Denzel Washington, Sylvester Stallone to shoot films in Thailand

Denzel Washington

Stallone will be in Thailand for Rambo's fourth outing, in which the Vietnam War veteran is forced out of his cosy retirement salvaging boats and tanks in Bangkok when he is asked to rescue a stricken aid worker in Myanmar.

"Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye" is due to start filming next year in Bangkok and in the northern province of Chiang Mai.

Universal Pictures' Branko Lustig, executive producer of "American Gangster," on Wednesday met with the kingdom's tourism and sports minister Suvit Yodmanee and urged him to offer more incentives to foreign filmmakers.

"He mentioned that if Thailand had more incentives, it will bring more foreign films to Thailand for shooting," said an official from the Thai film office, who did not wish to be named.

Lustig, a producer of the multi-Oscar winning film "Gladiator," is in Thailand preparing for the shooting of "American Gangster."

The 100-million-dollar film will be directed by Ridley Scott, the man behind "Gladiator," and will also feature "Gladiator" star Russell Crowe, although it is not yet clear if he will be in Thailand for filming.

Shooting will begin early next month in Chiang Mai.

The film is about a drug lord who smuggles heroin into the United States by hiding it inside the coffins of American soldiers returning from the Vietnam War.

Thailand earned 1.37 billion baht (36 million dollars) from 372 film shoots in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 45 percent from the same period last year.

High-profile projects this year included "Bangkok Dangerous," starring Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage.