so according this hai news site tony jaa has gone missing from the set of ong back 2 for the past three months. rumours are swirling that he took the money and ran cause he was having serious money problems. those rumours are totally unfounded. but the fact that he really is missing. hears the link its in thai so if you got a few thai friends like me have them translate for you.
That link is broken
Please translate what you got.
Variety
i was waiting for this to come out on some kinda of english news before pressing it. well variety has now confirmed he is missing and has been since june. here is the link
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/6559/53/
jaa spent three years working on this film, in my opinion i think he shouldn’t have directed it. directing a film is such a mental and physical strain on one self add to that all the action and “acting”(notice the quotes) he had to do. anybody would have a mental break down. but even thou he spent three years working on the film he only spent like 7mil which is nothing in terms of films. but a **** load of money in thai land.
more links
http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/kaijushakedown/ONG-BAK-2-IN-TROUBLE
http://thaifilmjournal.blogspot.com/2008/07/jaa-forgiven-but-prachya-pinkaew-asked.html
http://bkkmindscape.blogspot.com/2008/07/jaa-resurfaces-from-afar-1.html
promo reel for ong bak 2. even thou this film looks like it is no way shape or form related to the first ong bak, the action in it looks amazing:
http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/tony-jaa-brings-the-pain-weve-got-the-ong-bak-2-promo-reel/
Well, I hope everything turns out for the best for him.
another report
far less informative than the links above, but more grist for the mill…
Martial arts star goes missing
Tuesday, July 29 2008, 08:14 BST
By Simon Reynolds, Entertainment Reporter
Martial arts star goes missing
Rex Features
Tony Jaa, the director and star of upcoming martial arts film Ong-bak 2, has been missing since June, says Variety.
Sahamongkol Films’s president Somsak Techaratanaprasert confirmed the news, but insisted that Jaa’s film will still be ready for its scheduled release this year.
Reports in Jaa’s native Thailand have suggested that the actor has fled to the jungle to meditate after feeling the financial pressure of helming his first feature film.
“I love him as a son,” said Techaratanaprasert . “I guarantee that this is not a case of financial fraud and I have no intention of pursuing any legal action against him.”
Onk-bak director Prachya Pinkaew confirmed that he will complete the film in Jaa’s absence.
He said: “Jaa has little experience directing. He’s spent nearly $7.8 million. The film is almost finished, so I’ll try to see what I can do with the footage that he’s shot.”
Jaa’s breakthrough role in 2003’s Ong-bak led to comparisons with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
jaa made a huge mistake by directing a period peice himself. period peices require lots and lots of attention and it needs a director behind the camera to navigate it. rule number one know your limitations. i would have never started out with such an ambitious project as my first film. you have to start small and build your way up. movie making is like martial arts foundation is everything. it took him three years to bring the film this close to completion. thats ridiculous. and i bet the story is not going to be that good or original. and now that the sucky director from part 1 is taking over i have very little hope for this film.
he’s back
so tony jaa has resurfaced. i’m starting to think this may have been a publicity stunt to get sympathy from fans to see the film since apperantly ja went broke making the film, here’s the article:
http://thaifilmjournal.blogspot.com/2008/07/tearful-tony-jaa-vows-to-return-to-ong.html
I was never particularily fond of Prachya Pinkaew directing.
I would love to see how Tony Jaa did it…it would seem he put a lot of heart into the project, which doesn’t necessarily guarentee success but I am ready for a new person behind the helm.
Stuntman’s publicity
[QUOTE=doug maverick;875924]so tony jaa has resurfaced. i’m starting to think this may have been a publicity stunt to get sympathy from fans to see the film since apperantly ja went broke making the film, here’s the article:
http://thaifilmjournal.blogspot.com/2008/07/tearful-tony-jaa-vows-to-return-to-ong.html[/QUOTE]
[B]And you helped to perpetuate this “publicity stunt.” 
Why would he need sympathy. Anyone who is a fan or who saw that trailer is def going to make some room on their calendars. [/B]
well people were going to see dark knight but i bet u dollar for donuts if heath wouldn’t have died it wouldn;t have been well on its way to be coming the highest grossing film of all time. i guess they thought that the film would get more international buzz then it did. when it didn’t they called it off. cause i don’t care who you are you take three years to shoot a film and then disapear when its almost done i’m sueing your ass if i’m the boss. and the fact that they just put water under the bridge its just kinda makes me feel like its a patented stunt ploy to get this film more internationally noticed. cause ja’s films don’t get wide release’s like say jet li does.
Another recent movie release from Thai called “Female Fighter” or something likes that. I decided not to watch it in theatre, and I was right. As the movie critic said the storyline has good potential, but it did not end well in the final edition on screen. The story is a bit weak, and the fight by the female actor is fast but without much strength. If Ong Bak 2 is being made, I have high hope for it. Let us wish that it ends well into release soon.
KC
Hong Kong
Heath
[B]That is a fair assessment about the movie. I think that his death solidified the success of the movie but was not the main cause of it. People were expecting great things from this movie way before.
The first one was so different and yet so good. People seemed to like the newer version and at the end, when the Joker’s card turned up, people couldn’t wait for the release of the second movie.
It could be stunt or they might have been lenient on Jaa because he is the star. Or like you said, it could have been a collaborative rouse to draw some attention to a film that wouldn’t usually get a wide release. You have more access to such information that we would on that subject.
Jaa got recognized in the first Ong Bak and then gained wider exposure with Tom Yum Goong. But it wouldn’t be fair comparing him to Jet. He’s still got a way’s to go.[/B]
I suppose it could have been a publicity stunt, but if it was, IMO it wasn’t a very good one. It seems more embarrassing to see Thailand’s most internationally famous action star crying over it than anything else. Not really the best way to promote your martial arts movie. Also, maybe they are just saying publicly that all is forgiven, to give the impression of a warm, fuzzy ‘movie-making family relationship’ when maybe it’s really not.
Thanks for the info guys.
Phil
tony jaa calls it quits
so in his latest publicity stunt tony jaa has become a monk read on my friends:
Tony Jaa Quits Acting to Become a Monk
by Peter Martin May 30th 2010 // 3:02PM
Filed under: Action, Foreign Language, Independent, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie
Tony Jaa, preparing to become a monkYou might remember that Tony Jaa, who came to prominence as the high-flying, hard-kicking star of the highly entertaining Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior, experienced some trouble during the production of Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, his directorial debut. At one point he reportedly walked off the set and into the jungle to work out his problems.
Everything seemed to work out all right, old friends came back to help out, and the movie was released to good success in Thailand. Reviews were mixed to negative (in both my view and that of Todd Gilchrist), but everyone agreed the fight scenes were spectacular. Not so the follow-up, Ong Bak 3, which failed at the box office. And now Jaa has left acting behind, at least temporarily; he rode atop an elephant to a ceremony where his head was shaved, he took vows, and he was ordained as a Buddhist monk, as reported by Twitch.
“Thai Buddhist men routinely enter the monkhood at various auspicious times in their lives for short duration,” observes local film journalist Wise Kwai. Jaa’s service as a monk may well be temporary, but whether that means months or years is up to Jaa. In his report for Twitch, Todd Brown provides context on Jaa’s career and details the troubles on the Ong Bak 2 set. He’s seen Ong Bak 3 and thinks it “stinks of contractual obligation,” that Jaa has lost his fire as a performer, and that the actor and budding filmmaker will wait out his 10-year contract with the production company behind Ong Bak 2 and 3. Personally, I think if that’s what it takes for Jaa to find peace and happiness, that’s what he should do.
http://www.cinematical.com/2010/05/30/tony-jaa-quits-acting-to-become-a-monk/
If Jaa was really unhappy, then what he needs is a step back. But I doubt he’ll be leaving the industry for good. When I lived in Taiwan, I knew a guy from Thailand who had to go back home to Bangkok for a month or two to honor the tradition and become a monk. He’s one of the most un-monk-like guys I ever knew. When he returned, he showed us the photos of his head getting shaved, and wearing the robes of a Buddhist monk. Needless to say, once his obligations were fulfilled, he was no longer a monk.
IMO, Tony Jaa will be back. But whatever he does, hopefully he’ll be happier than he’s been.
what upsets me about this is that there were serious talks about him doing a movie with donnie yen, like super serious almost a done deal talks. and now thats either been delayed or fell through completley. which sucks because how many times can donnie fight sammo? or colin chou? or wu jing? there arent to many people who can match him as a screen fighter.
In Thailand, it is a common practice for males to do time as a monk. Could be 2 week weeks to longer periods of time depending on the motivation and character of the person.