The plea to Steven Spielberg made in a Thai action movie
Being one of the most famous filmmakers in the history of cinema means that Steven Spielberg will have become accustomed to being referenced in the work of other directors. However, very rarely has he been the subject of a direct call to arms.
Having spent almost half a century at the top of the industry ladder, several generations have been inspired to step behind the camera by a filmography littered with box office success and awards season recognition. Still, it would be stating the obvious to say Spielberg and Thai martial arts movies don’t exactly go hand-in-hand.
That didn’t stop Prachya Pinkaew from shooting his shot, though, with 2003’s Ong-Bak highlighting his lifelong fandom of the Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler’s List figurehead. One of the best actioners of the year, Tony Jaa’s breakthrough role established him as having the potential to become one of the genre’s leading lights. He was quite happy to set his legs on fire and spin-kick somebody in the face in an effort to highlight his daredevil credentials and lightning-quick fighting prowess.
The film ended up recouping its production budget almost 20 times over at the global box office and kick-started Jaa’s career as a leading man. However, Spielberg didn’t pay any heed whatsoever to his name being quite literally spelt out for everyone to see.
During a foot chase sequence, “Hi Speilberg, let’s do it together” was seen painted onto a set of shutters. Pinkaew’s admiration evidently didn’t stretch far enough to ensure he was spelling Spielberg’s name correctly when outlining his determination to collaborate one day in the future.
Jaa admitted to Rotten Tomatoes shortly after Ong-Bak‘s release that neither he nor Pinkaew had heard from Spielberg despite their obvious call-out. Things did at least go much better when it came to the frenetic feature’s desire to partner up with Luc Besson.
In the same scene where Spielberg gets name-dropped, “Hi, Luc Besson, we are waiting for you” can also be spied on a pillar, with Pinkaew managing to capture attention on this occasion. Besson’s EuropaCorp production company would swoop in to secure the international distribution rights for Ong-Bak, even if it was heavily re-edited before being released outside of Asia.
One out of two isn’t bad, all things considered, especially when aiming for Spielberg is about as lofty as aspirations get for a shoestring Thai production. However, whereas Jaa would eventually make the leap to Hollywood and secure parts in the Fast & Furious and Expendables franchises – as well as sharing the screen with Vin Diesel again in xXx: Return of Xander Cage and opposite Nicolas Cage in Jiu Jitsu – nobody came calling for Pinkaew. It was a swing, for sure, but one that proved to be a miss in the long run.
