Word: stunt
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...Until you see Jaa in action. In a cavernous room on the third floor of a stunt training center in Bangkok, Jaa bobs on the mat like a gymnast lining up a run to the vaulting horse. At the end of the room, a crew member holds aloft a cushion that stands in for a human head. Jaa hurtles down the runway, launches himself like a missile, flips in midair and brings his right foot crashing down on the cushion. The kick sends the cushion?and the unfortunate guy holding it?flying across the room. Jaa lands on his feet...
...Muay Thai Warrior, the stunt man-turned-actor leaps across boiling oil, ballets above an array of tuk tuks and beats up anyone foolish enough to challenge him. The insane inventiveness of the stunts?done without special effects, wirework or apparent concern for Jaa's life and limb?has turned into box-office gold in Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and even France, where the film found a fan and international distributor in action auteur Luc Besson. Besson recut the film and secured a U.S. distribution deal with Magnolia Pictures. Expectations are high that...
...sought out the Thai stunt coordinator and low-budget action director Panna Ritthikrai, who took him on as a prot?g?. He went to a gymnastics college and soon found work as a stunt man in local and international films, including 1997's Mortal Kombat 2. Then he and Ritthikrai started devising their own stunts inspired by muay boran, a more elegant and traditional form of Thai boxing that resembles kung fu. Jaa traveled the countryside talking to the few remaining old masters of muay boran, rediscovering more than 100 long-abandoned moves. Ritthikrai and Jaa filmed the actor's best...
...Foxx would lead the parade. His nailing of Charles' mannerisms (the stutter at the start of a sentence, the reflex smile, the hugging gesture that thanks a crowd for its cheers) might echo Foxx's In Living Color days. But this is more than a stunt. He carves a complex character out of what could have been hagiography. Foxx's performance, like the film, is sympathetic but not sentimental. It is as true as the blues to Charles' pain, as ecstatic as rock 'n' roll to his triumph. It sings, and it swings. --By Richard Corliss
...best [expletive] live act? [Expletive] off." Last month John called a group of Taiwanese paparazzi who ambushed him "rude, vile pigs." And last spring he called the reality show American Idol "racist" after two black contestants were eliminated. The Rocket Man's recent sounding off could be a publicity stunt, or his cheekiness magnified by age and wealth--or an audition for Andy Rooney's spot on 60 Minutes...