While Jaa stays mum, he's got a hurt 'dad'

SAHAMONGKOL FILM International chief Somsak “Sia Jiang” Techaratana-prasert didn’t seem in a very urgent mood while meeting the press on Monday to “talk about Jaa”. He was expected to confirm or deny the rumour that his action star Thatchakorn “Tony Jaa” Yeerum would be moving to Hollywood to star in “Fast and Furious 7” – but he did neither.
“Jaa is still under a 10-year contract with us,” he calmly said, and it was only renewed last month. Of course, that’s just for movies he makes in Thailand.
Sia Jiang did seem a bit like an upset father, though, since he financially takes care of not only Jaa but also Jaa’s parents. He too only found out about the “Furious” news when Manager Online picked up a Hollywood Reporter story. Jaa hasn’t even mentioned it to him.
“I’m holding this press interview so that he knows I’m not mad at him.” But isn’t he disappointed about not being informed? Sia Jiang said he has no right to feel that way. “Haven’t you guys ever seen a rising star before?” he laughed. “He’s very famous, so what can I do about it? When he was a nobody, maybe he would prostrate himself before me, but when he’s famous, it could be vice versa.”
Sia Jiang has been Jaa’s guardian throughout his career. He co-hosted the actor’s wedding and handed him Bt7 million in cash as a gift. The 37-year-old actor has done five movies in his 10 years with Sahamongkol, scoring massive internationally with “Ong Bak” a decade ago. There have been many offers from overseas, including a supporting role in “Rush Hour 3”, though that fell through.
Given that Jaa turned down a lot of these chances, it’s unlikely that any outside project would damage his relations with Sia Jiang. “Most of them wanted Jaa to be a bad guy or do a supporting role,” Sia Jiang said. “But I will accept Jaa in a protagonist role only.” He knows how difficult it is for an Asian star to get a lead in a Hollywood debut.
“It’s good news that he can promote the country in a Hollywood project, so we should support him – we can’t be selfish. As for Jaa not telling me, personally I don’t care. I can wait. This is his decision and how far he can go is up to him. You can see the examples in Jet Li or Jackie Chan – how many Hollywood films have they starred in so far? And now they don’t do any films anymore.”
The powwow with the press boiled down to Sia Jiang hoping that Jaa gets in touch with him soon, and assuming he does, we’ll probably hear more from the studio boss. Why can’t he just phone him up? Jaa guards his privacy, especially when public sentiment about him is unsettled, so he’s likely gone all low-profile on us. But he really ought to say something soon.