All retail roads lead to James

He looks set to become the most expensive presenter ever. 

The rumour has revitalised speculation that James will indeed unseat Nadech Kugimiya as Thailand’s best-paid actor, a possibility that he once modestly brushed aside. Nadech is the current commercial record-holder, having unofficially earned Bt7 million from TrueMove. 

Now it’s widely believed that the sponsors are offering James eight digits. James’ role as Dr Khunchai Puttipat in the hot hi-so series has indeed landed him an advertising deal with AIS, TrueMove’s rival. His only other retail pitch is for the Wutthisak skincare clinic, so he’s very much a “fresh face” compared to Nadech’s constant hawking. Everything shapes up to earn James a fortune, although he does tend to be selective in the jobs he takes. A bidding war seems imminent for his services, and he can certainly name his price. 

Nadech, Ananda Everingham, Sukrit “Bie” Wisetkaew, Atiwara “Toon Bodyslam” Kongmalai, Pakorn “Dome” Lam and Theeradej “Ken” Wongpuapan have all earned at least Bt1 million for a single ad pitch. James is next – but not for everyone. “We dare not hire him now because we couldn’t afford it,” says a source at a leading shopping mall. “But before his TV series he’d appear on our fashion catwalk for Bt5,000!”

 

 

Aptly named

An unusual mushroom started popping up in the lawn at Government House recently, generating much excitement on the social media and in some newspapers. It’s known as hed kee kwai, which means buffalo-poop mushroom, so it generated a great many jokes as well. 

Someone swiftly ordered the grounds shorn of the fungi lest they also generate superstitious predictions. At least two of Soopsip’s co-workers have the same mushroom among the weeds at home, so there’s your prediction: The little buggers will appear every rainy season.