Rush Hour 3

[Ian_Lee]

"Rush Hour 3" finally starts filming next year. Here is the deal:

(1) Chris Tucker : US$20 million + 20% gross

(2) Jackie Chan: US$15 million + 15% gross + China/HK distribution right

(3) Director Brad Ratner: US$5 million + 5% gross

(4) script writer (can't remember name): seven figures

New Line Cinema is pouring US$120 million into film production but already forecasted to make big profit out of it (Rush Hour and its sequel made over US$600 million worldwide).

But why does Chris Tucker get more pay than Jackie Chan?

[bhchao]

Hmm...why is Jackie Chan making another Rush Hour film if he says it is his least enjoyable experience?

LA was the locale for Rush Hour. Hong Kong was the locale for Rush Hour 2. What will be the locale for Rush Hour 3?

[Ian_Lee]

Bhchao:

Very simple. Money talks. Jackie Chan is 51 years old. Where on earth can he find somebody else to pay him $20-$25 million (salary+bonus) to make a physically undemanding crappy movie?

By the way, British Premier Tony Blair just revealed yesterday that he is the No.1 fan of Jackie Chan and his favorite movie is "Rush Hour":http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/articles/21017257?source=Evening%20Standard

See. Even politicians like crappy movie.

[aeon]

Chris Tucker is probably a bigger name in the US, and the film will be pitched primarily at a US audience.

Once Jackie Chan has taken his profit from the China/HK distribution he will probably end up with the bigger take anyway. Then again, if the bootleggers have anything to do with it, maybe the production company was wise to sell off the China rights so easily...

[Ian_Lee]

Actually after the two "Rush Hour" films, Chris Tucker has made no other films since 2001.

I guess other than partnering with Jackie Chan, Tucker can't make any films.

[xiaojiang216]

The scriptwriter for Rush Hour 3 is Jeff Nathanson. He is the same guy who wrote the script for Rush Hour 2.

Did you guys know this?? But the original Rush Hour script was all about the Korean consul? The plot was the same, but all of the characters that are Chinese in the movie were originally written as being Korean.

Imagine how much different the films would be!

By the way, if the script didn't change, who would be some Korean action stars that might have taken some of the parts? I don't know of many Korean stars...

But I am glad that Jackie Chan has done these movies! They're very good.

[Sun Wukong]

I never expected that there would be a Rush Hour 3, but this is good news I guess. Seeing the sequel of the first one was a blast.

What will be the locale for Rush Hour 3?

I'll guessing and say New York, since I remember from the last film that Li wanted to see Madison Square Garden and that is in New York.

[Lu]

Ian Lee: Or he has made enough money by now and doesn't need to make many movies anymore (but then one wonders why he would make a part 3).

[Ian_Lee]

Actually Jackie Chan clarified yesterday that he also got US$20 million -- the same as what Tucker got.

That would put him in the same league of Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis.

But I believe Jackie got the most only from the Rush Hour Series. He probably got much less from other films like "Shanghai......." since others were not blockbusters as this one was.

[bhchao]

A way for movies starring Asian actors like Jackie Chan to get the attention (or box office $) of Western audiences is to merge aspects of "East" and "West" together.

Crouching Tiger did that perfectly by mixing Chinese philosophy, thought, and subtlety with Western forms of outward expression.

A reason why Rush Hour was a success is because of the cultural misunderstandings or gaffes that Chan and Tucker committed.

Without Chan to feed off his humor, Tucker would have no one else to attain the chemistry needed to make a successful, enjoyable movie. And without Tucker in Rush Hour, Jackie Chan would lose the combo of East and West needed to appeal to Western audiences.

[Lu]

Without Chan to feed off his humor, Tucker would have no one else to attain the chemistry needed to make a successful, enjoyable movie. And without Tucker in Rush Hour, Jackie Chan would lose the combo of East and West needed to appeal to Western audiences.

But Chris Tucker has made several movies without Jackie Chan, and as I recall they had some success as well (whether they were enjoyable is a matter of taste). And when I watched Rush Hour 1 I thought Tucker was totally annoying, but I was an immidiate fan of Chan (and that was before I started studying Chinese and liking just about everything about China).

And how about Jet Li then? Despite the Chinese vs Western elements in his western-made movies they were not successfull (I suppose that was because they basically all suck as movies). And then in Unleashed it is for once not about Ch vs W, and that was a good movie. I don't know if it was any more successfull, but it can hardly have had less success than previous movies.

[Ian_Lee]

Jackie also revealed that Rush Hour 3 will be filmed in NYC and Dubai.

It seems Jet Li has given up Hollywood (but actually he made more movies in Hollywood than Jackie did). The most successful Hollywood movie that Li has made should be "Romeo must die" which grossed US$50 million+.

Besides "Rush Hour" series, Jackie's best Hollywood films are the "Shanghai...." series that grossed also about US$50 million+.

Basically there is a hardcore Kung Fu movie fan base in US which can support a $50 million+ Box Office. Tarantino's "Kill Bills" also got a box office in that range. And Zhang Yimou's "Hero" was also around that range.

Of course, if the movie has been specially made which catered to wider American audience, i.e. CTHD, then it could gross much more.

US$50 million is an acceptable box office. Moreover, it generally is more profitable than other genres because:

(1) They are low-budget;

(2) They have worldwide box office guarantee;

(3) They can sell patent to video game.

Lately Chow Yun Fat is not tired of Hollywood and has got a role in the sequel of "Pirates of Carribean".

[bhchao]

Lu, the "East-West" formula is actually quite complex.

It takes a veteran star like Jackie Chan or a Western-educated filmmaker like Ang Lee to pull it off. Chan grew up in Hong Kong, a place where East meets West. Although his English is not perfect and speaks English with a Cantonese accent, he can communicate with Western audiences in a way that they can connect with.

I was watching the Jay Leno show once with Chan as the guest. The two were talking about the filming of Rush Hour 2 in Hong Kong. Leno asked Jackie Chan, "How can Chris Tucker get around in Hong Kong? Do many people there understand English?" Chan replied, "Most people in Hong Kong understand English, but they don't understand Chris Tucker's English." The audience immediately bursted with laughter.

Ang Lee has made a few English-language films himself. He went to school in the US and even attended the film school at NYU. So he knows the mindset of Western audiences and knows how to make films that cater to their interest.

One time I was discussing CTHD with a well-educated Hispanic lady. She said that she enjoyed CTHD despite having to read the subtitles. American audiences in general do not like to read subtitles in a foreign film. Yet CTHD became the highest grossing foreign film ever.

IMHO, the films of Jet Li are not really "East-West". He cannot communicate with foreign audiences in a way that will allow him to connect with them like Jackie Chan. I think his temperament is a little too serious to successfully pull it off. You can imagine Jackie Chan with Chris Tucker in a film, but never Jet Li with Chris Tucker.

[Lu]

Jackie Chan makes comedies, in the west at least. Not sure if that's also what he makes in HK. Jet Li does not make comedies, not in China and not in the west. He should never ever be in a movie with Chris Tucker, he should play with other serious actors. It would be just as big a mistake to make Li act in a comedy as it would be to make Chan play in a serious movie.

OK so maybe what Li acts in are not East-West movies but just Western movies with a Chinese in it. But I'm not sure what you mean by 'communicating with the audience'. Could you explain that?

I still don't get what it is with CTHD. It was the first Chinese(-style) martial arts movie I ever saw, and to me it was such a very Chinese movie. And then it turns out the Chinese don't like it one bit and think it's a sellout, a Western movie. I guess the day I understand why it is Western and not Chinese will be the day I really understand Chinese culture.

[skylee]

And then it turns out the Chinese don't like it one bit and think it's a sellout, a Western movie.

I don't understand why people say that either.

[bhchao]

CTHD was a collaboration between actors and filmmakers from Hong Kong and Taiwan, with the film shot on mainland. Even the veteran actress Cheng Pei-Pei joined the cast.

I cannot see why the film would be called Western. The themes in CTHD; like loyalty, devotion, duty, and controlling one's emotions; are inherently Chinese. The title of the film comes from a Chinese proverb that says "learn to hide your strength from others".

Apparently the film did not strike a chord with mainland audiences because they did not like the flying around.

CTHD had one element that transcends across both East and West: 愛. The two main characters in the movie repressed showing their feelings for each other until the very end, because they both had a duty to accomplish despite the subtleties in their relationship.

You're right that Jackie Chan should never play in a serious movie like CTHD. Ang Lee said himself that Jackie Chan is not the type who would fit into the role Chow Yun-Fat played. Ang Lee's first choice for the role was Jet Li. But after seeing how Chow Yun-fat carried himself in the movie with such elegance and grace, cool, magnanimity (like a father figure), I cannot imagine Jet Li playing the role as successfully as Chow.

Try imagining Jet Li profess his love to Michelle Yeoh at the end after being struck by a poison dart. No one can do it as gently, as romantically like a ladies' man without losing his masculinity as Chow Yun-Fat.

[Ian_Lee]

Though Jet Li hardly made any comedies, the one that he had a role in were hilariously funny.

I recalled a movie by Jet Li as Huang Fei Hong (not the series produced by Tsui Hark) which he had to tackle his students whom liked to steal pigs and went to whorehouse.

Li was still poker face but since all the other actors/actresses were comedians, it made Li more outstanding in the movie.

[Outofin]

No one can do it as gently, as romantically like a ladies' man without losing his masculinity as Chow Yun-Fat.

I happened to think about the movie a couple of days ago. Yes, the ending is heart-breaking. It would seem very funny if they put Jet Li into the picture.

I think Michelle Yeoh even out-performed Chow. Obviously I didn't comprehend it when the first time I saw the movie.

Regarding Jet Li's comedies, I think the one he played Fang Shiyu is pretty funny. Not him. But his mother was hilarious.

[skylee]

But his mother was hilarious.

That is 蕭芳芳.

[Lu]

I cannot see why the film would be called Western. The themes in CTHD; like loyalty, devotion, duty, and controlling one's emotions; are inherently Chinese. The title of the film comes from a Chinese proverb that says "learn to hide your strength from others".

CTHD had one element that transcends across both East and West: 愛. The two main characters in the movie repressed showing their feelings for each other until the very end, because they both had a duty to accomplish despite the subtleties in their relationship.

I totally agree. All looks very Chinese to me.

Apparently the film did not strike a chord with mainland audiences because they did not like the flying around.

But isn't that, too, very Chinese? Western movies never have that, it was much stranger to western audiences than it can have been to Chinese. Many HK movies have the flying around, don't Mainland audiences like those movies either? And isn't Stephen Chou very popular on the Mainland? He flies around excessively. But he makes comedies, maybe that makes a difference.