Ultimate Dolph

The release of “Furious 7” has been halted in Thailand, home country of one of the film’s stars the martial arts ace Tony Jaa.

Sahamongkolfilm International, one of Thailand’s leading film groups, obtained a court injunction halting the scheduled release of “Fast 7,” which had been set for April 1.

The injunction names Jaa, Universal Pictures and distributor United International Pictures (Fareast) and alleges that Jaa is in breach of a management contract with Sahamongkol that runs until 2023.

Jaa was star of several movies produced or distributed by Sahamongkol – including “Ong Bak” and “Tom Yum Goong” (aka “The Protector” in North America – while under a long term contract with Sahamongkol as his exclusive talent agent.

Sahamongkol is reported to be seeking $49 million (THB1.6 billion) in compensation, a sum it calculates as the sum of previous investments in launching the star, lost future earnings, and 7.5% interest.

Jaa and Sahamonglol have been in dispute for the past two years, with Jaa insisting that the contract had expired, and Sahamongkol insisting that it had been renewed. The contractual dispute became public in 2013 when Jaa refused to do publicity for Sahamongkol’s “Tom Yum Goong 2” in which he starred. The film flopped badly, taking less than $2 million on its Thai release.

The court has said that it will not examine the case fully until June. Sahamongkol says it is open to negotiations before then.
The dispute has a possibility of disrupting two other films set for release this year.

Despite the rupture with Sahamongkol and the simmering dispute, Jaa took a supporting role in Baumgarten Management and Productions’ and SC International’s “Skin Trade”; and “Sha Po Lang 2: A Man Will Rise,” a big-budget Hong Kong action picture also starring Sammo Hung, from Hong Kong’s Bravos Pictures and Sun Entertainment Culture.

“Skin Trade,” which is directed by Thailand’s Ekachai Uekrongtham and features Dolph Lundgren, is set for release in North America by Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing.

“SPL 2” is set for release in Thailand in April.

by **dude hallenbeck** on 28 Mar 2015, 02:36

Good luck going up against Universal's army of lawyers Sahamongkol. Not that it would've made any money in Thailand, piracy there is rampant.

by **Jox** on 28 Mar 2015, 12:34

dude hallenbeck wrote:Good luck going up against Universal's army of lawyers Sahamongkol.

That seems quite intricate so I don't know what Universal can do since it's about them directly. But I know there's been quite a few problems regarding the production and release of SKIN TRADE as well that seems to have been worked out but who knows, Sahamongkol seems relentless...

Thai director Ekachai Uekrongtham makes movie comeback with Dolph Lundgren-Tony Jaa actioner
http://www.tnp.sg/entertainment/thai-di ... n-tony-jaa

by **Jox** on 29 Mar 2015, 01:07

Full article:

Director Ekachai Uekrongtham with high-kicking comeback
http://news.asiaone.com/news/showbiz/di ... g-comeback

Ekachai Uekrongtham has Dolph Lundgren's daughter to thank for his biggest film project to date.

After a six-year hiatus, the Thai director, whose last movie was the 2009 rom-com The Wedding Game, starring local celeb couple Fann Wong and Christopher Lee, has returned to the big screen in a big way.

His new movie, Skin Trade, which opens here on April 16, is an action thriller starring Hollywood actors Lundgren and Ron Perlman, as well as Thai action star Tony Jaa.

Ekachai, who is in his early 50s, told The New Paper over the phone from Bangkok, where he is based: "The whole thing started when Dolph Lundgren contacted me through my friends in Los Angeles.

"He said he had let his daughter watch (my 2004 Thai feature film debut) Beautiful Boxer and she told him, 'Dad, you have to work with this director!' So they flew me to LA to work on the script."

Ekachai lived in Singapore for more than 20 years before returning to Bangkok about six years ago.

Best known for directing local musical Chang & Eng in 1997 and being the founding artistic director of local theatre company Action Theatre, Ekachai went on to helm sex docudrama Pleasure Factory (2007) and horror flick The Coffin (2008).

"(Skin Trade) is the biggest (project) and very different (from what I've done before) as it's a collaboration between Thai and Hollywood actors and producers," he said.

"I choose my projects such that I get to do something different every time. It has been a fruitful experience for me, getting to work with all these talented people from the US.

"We're so used to seeing movies from the West being exported to Asia.

"I hope this film showcases how Thailand can also make a film that has the quality for the international market."

Skin Trade follows detective Nick Cassidy (Lundgren) on a revenge mission to Thailand after his family gets murdered.

He teams up with a Thai detective (Jaa) to bring the culprit (Perlman) to justice and take down his human trafficking ring.

THOUGHTFUL

Filmed in Thailand and Canada, Skin Trade was produced and funded by Thai company SC Films International.

On his leading man, 80s Swedish action star Lundgren, Ekachai said: "Dolph is such a funny guy. He's known for action movies and his image is that of an action hero who doesn't talk much.

"But he's actually very eloquent in real life. He's also very thoughtful in (the way he approaches) the script. He has a lot more layers than his roles often allow him to show."

He also heaped praise on fellow countryman Jaa, who is famous for the Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong movies.

"I enjoyed working with him a lot. He's very focused and cooperative. He's such a great martial artist... almost like there's nothing he can't do," said Ekachai, adding that Jaa is very jovial in real life and often cracks jokes on set.

After relocating to Bangkok, Ekachai became the executive adviser for GMM Grammy, Thailand's largest entertainment conglomerate, and also worked on stage show Muay Thai Live: The Legend Lives.

"My family is in Bangkok so I try to stay put.

"But I miss Singapore. I miss speaking Singlish, my Singaporean friends and working with Singaporean actors. Singapore used to be such a big part of my life."

by **Jox** on 29 Mar 2015, 10:57

http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.fr/2015 ... hotos.html

by **bomaz** on 29 Mar 2015, 12:50

Mr Uekrongtham is in his early 50's :shock:

He looks easily 20 years younger.

by **Jox** on 30 Mar 2015, 19:28

Check Out These Incredible Stills From Lundgren-Jaa Team-up Movie, SKIN TRADE
(not stills, captured screenshots except for the 4 bottom ones)
http://badassdigest.com/2015/03/30/chec ... -skin-trad

Release (theatrical) in United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain on April 9th.
http://www.gulffilm.com/releaseschedule
Shortened original trailer:

by **Jox** on 31 Mar 2015, 10:15

Jox wrote:Fast & Furious 7 blocked in Thailand
http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/fast-furio ... n-thailand

Tony Jaa Official

The real facts have been presented and the Thai Court has spoken.
I want to express my respect, thanks and appreciation to the Thai Court and the Thai Justice system. I have always believed that truth and justice will prevail. I am very happy that Fast 7 will be shown in Thailand, the Thai people deserve to see it. Greetings from L.A. and the Hollywood premiere of Fast 7. Best Wishes TJ

by **Tom** on 31 Mar 2015, 12:41

That's good news. So hopefully any attempts to block ST will fail too.

by **Jox** on 31 Mar 2015, 12:52

Supposedly there were attempts actually, and they already did fail (much as they tried to keep Tony from even being in the film back in 2013), so the wide Thai release wasn't a given...

But it doesn't good for us to ever see A MAN WILL RISE, at least not in a near future (I think they did let a previous TJ flick sleep like that for a while before finally releasing it).

Ultimate Dolph

SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014)

Re: SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014) - May 8th in the

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Re: SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014) - May 8th in the

Re: SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014) - May 8th in the

Re: SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014) - May 8th in the

Re: SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014) - May 8th in the

Re: SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014) - May 8th in the

Re: SKIN TRADE (Ekachai Uekrongtham, 2014) - May 8th in the

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