Jackie Chan is the Rell Deal

Jackie -- archeologist, adventurer, martial arts master -- hops onto his motorcycle and races off, six black cars in pursuit. He rounds a corner and slams into a car, flipping over the handle bars onto the car's hood. He scrambles back onto his bike and takes off down a crowded city street, a van pulls in front of him and he launches over it. Perfect landing. Down a set of stairs. A pedestrian steps in front of him. He rides up onto a railing, off the side, down eight feet onto the roof of a van, drops off onto the car parked in front of it, shattering the windshield, across the hood and off...

When Quentin Tarantino gave the Lifetime Achievement Award to Jackie Chan at the last MTV Movie Awards, there were no doubt more than a few people said, "Who the hell is Jackie Chan?

Next year, New Line Cinema intends to show the world that Jackie Chan is one of the most amazing performers to ever appear on screen.

What sets the Hong Kong martial arts master apart from other performers is the fact that what Jackie does is real. The camera doesn't cut away as Jackie falls two stories onto his head. He actually falls two stories onto his head. No special effect involved. "He does things that no one else could or would even consider doing," says Joy C. Al-Sofi, President of the Jackie Chan Fan Club, which has members in 26 states as well as Japan, Spain and England. "He is a rare example of someone totally committed to his art."

But Jackie isn't just a hack with a death wish. His films are well crafted, with a sense of rhythm and imagination unknown to most American action films. His fight scenes are intricately choreographed, like a dance number in an MGM musical, and he uses his set--tables, chairs, stairs--in imaginative and often hilarious ways, more akin to Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin than Bruce Lee.

...The six black cars chase Jackie into a warehouse. He jumps his bike over a stack of boxes, and another and another but slips, the bike sliding out from under him and into one of the warehouse workers, making him do a complete back flip...

January 12, 1996, New Line Cinema will release Jackie's "Rumble in the Bronx," and show Americans what they've been missing. "We're expecting a big response," says Jen Huxley Lowe, New Line's Director of Publicity. Unlike most foreign films, they're going to give "Rumble" a full, wide release across the country, not just a few major cities. "We're going to put a hundred percent into promotion and see how audiences react."

Al-Sofi is optimistic. "If the audience gets to see the real Jackie, I have no doubt that millions will go straight from the theater to the nearest video store and demand all the videos they can get their hands on. I only hope the video stores and distributors are ready."

Currently, you're not going to find any of Jackie's best movies at your local Blockbuster. You might find a couple, but they'll be poorly dubbed versions of his early films, from back when he was being groomed to be "The Next Bruce Lee" along with a million other actors whose names coincidentally ended with either Lee, Li, or Le.

...One of the cars nearly hits Jackie. He jumps up onto a stack of boxes to avoid it. Another one comes and he jumps up onto the rafter, twenty feet above the ground. Another car flies off a huge stack of boxes, and up towards Jackie. He backflips around the beam as the car flies through the air beneath him, then he drops twenty feet to the ground...

Jackie was born April 7, 1954 to poor immigrant parents. When he was seven he joined a Chinese opera school to learn kung fu. He was offered a three, five or ten-year contract. He didn't have a sense for how long a year was and signed on for ten. He spent the rest of his childhood training from dawn to midnight and was beaten and starved when he misbehaved.

He entered the martial arts film scene in the early 70s and made a string of unsuccessful Bruce Lee knock-offs, even staring in "New Fist of Fury." It wasn't until 1978 with "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" and "Drunken Master" that Jackie was able to bring his own style to the genre.

Since those early days, after it was discovered that Jackie's real strengths were his physical comedy and stunt work, he has made a wealth of films that displayed his talents, including "Police Story," "Armour of God," "Project A," and their sequels. But to get these movies you'll have to go to an Asian market or a video store specializing in imports.

...The cars chase Jackie onto the dock, where a crane is lifting cargo onto a ship. Jackie rides to the end of the dock and flies off, 30 feet above the water, the cars flying off behind him. Before he falls he grabs the net of the cargo. The cars fall into the water and Jackie dangles safely in the air. He pulls himself onto the crate and breaths a sigh of relief.

This is a three minutes scene from "Operation Condor: Armour of God II." The remaining 90 minutes åare just as good. "As a number of Jackie's fans have said in word and print," Al-Sofi says, "'Jackie Chan is God.'"

SOURCES:
Joy C. Al-Sofi, President, Jackie Chan Fan Club, (503)239-4854
Jeff Kurz, Vice-President Acquisitions, Miramax Films (213)845-4200
Jen Huxley Lowe, Director of Publicity, New Line Cinema, (310)659-6678

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