A Man Will Rise
Jaa and Lundgren on the film set.
Directed byTony Jaa
Vitidnan Rojanapanich
Written byDavid Anderson
Gabe Burnstein
Produced byJulaluck Ismalone
Starring
Production
companies
Distributed bySahamongkol Film International
Release date
Delayed indefinitely
Running time
Unknown
CountryThailand
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUnknown

A Man Will Rise (originally known as Local Hero)[1] is an incomplete comedy western film directed by Tony Jaa and Vitidnan Rojanapanich, and starring Jaa, Dolph Lundgren, Conan Stevens, and Byron Gibson. Set in 1950s Thailand, the film follows a local gangster who terrorizes a town. When a young man opposes him, the gangster hires a group of foreign hit men to kill the rebel and silence the town.[1]

In January 2013, Jean-Claude Van Damme was rumored to be co-starring alongside Jaa; in reality, he was never available due to scheduling issues, and as a result, Lundgren was cast as an alternative. The film entered production in April 2013, but came to an abrupt halt after three months of filming. Sahamongkol Film International filed a $49–50 million lawsuit against Jaa, Universal Pictures, and United International Pictures, claiming Jaa was in breach of his contract by accepting a role in Fast and Furious 7. After two years of legal proceedings, Sahamongkol dropped the lawsuit in July 2015. Despite this, production of A Man Will Rise has not continued, and the film remains incomplete.

Plot

A local gangster terrorizes a town. When a young local man stands up to the gangster the villain brings in a group of foreign hit men who like to dress as cowboys to pacify the town. ...

Cast

  • Tony Jaa as Unknown
  • Dolph Lundgren as Unknown
  • Conan Stevens as "Cowboy Hitman"
  • David Islamone as "Cowboy Hitman"
  • Byron Gibson as Diego
  • Damian Mavis as Cowboy Gangster
  • Russell Geoffrey Banks as Cowboy Gangster
  • Manel Soler as Cowboy Gangster
  • Jakkrit Kanokpodjananon as Unknown
  • Leigh Barwell as Mexican Prostitute
  • Alexandra Merle as Mexican Prostitute

Production

Development

News of the film first emerged under the working title of Local Hero in January 2013. Jean-Claude Van Damme was rumored to be co-starring alongside Jaa, but he could not commit due to scheduling issues; he was filming Swelter at the time. Dolph Lundgren was cast as an alternative.[1]

""If (Tony Jaa) wants to be in Fast and Furious 7, (Universal Studios) has to contact Sahamongkol Films for approval first."

—Somsak Techaratanaprasert, president of Sahamongkol Films.[2]

Filming

Filming began in April 2013; Jaa was announced as co-director the same month. After three months of filming, production came to an abrupt halt with only 20% of the film complete.[3] Sahamongkol Film International filed a $49–50 million lawsuit against Jaa, Universal Pictures, and United International Pictures in September 2013, claiming that Jaa was in breach of his contract by accepting the role of Kiet in Fast and Furious 7.[4][5][6] Sahamongkol based their sum on the cost of launching Jaa's career and loss of future earnings, plus an additional 7.5% interest.[6] They attempted to halt the release of Fast and Furious 7 in Thailand,[5] and on March 27, 2015, a civil court approved, blocking release the film until a settlement had been reached by both parties.[7] The court came to its decision after interviewing two employees of Sahamongkol: Akarapol Karasaranee, the son of the company's president, Somsak Techaratanaprasert; and Suwat Apaipak, a member of Sahamongkol's legal team.[8] In response to the allegations, Jaa stated that his contract with Sahamongkol had ended. He claimed that it was terminated through his lawyer in 2013,[6][9] describing it as "business slavery" due to its allegedly overrestrictive terms and conditions.[9] Sahamongkol claimed that the contract had been renewed for another ten years, through 2023.[6] In the suit, Sahamangkol also requested that Jaa pay back his salary for A Man Will Rise, reportedly ฿26 million ($722,000).[3] The legal matters surrounding the lawsuit have prevented the completion of the film,[10] and although the lawsuit was dropped in July 2015,[5][11] the film remains unfinished. There are currently no plans to complete the film.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brown, Todd (2013-04-10). "Fresh Details On Dolph Lundgren And Tony Jaa's A MAN WILL RISE". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  2. ↑ The Nation. "Tony Jaa is on a roll – downhill and fast", www.nationmultimedia.com, published 09-05-2013. Retrieved 09-05-2015.
  3. 1 2 "Thai actor Tony Jaa talks about making movies in Hollywood and Kong", www.news.asiaone.com, published 03-31-2015. Retrieved 09-05-2015.
  4. ↑ Zahra, Nageen. "Fast and Furious 7: Tony Jaa's Contract Delays Premiere in Thailand" Archived 2016-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, www.segmentnext.com, published April, 2015. Retrieved 09-05-2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Brown, Todd. "Sahamongkol Withdraws Lawsuit Against Tony Jaa" Archived 2015-09-12 at the Wayback Machine, www.twitchfilm.com, published 07-08-2015. Retrieved 09-04-2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Frater, Patrick. "Thailand Release of 'Furious 7' Halted by Tony Jaa Contract Dispute", www.variety.com, published 03-27-2015. Retrieved 09-05-2015.
  7. ↑ Bangkok Post Reporter. "'Fast and Furious 7' screening stopped in Thailand", www.bangkokpost.com, published 03-27-2015. Retrieved 09-05-2015.
  8. ↑ Cremin, Stephen (27 March 2015). "Fast & Furious 7 blocked in Thailand". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. 1 2 Schmid, Thomas. "Tycoon 'furious' over thai star Tony Jaa's defection" Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, www.filmjournal.com, published 10-14-2013. Retrieved 09-06-2015.
  10. ↑ Friel, Eoin. "Will We Ever See 'Re-Kill' Or 'A Man Will Rise'?", www.theactionelite.com, published 05-28-2014. Retrieved 09-04-2015.
  11. ↑ Bangkok, Coconuts. "Sahamongkol withdraws lawsuit against Tony Jaa", www.bangkok.coconuts.co, published 07-07-2015. Retrieved 09-04-2015.
  12. ↑ The Night Rider. "EXCLUSIVE: Tony Jaa Talks To ManlyMovie On Skin Trade, Injuries & More", www.manlymovie.net, published 03-16-2015. Retrieved 09-05-2015.
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