Tony Jaa takes it on the chin

As the August 11 release date for Tom Yum Goong nears, and Tony Jaa's face is plastered on movie posters all over Bangkok, word on the streets is that Tony had some plastic surgery done on his jaw.

It looks more defined, like maybe some baby fat was removed, compared to his look in Ong-Bak.

In The Nation's English-language SmartLife supplement today, Tony denied he'd had plastic surgery, saying he had worn braces for awhile after filming Ong-Bak and the orthopedic work narrowed his jawline.

However, like Tata Young's denial that she'd had work done to increase her breast size (she said she'd simply put on weight, which made her boobs bigger), most folks aren't buying Tony's explanation, nor do they really care. People just want something to talk about.

In other Tony Jaa news, the martial-arts sensation has been appointed an official government spokesman to promote longans, a fruit that Thailand is seeking to export to China. A television spot has been produced and I saw it shown as part of the previews before a recent screening at House cinema.

The clip features Tony taking on a foreigner and several other bad guys in a shophouse district. At the end, Ong-Bak sidekick Mom Jok Mok appears, and is munching on a bunch of longans, but won't share any with Tony.

(Cross-published at Rotten Tomatoes)