By Christina Radish

Crystal Liu & Jackie Chan at the press interviews for "The Forbidden Kingdom" held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif. on April 11, 2008.

While hunting down bootleg kung-fu DVDs in a Chinatown pawnshop, Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) makes an extraordinary discovery that sends him hurtling back in time. There, Jason must free the fabled warrior known as the Monkey King, who has been imprisoned for more than 500 years by the powerful Jade War Lord (Collin Chou). Jason is quickly joined on his quest by wise kung-fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan) and a band of misfit warriors, including Silent Monk (Jet Li) and Golden Sparrow (Crystal Liu). Learning the true rules of kung-fu is the only way that Jason can hope to succeed, and find a way to get back home.

Hong Kong icon Jackie Chan recently spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about finally working onscreen with fellow martial arts expert Jet Li.

MediaBlvd Magazine> Even though you can be very critical of your own work, are you pleased with the way this film has turned out? Is it as you imagined it?

Jackie Chan> Every time I make an American film, I just trust the American director and American writer. Myself, I would never make this kind of film. For me, these kinds of films are ridiculous. They don’t make sense. But American audiences are more interested in this kind of movie.

MediaBlvd> Which part didn’t make sense to you?

Jackie> The whole thing. But at the end, it’s for the children. It’s a fantasy fairy tale. Otherwise, I wouldn’t make this movie. I know that American audiences will like it. So, that’s why Jet Li and I agreed to make this movie. Now, I’m hearing so many good things about it, but I still worry, just like with Rush Hour 1. After I finished Rush Hour 1, I said, “My career is finished! I’ll go back to Asia, and that’s it.” Then it was a big hit, so we made Rush Hour 2. Now, whenever an American writer or director comes to present a script to me for the American market, I read it.

MediaBlvd> Now that you’re in your 50's, what kind of adjustments have you had to make with your martial arts?

Jackie> In the last five or six years, I have changed my style. Right after Around the World in 80 Days, I went back to Hong Kong to make a new Police Story. After that, I did The Myth, Rob-B-Hood, Rush Hour 3 and The Forbidden Kingdom. Right after The Forbidden Kingdom, I finished a movie called The Shinjuku Incident. It’s just 1% action with heavy, heavy drama. The next film will have big action. Then, maybe I’ll do a love story. I want to change. I want to be a real actor. I don’t want to only do action. Jackie Chan is a myth. I am still surviving now, after more than 30 years. I am the only one. So that is why I have to keep changing.

MediaBlvd> Can you talk about working in the various locations for this film?

Jackie> For the last 10 years, I’ve been working in China, traveling around. With The Myth, we traveled to so many different locations. So for me, it was nothing.

MediaBlvd> Did the wig that you wear in the film cause any problems for you, while you were shooting?

Jackie> Yes, especially when it was so hot in the desert. It was so itchy. A young girl is probably used to it. I started to twirl my hair with my finger. But, the make-up for when I played the old man was harder. I wanted to kill the director. For five days, I would get a phone call in the morning and I would have to be in make-up until 12:30 pm. After lunch, we would do the first shot. After two shots, we would wrap. I said, “No, shoot more!” Then, I would take off all the make-up for two hours. It would take almost 11 hours in make-up.

MediaBlvd> You started off as a martial arts student, and now you’re a master. How does that feel?

Jackie> I just don’t believe that I’m becoming a master. Then I realize, “Wow, Drunken Monkey was 30 years ago.” My master has already passed away. So now, I am the master. That feels funny. But, what can you do? That’s life.                                           

MediaBlvd> Since you’d thought about working together before, what was the first movie you wanted to make with Jet Li?

Jackie> Fifteen years ago, I wrote a script with him and the script was very interesting. I was the bad good guy and he was the cop. He had to catch me, following me around from Russia, all the way back to Beijing. Something happens, and even the police are looking for Jet Li. We cannot take a plane, we cannot take a train, we cannot take anything. We have no transportation. We had to walk on the mountains and cross the river. There was a lot of comedy going on, lots of travel and lots of great action. 

MediaBlvd> What happened to that project?

Jackie> When I presented the script to an American writer, he didn’t like it. The company spent another million for him to rewrite the script. After he wrote the script, I didn’t like it. He wrote the script about two brothers. Somehow I didn’t know he was my brother, and then somehow I know he’s my brother. The scriptwriter just wanted money. That is why it didn’t happen. Every time I see Jet, I say, “Let’s do this,” and he says, “Yeah, let’s do it!” And then, nothing.

MediaBlvd> What was it like to do the action sequences with Jet Li?

Jackie> The first day we were on the set, (action choreographer) Woo-Ping Yuen and the stunt coordinators had choreographed an action sequence for us. Fighting with him was very, very comfortable. I think because I’m good, it made him comfortable.

MediaBlvd> Was it safer to do something like Kung Fu Panda, since it’s animated?

Jackie> Yes. When you make a Hollywood film, they have a Safety Captain and insurance people on the set. They have to check first, before you can do anything. They say, “Don’t do it! Lemme check and make sure everything is safe.” I am just really happy they are making movies about Chinese culture, like Mulan, The Forbidden Kingdom and Kung Fu Panda. Whenever Western people make anything, we know about it. We know Superman, Spider-Man and King Arthur. But whenever we try to make something about Chinese culture overseas, nobody knows about it in America. When we make some very famous Chinese stories, nobody in America knows about them. Disney made Mulan, so now the whole world knows about Mulan. So, we need a famous American director or famous studio to help us make some movies about traditional Chinese culture. Then, more people will understand China. The more people that understand China, the more they will have an interest in China and will come to China to visit us. I am a tourist ambassador.

MediaBlvd> Will you be in Beijing for the Olympics? How would you like people to be able to see them?

Jackie> I am the Olympic Ambassador. I always promote the Olympics. The Olympics is the Olympics. You cannot mix it with politics. For me, the Olympics is love, peace and unity. Every country, when they have the Olympics, has a lot of people come out as opposed to it. This year, everyone is just concentrated on China. It doesn’t just happen in China, it happens everywhere. They are doing it for no reason. They just want to show up on TV. They know that if they can get the torch, then they can go on the TV news. They misunderstand.