Chan retiring from Hollywood? [Archive]

younggiftedandblack

01-06-2004, 08:56 AM

Chan retiring from Hollywood?

So with the exception of maybe the first "Rush Hour", Jackie Chan's films in the US haven't exactly been very good - in fact it seems rare when even he is praising some of the stuff he's churned out. Still, gossip from Asia this week indicates the action-meister may be pulling out altogether from Hollywood - a rather drastic move. Here's 'Stephen' to explain:

"Jackie Chan, he's leaving Hollywood behind - according to an article in The Standard newspaper. The rag did a story on "New Police Story" - the latest installment in the series, with new character names, new storylines and a new female lead.

During the detailled account of how Chan did a rooftop stunt, it seems Chan said he's coming back to HK to work after the failure of his American pics. Vin Diesel is replacing him in the comedy "The Pacifer", he's opting to leave "Joe's Last Chance" and now Chow Yun Fat has been mentioned as a possibility to replace Chan for "Rush Hour 3", which he recently told Brett Ratner he didn't want to do. In fact Ratner apparenly flew to the set of 'Around the World in 80 days' to try and re-convince him".

Link (http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040106d.php)

younggiftedandblack

01-06-2004, 08:57 AM

Rush Hour 1&2 are his only American movies I liked. I haven't seen the two he did with Owen Wilson however.

bluemonq

01-06-2004, 09:27 AM

shanghai noon was okay, then #2 just went downhill. there are some movies that there should never be a sequel of. but look, the only thing about chan was that he does his own stunts, w/o a lot of wires or nets. then he went and ruined that with "the tuxedo". personally, i never liked chan because of the whole mistress thing. and yes, i do realize that the same thing is true of probably many actors/actresses out there, but all the same i don't like him for that

nonamerasian

01-06-2004, 11:04 AM

kitty

01-06-2004, 11:11 AM

I think Chan realized that as much as he wants to whore himself and his ethnicity for the american public, he'll never be as successful as a white actor.

I hate Jackie Chan.

dragonlord

01-06-2004, 11:22 AM

I heard that he didn't like American movies because he didn't have as much control as in the movies in Asia.

When doing movies here, he is told what to say and what to wear and yadda, yadda, while in Asia he has gained much more say.

He also wasn't happy with the Hollywood-style, choppy editing of the fight scenes. Ugh! Among other things, Hollywood fuckin' sucks when it comes to filming fight scenes.

SunWuKong

01-06-2004, 12:02 PM

i don't see how his American movies are that different from his HK movies, except maybe for the racial jokes. i've read that he said that the process of making an American movie and a HK movie is very different, plus he can probably get a lot more funding in HK. i admire his accomplishments, but his movies are all the same now. plus, if he doesn't retire soon, he's eventually going to kill himself doing what he does.

Martino

01-06-2004, 12:37 PM

I heard that he didn't like American movies because he didn't have as much control as in the movies in Asia.

When doing movies here, he is told what to say and what to wear and yadda, yadda, while in Asia he has gained much more say.

Didn't he say much the same when he first failed to capture the American market in the Eighties?

nonamerasian

01-06-2004, 12:42 PM

Dunno.

mr. x

01-06-2004, 01:17 PM

ugh, remember when he said he was gonna make a indie movie where theres no kungfu only romance?

puh-leeze thats like a jim carrey movie without the laughs (The Majestic anyone?)

bluemonq

01-06-2004, 01:42 PM

well, the majestic wasn't that bad... :shrugs: i liked it. but chan...maybe i've seen too many of his films, but they're really similar.

Blue dice

01-06-2004, 01:44 PM

It's the quality of the script not Chan himself that's the problem. The medallion was ass simply because the plot was lame. Same goes for the Tuxedo and a few other movies he's done in the last 3 years. He needs to pair up with a decent director and stop taking everything that comes his way.

KATANA

01-07-2004, 05:37 PM

Good for him. Now if we could only get John Woo, Jet Li and Chow Yun-Fat out of Hollywood, their movies would be so much better.

mr. x

01-07-2004, 08:21 PM

Good for him. Now if we could only get John Woo, Jet Li and Chow Yun-Fat out of Hollywood, their movies would be so much better.

i hate to say it but its true.

SunWuKong

01-07-2004, 08:32 PM

Good for him. Now if we could only get John Woo, Jet Li and Chow Yun-Fat out of Hollywood, their movies would be so much better.

eh. i never liked Jet Li movies personally.

SunWuKong

01-07-2004, 08:33 PM

Didn't he say much the same when he first failed to capture the American market in the Eighties?

i don't know if he said he would "retire" from Hollywood in the 80s. but he concentrated on getting famous in the rest of Asia when Hollywood gave him the middle finger back then. then he became insanely famous in Japan.

kitty

01-07-2004, 08:36 PM

i like jet li... or i liked him. now i'm not sure what he's doing... but i like how he's doing his own thing.

mr. x

01-07-2004, 09:03 PM

i like jet li... or i liked him. now i'm not sure what he's doing... but i like how he's doing his own thing.

great in Hero, and Cradle 2 tha Grave? gosh, i duno what to say

kitty

01-07-2004, 09:49 PM

great in Hero, and Cradle 2 tha Grave? gosh, i duno what to say

i didn't see hero and... well... cradle 2 the grave was bad. but like i said, he's doing his own thing, and i think that's kinda nice. like, he really likes hip hop music, that's why he does these ones with hip hop artists. i can respect that.

and the one was good if only for the line "I am Yuu Law (sp?) and I am NOBODY's BITCH!!" bwahahaha.

mr. x

01-07-2004, 11:23 PM

i didn't see hero and... well... cradle 2 the grave was bad. but like i said, he's doing his own thing, and i think that's kinda nice. like, he really likes hip hop music, that's why he does these ones with hip hop artists. i can respect that.

and the one was good if only for the line "I am Yuu Law (sp?) and I am NOBODY's BITCH!!" bwahahaha.

bingo. hmm my quote was a lil weird what i meant was Hero was great but the other stuff is iffy. anyway the problem is that its not just that Jet Li and Chow and John Woo's stuff is "not as good" as their HK stuff its that their Hollywood stuff is just downright mediocre. its like they made great chinese food there but they bring it here and its just cold or lukewarm which defeats the whole purpose of coming here in the first place (to impress the "westerners")

tommyhtown

01-07-2004, 11:27 PM

I like Chan in Tuxedo for some reasons. I think he and Jennifer Love Hewitt had a good onscreen chemistry. I like Woo's work on Mission Impossible II. I think it is way better than the first one.

Faithless

01-07-2004, 11:38 PM

I haven't found too much on Chan retiring, except through the gossip mills.

There is this link, though: Lee Hyo-lee May Work With Jackie Chan (http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200401/kt2004010519422244430.htm)

http://photo.hankooki.com/gisaphoto/20040106/sian10082004010614152900106p_1.jpg

TB4000

02-04-2004, 04:46 PM

This is an old thread, but something I have to take back, especially after I saw a documentary on the film business had me thinking about this. (And what I said above wasn't very cool).

One thing it is already difficult for minorities to get representation in the media(films, television shows, what have you)--and when we do, it is tends to be pigeonholing or typecasting.

Jackie seems to be true to himself as an actor, and probably because he is used to 'hands on' Hollywood hasn't done him justice. (I hate Hollywood, btw. Hate it, hate it, hate it).

A co-worker and I were talking about Latinos in Hollywood (thanks to Robert Rodriguez--who somewhat still needs to work on his writing--has put Latin heroes onscreen).

Yeah, there are some strides...but, a long way to go.

Rodriguez has that rep for making large scale movies on small budgets, and I do agree that his screenplays do lack in a few areas, though his direction is spot on. From Dusk till Dawn is still one of my favorites. It's a very difficult thing because once Hollywood finds a niche, they ride it out till the bitter end.

nameless

02-04-2004, 08:11 PM

Chan, Chun, and Li should all leave America, or at least Hollywood. The general public may praise their work, but in HK fans' eyes these guys slowly going down hill. I think they all know this too.

I agree with whoever said that Chan just isn't give enough control. Despite his age, he can still be impressive, but he needs to be behind the camera to make it truly work.

http://photo.hankooki.com/gisaphoto/20040106/sian10082004010614152900106p_1.jpg

Ratner tried to convince him to leave this?! Pffft...

yoMAMA

02-04-2004, 09:54 PM

That's really sad if it's true :(

John0101

02-04-2004, 10:03 PM

Jackie Chan is as American as apple pie. All my white friends know and love him. He made a lot of god aweful movies, but he had some classics, Rush Hour, Drunken Tiger, etc. He even his own cartoon on the WB.

I'm sad to see him go.

"Jackie, Always O.K.!"
- Jackie Chan after a stunt

nonamerasian

02-25-2004, 07:38 PM

The medallion was ass simply because the plot was lame.

It reminded me of Golden Child.

kimpossible

02-25-2004, 07:46 PM

and the one was good if only for the line "I am Yuu Law (sp?) and I am NOBODY's BITCH!!" bwahahaha.

OMG, that was the best line for laughs. I especially liked how he was supposed to be a Taiwanese gov't agent in Cradle, but then you listen to him talk on the phone...

wow, bei fang ren much?

bingo. hmm my quote was a lil weird what i meant was Hero was great but the other stuff is iffy. anyway the problem is that its not just that Jet Li and Chow and John Woo's stuff is "not as good" as their HK stuff its that their Hollywood stuff is just downright mediocre. its like they made great chinese food there but they bring it here and its just cold or lukewarm which defeats the whole purpose of coming here in the first place (to impress the "westerners")

You don't think the mass exodus of HK stars (yeah, I know Jet Li is actually a mainlander) to Hollywood had anything to do with the turnover of HK to the mainland gov't? The timing is rather coincidental.

nameless

02-25-2004, 07:55 PM

kimpossible

02-25-2004, 07:59 PM

Well a lot of people had to choose citizenship (or at least a passport) during turnover, right? I think I just heard it through the grapevine from relatives in Taiwan. It was a while back, not sure who I heard it from.

edit: I'm not attached to this theory by the way. Just something I heard.

SunWuKong

02-26-2004, 02:47 AM

You don't think the mass exodus of HK stars (yeah, I know Jet Li is actually a mainlander) to Hollywood had anything to do with the turnover of HK to the mainland gov't? The timing is rather coincidental.

that has a lot to do with it, but it's not the sole reason. Hollywood is simply a much larger market so naturally once a HK star has conquered HK, s/he would like to try Hollywood if given the chance.

as for immigration, Australia and Canada has long since became more favourable countries than the US to immigrate to, so wanting a place in Hollywood is not necessarily an indication that an actor wants to immigrate to the US, especially since they are rich enough to live in HK but work in Hollywood. i'm not sure what criteria you need to immigrate to Australia from HK, but the main drawing point for Australia is the proximity to HK. as for Canada, it actually allows you to immigrate if you have enough investment money, whereas US immigration laws are much stricter. Vancouver and Toronto also have much bigger overseas HKer communities than any cities the US can ever hope to offer. also, you are exempt from Canadian income taxes if you are a citizen but not a resident in Canada (but you also don't get the Canadian benefits), which makes it perfect for exactly what many who immigrated out of HK want to do - have foreign citizenship as a safety net in case all hell breaks lose in HK because of the mainland government, but still live in HK.

Napoleon Chynamite

02-26-2004, 02:52 AM

I'm completely fine with this. His Hollywood movies were never that great.

I haven't found too much on Chan retiring, except through the gossip mills.

There is this link, though: Lee Hyo-lee May Work With Jackie Chan (http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200401/kt2004010519422244430.htm)

http://photo.hankooki.com/gisaphoto/20040106/sian10082004010614152900106p_1.jpg

Hyolee is also gonna play the love interest supposedly in the Initial D Live Action movie, with Jay Chou as the lead and Edison Chen as some rival racer. I'm not a huge fan of the Anime series, but I think Chou and Chen's roles should be switched. But then again, I'm sure none of these people can act anyway. Hyolee's role will obviously not be very 3-dimensional.

OMG, that was the best line for laughs. I especially liked how he was supposed to be a Taiwanese gov't agent in Cradle, but then you listen to him talk on the phone...

wow, bei fang ren much?

Still more convincing than Mark Dacascos as a Chinese guy. But I know you got a thing for Dacascos ^^

i don't see how his American movies are that different from his HK movies, except maybe for the racial jokes. i've read that he said that the process of making an American movie and a HK movie is very different, plus he can probably get a lot more funding in HK. i admire his accomplishments, but his movies are all the same now. plus, if he doesn't retire soon, he's eventually going to kill himself doing what he does.

In my opinion, maybe it's just the superiority of the HK stunt crew and choreography, but man, perhaps you can attribute this to his old age, but the action sequences (which is why people watch Chan in the first place) in Hollywood pale so greatly to his older stuff back in HK it's not even funny.

PropellerheadCP

02-26-2004, 04:32 AM

Sorry to turn into a fanboy, but I'd love to see the old crew getting together for another movie. I'm talking Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yeun Biao.

I know it's not going to be anything like the days when they made "Project A". Those guys are old now, but damn, it would still be amazing.

Oh and Lee Hyo-lee is smoke'n hot. Whooooo!!! :tongue:

SunWuKong

02-26-2004, 11:08 AM

Hyolee is also gonna play the love interest supposedly in the Initial D Live Action movie, with Jay Chou as the lead and Edison Chen as some rival racer. I'm not a huge fan of the Anime series, but I think Chou and Chen's roles should be switched. But then again, I'm sure none of these people can act anyway.

hmm... i don't think i've ever seen Jay Chou in a movie. i love his music though. but Edison Chen is just a punk.

Hyolee's role will obviously not be very 3-dimensional.

and that is a-ok with me!

In my opinion, maybe it's just the superiority of the HK stunt crew and choreography, but man, perhaps you can attribute this to his old age, but the action sequences (which is why people watch Chan in the first place) in Hollywood pale so greatly to his older stuff back in HK it's not even funny.

i think he actually brings his crew from HK to work on his Hollywood movies.
in my opinion it has more to do with his age and budget differences between Hollywood and HK than anything else.

nameless

02-26-2004, 04:17 PM

kimpossible

02-26-2004, 04:31 PM

as for immigration, Australia and Canada has long since became more favourable countries than the US to immigrate to, so wanting a place in Hollywood is not necessarily an indication that an actor wants to immigrate to the US, especially since they are rich enough to live in HK but work in Hollywood. i'm not sure what criteria you need to immigrate to Australia from HK, but the main drawing point for Australia is the proximity to HK. as for Canada, it actually allows you to immigrate if you have enough investment money, whereas US immigration laws are much stricter. Vancouver and Toronto also have much bigger overseas HKer communities than any cities the US can ever hope to offer. also, you are exempt from Canadian income taxes if you are a citizen but not a resident in Canada (but you also don't get the Canadian benefits), which makes it perfect for exactly what many who immigrated out of HK want to do - have foreign citizenship as a safety net in case all hell breaks lose in HK because of the mainland government, but still live in HK.

I know. Which is why I mentioned the citizenship choice. My understanding is that HK citizens were UK passport holders and had to either go somewhere else where a UK passport was valid for or made long term stay easier (like BC/Canada) or stay in HK and change citizenship or passport to PRC. I didn't say they were trying to become US citizens. At least I don't remember saying that. I'll check again.

edit: ok, reread. i wasn't clear in how i worded it. it actually did make it sound like i meant they were immigrating to the US.

SunWuKong

02-26-2004, 08:01 PM

I know. Which is why I mentioned the citizenship choice. My understanding is that HK citizens were UK passport holders and had to either go somewhere else where a UK passport was valid for or made long term stay easier (like BC/Canada) or stay in HK and change citizenship or passport to PRC. I didn't say they were trying to become US citizens. At least I don't remember saying that. I'll check again.

edit: ok, reread. i wasn't clear in how i worded it. it actually did make it sound like i meant they were immigrating to the US.

well, you are slightly misinformed, i think...
HKers before the hand-over held British Dependent Territories citizenship and passport, and that is different from a British passport. the main difference being that BDT citizens are actually not granted residency in the UK. this is why i like to call BDT citizenship British Colonial citizenship instead... it's the source of much resentment amongst HKers and that's another thread of discussion altogether.

at the hand-over, British Dependent Territories citizenship of HK origin ceased to exist. Chinese citizenship was then granted to HKers of Chinese descent (what happened to HKers of Indian descent, is probably topic for another thread also...). so the BDT passport was made, at least officially speaking, invalid. nevermind the fact that BDT citizens of HK origin were only ever granted residency in HK. basically, there was really never a choice in question of whether or not HKers needed to change citizenship. even if they moved away from HK and retained BDT citizenship, the citizenship itself officially became invalid after hand-over. if they didn't obtain citizenship in a foreign country, they would have effectively became stateless unless they accept Chinese citizenship at the hand-over.

Napoleon Chynamite

02-26-2004, 08:24 PM

I used to think it was his age, too...but that only really accounts for the difference in his early 90's HK films and today's. His recent non-American films are still considerably better than his American films, yet they're only 1-2 years apart...and sometimes within in the same year (e.g. Who Am I and Rush Hour).

Yea seriously fer reals.

SWK: How come Edison is a punk? Then again I don't know the guy very well nor have I watched any of his stuff.

kimpossible

02-26-2004, 08:30 PM

well, you are slightly misinformed, i think...
HKers before the hand-over held British Dependent Territories citizenship and passport, and that is different from a British passport. the main difference being that BDT citizens are actually not granted residency in the UK. this is why i like to call BDT citizenship British Colonial citizenship instead... it's the source of much resentment amongst HKers and that's another thread of discussion altogether.

at the hand-over, British Dependent Territories citizenship of HK origin ceased to exist. Chinese citizenship was then granted to HKers of Chinese descent (what happened to HKers of Indian descent, is probably topic for another thread also...). so the BDT passport was made, at least officially speaking, invalid. nevermind the fact that BDT citizens of HK origin were only ever granted residency in HK. basically, there was really never a choice in question of whether or not HKers needed to change citizenship. even if they moved away from HK and retained BDT citizenship, the citizenship itself officially became invalid after hand-over. if they didn't obtain citizenship in a foreign country, they would have effectively became stateless unless they accept Chinese citizenship at the hand-over.

I'm surprised this never came up before on here. I had to read it twice to keep track of what went where, but I never realized HKers didn't have British passports but the BDT.

Jesus, I feel like I actually learned something today. I even read it out loud to my husband.

SunWuKong

02-27-2004, 03:44 AM

SWK: How come Edison is a punk? Then again I don't know the guy very well nor have I watched any of his stuff.

i don't know. he just is.
but iris partied with him before when she was in HK, so she'd probably know better.

Jesus, I feel like I actually learned something today. I even read it out loud to my husband.

that's YW for you. always edumacating.