And he's a number-one sort of guy: ‘The problem was everybody want to change me. It broke my heart. I lost face. I was a big star in Asia . I went back to my own work. In Hollywood nobody knew me.' They do now. When ‘Rumble in the Bronx ' made more than $10 million in its first weekend in America his name was the talk of the town. The Asian superstar with a cult following in the West was hot: Chan movies were snapped up by distributors: ‘First Strike' and ‘Thunderbolt' by New Line. Chan classics ‘Crime Story' and the masochism triumph ‘Drunken Master 11' by Miramax, ‘The English Patient' company. ‘Times have changed,' said Chris Pula who is the marketing man at New Line who snapped up ‘Rumble in the Bronx ' after it became the biggest moneymaker of all time in Asia . ‘There isn't a need for another action hero in America but Jackie Chan not an American action hero. He's not some seven-foot tall Aryan wall of muscle.' No, he's a 5ft 9ins tall, Oriental wall of muscle.Oh, and he has the genre's andrenalised attitude to tall building and plate glass windows and water-skiing behind hovercrafts in sneakers. What makes the difference is the timing: there is a swagger about Chan, his movies and the film-makers around them. The acrobatic shoot-outs, the slow-motion style, is cinema cool. For the minute. Tarantino, the former video store clerk, spotted the trend early:he was selling other people's version before he manufactured his own which drew generously on the work of the Kong Kings. Flattery, says Jackie Chan who instantly reveals he is new in Hollywood :' In the film world we're all like a big family. We learn from each other. Stallone says to me:” Jackie, when I don't have an idea I just watch your videotapes”. Yeah, he did tell me that. But I copy many American movies. ‘ But not the insurance practices. He choreographs and performs all his stunts and has often put his life on the line ( see sidebar) for the excitement of his audiences who especially enjoy and respect his attention to action sequence detail. ‘ Maybe I'll get hurt but we'll all say: “ But it's a good shot”. ‘ Always anxious to please, he means it:' When other film-makers do stunts they cheat a little.In my film there's an explosion and then we'll jump but others will have them jump before the explosion. It's safer but not as exciting. ‘Now, we have a reputation: we are the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. It's not easy but we don't want to do anything to ruin our image'. Not for him wimps like James Bond. Or at least Pierce Brosnan as 007 in ‘Goldeneye'. ‘ From the first shot in the opening sequence until the actor (Brosnan) opens the door it's a stunt double. Even the shot of him running is doubled -- he wouldn't go to the location. The shots are of the back of the hear or from overhead. This is 007, he should at least run, jump or do something. |
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