Here are the rules when filming such thing in Thailand, taken from the Bangkok Post on the 4th of October 2009 (A bit boring but just to give you the general idea)Thailand is a regional hub for film production. While the industry has been weakened somewhat in recent years by the unstable political climate - Nicholas Cage famously fled with his family to Korea during production of Bangkok Dangerous when the September 2006 coup happened - Thailand is considered a desirable place to produce films because of the value, the variety of locales and the capable and affordable production crews.
The Thailand Film Office (TFO), under the Office of Tourism Development, has also done much to promote and facilitate foreign filmmaking in Thailand. The TFO monitors foreign productions fairly closely.
The organization’s website states that foreign filmmakers are required to hire a local coordinator who is officially registered with the TFO.
Local coordinators represent the filmmaker in obtaining necessary permits and "any matter arising both during and after the completion of shooting in Thailand".
In applying for a shooting permit, the local coordinator must submit a thorough account of the production which includes, among many other materials, translated-into-Thai copies of intentions, proposed sets, schedules, budgets, scripts and crew member lists. Plans can be amended, but changes must be cleared by the TFO.
Despite the volume of materials that must be submitted, the TFO approves things fairly quickly - a matter of days for advertisements, several weeks for feature productions. They screen most carefully for content that would dishonour the monarchy or the nation, or might threaten national security.
Beyond the vetting of productions, the TFO requires that a monitoring officer, at a price of 2,000 baht per day, be present during all filming. As explained on the TFO website: "Filming is not allowed, under any circumstances, without acknowledgement of the monitoring officer."
The TFO also mandates that local coordinators obtain any additional permits for shooting, such as those needed to film in parks or at historic sites. An agreement to honor these rules is signed by the local coordinator and the foreign producer.
Two weeks ago, the TFO announced plans to prosecute Black Sheep Productions, the local coordinator which produced Big Trouble in Thailand, a reality series chronicling Thai tourism scams for a British television channel.
A representative from the TFO explained the company had broken various film laws by sending film out of the country without proper screening and by tarnishing the reputation of Thailand.
