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Jackie Chan is one of the most popular actors in the history of global cinema, particularly one who doesn’t belong to Hollywood. The Hong Kong actor, best known for his action comedies, has straddled both Asian cinema and Hollywood for decades. However, he now feels it’s “very difficult” to make a good movie in Hollywood anymore.
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“I think the old movies are better than today,” said Chan, adding, “Right now, a lot of big studios, they’re not filmmakers, they’re business guys. They invest 40 million and think, ‘How can I get it back?’ And you can’t go over. It’s very difficult to make a good movie now.” Chan was speaking at an event in front of live audience at Locarno.
Chan, 71, last appeared in the Hollywood film, Karate Kid: Legends. Jonathan Entwistle’s martial arts drama, which released in cinemas earlier this year, is the sixth instalment in the Karate Kid franchise, which kicked off with Harald Zwart’s The Karate Kid, starring Chan alongside Jaden Smith. Chan plays Mr. Han, a Kung Fu master who mentors his young protégé.
At the Locarno event, Chan revealed this isn’t the first time he’s gotten disillusioned with Hollywood. He admitted that back in the early 2000s, he was contemplating giving up on Hollywood because he couldn’t connect with the American audience and wasn’t keen on doing the scripts he was being offered. However, his last-gasp effort turned out to be a franchise-spawning blockbuster.
“Rush Hour. It was the last try. If it doesn’t succeed, then I finish,” Chan said, adding, “I think Rush Hour changed the culture.” Chan, who said he thinks of himself as “a cross-cultural bridge between the US and China,” reveals the first Rush Hour film wasn’t a logistical cakewalk either, but they managed to shine through the budget constraints and restricted space to perform action sequences.
Rush Hour, a buddy action comedy franchise directed by Brett Ratner, started in 1998. It revolves around Hong Kong Police Force officer Chief Inspector Lee (Chan) and Los Angeles Police Department detective James Carter (Chris Tucker), who go on various missions in both Hong Kong and Los Angeles to thwart lethal criminals.
The box office success of the first instalment was followed by that of Rush Hour 2 in 2001 and Rush Hour 3 in 2006. A fourth instalment is in production now, after years of delay. While Chan and Tucker will be seen reprising their roles, Ratner is unlikely to return as the director following multiple allegations of sexual conduct by several female actors against him during the 2018 Me Too movement.
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Back in 2014, Chan had expressed his reservations against developing Rush Hour 4, stating that he’d be willing to come on board only if the writing is upto the mark. “I don’t want to do a rubbish script just because they want to make the movie,” Chan had stated then.
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