Just because, you know, crying on network TV isn't a weird enough way to end this particular story the saga of the MIA Tony Jaa got a good bit weirder over the past week before coming to an end. Finally. We think. Here's the skinny:
After the TV crying episode Jaa was whisked away in a car full of "heavies" that included his lawyer, a situation that prompted his own father to speculate that the martial arts star had been kidnapped. But no, Jaa turned up shortly thereafter to say there was no kidnapping. He did, however, have a list of seven demands that Sahamongkol must meet if he was to finish filming Ong Bak 2. And those are:
1. He wants an extra 55 million baht to finish the last 20 percent of the film. That does not include the cost of the film, actor hire, studio hire, theatre run. 2. Jaa wants the right to choose his own production crew, which would include Ong-Bak 2's producer and Jaa's mentor, Panna Rittikrai 3. Jaa's personal manager would have the right to oversee the accounts for the total production 4. He would have the film finished by November 30 5. He wants details concerning the actor's fee, and his director's fee 6. Jaa would like a 50-million-baht share of the profits from distribution and ticket sales. Previously, Jaa and Sahamongkol Film agreed that he would get a 25 percent share of net revenue from those sources 7. An end to the contract that Jaa signed for acting services with Sahamongkol.
Jaa went so far say to say that if these demands were not met he would disappear once again, and this time would never be found. Sahamongkol's response? Well, let's just say the saga ended with Jaa walking in to a police station saying that he was being followed by a large car full of men dressed in safari suits. Sahamongkol's boss Sia Jiang then turned up at the police station for a face to face meeting with Jaa after which Jaa dropped his demands and agreed to finish the film on schedule.
Call me crazy, but I smell the end of a career.
I don't think it can get any crazier, but it wouldn't surprise me if it got. One thing is certain though - Jaa have made me very curious about this film and I can't wait to see it!
Maybe he could use some of that black magic to make it all okay.
Ok, let me be the first to call you crazy ;)
First off it was pretty clear from the start that Tony Jaa overestimated himself by directing his first movie after starring in just two other movies. He just lacks experience.
But I'm sure Ong Bak 2 won't be the end of his career. Quite the opposite, it will make him an even bigger star. He may not be ready for directing but as a martial artist there is no one equal to him right now. After seeing the first trailer I think there is no doubt ONG BAK 2 WILL ROCK!
And think about it: I mean if, after this disaster, Sahamongkol wouldn't want to do more movies with Tony, who would star in their films?? Actionmovies from Thailand got nice HK-style stunts but without the Tony Jaa movies nobody would watch mediocre movies like Born to fight or crapfests like Dynamite warrior.
Heck, I didn't even know Thailand did any movies before Ong Bak blew my mind :)
Is the bio picture in the works yet?
Heck, I didn't even know Thailand existed before I screwed that hot Thai babe...
Diezimus Prime- Wow you really are an imbecile!!!
yeah, that was a pretty bad joke and didn't add anything to this article apart from making you look pretty stupid.
Yeah this sounds more and more like an elaborate publicity stunt stemming from some genuine misunderstandings. This 24-hour celebrity obsessed news cycle can churn a story into froth very fast. Jaa will have no shortage of opportunities outside of the Thai industry so I'm sure he'll be just fine. This whole situation has only added to his his mystique and legend in a weird way, much like Coppola during the Apocalypse Now period. Especially if Ong Bak 2 turns out to be good...
There are plenty of decent Thai films out there (Bangkok Dangerous, The Eye, Bang Rajan, Muay Thai Chaiya, Legend of Suriyothai, Tears of the Black Tiger) but there's little doubt Tony's films are among the most recognised internationally so I don't think there is much fear of his career being over, unless he chooses so. I'm sure he will always find work outside of Thailand (preferably in Hong Kong but also I imagine in the US).
He may have bitten off more than he can chew with this new film, but he may as well fight to get it made the way he wants. At the end of the day, I am pretty sure Jaa would be just as happy walking away completely and returning to a more secluded life. They need him more than he needs them.
Sounds like Sahamongkol is operated by a bunch of gangsters anyway so who knows, we might get a real life Ong Bak scenario and Jaa needs to beat their asses into submission. If it happens, let's hope someone is there to film it!
Tony is still under contract with Sahamongkol films for several years which means he won't be able to seek opportunities from Hollywood or anywhere else anytime soon unless he gets permission from his boss or he gets release from his contract. With the way Tony has gone MIA, causing some international distributors to pullout and then on top of that, comes back to ask for more money, I doubt the folks at Sahamongkol would just turn the other cheek and let him off the hook that easily.
Honestly, I don't know what to make of this crazy situation. Is this a case of Tony being a paranoid egotistic pain in the ass who bitten more than he can chew or is this a case of a corrupted studio that is screwing him over by withholding money and inflicting harassment.
This story is indeed getting stranger...I don't think Tony was over reaching when he set out to direct this film. Many say that he has only starred in two films but thanks to twitchfilm and a few other sites we have seen that his career in the film industry has tenure. Sure he has played smaller, supporting roles and served on Panna's stunt team, but I am sure he has absorbed many techniques of filming through the years. Give him some credit. As jahsoldier stated, it seems like the Thai film industry (or Sahamongkol films to be specific) is filled with gangsters. Why would their film industry be any different from others (U.S., Hong Kong)? Gangsterism is rampant in those worlds. What if Tony is telling the truth? Each party disputes the amount of money spent/given. I could believe that the studio is over stating what was spent as to manipulate the accounting. Its all speculation but there is MUCH more to this story..PLEASE finish the film Tony. Please do not let him end up in a horrible accident/disappearance. Hopefully someone from either Hollywood or the Hong Kong film industry will be able to buy out his contract. One thing is for certain, Tony Jaa has been burdened with that classic mantra- "With great power comes great responsibility".
To echo what Al said:
Sahamongkol has an exclusive, ten year contract with Tony so he can't do anything anywhere without their blessing and / or active involvement. You have to take that as a given. With that said:
1. Even if you use Tony's math Ong Bak 2 is grossly over budget and behind schedule.
2. International pre-sales have been revoked en masse due to the delays, even before Tony disappeared and funds have been returned. This means Sahamongkol has had to debt finance this film and is laying out HUGE amounts of cash out of their own pocket.
3. A director who disappears for two months in the middle of a film shoot, having already spent millions of dollars without producing anything that can be released to recoup that investment is not a director ever likely to be hired again.
4. A director who does that and follows that up with a string of ludicrous demands backed up by the threat of disappearing AGAIN really doesn't get hired back.
Is the end of this a publicity stunt? I doubt it. I think it's far more likely that Sahamongkol sat down with Tony and pointed out his own personal financial liabilities if he were to cut ties with the film and run. He's under contract, he's got to produce or not only will he never work again, he'll open himself up to lawsuits in the millions of dollars and spend the rest of his life in massive amounts of debt.
Why do I think this could be the end of Tony's career? First, because he's proven himself to be an unreliable liability to the people who have him under contract. Second, because Tony's personal image has taken enough of a hit from this that I don't think he can be considered the martial arts golden child any more. The bloom is off that particular rose. And, third, because I think he absolutely meant it when he said he could just disappear and join the monkhood somewhere. He's seen the other side of the industry now and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he simply walks away once he fulfills his obligations.
Money cures all ills. If this eats the Thai box office alive like it predecessor, most if not all will be forgiven. If it tanks, that could really be it for Jaa.
Great comments Todd and Al. And thanks to all who have been following this exceedingly strange and sad story.
I think Tony would like very much to walk away, but he's got too many people around him who now depend on him. So becoming a forest monk or elephant herder probably isn't going to happen, however ideally idyllic such things might be.
Money - a great deal of it - has complicated matters and has Tony in a stranglehold. What an ugly business.
I never liked him all that much anyway, sure the guys a fantastic screen fighter, but in my opinion he just doesn't have any screen presence or charisma, that and he sounds like a 14year old girl (not that I'd say that to his face of course...)
Maybe it is just JJ Abraham's Marketing tactics. But old this fuss is worth a film on its own.
@ Diezimus Prime
Great. Don't cream all over your keyboard. Ya hear ?
Sorry, that wasn't meant to come out as bad... But thanks for the kind words.
@topic: However this ends, it won't be to the benefit of the film's quality. Either someone else finishes the shoot, not really knowing Jaa's vision (the promo lets very much assume he had one). Or he will return, but then under such pressure that I doubt he has a clear view on what he does. Nor will he have the creative freedom as before.
And then comes the editing and post production that will open another box of fleas. I'd love to see a happy ending for this one, but I highly doubt it.
As for Tony's carreer: I bet there are more than enough people that would love to at least cast him, so he'll be busy enough.
While we won't really know if this does spell DOOOOOOOM for Jaa's career, the list that Todd had given in regards to his actions....it's just too much, too many mistakes for him to come back from.
Another other director would be shot dead or left to rot, ala the Boondock Saints director.
I see him quitting, doing his monk thing and then coming back in 10 years with a big publicity 'He's Back! The Golden Child is back and more mature' kind of thing.
Personally, I don't like him or his films, so I hope he just stays away or does minor roles in things.
Let's be more especific, a career as an action lead is still something safe for him, but directing movies? Now that's an entire different story.
if i were in his position, i'd disappear into a monastery too.
I have a feeling that the thailand triads or what not may have something to do with this. From what I can gather, the asian film industry is still being funded under the table here and there by the asian mafia. Who's to say that Jaa didn't directly or indirectly offend/insult someone, resulting in actually being taken away for further 'negotiations'? He returns 2 months later..crying during his public re-appearance? Strange, no?
After a brief emotional breakdown on network tv..he goes ahead and makes a list of demands concerning profits and the END of his contract with the film studio he is under? Ahem, I'm going to make a wild assumption and say that this is NOT Jaa's intentions, and his current actions are being somehow manipulated by someone else of higher power than the action star, and his associates. Thus, 'his' list of demands are simply a cover up, making Jaa look like the 'crazy man', injuring his career, and forcing the profits away from Jaa after all is said and done.
This all seems a little frickin' fishy in my opinion.
Seriously though, a ten year contract? How do you let yourself sign off on something like that?
Frankly, I think he'd be considered a risk as an action star, too. Would you stake millions of dollars in production costs on a guy with a record of flaking out and disappearing when ut under pressure? I wouldn't.
Tony is a good person and what he can do is amazing however, he listens to the hype of his inner circle too much. The Tony just after Ong Bak and the Tony after Tom Yum Goong seem to be like two different people. Sahamongkol film have put an enormous amount into Tony who was originally, by other film companies, regarded as not the right look for a lead actor. Sahamongkol let Tony train and perfect his craft for years before they finally realeased Ong Bak. It was unheard of in the Thai industry before that and Tony understood how much was at stake. There are numerous articles asking Tony why he hasn't gone international and he has said himself that it's because he loves Thailand he doesn't want to do the international movie scene yet, despite being asked. After Tom Yum Goong I think his yes men friends, were saying that he is better than this, he should try it on his own and thats when the trouble all started. The movie is extremely over budget and deadline, Tony has never been a producer or director so he doesn't know really how it works. Tony is now realising this and I give him credit for trying to better himself and his craft but not when it is hurting the people who gave him such opportunities in the first place. I really hope that OG2 is everything it is hyped to be and we can mark Tony as eccentric rather than a liability.