Doing his own stunts for years, Jackie Chan has dislocated his
cheekbone, pelvis and shoulder. He’s also broken his nose,
his head, teeth and ankle.
“The ankle always comes out,” Chan said. “I
have to put it back all the time. I’m used to it.”
Though he’s putting his life on the line to entertain his
fans, it wasn’t until 1998’s “Rush Hour”
that Chan broke into the Hollywood box-office big leagues. Working
seven days a week, he had just finished “The Tuxedo”
late last year before completing “Shanghai Knights” and
“Highbinders” (to be released this fall), not to
mention the fact that he’s going to Bangkok to start shooting
a new “Around the World in 80 Days.” Chan may just
qualify as the hardest-working person in movies.
“If you ask me if I want a holiday, I’d say
yes,” Chan said. “But when you give me a holiday, I
don’t know what to do.”
With the new “Shanghai Knights” in theaters starting
Friday, Chan is at the height of his powers, complete with full
reign over how the elaborate fight sequences are staged.
“Individual choreographed moves are all Jackie,”
said “Shanghai” producer Roger Birnbaum. “The
script says there’s a fight inside a revolving door. Jackie
just invents the stuff. That’s why he’s
amazing.”
But with success and power comes certain caveats. In Asia, Chan
is so big that he controls not only the stunts and fights, but also
direction, writing and soundtrack (he’s a pop star in his
spare time). In addition, Chan’s precious action choreography
is allowed about a month for shooting in Hong Kong, whereas in U.S.
films the schedule usually only permits a day or two.
“There’s room for us to do better than the (other)
American (Jackie Chan) films have,” said
“Shanghai” director David Dobkin. “They’re
really treating Jackie’s work as a co-star in the movie but
not as the central piece of entertainment. I want it to be
something that’s more extended, more dance-like, more
choreographed the way he does in Hong Kong.”
Indeed, Dobkin improvised a “Singin’ in the
Rain” gag which plays off of Chan’s fascination with
umbrellas and Gene Kelley’s dance choreography, which is even
shot with three cameras in wide shot like old musicals. In another
scene with revolving doors, Chan gets to show off his quickness and
imagination with Keystone cops (silent-film-chaser types) in
pursuit. While superfluous to the story, it’s where Chan
shines.
That’s why Chan’s Hong Kong films feature virtuoso
10 to 20-minute-long fights involving every available prop in
sight. These scenes reinvent the visual gags of Harold Lloyd and
Buster Keaton, whose videos Chan has collected over the years. But
U.S. filmmakers have been wary of longer action scenes and
intentionally clip the peacock’s feathers.
“When you go on with these fights too long, the audience
becomes exhausted by it,” Birnbaum said.
And it’s not just a second here or there that have been
cut in the editing process. Dobkin says there are three minutes
more in a library scene, one and a half more against action star
Donnie Yen on a barge, and many more in a wax museum. Yet audiences
need not completely despair, because these deletions will be
featured on the film’s DVD.
These days Chan continues to train himself, doing at least an
hour on a treadmill, if not doing boxing and martial arts at his
leisure. It’s a far cry from doing the 5,000 punches and 500
kicks he was forced to do every day at the Chinese opera school he
studied at for 10 years.
Chan also worries about the Hong Kong film industry, which is
suffering because many of Hong Kong’s children have returned
from studying abroad in the United States and now reject Hong
Kong-style films. To remedy this, Chan started a film school that
attempts to continue the tradition.
“I tried to open a school to teach people how to do
martial arts and film martial arts, how to be a good stunt
coordinator, how to be a good action editor,” Chan said.
In any case, Chan doesn’t seem ready to quit anytime soon.
The only problem may be that Chan has done almost everything
dangerous a stuntman can do.
“I just keep thinking, keep watching, keep
learning,” Chan said. “In the old days, when I traveled
around, (I wanted to do stunts with) buses and cars.”
“I’ve done it before,” Chan added.
“That’s why I keep thinking small tricks, small
details. Now I fight with teacups.”