- "Quiet
on the Set! Action!" Part 1
Imma M.B. and her husband were in the right place
at the right time when they were chosen to be extras for Leonardo
DiCaprio's movie The Beach. Imma wrote this report exclusively
for ThaiStudents.com
My husband and I were in Phuket,
Thailand for holidays during March. They were very happy days
for us. Thanks to Richard and the Thai students' web site you
know all about that wonderful country and people. And all you
think is true. The scenery is magnificent; we especially liked
the small islands and of course Phi Phi Leh, with it's transparent
water and it's coral, (you know that's "The beach"
island).
The pictures I took on this page
are of Phuket town, but the street looks like it is Khao San
Road in Bangkok. There are a lot of taxis and tuk-tuks from Bangkok
and a small and old Portuguese-styled hotel has been beautifully
decorated with a billiard table, small and coloured lights, books
etc. (nothing compared with the hotel we saw a few days before).
On the sidewalk you can see typical Thai shops with different
articles and food. But this isn't Bangkok, this is a movie. We
are on the set where the team of The Beach are shooting. The
street is cordoned-off and you can see the cameras and big lights.
The crew are all around us. All of them are busy; Andrew Macdonald
with his mobile phone in his hand and Danny Boyle walking around
and controlling everyone. All of the people are working hard.
The extras are in a bar next
to the hotel, they are basically young people who look like backpakers
and most of them really are. In a nearby street there are some
lorrys with the electrical and mechanical stuff that some assistants,
dressed with blue The Beach shirts, are carrying from here to
there. The catering and relaxing area are in the next street,
there are a few small buildings and tables with chairs in front
of the bar. Leo's van is in a corner. And there is also a small
and beautiful spirit house.
Walking to this area dressed
with army trousers and with a short hair cut we see Robert Carlyle.
He's very kind with us when we go to say hello to him. He tells
us that he is shooting the new James Bond movie at the same time.
This is the first day of shooting
at this location. The expectation is growing. There are a lot
of on-lookers. All seems to be ready. Then a car with tinted
windows arrives in front of the hotel's door. Leonardo gets out
accompanied by his bodyguard and quickly they both go into the
hotel. He is dressed with a red shirt and brown trousers like
in the picture of him sitting by the Buddha. After this the rain
appeared for a few moments and the assistant people ran to take
care of the cameras. When the rain stops, they start again. "Action!!"
The taxis, tuk-tuks, motorcycles roar away in the street, some
extras walking and shopping and Leonardo (Richard), comes into
the hotel with the ruksak on his shoulders. "Cut!!"
Looking around we recognize a
familiar face, "Who is that man?" Then we realise who
it is when we also see three kids with him. It's Richard! It's
a happiness to us to know him, he also is very kind. We congratulate
him for the web site. And also talk about Phi Phi Leh's condition
that we both saw a few days ago. The kids seems to be very excited.
It's a nice encounter.
After the first shots we go back
to the hotel. It's late for us.
The next day when we visited
the set all seemed to be quieter. No on-lookers around, the shots
are only inside the hotel. In the extras relaxing area we meet
some friendly people who are waiting to be called to do their
shots. Another new couple dropped in. Some of the extras share
with us some experiences like they are in the movie for a month
already doing a lot of scenes. They work very hard but also have
fun. One of them shows us some pictures taken in a beach night
party scene, where all of them, (Leonardo included), have their
faces painted black. She says: "It will be a terrific movie".
We have no doubt about that because the next day we see the work
from the inside. Both my husband and I and another new couple
get the chance to be extras.
Next
Page
Photographs are copyright Imma M.B. .
Principal photography for
The Beach took place in Thailand between January and April 1999.
Although the film-makers were anxious to stop people watching
or taking pictures they couldn't as many of the locations were
on public land. If you have any pictures that you would like
added to this collection or you want to tell us what you saw,
then please contact the webmaster.The copyright for the photographs
on theses pages belong to the owner and the pictures cannot be
reproduced elsewhere without their permission.
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