Jackie Chan has never shied away from doing anything. From dangerous stunts to direction, from being outspoken about the industry to learning singing, the 71-year old actor has proven quality and versatility wins at the end. Today, as he attends the Locarno film Festival where he has been awarded the Career Achievement award, he speaks out about the films being made today and how older films have more relevance to him.
During a candid conversation at the Locarno Film Festival, Jackie Chan bares his heart out about today’s filmmaking process. According to him, “I think the old movies are better than today. Right now, a lot of big studios, they're not filmmakers, they're business guys. They invest 40 million and think, How can I get it back?' And you can't go over. It's very difficult to make a good movie now.”
Jackie Chan became a household name around the late 1970’s and ruled for over two decades with his strength in stunts. He was seen in several movies like The Fearless Hyena (1979), Police Story (1985) or Who Am I? (1998). During the conversation he emphasises how today’s production houses have a huge stake in making films. In fact, their contribution can almost be seen as quantitative in terms of financial return, rather than being qualitative in terms of content.
A stunt coordinator, producer, author, and of course, actor, Jackie Chan is a one-man cast in most of his movies. He further continues, “In all of Asia, only two directors can do everything: the writing, directing, acting, stunt coordinating, stunt fighting, and editing. One is Sammo Hung, the second one is Jackie Chan."
While people still remember his ‘good old days’ on screen doing unthinkable and unimaginable stunts to perfection, Chan himself comes face to face with reality. “I cannot do this forever (stunts). It's just so dangerous.” Instead he has now moved on to learning a new skill. He adds, “Wherever I would go, they would ask me how to punch and kick. I thought, what should I do? I should learn how to sing. Then I started trying to learn how to sing.” The Locarno Film Festival will conclude on August 16.
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