Jackie Chan: The Last Kick

“I am standing in the sky on the roof of a glass-and-steel office tower in Rotterdam, Holland. There are 21 floors of air between me and the concrete pavement below. I am about to do what I do best. I am about to jump.”

That’s Jackie Chan quoted (movie not mentioned) in the inside front cover of his autobiography I Am Jackie Chan (published in 1998). Of course, as his fans around the world know, Jackie has jumped and done all other death-defying stunts in all of his movies, one of them, in Armour of God (1986), almost sent him to Kingdom Come.

In his book, Jackie (who suffered from brain hemorrhage) recalled, “This movie almost killed me! In a sequence shot in Yugoslavia, I fell from a tree while attempting a routine stunt and landed on some rocks which punctured my skull. I was rushed to the hospital, they did some surgery, and now I have a plastic plug in my head.”

Twelve years after that accident, in 1998, when I first interviewed Jackie in New York for Rush Hour, his first solo Hollywood starrer (after Battle Creek Brawl, his Hollywood debut in 1980, followed by a few more including the two Cannonball Run flicks in quick succession), I asked Jackie if the hole on his head was still there. He took my hand and guided it to the back of his head and sure enough, it was there…like the tender spot on the head of a newly-born baby. For a while, I was afraid that my finger would sink into it.

Since then, I have interviewed Jackie five more times (once in Hong Kong) and always, he was physically expressive, compensating for loss of words by demonstrating what he meant, even if he had to stand on top of a table to do a flying kick. Funny guy, him! Always down-to-earth, accessible, never showing even the slightest sign of air-headedness despite his huge celebrity. To stress a point, he used his hands with the same gracefulness that he did in his action scenes, so beautifully executed that he’s almost like dancing (he was honed on “the art of Chinese Opera” at the China Drama Academy).

That’s why, maybe like his millions of fans around the world, I felt sad when Jackie announced that, Chinese Zodiac, is his last action movie, saying in one presscon, “I’m getting old,” even if, as he turns 59 on April 7 (born in 1954), he’s still as good as he has always been. In the horoscope, Jackie is an Arian and in the Chinese calendar he’s a Horse (no wonder, he’s gifted with a killer kick, hahahaha!!!), a sign of energy, ambition and success.

It’s Jackie himself who produced, wrote, directed and stars in Chinese Zodiac which is a comedy-action-adventure film brought to Filipino fans by Star Cinema (opening nationwide on Wednesday, Jan. 30).

Says Jackie in a press bulletin relayed to Conversations by Star Cinema, “To all the fans in the Philippines. Thank you for supporting me all these years. This film is my Chinese New Year present to all of you. I’ve been preparing this for almost seven years and it took me one year and a half to shoot it.”

Shot in eight cities and five continents, Chinese Zodiac is the story of an adventurer and treasure hunter named JC (Jackie) who travels the world to search for and retrieve all the stolen bronze heads of 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Jackie’s co-stars include Korean heartthrob Kwon Sang-Woo who is well-loved by Filipino fans through his hit Koreanovela starrer Stairway To Heaven.

Said Star Cinema head Malou Santos, “We at Star Cinema are always looking forward for ways to bring new cinema experiences to our Kapamilyas here in the Philippines. We are very happy to share with all of you our latest and last action movie of Jackie Chan. We hope that our audience will appreciate our efforts of providing varied and quality entertainment.”

Ready for Jackie’s last kick?

Here are excerpts of Conversations’ e-mail interview with Jackie, facilitated by Star Cinema, slightly edited but retaining the “Jackie Chan style” of speaking English:

How was it shooting in eight cities and five continents, and doing your own stunts?

“Just a little bit lost because I’ve been preparing this for almost seven years, and spent one year and a half to finish. I traveled to eight cities and five continents with a group, some working every day. And then we were suddenly done and spent every day in the editing room. So many problems going on. And now, the movie is released in different parts of the world. Finally, okay, done.”

You didn’t only write it and direct it and produce it, you also star in it, doing the stunts yourself. How did you do it?

“You still don’t know, you still don’t know! Ahhh, the movie is just like my baby so I have to make sure that the baby is healthy, growing up safe, no sick, because I’m always running around.”

What made you choose Chinese Zodiac as your last action movie?

“I think I am old already and I want to retire. I want to leave a movie that everybody will enjoy. This movie is included in the Guinness World Records as the film with the most number of stunts performed. I am happy for that.”

After Chinese Zodiac, what are your plans for your career and your personal life?

“One day I’m gonna retire. Honestly, I don’t have to hide how old I am; everybody knows. I’m not young anymore. You gotta find some good point to tell the audience that this is the last one, that I should stop. Sometime, long, long time ago, I did not know when to retire…maybe in 10 or 50 years or five. You should know when to retire. I was just looking for the right time…and BAM!!!. Now is the time.”

With your busy schedule, can you find time to relax?

“Yes, I make time for myself. When there is no movie, I stay at home with my family.”

The movie is doing well in some Asian countries. Will it make you change your mind about retiring and do more action films?

“Well, I must admit that while I still have the great stamina to do action movies, I’m also aging like everybody else. As I said, I’m not that young anymore. But I am still thinking possibly I could still do action movies. I am just not keeping my doors closed because I enjoy my work very much.”

Why do you think you continue to attract followers all these years?

“Because what I do is my passion; my passion is to entertain people, and when you are passionate you work hard and people will see that hard work. Entertaining people is hard work. That is why every time they know a Jackie Chan movie is showing they are sure that it is entertaining.”

Any message to Star Cinema for bringing Chinese Zodiac in cinemas all over the Philippines?

”I would like to say thank you to Star Cinema for bringing my movie to the Philippines and to all my fans there.”

Any parting words to your Filipino fans?

“Please see my new movie. It’s a great Chinese New Year present. I believe you will like it, trust me. Salamat po, mga Kapamilya! Mahal ko kayo.”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)