Owen Wilson's Been Banned In Thailand

Or at least his new thriller No Escape has.

Owen Wilson's known more for comedy than action, but that might change this summer with thriller No Escape. Unless you live in Thailand, where the film shot and has now been banned. Following a family's attempts to escape a coup in an unidentified Asian country, No Escape was allowed to shoot in Thailand on the understanding the country would not be name-checked. It's unclear if that agreement has been violated by the movie, but Page Six are reporting the Thai government have banned it anyway. This all seems a little benign in the wake of Interview-gate last Christmas, and the film's trailer certainly promotes more of an action movie vibe than any sort of deep social commentary, but it's always interesting to see censorship executed to such an extreme degree. This isn't particularly new for Thailand though, who entered into a similar fracas involving last years's Hunger Games sequel Mockingjay.

As for No Escape? Well, it'll be nice to have Owen Wilson back in a more physical, genre oriented role (I'm an apologist for 2001's admittedly jingoistic Behind Enemy Lines) and the supporting cast, including Lake Bell and Pierce Brosnan, have chops. It's being overseen by the Dowdle siblings (2010's Devil), so expect it to prioritize sensory bombast over polemic rumination. It opens September 4th in the UK, so if you're a Thai Owen Wilson completist and looking for a vacation, that might be an advisable window.
Contributor

Writer, cinephile and owner of Vampire's Kiss on DVD. Take from that what you will.