FACE-OFF: Jackie vs Jet

HONG KONG — The team-up is long overdue. It comes as a puzzling surprise because the two action superstars made a name in the same industry before conquering Hollywood — and the world.

Together for the first time in a movie, The Forbidden Kingdom, a $78-M potential blockbuster, Jackie Chan and Jet Li explained why it took this long during a press conference in this city, conducted in Cantonese (with an interpreter for English-speaking journalists), with The STAR the only Philippine newspaper represented.

“I was attracted to The Forbidden Kingdom because Jet would be in it, “ said Jackie, who turned 54 last April 7. “ I have always wanted to do a movie with Jet but the right material didn’t come...until now. For 10 years, I’ve been looking forward to working with Jet who is one of the people whom I truly admire. Other stars I want to work with are Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro before I retire from this business. Working with Jet has been great fun!”

Nodding in agreement, Jet said, “Of course, I am very delighted to be working with Jackie who is my good friend. Working with him is a great opportunity for me. Given a chance, I would love to work with him again.”

The synopsis: American teenager Jason, who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung fu classics, finds an antique Chinese staff in a pawnshop. It’s the legendary stick weapon of the Monkey King, the Chinese sage and warrior. With the precious find in hand, Jason unexpectedly finds himself transported back to ancient China. There, he meets Lu Yan (the drunken kung fu master), the Silent Monk (who’s enigmatic and skillful) and Golden Sparrow (a vengeance-bent kung fu beauty) who lead him on his quest to return the staff to its rightful owner, the Monkey King who is imprisoned in a stone by the evil Jade Warlord for 500 years. Along the way, while attempting to outmaneuver scores of Jade Warriors, Cult Killers and Ni Chang the deadly White Hair Demoness, Jason learns about honor, loyalty and friendship, and the true meaning of kung fu, and thus frees himself.

As mentioned in an earlier story, The Forbidden Kingdom is an East-West collaboration, produced by Emperor Motion Pictures and released by Viva Films International in the Philippines. Besides Jackie (as Lu Yan the drunken master) and Jet (as both the Monkey King and the Silent Monk), it also stars American actor Michael Angarano as Jason, and Chinese actors Liu Yifei (as the Golden Sparrow), Li Bingbing (as the White Hair Demoness Ni Chang) and Collin Chou (as the evil Jade Warrior).

Directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King, etc.), an American, from a screenplay by John Fusco (Young Guns I and II, etc.), also an American, The Forbidden Kingdom is produced by a mixed Chinese-American team: Casey Silver (American), producer; Ryan Kavanaugh (American), executive producer; Raffaella De Laurentiis (American, daughter of Dino De Laurentiis and Silvana Mangano), executive producer; Wang Zhongjun (Chinese), executive producer; and Wang Zhonglei (Chinese), associate executive producer.

The movie’s stars and producers, together with the behind-the-camera talents, also a mix of Chinese and Americans, were all present at the presscon held at the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt, kicked off by an exhibition by kiddie kung fu artists.

Commented Li Bingbing, “This is a film which has incorporated a Western point of view to traditional Chinese mythology and culture.”

How The Forbidden Kingdom came to be is in itself like Jason’s dream-to-reality journey.

Screenwriter Fusco, who has an unwavering interest in martial arts and its philosophy, conceptualized the movie as early as five years ago as a bedtime story for his young son who is also a fan of kung fu movies. Producer Silver liked the idea. The casting followed. Silver only had two actors in mind as leads: Jackie and Jet. He got in touch with Jet who is based in Southern California and gave him a copy of the script. Jet said yes without any second thoughts. Silver recalled that he had to fly to Hong Kong to talk to Jackie who readily also said yes. It’s a casting coup by Silver who also scored the feat of having the entire film shot in China.

Actually, Jackie and Jet almost starred together in a movie in 1993 and then in 2000.

Said Jet, “I have made a lot of violent movies. I think it’s time for me to do a movie which my own children and those of other people can enjoy. I did this movie for my two girls.”

On the set, the two actors felt as if they had been working together for a long time.

“I have to practise when working with other people,” Jackie confessed. “With Jet, it’s different. All we did was look at each other, as if to say, ‘Let’s just do it!’ Maybe we were trying to test each other. I don’t know. Maybe Jet wanted to find out how fast I am and maybe I wanted to see how good he is. We did our first two takes so fast that everybody was telling us to slow down. So we did. Otherwise, the cameraman would have put the camera speed slower.”

The fight scenes were done in a breeze. Easy does it.

Continued Jackie, “With other people, it takes 10 to 15 takes. With Jet and me, only three to five takes. All I did was tell Jet that I would do a few strokes and let him know my rhythm. And then he just reacts with his strokes. The kind of chemistry that Jet and I have is the same as the chemistry I have with Samo Hung and Yuen Biao.”

Director Minkoff made sure that the film would be fun and enjoyable for the entire family.

“People have been taking martial-arts films too seriously,” he said. “So this film is something that everyone can enjoy — kids, teenagers, parents and even grandparents.
According to executive producer De Laurentiis, putting together Jackie and Jet in a movie is already special, something that might take a long time to duplicate.

“Being both a martial arts film and a contemporary  American film makes The Forbidden Kingdom unlike any martial arts film. All we want to do is make a good movie — a fun, good movie that will appeal to both the East and the West. I think we have done it.”

Watch the movie and you will think so, too.

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