Fallen TW-star Kai Ko Returns From Sabbatical as Leading Man in TW-movie Road to Mandalay
The Kai Ko contrition sabbatical has officially come to an end, with over a year out of the public limelight after flaming out at the height of his then flashy acting career. Kai has been cast as the male lead in acclaimed Chinese-Myanmar director Midi Z‘s new movie called Road to Mandalay. His leading lady is Wu Ke Xi and the movie just wrapped filming, hence the press conference to gradually start promoting it. I’d say the presence of Kai in the movie has gotten what sounds a lot like an indie flick a lot more mainstream attention. The story is about two adults who smuggle into Thailand to work part time jobs there illegally and experience the culture.
In the movie Kai’s character is even a drug user, totally not shying away from an immediate connection with his fall from grace last year due to being arrested by the Chinese authorities in a pot sting. He tested positive for marijuana and spent two weeks in administrative detention before being deported back to Taiwan. I’m curious how the public will react to Kai’s comeback but the blot on his stardom for this infraction doesn’t merit a permanent blacklisting. Maybe he’ll be an even better actor now with real life struggle and failure under his belt.
I don’t really care about his NEW movie, I just want the one he did with Ariel last year(?) to get released! 🙁
YES! I love Ariel, and I just want to see that movie!
Though title is ‘Road to Mandalay’, where Mandalay is second largest city and the last kingdom of Myanmar, they took film in Thailand instead of Myanmar. Thailand and Myanmar seem to similar in foreigner’s eye but totally different people and culture reality. It would be great to see real Mandalay.
Interesting. I’m glad you have brought up this point as I would have been clueless.
Yeah, I thought I read it wrong. How comes a movie titled Road to Mandalay was filmed at Thailand? Mandalay has its own features like ever unruly motorbikes, the steamed hot weather and the dusty air. It’s also the economic capital for the upper Myanmar.