Music

Saiparn’s ploy
By Suwitcha Chaiyong, Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb
Young actress plays the perfect part

To get noticed and make it big in showbiz, many actors have to transform themselves into characters that are totally different from their own personalities. That wasn’t the case for 17-year-old rising star Apinya Sakuljaroensuk (Saiparn).

In the new movie Ploy, director Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s latest film, Saiparn found herself portraying a young woman who was a lot like herself.

“I’m very similar to the character Ploy in the way that she talks and behaves,” she said. “We’re also both down-to-earth and outspoken.”

Those qualities helped propel Ploy and the young star to international recognition. The film was selected to premier at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

LUCKY SNACK

Saiparn started down the road to stardom a few years ago. She was crossing the street to get a snack at a convenience store when a lost traveller stopped her.

“I bumped into a talent scout who was lost, and he asked me for directions,” she said. “After I gave him directions, he took my picture. A week later I had an audition for my first commercial.”

From those humble and unlikely beginnings, Saiparn — currently a 10th-grader at Interkids Bilingual School — won her first role. Cinema-goers will remember her from one of the commercials that runs before the feature, encouraging movie viewers to turn off their mobile phones.

Since then, she’s appeared in more than 20 commercials, several music videos and as one of the hosts of the TV show Strawberry Cheesecake. Although all of those appearances have made Saiparn a familiar face, she said that none of them reflected what she’s really like.

“I mostly play sweet girls or somebody a lot older than I am. What I did on Strawberry Cheesecake is completely opposite to my true character,” she said. “ The hosts have to be extremely sweet. It isn’t what I am. I’m like a lamoot or a sugar-apple, not a strawberry.”

THE RIGHT ROLE

Saiparn finally got what she feels is the role of her dreams when she landed the part in Ploy. But it didn’t feel like a sure thing after her first audition.

“After the audition, I didn’t expect that I would get the part, but I’m glad and comfortable with the role,” she said.
Being herself wasn’t a piece of cake, however — especially playing opposite veteran actress Lalita Panyopas (Mew).

“I felt tense. She’s a real professional,” Saiparn said. “I was afraid to make eye contact with her and show my facial expressions on the set.”

Despite her initial jitters, Saiparn was able to overcome her anxiety during rehearsals.
“All the nervousness was gone after we got into rehearsals. Mew was very nice,” she said.

DOWNSIDE OF FAME

Viewers at Cannes, a notoriously prickly bunch, gave Ploy a warm welcome. Saiparn wasn’t able to enjoy any of the accolades first hand, however. Real-world responsibilities back home kept the young star far from the glitzy showbiz world on the French Riviera.

“I gave up the opportunity to go because I had to go to school,” she said. “These days, I can only go to school three days a week.”

A tight schedule and lack of sleep are definitely the downsides of fame, Saiparn said.
“I have no time to sleep. Yesterday, I came back home at 2 am and woke up at 6 am. Today, I have to work until midnight,” she said. “It’s been like this for three months. I could be dead if this continues.”

Saiparn’s growing celebrity has undoubtedly changed her life. In spite of all of the differences, she said that one thing hasn’t changed.

“Whether people know me or not, I have never changed myself,” she said. “I am what I am.”

Source : http://www.student-weekly.com/thisweek/020707_entertain_02.html

`Rat' Rules Box Office With $47 Million

`Rat' Rules Box Office With $47 Million

Disney has put a rodent on top of the box office, though not the studio's venerable mascot, Mickey Mouse.
"Ratatouille," an animated comedy about a gourmet rat that gets a chance to cook in a French restaurant, debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie with $47.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

20th Century Fox's action thriller "Live Free or Die Hard," Bruce Willis's return as unstoppable cop John McClane, opened in second-place with $33.15 million. Since opening Wednesday, the movie has grossed $48.2 million.

In narrower release, Michael Moore's health care documentary "Sicko," released by the Weinstein Co. and Lionsgate, took in $4.5 million in its nationwide debut to finish at No. 9. The movie opened in one New York City theater a week earlier.

Focus Features' family drama "Evening," with an all-star cast that includes Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close and Claire Danes, opened at No. 10 with $3.5 million.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Universal's "Evan Almighty," fell to No. 3 with $15.1 million, raising its 10-day total to $60.6 million. The movie's sharp 52 percent fall from opening weekend dims the studio's prospects for recouping the enormous $175 million production budget for the film.

While "Ratatouille" easily dominated the weekend, it had the smallest debut among releases by Disney's Pixar Animation unit since 1998's "A Bug's Life," which opened with $33.3 million. The other five Pixar films since then, among them "Toy Story 2," "Finding Nemo" and last year's "Cars," had opening weekends between $57.4 million and $70.5 million.

Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution, said "Ratatouille" was up against more competition than past Pixar flicks. With sparkling reviews for "Ratatouille," Disney is counting on the staying power at theaters that other Pixar films have had.

"Our whole idea was to set ourselves up for what we call the 10-day opening," Viane said of the upcoming Fourth of July week. "We look at this as one extended playtime. We're in this for the long haul. We're glad we're No. 1, but we're not trying to make this just a weekend wonder."

Willis returned to the "Die Hard" franchise after a 12-year absence, and as Sylvester Stallone did last year with "Rocky Balboa," he proved that an aging action hero still could pack theaters.

"John McClane is everyman. He's a hero, but he's thrust into situations, and I think people love that," said Bert Livingston, general sales manager for Fox. "He's clever, he's funny and he gets the job done."

"Sicko," Moore's dissection of the ills of U.S. health care, played in 441 theaters, about half the number for his last movie, 2004's $100 million hit "Fahrenheit 9/11." With a $23.9 million opening, "Fahrenheit 9/11" did five times as much business, though.

Still, "Sicko" had the second-best documentary debut ever behind "Fahrenheit 9/11." By comparison, "Ratatouille" opened in nearly 4,000 theaters, about nine times as many as "Sicko."

Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co., said he wanted to roll "Sicko" out slowly to give it a longer shelf life and keep Moore's stand for universal health care on the front burner.

"The idea is to hold during the summer and just continue to build this thing," Weinstein said. "I just think the debate in this country is going to catch up with the movie, so we've got to keep it slow."

Weinstein and Moore said they hoped "Sicko" would do in the range of the $21.6 million total for the filmmaker's 2002 Academy Award winner "Bowling for Columbine."

If Sunday estimates hold, Hollywood's overall revenues will be up slightly, snapping a four-week downturn that has surprised analysts who had expected the industry to do record business this summer. The top-12 movies took in $146.7 million, up 2 percent from the same weekend last year.

"For now, I'm glad we broke the down streak," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "Four down weekends turns into five, which turns into eight, and then we have a slump on our hands. We didn't want to go in that direction."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Ratatouille," $47.2 million.
2. "Live Free or Die Hard," $33.15 million.
3. "Evan Almighty," $15.1 million.
4. "1408," $10.6 million.
5. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," $9 million.
6. "Knocked Up," $7.4 million.
7. "Ocean's Thirteen," $6.05 million.
8. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," $5 million.
9. "Sicko," $4.5 million.
10. "Evening," $3.5 million.
___

Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Vivendi Universal; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; DreamWorks, Paramount and Paramount Vantage are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.

Source : http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/ap/20070702/118339416000.html