Ong Bak 2 in trouble - Tony Jaa is nowhere to be found

[LorenzoL]

I remember that there's a thread about this upcoming movie but with the 3 character limit, I can't seem to find it.

Mod Note: Please merge/delete this thread if the original is found.

It seems that production for this upcoming movie is in trouble with only 70% to 80% of filming completed. On top of that, it seems that Tony Jaa (actor/director) has disappeared and producers have brought Prachya Pinkaew to finish the film. Nobody seems to know where Tony is and rumours abound about his whereabouts.

Since late last week, word of Tony Jaa's financial, professional and personal problems have been sweeping the internubs like one big giant wave of speculation. But now WiseKwai and the folks at the TonyJaa.org message boards have started translating articles from the local press and passing on more and more news of Jaa's supposed meltdown and things don't look pretty.

To make a long story short, Tony Jaa seems to have abandoned his directorial debut, ONG BAK 2, with the film about 70% or 80% completed. Sahamongkol Films, the producers, say they haven't heard from Jaa in a month at least and they've brought in Prachya Pinkaew, director of CHOCOLATE and ONG BAK, to finish the movie. Panna Rittikrai, the action choreographer and Jaa's mentor, has tried to locate Jaa but he can't seem to find him, either. This is especially dire since ONG BAK 2 has already been presold to some territories based on a pretty stunt-a-riffic promo reel that screened at this year's Cannes market. Sahamongkol claims they've had to return the money paid for the Japanese presale. They've brought in Prachya because they're hoping to make a December 5 release date for the highly anticipated film.

ONG BAK 2 has had a troubled production history from the very beginning. The deal was originally inked when Jaa was fresh off TOM YUM GOONG and he wanted a lot of control over the project, which resulted in a falling out between himself and Prachya Pinkaew (who went off to direct CHOCOLATE) with Jaa assuming the directorial duties. Then the Weinstein Company bought worldwide rights to the film in March 2006, before handing those rights back in May, 2007. Production started earlier this year, with Jaa's production company, Iyara Film Company, taking charge but as the shoot ground on, and on, and on things began to look bad. Jaa vanished about three months ago (although there are conflicting reports with some at Sahamongkol saying he requested time off to recover from stress) and Sahamongkol's head honcho, Sia Jiang, is now begging him to come back and finish the film. Word is that the budget has almost tripled under Iyara's management and while Sahamongkol has been shoveling hundreds of millions of baht into the ONG BAK 2 inferno, Jaa has been going to the press stating that he's lost his personal fortune while covering costs on the film because Sahamongkol has been slow to pay.

Whatever the truth of the matter is, everyone's a loser here. Jaa needs a new movie to come out to solidify his place in the international film scene, Sahamongkol needs the movie because they've invested a zillion baht already, the Thai film industry needs this film to make good on its financial commitments to its crew and service providers or it'll leave them holding the bag, owed tons of money with no hope of being paid back, and fans need this movie because - judging from the promo reel - it looks awesome.

http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/kai...K-2-IN-TROUBLE

[Yavin]

He pulled a Dave Chappelle?

[Boba Fett]

Maybe someone stole his elephant.

[KillerCannibal]

A zillion baht? What's that, like, $4K or something? Haha.

Ong Bak was ok, but pretty dumb. The sequel promo reel didn't do much for me either. Still, I hope the guy doesn't pull a Cobain and ice himself or anything.

[Boba Fett]

Originally Posted by KillerCannibal

A zillion baht? What's that, like, $4K or something? Haha.

Ong Bak was ok, but pretty dumb. The sequel promo reel didn't do much for me either. Still, I hope the guy doesn't pull a Cobain and ice himself or anything.

I did some looking at it looks like the film is way over budget already, at around $8million USD.

[Boba Fett]

Wow this gets stranger:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article...o_pun_intended

[ytrez]

Sheesh, Tony. If directing is causing such stress that you feel the need to run to the jungle to meditate then just bury the hatchet w/ Prachya Pinkaew, come back, and let him finish it up.

Tony can be THE international martial arts star if he handles his career right. Know your limitations and hire a good manager, dude.

[LorenzoL]

More update:

http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/kai...T-TO-WALK-AWAY

[Original Desmond]

ridiculous

[Zodiac_Speaking]

I heard they paid him and are working back on the film to be released this fall.

[Tarantino]

Jaa sounds like a real asshole.

= J

[Sonic]

First time I hear about this character lol wow that's alot of drama right there. I must say though the trailer to part II looks really good!

[Solid Snake PAC]

so..any new news on this film or what?

[LorenzoL]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake PAC

so..any new news on this film or what?

http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/whos...ong-thats-who/

[whotony]

nice, an entire thread that is just links and no actual discussion on whats going on with this guy.

[Solid Snake PAC]

there's some discussion...lol

[LorenzoL]

Originally Posted by whotony

nice, an entire thread that is just links and no actual discussion on whats going on with this guy.

[ytrez]

Originally Posted by whotony

nice, an entire thread that is just links and no actual discussion on whats going on with this guy.

You know what they say...What happens in the jungle stays in the jungle.

[LorenzoL]

I hate to break the trend in this thread and not post a link but reviews are coming in from the World premiere of the movie that took place on December 2nd. It seems that they are going with the "Kill Bill" approach as Ong Bak 2 ends in a cliffhanger and is only 90 minutes long. The producers have indicated that a sequel is a definite thing.

[Solid Snake PAC]

what? UGH. I hate cliffhangers on these type of flicks....

[mrhan]

http://tonyjaa.blog.fr/2008/12/08/on...emiere-5183574

[Solid Snake PAC]

Is it me or am I the only one who loathes those kind of Demonstrations? Here's hoping Ong Bak 2 has enough to justify the short length of it, sequel or no sequel...

[gameover2k2]

Saw it last weekend in Thailand.. pretty good.. the action were packed.. and the story is a bit stronger than the first one. Overall, better than I expected..

[harrydoyle]

I really liked the first one, had some amazing scenes. Do they have the crazy uncle in this one too? (I can't remember the ridiculous name they called him in the english sub... monkey fat face or something).

[stingermck]

Some news:

Magnolia Pictures has announced today the acquisition of U.S. rights to Tony Jaa’s ONG BAK 2. The company previously released the original ONG BAK and now plans to release the Thai martial arts sequel in theaters later this year through their Magnet genre label. This news comes on the same day that Prachya Pinkaew’s autistic martial arts actioner CHOCOLATE arrives on DVD and Blu-ray courtesy of Magnet.

“When we first saw the original ONG BAK, after picking our jaws off the floor, we knew we wanted to be in the Tony Jaa business. It put us on the map as a home for the best in genre fare, and helped make our genre label Magnet possible,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “We’re beyond thrilled to be able to carry the franchise forward and continue our relationship with Tony, Sahamongkol, and the entire creative team involved.”

The film and its star were involved in controversy last year when it was reported that Jaa, then also director of the production, had walked off the set amid rumors of runaway budget costs. After a televised admission by a teary-eyed Jaa that he was basically in over his head as a first-time director, he handed the production over to longtime mentor, action director Panna Rittikrai (BORN TO FIGHT). The film was completed and released to theaters in Thailand in December of 2008.

In the same announcement, it has been confirmed that production on ONG BAK 3 has already begun and is scheduled for release in December 2009. Sahamongkol Film has already stated that the third film will feature more fighting between Tony Jaa and DYNAMITE WARRIOR star Dan Chupong. Also, Jaa’s character will suffer crippling torture that forces him to fight without using his bones. Presumably that means no knee or elbow action, which should be very interesting given that Jaa’s specialty is Muay Thai.

http://www.kungfucinema.com/?p=5319