Thailand wins new movie role

Given that The Hangover featured the comic repercussions of a wild night in Las Vegas – including stealing Mike Tyson’s pet tiger – one location made obvious sense for the sequel.

And, indeed, the producers have announced the follow up will be shot in Thailand.

The Hangover, one of this year’s box office hits, has a bizarre plotline well-suited to the lively nightlife of Bangkok or Pattaya.

‘I think that it is a bit like Las Vegas in that there is a very tolerant, holiday atmosphere out here,’ says Terry Collins, a developer based in Pattaya.

‘If they want to, people can go out and have an incredible, wild time without the risk of aggravation – although, even in Pattaya, plenty of people prefer the restaurants to the bars.’

Thailand has had a starring role in several Hollywood blockbusters. Last year’s Bangkok Dangerous starred Nicholas Cage as a hitman who makes a floating market the unlikely venue for an assassination.

Thailand has also had a celluloid career as a stand-in for other locations – notably in The Deerhunter and Good Morning Vietnam, but more recently in Rescue Dawn, Rambo IV, American Gangster and Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.

The directors’ favourite backdrop of all could be the spectacular Andaman Sea off Phuket’s east coast, where Leonardo di Caprio learns some important life lessons in The Beach.

The spectacular islands of the Andaman Sea’s Phang Nga Bay also provide a luxurious tropical home for the hitman Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun.

In a case of life imitating art, the east coast of Phuket has now been discovered by high-end developments – although projects like Baan Yamu Residences focus on low carbon footprints rather than killer ray guns.

Click here for a list of films shot in Thailand and in Phuket.