By The news about Kurt Russell and Tony Jaa joining Fast and Furious 7 sounds great… unless you’re Thai production company Sahamongkol. Studio head Sia Jiang, director Prachya Pinkaew, and fight choreographer Panna Rittikrai held a press conference last week to say that Jaa breached his 10-year contract by signing onto Fast 7 without Sahamongkol’s permission.
In the comments at Twitch, Jaa’s manager Michael Selby posted a response to Sahamongkol. Here’s the key excerpt (you can read the full response here):
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. Sahamongkol may make a complaint in a competent legal forum with proper jurisdiction if they feel they have such a claim. Assuming that such a claim would be heard; We would be more than pleased to follow the ruling of any competent legal authority. It should be noted that Thailand abolished slavery many years ago, and Thai courts consider provable damages in labor contract disputes, and nothing more than that. Tony is looking forward to his role in Fast and Furious 7 as well as a number of other films. He does not require permission from anyone to act in these films, except possibly his wife and daughter.
Someone’s going to get an elbow to the head and a flying knee to the chest for this. No word on what this might mean for Tom Yum Goong 2 (The Protector 2) or A Man Will Rise with Dolph Lundgren. Stay tuned as the drama unfolds.
[via Twitch and Twitch]