Magnet Releasing & Sahamongkol Film International
Present
A MAGNET RELEASE
THE PROTECTOR 2
A film by Prachya Pinkaew (Ong Bak)
Starring:Tony Jaa, RZA, Mum Jokmok, Marrese Crump, Jija Yanin Wismitanan, Ratha Pho-ngam, Kazu Patric Tang, Kalp Hongratanaporn, David Ismalone
FINAL PRESS NOTES
104 minutes; 2.35
Distributor Contact: / Press ContactNY/Nat’l: / Press Contact LA/Nat’l:Matt Cowal / Steve Beeman / N/A
Arianne Ayers / Falco Ink
Magnolia Pictures / 250 West 49th St. Suite 704
(212) 924-6701 phone / New York, NY 10019
/ (212) 445-7100 phone
49 west 27th street 7th floor new york, ny 10001
tel 212 924 6701 fax 212 924 6742
SYNOPSIS
Boss Suchart is the influential owner of a major elephant camp. When he was murdered in his own home – the killer delivered three fatal blows on his body – all evidence points to KHAM (Tony Jaa), who was present at the crime scene and was seen with the victim the moment before he died. Kham is forced to run as the police launch a pursuit.
Meanwhile, the twin nieces of Boss Suchart (Jija Yanin Wismitanan and Teerada Kittisiriprasert) are out for revenge. But luck is on Kham’s side when he runs into Sergeant MARK (Mum Jokmok), an Interpol agent sent to Thailand on a secret mission.
As Kham is hunted by several parties, he’s also desperately searching for KHON, his elephant, whose disappearance is involved with Boss Suchart’s death. In another twist, Kham is drawn into an underground fighting ring run by LC (RZA), a crime lord who’s obsessed with collecting top-class martial artists from around the world. LC’s fighters are branded only by numbers, such as the lethal, beautiful TWENTY (Ratha Pho-ngam) and the diabolical NO.2 (Marrese Crump). These fighters are ordered to defeat and capture Kham for a special mission that LC has in mind.
From director Prachya Pinkaew and star Tony Jaa (of the global smash-hit Ong Bak),THE PROTECTOR 2is an extreme fight movie, an endlessly intense, nerve-racking film full of fists, elbows, kicks and daredevil stunt scenes and amazingly choreographed fighting moves that will pump hot blood through the body of all action fans.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The original Tom Yam Goong (or The Protector) is the first action film that uses the full potential of “Real Action Martial Arts” that combines elegance, fierceness, intensity and relentlessness. Tony Jaa, working with the action maestro Panna Rittkrai and director Prachya Pinkaew, became the new martial art sensation from his visceral style of fighting, and the first The Protector took the world by storm. It created a phenomenon in every country that it was released and took the top spot at the box-office in various territories, including Hong Kong and South Korea, as well as scoring a big hit in Europe and North America, raking in over $40 million.
The Protectorconfirmed Tony Jaa as the new Asian martial arts hero, after his debut in Ong-Bak in 2001. He became a new symbol of Thailand besides elephants, pad thai and the spicy dish Tom Yam Goong. At this moment, if you Google Ong Bak, there are over 7 million results. That worldwide fever that is still going strong means the arrival of THE PROTECTOR 2 is one of the most awaited cinematic moments of the year.
Sahamongkol Film International proudly announces THE PROTECTOR 2, the new film that the whole world is waiting for. Tony Jaa returns to the action, and to make this film truly international, THE PROTECTOR 2also stars RZA, the hip-hop artist, Grammy winner and die-hard martial arts fan. A long list of fierce, ruthless and even beautiful fighters are included in the new film: Marresse Crump, Jija Yanin, Kazu Patrick Bank (Trickz champion from France) and the sexy Ratha Pho-ngam. The amazing action is choreographed by the legendary Thai stuntman and fighter Panna Rittikrai.
DAREDEVIL STUNTS, NON-STOP ACTION
Panna Rittikrai, the legendary martial arts choreographer who worked with Angelina Jolie and other Hollywood stars who came to shoot in Thailand, works with Tony Jaa to come up with unbelievable fighting sequences. For example, the long and exhilarating fight between Tony Jaa and an army of over 100 assassins on motorcycles speeding across rooftops. Tony Jaa also falls from a suspension bridge at the height of a 20-storey building without using a stunt double. He also clings on the roof of a speed car that makes a 360-degree turn in the middle of the road. There’s also an amazing long take that films the action from a camera attached to the head of the actor as he’s jumping from building to building while fending off the enemies.
The immersive visual experience, the cast of international action stars, and Tony Jaa’s sensational skills – all of this promises to make THE PROTECTOR 2 the biggest action film of the year.
ABOUT THE CAST & CHARACTERS
KHAM (Tony Jaa)
Kham is a descendant of an ancient elephant-keeping family. He possesses a lethal martial art skill that has been passed on from his ancestors. He lives a solitary life with KHON, an elephant that’s more like his younger brother. After his father was killed in The Protector, which takes place in Sydney, Kham feels sorry and vows that he’ll never let anybody take his elephant from him. But history repeats itself, and the gangsters this time do not just want his beloved elephant, but also his own life and his skill in Jaturongkabart school of fighting, which was originally used by ancient warriors to protect the king’s war elephants. Kham’s deathly move is called Kochasarn, and that makes him a fearsome fighter.
LC (RZA)
LC is an international crime lord who’s in Thailand for a secret mission. He’s a cunning man and a ruthless arms dealer who always knows how to manipulate people in order to get what he wants. He’s also a fan of martial arts. He travels the world to admire fighters of various nations, taking video of them and watching it over and over again. Even when he’s engaged in a billion-dollar deal, he still takes time to “collect” top-class fighters in his underground ring. Kham is his next target.
RZA is a talented hip-hop singer. He’s a Grammy Award-winning composer who’s behind the success of the famous Wu-Tang Clan. He has starred in many major Hollywood films such as “American Gangster,”“Coffee and Cigarette,” and also composed music for iconic films such as “Kill Bill” and “The Protector”. RZA is fascinated by kung-fu films and martial arts, and he recently directed his first film “The Man with the Iron Fists,” an homage to Shaw Brothers films from the 70s.
SERGEANT MARK (MUM JOKMOK)
Sergeant Mark is a Thai police officer who’s been working with Interpol for years. An honest cop, Mark has been instrumental in hunting down animal smugglers as well a human traffickers and drug runners all around the world, including in Sydney, where The Protector took place. In this sequel, he has arrived in Thailand from Australia for a secret mission, and when he runs into Kham, a wanted man, Sergeant Mark finds himself in a dilemma. He has to prove his worth as a policeman, but Kham is his old friend whom he trusts.
PING-PING (JIJA YANIN WI MISTANAN)
The older sister of the deadly Chinese twins, she’s moved to Thailand with her uncle, Boss Suchart, owner of an elephant camp. Ping-Ping is a nimble martial artist and a specialist in acupuncture pins – which she uses both to cure an illness of her twin sister and to defeat her enemies. She looks like a doll, but she’s one hell of a tenacious and violent fighter.
Xu-Xing (Teerada Kittisiriprasert)
The younger sister of the deadly Chinese twins, the girl is a hot-blooded fighter even though she has a chronic illness that needs constant treatment from her sister. When teamed up with Ping-Ping, she becomes one part of the relentless fighting machine that even grown men have to fear. But it’s the sisters’ bond and love that define their relationship and their synchronized fighting spectacle.
NO.2 (MARRESE CRUMP)
He’s only known as NO.2, which is his name and signifies his reputation. In every fight, No.2 can defeat his opponent in less than 2 minutes. He’s ranked No.2 in the league of world’s greatest fighter run by LC. Tall, tough and cold-blooded, No.2’s mission is to defeat No.1, but that fight will be long and bloody.
Marresse Crump trained with a Korean martial artist when he was 7, and from then on he realized that he wanted nothing in his life but to become a great fighter. Marresse went on to study all major schools of martial arts in the world and he’s now skilled in Karate, Kung Fu, Thai boxing, Capoeira, Taekwando, Ninjutsu, and even an indigenous Filipino fighting school. He worked as an action co-ordinator in “G.I. Joe”, and he also starred in the movie “Wrong Side of Town” with Rob Van Dam, Ja Rule and Dave Bautista.
TWENTY (Ratha Pho-ngam)
Twenty is the sexy and dangerous right-hand woman of LC. She’s the crime lord’s secretary, girlfriend, and trusted assassin. LC once rescued her from the pit of darkness and trained her into a formidable fighter. Her beauty is a mask of intense energy, anger and ruthless spirit that is unleashed at every man except her boss and savior, LC.
ABOUT TONY JAA
Panom Yeerum or “Tony Jaa” was born in Surin province in the Northeast region of Thailand. His dream since he was 11 years old was to be like “Jackie Chan,” his childhood idol. He memorized all of Jackie Chan’s moves and trained himself to do them. The turning point in his life came when he was in ninth grade when he got a chance to watch Born to Fight (1979), a Thai action film which was written, directed, and starred by his present mentor Panna Rittikrai. Jaa then started training martial arts by himself to reach his dream of being an action star. He trained himself so hard that there were days where he missed all his meals. His first opportunity knocked after he finished his ninth grade when Jaa heard that Panna Rittkrai was filming in Kon Kaen, not far from Surin. He begged his father to bring him to meet Panna so he could ask him to be his apprentice. Jaa and Panna met each other for the first time at Kaen Inn Hotel just as Panna was preparing to leave for Bangkok after having wrapped up the film. Panna told Jaa to go back to school and come back to see him during school break. For the next three years, Jaa was a regular in Panna’s crew during school breaks. He would do anything he was asked to, including serving drinks, cooking, carrying equipments such as reflex materials, dolly tracks, etc. as well as learning the skills of martial arts choreographing.
After Jaa finished twelfth grade, he was advised by Panna to go to the College of Physical Education in Mahasarakham province, also in the Northeast. There, he got the chance to study several kinds of martial arts including Thai boxing, Taekwondo, sword and pole, and gymnastic. He continued to train fight scene acting with Panna every weekend in Konkaen. He became Panna’s protégé and started his acting career as a stuntman and an extra in many films.
Meanwhile, Jaa started inventing his own fighting style by combining stunt techniques with martial arts fighting he had learned at the College of Physical Education. It was a combination of various types of gymnastic moves, Thai boxing, and Thai weapon techniques. As the chairman of the Sword and Pole club, he formed a team, created a show based on his newly invented fighting style, and performed to several high schools in the Northeast. Later, he was selected the representative of the College of Physical Education to perform Thai Boxing and Sword and Pole fighting shows in the Northeast, in Bangkok, and in China. Moreover, Jaa won gold medals for Mahasarakham College of Physical Education in Sword and Pole, gymnastic, and track-and-field sports (sprint, long jump, high jump) in all of the four years he participated.
More chances for Jaa to shine came along when the crew of a Hollywood action movie Mortal Kombat 2 flew in to film in Ayutthaya, near Bangkok. Jaa beat out more than a hundred stuntmen to win the role as the stunt double for Robin Shou, the film’s lead actor. He later got two more stunt double jobs for the lead actor. The first one was for “James” Ruengsak Loychusak in a Thai film The Gang, followed by the remake of a hit Thai television series Insee Daeng (Red Eagle) on Channel 7.
Together with Panna, Jaa developed a project with an intention to put together a film showcasing Jaa’s unique fighting skills to director-producer Prachya Pinkaew. With the full support of “Boss Jiang” Somsak Techaratanaprasert, president of Sahamongkolfilm International, whose studio was returning to making Thai films after its huge success with foreign films, it led to the production of Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior. This big-budget project portraying the beauty and fierceness of ancient Thai boxing techniques took four years to complete. Upon its release in 2003, Ong Bak quickly became the new legend of Thai action films. It grossed over three million dollars in Bangkok, before being a huge hit in international markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Argentina, the Netherlands, Japan, Italy, Taiwan, Poland, France, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and many others. In France, the film was able to sell a million tickets in only a month. Moreover, it was awarded “the Best Asian Action Film” at the 2004 Deauville Asian Film Festival, France. Then Ong Bak and Jaa moved on to excite fans in North America. With the gross revenue of more than 1.3 million dollars from as many as 387 theaters all across the United States, the film became the first Thai film in history at that time to open at number 17 on the American box office ranking. Realizing his popularity internationally, Thailand Ministry of Culture appointed Jaa as the nation’s cultural ambassador.
There was nothing that could stop Tony Jaa’s rise to fame as one of the world’s most prominent action heroes. His next film, Tom Yum Goong(English title: The Protector) (2005) was considered one of Thailand’s most successful films in history. In this film, Jaa introduced a spectacular new style of fighting called “Muay Kodchasarn” (Elephant Boxing), which combines the moves of elephants, Thailand’s national animal, with Thai boxing. The film also features the world’s longest continuous fight scene in which Jaa beats more than 40 gangsters in one take. The film was an instant blockbuster. It grossed almost five million dollars domestically, and was purchased to be shown in more than forty countries worldwide, including Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Japan, Germany, Portugal, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. Released to the American public under the title The Protector, the film smashed Ong Bak’s record with 5.4 million dollars revenue from the first three days of playing in as many as 1,541 theaters nationwide, placing the film at number four in the box office ranking. It went on to gross more than 11 million dollars.
On November 23rd, 2005, Tony Jaa, along with Panna Rittikrai and the crew of Ong-Bak 2, performed the master salutation ceremony, a sacred ritual which has been carried on since the era of King Rama IV, at the National Theater. The ceremony was led by Master Padejpat Plubkrasong, the official person appointed by the Office of Music and Drama, the Fine Arts Department to pay homage of ancient Thai drama masters and give blessings to actors of the later generations. This ceremony marked the official start of Tony Jaa as a co-director (with Panna) of Ong-Bak 2.
On October 12th, 2007, Jaa flew to Shenzhen, China, to receive the “Best Action Actor” award at the “Martial Arts Global Celebration” among the presence of action stars such as Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Donnie Yen, and Jet Lee.
On December 5th, 2008 was the date set for the opening of one of Thailand’s most-anticipated film, Ong-Bak 2. With production costs of over seven million dollars, it was sure to become Thailand’s third world-class action film after Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong. It is the first film that combines martial arts and dancing arts together. This film also showcases Tony Jaa’s well-rounded skills for action movies as he serves not only as the lead actor but also martial arts choreographer, concept developer, and co-director (with his mentor Panna Rittikrai, who is also production supervisor). Prachya Pinkaew also serves as a production supervisor and the producer of this film.