I knew I wanted to be a director since the fourth grade. I loved to sit in front of the TV watching music videos and drawing pictures to go along with them. I later realized what I was doing was creating storyboards.
Studying film was the only choice. I had no doubt that being a director was the only job that I wanted to do in my life.
I was fortunate to get work at GTH. My professor at Chulalongkorn knew the GTH people and they wanted a new face to be assistant director for Jaew [M.A.I.D, 2004], so I got the job.
My friendships landed me a director job. Opal [actress Panisara Pimpru], my BFF at GMM, loved the idea that we should work together like we used to do on stage plays when we studied. We finally created our very first sitcom, Nue Khu Pra Tu Tad Pai [True Love Next Door], in 2008.
My sitcom has been canceled twice on two channels. This makes me doubt the whole concept of free-to-air TV. It was taken down despite having the highest ratings the channel had ever had. Thailand’s terrestial TV is actually a family industry. Programs get on air because of good connections.
I will never go back to free TV. There are too many things that we can’t control. That’s why the rebirth of True Love Next Door: The Final Answer will air on GTH On Air via GMMZ.
Digital TV has brought real competition to the TV industry. From four or five channels, there are now dozens. Channels need to compete to create great content, meaning we have more choice than ever before. I don’t know how good things will get in the future, but it’s a positive sign.
Thai TV doesn’t entertain me. I haven’t watched it in ages. There is no enticing content. If I only have a certain amount of time, it’s better that I watch something I can be sure about.
Online media is the real deal now. You can watch anything at any time and producers can do anything that they want. Their ideas don’t need to be distorted or approved by any TV executive. Just look at Hormones—it wouldn’t have happened on regular TV.
It’s better to take risks than keep doing the same old things. I feel many TV people have good intentions to create quality programs based on other successful programs from around the world. But then again, others are just taking what they see as a safe bet. The audience are the ones who can break this cycle.
Online icons like Mae Baan Mee Nuad or the
Low-Cost Cosplay guy are pure artists. It’s art that isn’t filtered by anyone. It truly came out of them. People love their creativity and their craziness. People want to see something they’ve never seen before.
Comedy must be trendy. This is what I try to achieve in my sitcom. You have to be of-the-moment, to meet society’s perceptions.
Being a director feeds my curiosity. I have the perfect reason to keep on learning. Directing gives me an open attitude to everything I come across in life. Thank God I can do this job. Even faced with the most terrible or wackiest situations, I still enjoy it.
Losing my grandmother was the worst experience I’ve been through. I’m part of a big family and I’d never lost anyone close to me before. Living with her every summer break with my 12 siblings and cousins helped shape my open attitude to culture. I’m so grateful for this.
I dream of making a movie that will place real value on provincial lifestyles. Many see this as old-fashioned, but, if we do it right, they’ll see it’s pretty cool.
I love songwriting now. Many of my favorite childhood TV programs would have crazy sing-alongs in them. I want to bring that back today.
Working towards a goal keeps you energetic. I love to travel; every four months or so, I have another trip lined up. I have three or four trips per year.
I love going places where I can forget my daily life. Our lives are all about connections, from the moment you wake up. But if you travel somewhere you don’t know, it can help you connect with yourself and see the clearer picture of what you really want.
Next time I travel, I might go somewhere I don’t know and really be someone else. I have this crazy plan to go live in a small town and work a job I’ve never done before, like a pharmacist or a receptionist, to learn more about life.
The awareness that comes with loving someone is brilliant. It’s good to know love and feel loved, because you can keep hold of this good feeling even if one day they are not with you anymore.
