The course of true film commerce never did run smoothly. Less than a month after it was announced that Ong Bak star Tony Jaa would be making his Hollywood debut in the much anticpated Fast & Furious 7 - which will also feature Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jason Statham - it appears that the supposedly done-deal might yet have some potholes in the road ahead.
Twitchfilm and others have reported that the fact Jaa is scheduled to appear in F&F7 was apparently surprise news to Sahamongkol Film International who held a press conference to claim that Jaa had signed a ten-year contract with them and it would require their approval for the martial-artist to go and make films elsewhere.
President of Sahamongkol Film International (Mongkol Film) Somsak 'Sia Jiang' Techaratanaprasert and film directors/producers Panna Rittikrai and Prachya Pinkaew held the press conference stating that Jaa was now claiming that he was no longer under contract with them.
"I admit that I am happy that Tony Jaa will appear in a foreign film, but he must get the foreign agency to contact me and get my consent first," Sia Jiang said, according to the Bangkok Post. "I'm not hoping to get a percentage of his pay but this must be done correctly and I'll send a notice to the foreign agency...If Tony Jaa doesn't receive my consent and still plays in the foreign film, he'll definitely face a lawsuit."
Twenty-four hours after the press conference, Jaa's management responded, disputing the Sahamongkol allegations.
"Sahamongkol's public assertions regarding Tony and his purported contract with them are not factual. Tony Jaa does not have a new contract with Sahamongkol nor did he extend his prior relationship with them. The matter was studied quite carefully and Tony Jaa is free to pursue any acting jobs which he wishes to undertake..." they told Twitch, adding that, "... It should be noted that Thailand abolished slavery many years ago."
It seems that everyone is holding their ground and that the dispute may well come down to presentation and reading of the specifics of any contract that Jaa may / may not be under. With all sides apparently fine with Jaa taking part in F&F7 - under certain conditions - the inference in the press reporting is that such an agreement might yet come... but possibly with some sort of renumeration or price-tag attached to it.
