Fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower's easy..talking's hard; Martial arts star used 'Jackie Chan English' for his movie scenes.

Page/Link: Page URL: Page URL: HTML link: <a href="https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fighting+on+top+of+the+Eiffel+Tower%27s+easy..talking%27s+hard%3b+Martial...-a0167367825</a> HTML link: Citations: MLA style: "Fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower's easy..talking's hard; Martial arts star used 'Jackie Chan English' for his movie scenes.." The Free Library . 2007 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday 23 Sep. 2020 "Fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower's easy..talking's hard; Martial arts star used 'Jackie Chan English' for his movie scenes..". 2007 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday 23 Sep. 2020 https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fighting+on+top+of+the+Eiffel+Tower%27s+easy..talking%27s+hard%3b+Martial...-a0167367825

Chicago style: The Free Library. S.v. Fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower's easy..talking's hard; Martial arts star used 'Jackie Chan English' for his movie scenes.." Retrieved Sep 23 2020 from The Free Library. S.v. Fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower's easy..talking's hard; Martial arts star used 'Jackie Chan English' for his movie scenes.." Retrieved Sep 23 2020 from https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fighting+on+top+of+the+Eiffel+Tower%27s+easy..talking%27s+hard%3b+Martial...-a0167367825

APA style: Fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower's easy..talking's hard; Martial arts star used 'Jackie Chan English' for his movie scenes.. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved Sep 23 2020 from Fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower's easy..talking's hard; Martial arts star used 'Jackie Chan English' for his movie scenes.. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved Sep 23 2020 from https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Fighting+on+top+of+the+Eiffel+Tower%27s+easy..talking%27s+hard%3b+Martial...-a0167367825

Byline: By Siobhan SynnotHONG Kong legend Jackie Chan really does believe that action speaks louder than words - at least, when it comes to trading quips in English.The actor says he often gets his tongue in a twist when he's trying to deliver his English lines. And he reckons he would be a much bigger star if he could only get the words out in the right order."To me, action scenes are so easy, but dialogue scenes drive me crazy."The directors and producers want me to say everything perfectly," claimed the Rush Hour 3 star, who has been a leading figure in the Hong Kong martial arts film scene since the early Seventies.He added: "Sometimes when a word is in the past tense or plural, I get confused. It is hard to remember lengthy dialogue and still sound natural."I have to say my lines over and over again until I get it right. I want to ask them, 'Can I speak Jackie Chan English?'"Sometimes, he says Chris Tucker, his co-star in the popular cop series, steps in and takes over the more difficult lines.But when it comes to the stunts, the 53-year-old still does things his way. So for his latest film, Rush Hour 3, it is Jackie we see climbing around on the Eiffel Tower without so much as a safety net.He said: "I did all my stunts, even the fighting on top of the Eiffel Tower."In that sequence there are no explosions or shooting, just one of the best stunt teams in the world working at the height of its abilities. The experience was something none of us would forget, least of all me."But the former stuntman says his biggest problem is finding fresh stunt material to do for fans.After 30 years, he sometimes feels as though he's done it all. And he confesses that every morning when he wakes up, he feels his the pain of his old stunts injuries.He said: "Hurting myself is my daily routine. You just don't see it, but I got used to it after all these years."His worst injury in Rush Hour 3 came in a scene where a heavy table was supposed to fly over him. The scene had been carefully planned in advance and the first two takes went off without a hitch. But perfectionist Jackie wanted a third take, and this was the one where the table landed on top of him instead.He said: "The table scene was just stupid." Fortunately he moved his body quickly enough that his chest took the impact. "Otherwise I would have lost my mouth and nose," he laughs.Given the danger, the pain and the fact some insurance companies refuse to insure the stars, why does he keep risking his life for daredevil stunts?He said: "So I can tell my grandkids, 'This is your grandfather. This is me.That's not a double flying around the Eiffel Tower in 100 mile-perhour winds'."Sometimes I forget my age. I'll do it until my body tells me to stop. I don't think about retirement."Born into a family so poor they had to be talked out of selling their son when he was born, Jackie later trained in Peking Opera, where he learned martial arts, dance and comedy, while suffering extraordinary hardships, including regular beatings and near-starvation.Yet he looks back on that period with considerable affection, not least because it taught him the skills and provided him with the network of friends that sustained his film career for decades.Jackie said: "In my movies, I don't want any violent action. I'm looking for people who have beautiful and rhythmic movement so the action can look something like dancing."But although Jackie likes to make his stunts look effortless, it doesn't always go to plan. During his career he's dislocated his pelvis and broken his fingers, toes, nose, cheekbones, hips, chest, neck and ribs.He came closest to death filming Armour of God, when he fell from a tree and fractured his skull, resulting in a permanent hole in his head.But when stunts go wrong, he often shows them as out-takes or bloopers during the closing credits of films.So what does scare Jackie Chan?The actor confessed he has been terrified of injections since he was a child, so when he broke his ankle and was taken to hospital, he stubbornly refused an anaesthetic.He said: "The doctor had to operate and wanted to put me under. But I said,'No, just do it. No injection'."Although he's a legend in China, worldwide stardom came a little later for Jackie. But after many attempts to translate his brand of physical comedy-spiced martial arts moves into English-language films, he finally broke through with the first Rush Hour in 1998.He played a Hong Kong policeman teamed up with a fast-talking LAPD cop, to rescue a diplomat's daughter.He followed that with a pairing with another wisecracking buddy, Owen Wilson, in Shanghai Noon in 2000, and teamed up with Steve Coogan for Around The World in 80 Days.Obsessed by his work, the star has appeared in more than 100 films to date, runs a string of businesses, from gyms to selling oatcakes, and also has a sideline as a singer, releasing more than 20 albums and singing the theme tunes for many of his movies.Retirement is the last thing on his mind - he claims his movie schedule is fully booked until 2010. But being a workaholic has put a strain on his family.He said: "Even if my wife and son want something, they don't call me."They call my manager, or my assistant. I am still concentrating on business. Because if I quit today, it's bye bye everything."Rather ungallantly, Jackie has admitted he married his wife because she got pregnant.Now 25, their son Jaycee Chan is a pop star in his own right, although Jackie allegedly also has an eight-year-old daughter, Etta Ng Chok Lam, as a result of an affair.Long-suffering Mrs Chan, Lin Feng Jiao, sounds like she has a less than ideal husband.Jackie admitted: "I am a very bad husband. But now I'm getting older, I don't go out every night. I have changed."Fast-talking and enthusiastic, Jackie's charm seems to win him forgiveness whenever he puts a foot wrong.Last year, he appeared drunk and disrupted a pop concert by Taiwanese star Jonathan Lee's concert by climbing onstage and singing. Later Jackie apologised and fans forgave him.One thing he's sure of is there will never be another Jackie Chan. The actor says there are a lot of young actors who have the talent to do the kind of movies he did - but times have changed.Jackie says he introduced a groundbreaking mix of comedy and martial arts to the film industry because he was frustrated by directors trying to cast him in the same style as their biggest star, Bruce Lee. But he reckons there are fewer opportunities now."I wanted to be on the top. At that time, everybody learned from Bruce Lee. After my success, everybody learned from Jackie Chan," he laughs."When I started out, there was nobody doing what I was doing, and now there are probably hundreds of young actors who have the talent to do the kinds of movies I've done," he said."But because of the situation when I began making movies, I don't think there will ever be another Jackie Chan."Rush Hour 3 is in cinemas tomorrow.'Sometimes I forget my age. I'll do it until my body tells me to stop''Sometimes when a word is in the past tense or plural, I get confused''The Eiffel experience is something none of us will ever forget''Hurting myself is my daily routine. You just don't see it but I've got used to it after all these years'CAPTION(S):EAST MEETS WEST: Jackie with Owen Wilson in Shanghai Noon, above, and with Steve Coogan, left, in Around The World in 80 Days PICTURE: AP PHOTO/KEVORK DJANSEZIAN; A RIGHT EIFFEL: Jackie and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 3