When Miramax ate a 'Tiger'

[LostInTime]

Wisit Sasanatieng was thrilled when Miramax nabbed his film, but a showdown followed. It lasted six years.

Since "Iron Ladies," the 2001 comedy about a transgender volleyball team that was the first Thai film to open theatrically in the U.S., several more have followed. The Chicago-educated Apichatpong Weerasethakul is an established art-house favorite with structural enigmas such as "Blissfully Yours" and the Cannes prize winner "Tropical Malady." There has also been more mainstream fare, notably the martial-arts action movie "Ong Bak," starring the muay thai expert Tony Jaa.

But "Tears of the Black Tiger" went unseen (which only increased its cult standing among cinephiles).