Sahamongkol

A man kneels down in a fighting stance before soldiers in a still from Ong Bak 3

THE FIST OF ONG BAK: New TV Series In The Works Expanding On Hit Thai Martial Arts Franchise

This week saw an announcement flying under the radar a bit away from the trades that a new premium television drama is in development following up from the hit action franchise, Ong Bak. The show in question, The Fist Of Ong Bak, is the name of the new eight-part hourlong episodic, and hails from O4 Media in association with 5X Media and Sahamongkolfilm International. Plot and casting details about the new series are pending, while fans pining for more Thai action now have something to ponder since the original broke ground in 2003. As genre fans in the West were already afoot with the reception of Hong Kong crossover sensations like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen, it wasn’t long before the niche took notice with Prachya Pinkaew’s inaugural Ong Bak, which essentially catapulted local stuntman and burgeoning action talent Tony Jaa to global stardom. In the […]

Tony Jaa Issues An Official Statement After Sahamongkol Drops Its Case

Lee B. Golden III

2015 has been great to Thai action star, Tony Jaa, following his long-disputed departure from his former career base at Sahamongkol under founding film producer Somsak Techaratanaprasert (a.k.a. Sia Jiang). The two have since mutually parted ways with Techaratanaprasert dropping his case altogether following failed false contract dispute claims in the past few years against Jaa in what has otherwise been a contentious litigatory battle that ultimately threatened to halt the star’s Thai releases of Skin Trade with Dolph Lundgren, as well as his Hollywood debut in James Wan’s Furious Seven and that of Soi Cheang’s SPL 2: A Time For Consequences just as likely. That said, Jaa and his team issued a statement via the action star’s Facebook page which you may read below: Dear Members of the Press and Public, As you are aware, there have been misunderstandings between Sahamongkol Film International Co., Ltd. (Sahamongkol Film) and I […]

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FURIOUS 7 Is Back On Track In Thailand

Lee B. Golden III

Thai audiences can now breathe a sigh of relief this week for the release of international action star Tony Jaa’s latest Hollywood debut, Furious 7. Word from The Bangkok Post reports that the Civil Court has lifted the injunction initially requested by Jaa’s former management, Sahamongkol Film International Co., Ltd. against Universal Pictures and the film’s Thailand distributor, United International Pictures Far East Co. The injunction came several days ago at the behest of Sahamongkol’s chief founder and executive, Somsak Techarantanaprasert who asked for THB 1.6 billion (roughly $50 million USD) claiming the release of the film would cause irreversible damages to the company. The decision to lift the injunction ultimately came as the result of Techarantanaprasert having known about the film as of two years ago when, in a separate court in front of a different judge, he, in the company of director Prachya Pinkaew and Panna Rittikrai accused […]

Sahamongkol Wants To Block FURIOUS 7 In Thailand. Here Is Why They Might Lose.

Lee B. Golden III

At the rate things were, it seemed that cinemas in Thailand were on course for the impending release of director James Wan’s Furious 7, the franchise that has garnered its fair share of love and support from fans worldwide. As it stands though, at least one person saw fit to dampen the fanfare, specifically speaking Sahamongkol’s own founder and chief executive Somsak Techaratanaprasert who reportedly filed an injunction against the release of the film following a longstanding contract dispute with actor and martial arts superstar, Tony Jaa. It was back in 2013 as news broke that Jaa would star in the film when Techarantanaprasert went into contention over what was stated as a breach of a recently-signed ten-year contract with the company, going public via press conference with filmmaker Prachya Pinkaew and action director Panna Rittikrai at the time. Jaa’s manager, Mike Selby, responded to the media, in kind, regarding […]