Lawsuit puts the brakes on Jaa and "Furious 7"

Accompanied by his manager Michael Selby, Jaa appeared to be in good spirits – but he must have been blissfully unaware that lawyers for his former boss at Sahamongkol Film had just that very day been granted an injunction by the Civil Court to halt this week’s release of “Furious 7”, in which Jaa makes his Hollywood debut.

The news only came to everyone’s attention later Thursday night, so reporters at the Siam Kempinski presser were unable to get responses from Jaa and Selby. Folks at Sahamongkol Film also kept a tight lip as did “Furious 7” distributor UIP, which is obviously hoping the whole matter will go away.

The next day saw Jaa’s official Facebook active as always, with the usual pictures of his workout regimen and “thank yous” for support, but nothing about the “Furious 7” court blockage.

Lawyers for Sahamongkol and its domineering chief executive Somsak “Sia Jiang” Techaratanaprasert filed the suit because they say Jaa is still under contract with the company and his appearance in “Furious 7” is in breach of that.

According to Film Business Asia, Sahamongkol demands that the distribution of “Furious 7” be stopped and that Jaa, Universal Pictures and UIP cough up Bt1.60 billion, with 7.5 per cent interest until payment is made. That’s the amount of money Sahamongkol says it invested in Jaa, who is supposedly under contract with the studio until 2023.

Sahamongkol lawyers are also threatening to file lawsuits against the release of any film Jaa stars in that isn’t from them, a move that could hurt the release of Jaa’s new Thai film “Skin Trade”, set for April 23, and Jaa’s Hong Kong martial-arts debut “Saat Po Leng II” in June.

The legal eagles have also suggested that Jaa’s scenes in “Furious 7” could be removed, which might suit some fans of the car-chase franchise who reckon the real reason to see the film is for the last appearance by Paul Walker, who died during a break in the filming.

Still, other fans don’t appreciate having the film held hostage to the whims of a vengeful local film studio head. They just want to see the movie.

Pundits in the entertainment media have noted without irony that just the night before the lawsuit news broke, Sahamongkol honcho Sia Jiang had been presented a lifetime achievment award by the Bangkok Critics Assembly.

However, the assassination of Tony Jaa’s burgeoning career as an international movie star might be Sia Jiang’s crowning glory.

As of press time for Soopsip – it’s Friday night as we’re writing this – it couldn’t be confirmed whether “Furious 7” would indeed be yanked from cinemas. Cineplex websites continued to insist the movie opens on Wednesday, and they’ll even sell you tickets.

 

at the Siam Kempinski for last week’s press conference to promote the upcoming release of “Skin Trade”, a film by Thai director Ekachai Uakrongtham that is aimed at international market.

It was the first time Jaa gave a “proper” press conference after two-year absence. “I’ve spent time studying English in Atlanta and then Los Angelese where I studied the language and practiced my stunts,” said Jaa.

He asked media to get behind him in making “Skin Trade” successful. Jaa spoke lengthy about help he has got from the businessman Selby, who has voluntarily taken Jaa under his wing since that actor embarked on his Hollywood “adventure”.

“I haven’t signed any [Hollywood] contract really,” the actor said before telling reporters about his upcoming films. “I have three movies – “Fast and Furious 7” [scheduled for premiere on Wednesday] and then “Skin Trade” [April 23] and “Saat Po Leng II” [June 22]. I’m looking into new projects and I have Khun Mike who gives me advice,” Jaa said.

Apparently by the time of the press conference on Thursday evening, both Jaa and Selby had not yet heard about a court injunction that’s been slapped on the release of “Furious 7”. It’s the result of a lawsuit filed by Jaa’s former employer, Sahamongkolfilm, which says it has the actor under contract until 2023 and “Furious 7” is in breach of that.

 filed a lawsuit against Jaa could mean no “Furious7” movie for Thailand next week as scheduled. In August last year, Sahamonkol Film boss Somsak “Sia Jiang” Techarattana-prasert upon hearing Jaa’s good news of starring in “Furious 7” held a press conference and cited that the actor is still under a 10-year contract with the film studio. He then assigned his legal team to proceed on legal matter. Timing must be bad for Jaa now that the court ordered an injunction.