Tony Jaa Comes Back to Town as ‘The Protector’
by Ky N. Nguyen
After a year and a half, Thai martial arts star Tony Jaa (“Ong-Bak”) returns to Washington for another packed publicity tour, which includes a live lunchtime performance downtown at Wilson Plaza. “I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to see anything,” he remarked.
The Washington Diplomat met with Jaa to discuss his second film, “The Protector,” which opens Fri., Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C. Written and directed by Prachya Pinkaew, it’s the third biggest grosser in Thai history. “The fans have been very satisfied,” Jaa reported.
Asked about the film’s critical response, he replied, “The critics have been very kind. They say the action is great. The only thing they say could be improved is the story.” I laughingly responded, “Isn’t that always the case?”
Jaa proclaimed: “I’ve very proud of this movie. It’s a much bigger budget than ‘Ong-Bak.’ The action scenes are much better, much more complicated. I performed many spectacular Muay Thai moves not shown in ‘Ong-Bak.’
“‘Ong-Bak’ helped me to transform people’s perception of Muay Thai and the Thai film industry and made me what I am today,” Jaa continued. “I owe a considerable amount of gratitude to those who inspired me, including Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan and, of course, my instructor Panna Rittikrai. Before I could start filming, I had to go through a rigorous two-year training program. I had to learn thousands of new moves, blocks, kicks and jumps, perfecting them so that I might be able to capture their beauty and elegance on the screen.”
The actor explained that for Thai people “and, indeed, everyone in every corner of the world, we have given our hearts and souls to this production—relying on the beauty, elegance and prowess that is ancient Muay Thai, an art never before seen on film, and drawing on its magic to create ‘The Protector.’”
He noted that many of the scenes were filmed in Australia. “Despite the language differences, there were no real problems working with the foreign actors because they were nearly all experienced martial artists. They were professionals and knew the job that they had to do.
“In Thailand, there are almost no limitations on what can be demanded of an actor or a crew. In Australia, there are strict limits, so we were on a very tight schedule,” he added. “There were places we couldn’t shoot because of problems with permits and copyrights of images. It was very stressful, but we learned a lot about how movie production works in another country.”
Next, Jaa will tackle directing the sequel to “Ong-Bak.” He insists, “I’m not worried about directing a movie because I already have a lot of experience directing. In Asia, an actor pretty much directs himself in action scenes. So I’m used to positioning an actor with the camera.”
Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.
