Tony Jaa Swaps The Movies For Monkhood

 

Hard hitting action star Tony Jaa has caused ripples around the world by opting to give up his movie stardom in favour of joining the monkhood. On Friday 28th May, Jaa rode an elephant to a Buddhist temple in Surin, Thailand, where he shaved his head, took vows, and was officially ordained as a Buddhist monk.

At present, it is not known how long Jaa will choose to remain a monk, but it is fairly common practice in Thailand for individuals to join the monkhood for a set period. This would appear to be corroborated by Jaa's own mother who has said that she hopes her son will find a nice woman and get married once his time as a monk is complete.

For those of you who have followed the ongoing exploits of Jaa, the decision really doesn't come as much of a surprise considering the highly publicised issues surrounding the filming of 'Ong Bak 2'. Following the success of his previous films, Jaa insisted on directing the sequel but famously walked off the set when the pressures and debts began to mount up. During this period, a number of bizarre reports emerged stating that Jaa had retreated to the remote caves of northern Thailand where he was supposedly meditating and practicing the art of black magic. Nothing was ever confirmed but Jaa was later found and retrieved by his mentor, Panna Rittikrai, and the saga continued.

Upon his return, Jaa made a television appearance where he wept and sobbed about his desire to complete the film. However, he then went on to publicly issue a set of demands to production house Sahamongkol, threatening to disappear again if they were not met. Among these demands was a clause that allowed him to be released from his long term, exclusive contract that he signed with the production house. Following this announcement, Jaa was suddenly whisked away in a car full of Sahamongkol 'representatives' prompting speculation that he had been kidnapped. When he reappeared, Jaa denied the rumours but he did choose to take refuge in a police station, where he later met with Sahamongkol boss Sia Jiang. Things seemed to settle down after this, as Jaa dropped his demands and the decision was made to split the film into two parts with Panna Rittikrai taking over directing duties.

And that brings us to the recently released 'Ong Bak 3'. Unlike its predecessor, the film was fast tracked into production and completed using a newly revised script by an assembly of Sahamongkol execs and Rittikrai. The majority of the shoot seemed to go fairly smoothly, with Jaa being extremely quiet about the whole affair. Since its release though, most of the reviews have been less than favourable and it was the first Tony Jaa film not to top the Thai box office.

So what will this mean for the future of Tony Jaa? Well, only time will tell and I guess we will have to forge our own opinions on 'Ong Bak 3' after its inevitable international release. Whatever happens though, there is no doubt that Jaa has made a mark on the action movie industry and there will definitely be a number of very disappointed fans if he chooses never to return.

 

 

Source: Twitch

Posted May 30, 2010