Return of the 'Rooster'

Thai action superstar Phanom “Tony Jaa” Yeerum is back on the big screen this week and reunited with US actor Vin Diesel, with whom he worked on “Fast and Furious 7” two years ago.
    Diesel, of course, is playing in the title role in “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” after a 12 year break. In the film, Jaa plays Talon, a martial art fighter from Thailand, who is dubbed the Rooster.
    Talking to the Thai media at a recent press conference organised by UIP, which is distributing the film in Thailand, Jaa refuses to say whether he plays a good guy or a baddie, smiling enigmatically and telling the journalists to see the film and find out for themselves.
    “It was a new experience for me, shooting action scenes in freezing weather and it allowed me to show muay thai in a way you have never seen before,” he says.
    UIP’s general manager for Thailand Pannatat Phromsupa adds that Jaa’s part is different from the character he portrayed in “Fast 7.” In “Fast 7,” Thai movie buffs were relieved to see that their home-grown actor was given his share of recognition in a key sequence scene in which he fights with the late actor Paul Walker.
    He doesn’t have a special sequence in the new film but Pannatat says he remains part of the story until the end.
    “We wouldn’t hold a press conference if his role were too small and unimportant,” he stresses.
    The significance of his role is evident from the fact that Jaa has his own Character One Sheet – the movie poster on which special characters appear individually. He is also a member of the promotional tour and gives interviews to the foreign press as well.

    During four months of location shooting in Toronto, Canada, Jaa had to learn to deal with the cold weather. He wore four layers of long johns and warmed up hard before the shooting.
    “It’s totally opposite to the weather in Thailand and it really troubled me. I had a muscle injury, a kind of tearing because of not warming up enough. It was hard because no matter how long I warmed up, I didn’t sweat at all,” he says.
    “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” is the third instalment in the franchise that sent Vin Diesel to stardom in 2002. In the first film, viewers were introduced to the extreme sports athlete, who is recruited by the government for a special mission. The second film, “xXx: State of the Union” released in 2005, also starred Ice Cube, and bombed at the box office.
    Diesel is hedging his bets by producing this latest film and personally chose Jaa for the project.
    Directed by DJ Caruso, the film picks up when Cage emerges from the exile in which he’s lived since being left for dead. Recruited by his handler Agent Augustus Eugene Gibbons (Samuel L Jackson) and Jane Marke (Toni Collette), his mission is to retrieve a doomsday device called “Pandora’s Box” from the supervillain Xiang (Donnie Yen). The film also stars Indian sexy actress Deepika Padukone and Chinese-born Canadian actor Kris Wu.
    Jaa says that even though Caruso had already prepared the action layout and choreography for his role, he was open to suggestions from the Thai actor.
    The action scene that shows his signature “flying knee”, he says, will impress the audience.    “But every scene in which I appear in the movie is interesting so you must watch them all,” he laughs.
    Pannatat says that it’s the good opportunity to hold a special press conference. “It’s not often we have an actor starring in a blockbuster like this,” he says, adding that UIP didn’t arrange a media blitz for “Fast 7” due to the conflict between Jaa and Sahamongkol Films Company.
    That storm died down completely when Sahamongkol Films Company president, Somsak Techaratanaprasert, told the Thai-language media some two years ago and after the release of “Furious 7” that he was calling off the courtroom showdown with Jaa. He explained he was too old to have lawyers as ring men and, anyway, had forgiven the actor he once loved like a son and was happy to let him pursue his Hollywood dreams. From now on they would have nothing to do with one another, Sia Jiang added, and hopefully Jaa could capitalise on international stardom.
    Knowing his weak and strong points, Jaa and his manager Michael Selby are careful in choosing the parts that are right for him. Jaa is now able to communicate in English and seems more relaxed and skilled in dealing with the press. His agent is based in Los Angeles but Jaa remains for the most part in Thailand where he works on his martial art skills and flies out to shoot as needed.
    After “Fast 7,” Jaa had a more significant role in the Hong Kong action drama “SPL2”. He also played a Thai cop in the Hollywood film “Skin Trade”, which was directed by Thai director Ekachai Uekrongtham and co-produced by his manager Selby.
    For now, Jaa still enjoys international projects and is not interested in Thai movies.
    This year, he says, we will see him in another two movies but refuses to give details. “We are also in negotiations on a few other projects,” he says.
Now showing
“xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” is screening at Thai cinemas.