Thailand to produce transsexual kickboxing movie

Reuters reports that following the success in Thailand of the comedy The Iron Ladies (Satree-Lex), the true story of the triumphs of a Thai transvestite volleyball team, a Thai production company will make a film about a transsexual kickboxing sensation. The Thai record company GMM Grammy Plc. and Singapore-based Spicy Apple Films will coproduce Beautiful Boxer, about real-life transsexual kickboxer Parinya Charoenphol, in mid 2002. "Believing he's a girl trapped in a boy's body since childhood, Parinya...sets out to master the most masculine and lethal sport of Thai boxing to achieve his ultimate goal of total femininity," reads a statement from the two companies. The Iron Ladies, distributed in the United States by Strand Releasing, was the first Thai film to receive a national release in the U.S., playing in about 30 cities.