Girls, ghouls and Gancore

Rapper Joey Boy makes his first movie - an island hip-hop horror-comedy with babes in bikinis

He's helped to write a film, starred in two flicks and won a prize for his creative direction of a music video. Now rapper Joey Boy is making his debut as a director with "Gancore Gud", a horror-comedy that opens in cinemas later this month.

"It was the greatest surprise of my music career," says the 37-year-old entertainer of winning the 2009 Seed Award for Best Music Video for directing the video for "Ratree Sawad", a song by Golf Sing Nuea featuring Thee Chaiyadej. "Taking home that prize encouraged me to do more on the film scene."

Apisit Opasaimlikit, as Joey Boy was named at birth, isn't going into the industry blind.

He created the plot for GTH's 2006 time-travelling rock 'n' roll satire "Kao … Kao" ("The Possible") in 2006 and also starred in the movie. In 2008, Phranakorn Film tapped him to play a monk in "Luangphee Teng 2" ("The Holy Man 2").

And he's watched and listened to his friends and colleagues in the film industry, learning from several directors how to shoot a movie and picking up techniques from the production teams.

"Although movies tend not to make any more money than other sectors in the entertainment business, I've always found that moviemakers love their craft and work hard at it. For a long time, I couldn't figure out why and I guess that challenged me to enter the movie circle.

"Movies are an easier way of communicating with the masses than music, which is limited by language. Movies can be appreciated through visuals, sound and emotions," he says.

Joey Boy hasn't only drawn his filming experiences from being involved in the movies but also from his vast collection of DVDs.

"I'm a movie lover as well as music lover. I have a lot of DVD movies in a variety of genres though I tend to focus on horror and drama in particular. I've tried to learn emotional scenes and capture techniques I've seen in these movies.

"I also love watching Korean movies because they have cool plots - they can be enjoyable and horrifying at the same time.

One of his favourites is "Thirst", a thriller by South Korean director Park Chan-wook about a priest who turns into a vampire.

"It has many more techniques and tricks than a Hollywood flick," Joey Boy says. "I can't say I'm keen on Korean TV series though."

"Gancore Gud" ("Gancore Bite"), a homophone of Joey Boy's hip-hip group Gancore Club, is described as a kind of dark comedy adventure.

The story starts when the Gancore Club's eight members are on a boat trip and are stranded on a deserted island. They then find themselves up againstbrutal islanders and the dreadful kradiew, a marine creature that's a blend of a zombie and phi phray (Thai spirit).

Made with a budget of Bt12 million to make, "Gancore Gud" was filmed around Sattahip and Rayong. It Lakana "Oum" Wattanawongsiri, who gained critical notice for her masturbation scene in last year's erotic movie "Namtan Dang" ("Brown Sugar"). She plays the Goddess of the Forest.

Other cast members are model Pakjira "Atom" Wisawawisut and Japanese model Kumiko Sugaho, in addition to Gancore Club's members including DJ Spidamonkee and Buddha Bless.

"Because this is my first film, I tried to think of a story and a cast that would be easy for me to handle as a new director. So, I started with my hip-hop team who mostly perform as themselves. At first, I worked at getting rid of their original behaviour. One thing I do know well is their emotional expressions so I can tell if they are playing their roles or not. That's a strong point of the movie.

"When I created the Goddess of the Forest role, I immediately thought of Nong Oum with her good looks. I never saw her in 'Namtan Dang' though," says Joey Boy. "As for the Japanese girl, well, it goes along with my plot, which is based on World War II, when the Japanese military invaded Thailand and spent their lives with some Thai people."

Joey Boy refuses to give more details about the film, just saying that he hopes the movie-going public will find it entertaining. With a plot that involves shipwrecks, WWII and strange creatures, it may prove to be just that.

A GUD CAUSE

Released by Phranakorn Film, "Gancore Gud" opens in cinemas on July 28.

The movie soundtrack includes "Serakapoi", "Helo" and "Pla Cartoon" featuring Singto Numchok.

"Serakapoi" is a charity single. Proceeds from downloads will go to Wat Phrabat Nampu in Lop Buri.