Production is set to begin with the new year on a $10 million, wide-screen 3-D film about the history of Angkor Wat, according to Motion Picture of America producer, Brad Krevoy.
“Angkor: The Kingdom of Dreams” will be a historically accurate, “Hollywood-style” film shot on 70 mm, which is an “IMAX-type” format, Krevoy said at a Thursday press conference held at the Phnom Penh Hotel.
“We are in active discussions with IMAX,” he said, adding that regardless of whether they are on board, the film will be shown in a wide-screen movie theater on the grounds of a 35-hectare entertainment complex being built in Siem Reap town by private firm Bridge Capital and Cambodian company Creative Entertainment.
“The movie star is Angkor Wat and that story,” said Krevoy, whose company is perhaps best known for producing the 1994 blockbuster “Dumb and Dumber,” which grossed $250 million worldwide, according to company press materials.
The entertainment complex, for which ground-breaking will also occur in January 2009, will include a 2.5-hectare Angkor-themed water park, 12,500 meters of shopping, and a 10-screen multiplex cinema, which will show Western films, among other attractions, said Bridge Capital principal John Baldwin. Both the film and much of the complex are expected to be completed by January 2010, he said.
Baldwin said the complex will cost more than $75 million and that it is in response to “a lack of things for tourists to do in Siem Reap” aside from viewing the famed temples.
Culture Ministry Secretary of State Thai Norak Sathya said on the sidelines of the press conference that he was concerned about the historical accuracy of the film:
“Of course I am worried. But they seem to have already made contact with relevant authorities.”
Krevoy said historical accuracy is of the utmost importance, and they will be seeking the participation of leading scholars and historians during production.
“We’re gonna get it right,” he said.
