Villagers to sue over DiCaprio film

Villagers to sue over DiCaprio film

BANGKOK (AP): A group of Thai villagers announced on Monday that they intend to sue Twentieth Century Fox studios and others over what they say is the illegal destruction of a protected beach to film a Leonardo DiCaprio movie.

Villagers have blasted producers of the film The Beach in public forums and staged sit-ins at the site of the filming, which has yet to begin.

To begin the legal process, the villagers from Phi Phi Island in Krabi province, 550 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, named the Lawyers Association of Thailand as their legal representatives on Monday.

Niyom Piewdee, chairman of the villagers' administrative committee, and Apinan Paongern, who heads Krabi's Provincial Administration Organization's environment committee, made the announcement at the association's Bangkok office.