Thais are poo-pooing the idea of actor Mario Maurer starring in a remake of the Thai movie classic, Nam Poo (1984), about a young man's battle with drugs.

Sahamongkol films head Sia Jiang is reported to have pushed Mario for the role of Nam Poo, played in the original by the Ampol Lampoon.

Writing at webboards, however, Thais say Mario does not look suited to the role.

Nam Poo, based on a true life story, was a young man from a troubled family whose path in life took the wrong path. He dabbled in drugs, which eventually killed him.

'Mario looks too much like a farang,' many Thais complain.

Some reports say Sia Jiang is now going cool on the idea, after Mario's manager, 'A' Supachai Sriwichit, upped his appearance fee.

Mario denies he is now charging more for his services as an actor, although he admits that he has heard little news about the Nam Poo remake since his name was flagged in the early stages.

Manager A, meanwhile, agrees with the Thai naysayers who doubt Mario looks the part.

'He would have to be thin, like an addict,' says A.

Pictured: Mario wiping his brow, Ampol Lampoon playing Nam Poo, and the movie poster. The original was directed by Yutthana Mukdasanit.

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Singer 'Petch' Sorapob (เพชร สรภบ) Leelamekin and his father, Kraisorn Leelamekin, have renewed their war of words in the media.

It started with a row at Suphan Buri temple a few days ago to mark 17 years since the passing of Thai country music queen, Poompuang Duangjan.

Poompuang was Petch's Mum, and Kraisorn's first wife. Both are keen to honour her memory, if only for the sake of the thousands of fans who still remember her fondly.

In her day, Poompuang was as big as Thai superstar Bird McIntyre is today.

A thousand fans turned up to honour her memory at Tap Kradan temple in Suphan Buri, where Petch has also become a monk.

Petch and Poompuang's elder brother and younger sister argued over Petch's plan to erect a statue in his mother's honour, for which he has called for public donations.

They reckon he is trying to make money by exploiting her memory, though a more charitable version of their complaint says Poompuang's family are merely worried that he will be duped by unscrupulous members of the public.

In any event, they are upset that he has not consulted them.

Nor did he bother to tell anyone that he was entering the monkhood, which also upset his Dad Kraisorn, who wanted to see his son's wear monk's yellow.

Petch and Kraisorn have now spoken to the broadcast media about their version of the row.

Channel 3 helpfully resuscitated an old tape-recording which Poompuang made on her hospital bed, back when Petch was five, in which she complained Kraisorn had shown little interest in her since she fell ill with a blood disease.

Kraisorn took young Petch to see his dying Mum just three times during the many months that she was in hospital.

Poompuang's family and Kraisorn were once bitter foes, with each claiming the other side was trying to plunder her estate. They have since made up, says Kraisorn - now, Petch appears to be the only odd one out.

When he was a young man in his late teens, Petch and his Dad were close.

Kraisorn says Petch changed when he left home to live with a young woman he met on the internet, whom he claims fills his head with poisonous ideas.

On television, an emotional Petch says his mother died because the family was too busy fighting over money and protecting their self-interest.

He was to have left the monkhood this week, but has postponed his plan. Meanwhile, Kraisorn has appeared on radio once, and television twice, to apologise to his son and ask him to come back to the family fold. He plans another TV appearance with his current wife (and Petch's stepmother) - and Poompuang's own mother, ill with cancer - this evening, in what looks like an all-out bid to bring this long-running family dispute to a close.

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Once a yellow shirt, always a yellow shirt– even when it hurts?

Actor Tae Sattawat Sethakorn, activist and poster boy of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is hailing new Chinese curbs on foreigners in its entertainment industry – even though they have left him with little work.

Journalists asked Tae why he has been spending so much time on these shores, when he has spent most of the last 10 years making soap operas in China and Taiwan.

Tae says that since the law change in China, he has been running up against government-imposed quotas which restrict the amount of work he is able to do.

China has imposed restrictions on foreigners working in local soap operas, unless a foreign joint investment partner is also involved.

PAD likes to criticise the free-marketeering ways of its nemesis, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Tae says he doesn’t mind the new curbs, even if he is forced to spend more time looking for work on home shores as a result.

In fact, citing the Chinese example, he would like the Thai government to adopt a more protectionist approach to what can air on our TV screens, too.

'Curbs on content and labour restrictions are not such a bad thing. Here, we let anything show on TV. Any amount of Korean soaps can air. Over there, they protect their local industry, to make sure local people get work first.'