Ong-Bak, Bang Rajan picked up for US distribution

Finally, Ong-Bak will be hitting the US, with New York indie distributor Magnolia Pictures, according to Indie Wire.

Magnolia, which has distributed such documentaries as Capturing the Friedmans, Bukowski: Born Into This and Control Room (a look at the Al-Jazeera Arab television network), appears to be going for Thai film in a big way, as it also holds the distribution rights to Thanit Jitnukul's historical battle epic, Bang Rajan (which is screening at the Asian Film Festival - Dallas on June 8-10).

US entertainment trade journal Variety has picked up the story. It says Bang Rajan will be released in August, under a "presented by Oliver Stone" heading.

Magnolia is getting Ong-Bak from Luc Besson's EuropaCorp, which acquired and re-cut the film for commercial screenings in France. EuropaCorp latched onto Ong-Bak after it was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2003. The French screenings saw around one million admissions, according to the stories.

The movie stars Muay Thai master Tony Jaa, who in his most humble way has been grooming himself to be an heir apparent to the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Says Magnolia's Eamonn Bowles:

I have seen the future of the action film and his name is Tony Jaa. Ong-Bak contains some of the most jaw-dropping sequences ever committed to film -- no strings attached.