serving as one of the executive producers. Thailand points to the US$90 million spent on that series in the country as an example of what Thai production houses can do as well as anyone: making new worlds from scratch.
Thailand offers “jungles, beaches and tropical locales”, Chris Lowenstein, founder of Living Films, a Thailand-based production services company tasked with bringing Alien: Earth to life, told This Week in Asia.
“But what’s really kept secret about Thailand is the craftsmanship of our artists here. It’s at such a high level. I don’t think people realise that,” added the 60-year-old American, who is based in Chiang Mai.
“Ten years ago, we worked on a show where we built an ice cave – a cave entirely made out of ice – and the producer asked: ‘Why Bangkok?’ The reason was the craftsmanship here; we build things so well.”
