ROTTEN TOMATOES: Peter Jackson to Direct Jet Li/Jackie Chan Pic? Comments

Peter Jackson to Direct Jet Li/Jackie Chan Pic?

by Jen Yamato | August 14, 2006

Summary

As if the thought of Jet Li and Jackie Chan starring in a film together isn't enough to get us excited, rumor has it that the pic might be helmed by one of the biggest directors around. How big? Peter Jackson big! Back to Article

(1-41 of 41 posts) | Reply

ItemNine writes:
on Aug 14 2006 02:42 PM

"....epic tale about a modern day martial artist who travels back in time and encounters the Monkey King."

I'm sold.

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Azlam Orlandu writes:
on Aug 14 2006 02:47 PM

Yeah I'm there too. I love Jet and I've always been entertained by Chan. Peter Jackson being in the mix sounds too good to be true, but you never know.

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sr78 writes:
on Aug 14 2006 02:51 PM

Jackson should start working on The Hobbit before McKellen buys the farm. When he's done doing that, he can make weird little movies about time machines and monkey kings.

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Ciaranmv writes:
on Aug 14 2006 02:58 PM

In reply to this comment (#842097)
I agree, but KING KONG was great in that it proved that Peter Jackson was a great director, not just lucky like Lucas was with the first three "Star Wars" movies. They better hurry up with the Hobbit because they have to worry about not only Ian McKellan, but Ian Holm, too!

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Zen Bullet writes:
on Aug 14 2006 03:14 PM

Yeah. I don't think so.

That news is pulling my leg so hard it's comming out of the socket.

If I'm wrong, then the world just became a much stranger place.

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SIRxxxTMG writes:
on Aug 14 2006 03:36 PM

Oh my, this news gets me excited, but at the same time nervous. The idea of a Jackie Chain/Jet Li movie directed by no other than the Peter Jackson sounds great, but whats this about time travelin' monkey kings? Oh well, my hype is already sky high due to this somewhat odd (and rumored) collaboration.

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dracus writes:
on Aug 14 2006 04:03 PM

I agree; Jackson needs to get on with The Hobbit first. As for Ian Holm, I don't think he's going to play Bilbo Baggins anyway. I watched all three commentary versions of the LOTR's movies last week (Hey, it was raining LOL) and in one of them (I forget which movie it was) Jackson said that in the prologue scene where you see Bilbo finding the ring inside the cave, he was going to have Elijah Wood play young Bilbo in that scene instead of Ian Holm, but changed his mind because he thought it would confuse the viewers if they saw Elijah playing a younger Bilbo as well as Frodo. My bet is that when Jackson finally films The Hobbit, he will have Elijah Wood play Bilbo because he's supposed to be 50 years younger than he is in The Fellowship.

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The Senhman writes:
on Aug 14 2006 04:59 PM

In reply to this comment (#842097)
"Journey to the West" is more fantasy than sci-fi. The sci-fi element is probably there just to get the characters into the fantasy world. This is probably why Peter Jackson's name is being thrown into the mix. Steven Spielberg had expressed interest in an adaptation himself recently when he visited Shanghai, but I'm not sure if it's the same movie.

"Journey to the West" is one of the most adapted folk legends in Asia. Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) did two himself in the 90's. A TV series from Japan was being promoted in this year's Cannes Film Festival.

If this rumor is true, the fantastical world of "Journey to the West" will definitely be more vividly realized by Peter Jackson than previous adaptations.

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knowingtoast85 writes:
on Aug 14 2006 05:26 PM

I've come around. It's fun to read rt news posts based totally off of rumors from anonymous insiders. It lets me slip comfortably into a world so unlike my own.

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The Senhman writes:
on Aug 14 2006 05:53 PM

In reply to this comment (#842103)
Rumors from anonymous insiders are part of the fun ;)

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lavatory love machine writes:
on Aug 14 2006 07:36 PM

peter jackson and jet li sounds great, but jackie chan? umm, he's no on the same level (thi8nk the smoking)

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Le Fox writes:
on Aug 14 2006 08:09 PM

I thought Jet Li was done with martial art??

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The Senhman writes:
on Aug 14 2006 08:41 PM

In reply to this comment (#842106)
No, only martial arts epics about martial arts masters - like "The Tai-Chi Master," for example.

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TheIceGhost writes:
on Aug 14 2006 09:04 PM

I heard somethin' about Jackie not wanting to do anymore 'violent' movies due to being a 'role-model'...don't think this film is going to exactly put him on the right track, but it sounds pretty awesome regardless.

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DjMovieGoer writes:
on Aug 14 2006 09:12 PM

jackie is getting old, he just cant be drunken master anymore. Hes too beat. Gotta admire the guy.

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nogard64 writes:
on Aug 14 2006 11:02 PM

[b]how do they sell this???[/b]
how would Western audience buy into this? I dont think any western person knows the story of the monkey king. I really dont see how this will sell and be successful in the west, in the east thats a whole other story! The Monkey king is like Batman in the US.

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insanemansam5 writes:
on Aug 14 2006 11:20 PM

In reply to this comment (#842110)
I think western audiences know Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Peter Jackson besides if it is a good story I don't think how much audiences know about it in advance is necessarily important. If Kurasawa could make successful adaptations of something as adherently culturally and linguistically Engish as Shakespeare I don't see why Jackson can't do this.

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Sibelius writes:
on Aug 15 2006 12:09 AM

Rubbish

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eastern2western writes:
on Aug 15 2006 12:34 AM

[b]It is a rumor.[/b]
I do not think this real. First thing is that Jorney to the West is a very asian story and it is taught to almost every asian kid since kindergarden. According to the rumor, producers want to make a movie about journey to the west for the english speaking audience. That just sounds very contradictory to be because most western audience probably have never heard of journey to the west. Another part of this story that does not make any sense is hiring Peter Jackson to direct it. I do not know Jackson very well but I know for sure that he is an australian and he probably has never heared of the story of journey. If he mess up the most famouse fantasy story in asia, every chino (there is alot of them) would probably want to lynch the white boy. I personally would because the story is deeply rooted in my child hood memory.
2nd problem with this peter jackson is directing it. I saw all of the lotr movies and king kong and I think the guy is a buffon. In the lotr movies, he drags every thing to point of infinity and only knows how to repeat the same old shots of the digital armies. After success of lotr, he went on and made the same mistake with king kong and turned a simple movie into a 4 hr butt numbing experience.
3rd problem is that jet li and jackie chan are going to speak english in this movie. Jorney to the west is a very chinese story and translating it into english is going to lose a lot of its flavor in the language. In addition, both actors are not very good at acting in english and it is going to be more problematic for them to carry a whole movie by themselves. Even speaking their own language, both actors are still not very good and they are only good at action.
The final point you guys have to understand is that action stars have a very limited screen career. After reaching certain age, it is very hard for them repeat the same old stuff they did when there were youger. In my own personal opinion, Jackie and Jet have hitted their career plateau when they were in Hong Kong already. For Jackie Chan, the movie that represents his best work has to be Drunken Master II. For Jet Li, the mvies that represent his best work are Wong Fei Hong series and Fist of Legend.
Final note, a lot of you people in here should embrace the future and let go of the past. I always see you guys making statements like jackie can not make a movie like what he use too or jet li is very good when he was in fist of legend. People, lets face it, actors are just humans like you and I and they do get old and accumulate injuries. As years and injuries add together, they are going to become less agile and lose flexibility.

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The Senhman writes:
on Aug 15 2006 12:54 AM

In reply to this comment (#842113)
While it may be true that some action stars have limited careers (Van Damme, Seagal), Jackie Chan is the rare exception. The guy has been the box office king in Hong Kong for more than two decades. Can you name another action star with that kind of draw in their own country for that long (well, technically, HK is not a country, but...)? Til this day, he's still one of the top draws in Asia.

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The Senhman writes:
on Aug 15 2006 12:57 AM

In reply to this comment (#842112)
Yeah, like the article said, it's just a rumor. But it's not completely out of line, especially since Steven Spielberg had recently expressed interest in adapting the same source material.

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inessalenin writes:
on Aug 15 2006 02:01 AM

In my opinion, it's a ridiculous missions!

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The Paki Don writes:
on Aug 15 2006 02:50 AM

I guess it all comes down to... Who Would Jesus Want To Direct ?
And the answer is... Paul W. S. Anderson.

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Thundaar writes:
on Aug 15 2006 05:54 AM

Monkey King? So it is Jackie Chan vs. King Kong?

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eastern2western writes:
on Aug 15 2006 07:26 AM

[b]the only thing I care about[/b]
If the rumor has any truth in it, I care more about what the production team is going to made up of than anything else. Stars are nothing without their behind-the-scene workers. Both Li and Chan made their best movies Hong Kong because they were working with the best production team the Chinese movie industry could offer. Once they transfer to America, both actors made their worst films in their career because they were working with novice actors, 2nd rate production team and foreign environments.
Yes, it is true that Peter Jackson is probably god comparing to the directors both actors had to work with, but he is just not right for the job. However, if he knows a lot about journey to the west and assembles a good production, then there is a chance that he might make one good movie.
One final note, NBC broadcasted a white-boy version of Journey to the west several years and it was titled the Lost Kindom. You guys can dig it up if you want. I remeber the main star is the actor who played will in will and grace. I saw part of the show when it was aired and I almost threw up because it was beyond bad. How bad was it? Part of the story involves the female Goddess Guan Yi falls in love with the white boy and does karate kicks on some monsters. You will know exactly what I am talking about when you get a chance to check it out. The one great thing about the production is the special effects because they are much better than anything the chinese entertainment industry could produce. Everything else is vomit inducing.

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jeremyd4 writes:
on Aug 15 2006 08:25 AM

Peter Jackson is a New Zealander not an Australian.... Just thought I'd point that out.

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The Paki Don writes:
on Aug 15 2006 08:47 AM

In reply to this comment (#842119)
You're referring to Thomas Gibson (Greg) from "Dharma & Greg", not Eric McCormack (Will) from "Will & Grace". And it was called "The Lost Empire" and was aired on Hallmark.

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Reeven writes:
on Aug 15 2006 09:00 AM

I'm not a Jackie Chan fan. Give me Jet Li and Tony Jaa and Peter Jackson and I'll cream myself.

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Master King Sexington writes:
on Aug 15 2006 10:41 AM

In reply to this comment (#842120)
Damn, you beat me to it. He was all like "I know for sure and I almost replied right then and there but I thought to check first. Oh, and the guy that said Jet Li and Tony Jaa, yeah, that'd be cooler. Wayyy cooler.

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Simple Minded writes:
on Aug 15 2006 12:42 PM

In reply to this comment (#842098)
Lucas didn't direct all 3...

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Boss Fan writes:
on Aug 15 2006 01:05 PM

In reply to this comment (#842114)
Can I name any action stars that are still as much of draw in their home country as Chan?! Um, how bout here: Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, Will Smith and I'd even argue still Schwarzenegger and Stallone. And don't give me, 'they aren't always in action movies.' They are action-film oriented superstars whose name alone translates into box office dollars 30+ years into their career. And any of them (even Schwaz and Sly) do bigger box office than your average Jackie Chan movie. Chan's only true blockbuster hit in this counrty is the Rush Hour franchise which is probably more due to Chris Tucker, or the combo of the two, than Chan's name alone. If he were such a huge star his name alone would make all his films hits. It doesn't and they aren't

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Master King Sexington writes:
on Aug 15 2006 01:40 PM

In reply to this comment (#842125)
The Shanghai series (noon, knights) seem to have done alright

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The Senhman writes:
on Aug 15 2006 03:20 PM

In reply to this comment (#842125)
You missed my point. Jackie Chan was breaking box office records in HK (and other parts of Asia) for two decades - two decades as the #1 draw at the box office. None of the actors you've mentioned here was even close to that. Did Clint Eastwood ever had a record-breaking movie at the box office? They were hits and blockbusters, but not record-breaking. Harrison Ford had Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but the rest again were hits and not record-breaking blockbusters. Denzel Washington, Schwarzenegger, and Stallone all had hits, but none were record-breaking. Will Smith's career is still relatively young compared to Jackie's; still, ID4 was his biggest hit, and like the majority of the actors you mentioned here, has hits and blockbusters.

If you look at the top 25 highest grossing films of all-time in HK (and neighboring territories), a big chunk of them are Jackie Chan films. If you look at the top 25 films in the US, the guys you mentioned might have a couple, but none of them completely dominates the list. And here's the thing - even if you combine all of their filmographies, they would still come up short when compared with Chan's.

Again, I understand your point about the limited careers of action stars, but you just picked on the wrong guy (Jackie Chan) to use as an example.

(Speaking of Sly, the guy hasn't had a hit since 1993's Cliffhanger. And Arnold, with the exception of T3, the guy's last hit was 1996's Eraser.)

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The Senhman writes:
on Aug 15 2006 03:35 PM

In reply to this comment (#842126)
Yeah, they did modestly well. Even The Tuxedo made about $50M.

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Boss Fan writes:
on Aug 15 2006 03:47 PM

In reply to this comment (#842127)
I think you're missing my point, which is two-fold: a) plenty of other countries have top action stars, as well as stars that are always consistant every time the release a film; and b) regardless of his standing in HK, Chan is not an automatic box office draw here or around the world. Yes, all the stars I mentioned have had their flops, but generally they sell more tickets than your average Chan flick. Also, a HK box-office hit is a far different thing than a Hollywood blockbuster, so I'd be willing to argue that, say, a Clint Eastwood or Bruce Willis hit here, is a bigger money maker than a Chan "blockbuster" in any other country. The Hollywood movie making machine is a much different one than the HK movie industry, or any other country really. Hollywood doersn't allow any one actor to truely dominate. Chan may be able do that in HK, but he can't - nor acan anyone reall - do that here. But I think the guys I mentioned came as close as anyone could in that they are, not only icons, but still a box office draw. In this country that is the only way you really can dominate as an actor. There oare others of course, but we were talking about male action stars.

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The Senhman writes:
on Aug 15 2006 04:04 PM

In reply to this comment (#842129)
Yeah, I agree that the Hollywood system is quite different from the HK system and the guys you've mentioned has had long careers, but it's still, nonetheless, impressive for a person to completely dominate their home territory for that duration? No?

Jackie Chan is actually still one of the biggest draws in Asia. In the US, I agree that he's had his hits and misses.

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Boss Fan writes:
on Aug 15 2006 04:51 PM

In reply to this comment (#842130)
Agreed :)

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nogard64 writes:
on Aug 15 2006 06:45 PM

In reply to this comment (#842111)
um too bad we're not talking about adaptations, this movie will be as asian as the terriaki rice bowl I just ate, will westerns accept it?

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alvai writes:
on Aug 18 2006 02:54 AM

Jet Li is bigger than Jackie Chan in Asia now.

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Substance writes:
on Aug 19 2006 07:05 PM

[b]Dragon Ball Z[/b]
You guys do know that Dragon Ball Z was based off of "Journey to the West". This movie has the potential to be something awesome...with monsters and dragons and awesome king-fu. If you remember, Goku does have a monkey tail.

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Fisheurmann writes:
on Dec 02 2006 11:43 AM

In reply to this comment (#842129)
[b]Jackie Chan is still the biggest International Dra[/b]
Sadly boss, you seem to be limited within what is Hollywood, and what the rest of the world thinks,though i respect that we each have our own individual oppinions, I just loath the fact that you are trying to tell us what we think or assume what we should think! here in Germany, the biggest foreign fanbase is still Jackie chan, same with Russia, dont know about Birtain, but they certainly know more Jackie Chan than ur average hollywood stars. In Africa, where i grew up in(Nairobi and Khartoum and yes i am well travelled), people are taking up martial arts because they want to be like Jackie Chan. Of cos the actors that you mentioned before, ( with the exception of clint eastwood and the Austrian Oak), have just as much draw appeal to the MAJORITY of us international audience as a transparent paperbag is to Jackie Chan, and guess what, 50 years from now people will be talking about Jackie Chan, and not the grouchy old man named Harrison Ford. There's a fine line between a screen legend, and a very successful actor, and it's not just limited to your average AMERICAN films.

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