Who Is The Next Big...

[Moneyline]

I think there are 2 potential breakout action heroes:

Jason Statham already has a lot of fans from the Tranporter movies and Crank, and I know of no backlash against him like there was against Segal and Van Damme in their primes. He does the tough-guy bit well, but is somehow likable through all the mayhem. I think he's one Joel Silver movie away from superstardom.

Tony Jaa has the potential to reach a Jackie Chan level of worldwide stardom. If some enterprising producer teamed him up with Jet Li, it would be the biggest action movie of the year internationally. Like with Statham, action movie fans love him, and almost nobody dislikes him. I'm not sure how good his English is, but if he can become more or less fluent I think he has at least as good a chance as anybody as becoming a major star.

[samsdmf]

[ QUOTE ]
I think there are 2 potential breakout action heroes:

Jason Statham already has a lot of fans from the Tranporter movies and Crank, and I know of no backlash against him like there was against Segal and Van Damme in their primes. He does the tough-guy bit well, but is somehow likable through all the mayhem. I think he's one Joel Silver movie away from superstardom.

Tony Jaa has the potential to reach a Jackie Chan level of worldwide stardom. If some enterprising producer teamed him up with Jet Li, it would be the biggest action movie of the year internationally. Like with Statham, action movie fans love him, and almost nobody dislikes him. I'm not sure how good his English is, but if he can become more or less fluent I think he has at least as good a chance as anybody as becoming a major star.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would pay money not to see Statham in any movie ever again, am I the only person who thinks he is really really awful. He seems to me like a slightly better paid (I presume) Vinnie Jones

Can Tony Jaa speak English? I would say its pretty vital for him to become a huge star in the West

[Moneyline]

[ QUOTE ]

Can Tony Jaa speak English? I would say its pretty vital for him to become a huge star in the West


[/ QUOTE ]

As of a couple years ago he could speak a little bit. I have no idea how much he has learned since then. If he was offered millions of dollars to appear in a US film, I think he would learn pretty fast.

[Big Poppa Smurf]

Tony Jaa has been trying to break into the western film market for a while, so I think it's just a matter of time until he has a huge breakthrough over here.

[T-God]

[ QUOTE ]
Tony Jaa has been trying to break into the western film market for a while, so I think it's just a matter of time until he has a huge breakthrough over here.

[/ QUOTE ]
I clicked on this thread in order to post this.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
Action - Josh Duhamel
Drama - Ryan Gosling
Comedy - Sacha Baron Cohen

I suppose a case could be made that Cohen already is the next BIG star in comedy, but i think another film or two with big grosses is needed.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm feelin' ya on that one, but I don't think a good case could be made yet. He has just one film which is almost certainly just a one-off. It's very hard to imagine he has established a spot in anyone's imagination as anything but a tremendously off-beat guy. Imagine trying to build up a love interest for him in a movie that isn't absurdly juvenile ...

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Can Tony Jaa speak English? I would say its pretty vital for him to become a huge star in the West


[/ QUOTE ]

As of a couple years ago he could speak a little bit. I have no idea how much he has learned since then. If he was offered millions of dollars to appear in a US film, I think he would learn pretty fast.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't get your hopes up. Once into adulthood, it's hard for people to learn new languages. Jackie tried to get into the western market for more than 20 years, and for most of it he had plenty of money and backing. Asians are by far the least popular minority in American media, too, so I put any Asian's chances extremely low.

[Lafortezza]

Is Jake Gyllenhall over 30?

[Moneyline]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Can Tony Jaa speak English? I would say its pretty vital for him to become a huge star in the West


[/ QUOTE ]

As of a couple years ago he could speak a little bit. I have no idea how much he has learned since then. If he was offered millions of dollars to appear in a US film, I think he would learn pretty fast.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't get your hopes up. Once into adulthood, it's hard for people to learn new languages. Jackie tried to get into the western market for more than 20 years, and for most of it he had plenty of money and backing. Asians are by far the least popular minority in American media, too, so I put any Asian's chances extremely low.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree that it's hard for adults to learn new languages, but it's far from impossible.

As for Jackie Chan, just because it took him a long time to break into the American market, that doesn't mean he wasn't a gigantic movie star before then. He was already huge in Asia, Australia, and parts of Europe before becoming a household name in the USA. Also, Jackie had to climb the hurdle of being forced to appear in some horrible American movies back in the '80s that didn't allow him to showcase his talents. Even if Jaa is forced to endure the same treatment, he could still achieve superstardom globally without achieving it in America.

Of course, being a big fan of Tony Jaa biases me, but I can't think of anybody other than Statham who has a better shot at becoming a major action star.

[Blarg]

You're basically saying that what didn't work at all for Jackie would work for Tony. Yet Jackie couldn't even make it while hugely rich and an extremelyh well-proven commodity all over the world.