Chapter 24 those setbacks

I loved fighting when I was a kid.Although he is very strong and trained by his father every day, he still loses occasionally. I remember that I had just started school and lived in a wealthy area on the top of the mountain. Of course, my family did not have a car to take me to and from school, so I had to walk down the mountain to school every morning.Before departure, my mother would prepare a rich breakfast for me, and then put a sandwich or bento in my schoolbag for lunch.But when I was a child, I could eat and loved food too much. Every time I felt hungry on the way down the mountain, I would open my schoolbag and eat my lunch.

My mother was worried about my safety and hoped that I could take the bus home after school, so she would put change for the bus in my bag every day, so that I didn’t have to walk up the mountain alone late at night.But by the time school was over, I had already spent the car money to buy food, so I would still walk home alone, and when I saw someone driving by on the way, I would put my finger up and hope for a ride. I learned it from the cowboys on TV.Looking back now, there were so many kind-hearted people at that time, I was able to hitch a ride almost every time, and I was not abducted or harmed.

Of course, there are occasional times when luck is bad. There is no car up the mountain on the way, so I have to walk home. The whole journey takes several hours.In order to save time and not go home too late, so as not to be discovered by my mother that I ate up the car money every day, I always take shortcuts at the last stage of going up the mountain.The so-called shortcut is actually similar to rock climbing. With my small body, I grabbed those branches and rocks and climbed back to the backyard of my house quickly like a monkey.One time, my dad happened to pass by and found me. He saw me hanging in the air, so he came over and picked me up with one hand and put me in the yard.I was locked up that day.Later, I learned to be smart, and when I climbed up, I first probed to see if my father was there.

Back to the fight.There are many children from rich families in my living environment. Of course, they are picked up by cars every day in beautiful clothes. There are a few times when I am climbing up the mountain after school, their cars just pass by. The kid would open the car window and yell at me, saying nasty things. Once I felt that I couldn't bear it anymore.After they got off the car, they deliberately waited for me in the yard, and provocatively said: "Hey, what are you doing crawling around every day?" Children!" While they were still chattering, I suddenly rushed over to beat them, and a group of people fought together instantly, rolling around on the ground.I used all the fighting moves my father taught me, but after all I was outnumbered.One of them suddenly grabbed my leg, and I lost my balance for a moment and fell backwards, hitting my head on a rock on the ground.My eyes went dark, and I lay there motionless.Now they were terrified.The person who grabbed my leg was a child of another consul's family. He hurried home to ask the adults to come and see me, and the others immediately scattered and ran away.

His father came to me very quickly. He looked very nervous. I didn't lose consciousness completely at the time, but I felt dizzy and didn't have the energy to stand up.I found out later that they were very worried that something bad would happen to me. After all, I was a Hong Kong kid living in the consulate area. If something happened, it could be big or small. If it was big, it could become an international incident.If my family sues them, they will be in trouble. They sent me home.I fell into a drowsy sleep, and woke up after an unknown period of time. I felt pain in the back of my head. When I touched it, I got a big lump.The whole body is also very uncomfortable.At this time, I heard the door creak open, and it was Dad who walked in. "A Pao, this is what that kid gave you." I slowly raised my head and saw him holding a large box of chocolates.Dad put it next to me, stroked my head, turned and went out.

chocolate!For gluttons, this is simply the best gift!Although my whole body was aching and my head was dizzy, it didn't hinder my strong appetite.I can't wait to open the box and take out one and put it in my mouth, wow, it's so delicious.Another one.After a while, another one came, and the whole box of chocolates was eaten up.My mouth is filled with the sweet and greasy taste of sugar. After eating, I still try my best to hold back the churning in my stomach. I don't want to spit out such a delicious thing.The chocolate quickly counteracted the frustration of losing a fight, and I even felt a little blissful.

The door opened again, and it was Dad who walked in.Seeing my mouth full of chocolates, he was stunned: "You ate the whole box? Do you know that you have just been injured and can't eat randomly?" I didn't know how to answer, so I just said "oh" One sound.Seeing my appearance, he seemed to have no serious injury, so he pulled me up and beat me again in anger. This is the first failure I can remember.At that time, I didn't know that when I grew up, I would encounter more and more difficult failures.However, I still remember the smell of that box of chocolates. Around 1971, I had been a martial artist for a while.Senior brother Sammo Hung has more seniority than me. He had signed a contract with Golden Harvest at that time and became an action director.Yuen Biao and I followed him to make a living on the set, so we had our own place.

One day I got a call from the assistant of a famous producer, which brought me good news. "There is a producer who wants to find a leading actor for a new film, someone who can do martial arts. I recommend you to them, and they are willing to meet you." Hearing this, I couldn't help being excited, and I did it. After working faceless for so long, I actually have the opportunity to be the leading actor?I couldn't extricate myself from being immersed in joy, and I completely ignored what she said next, "This film may not pay you a lot, and I don't know how much they plan to pay you..." I interrupted her, "It's okay! This is a big opportunity for me!"

When I got to the shooting site, I realized that things were not what I thought.I'm not an inexperienced boy. When I was in drama school, my brothers and I started to act in some crude films, which were usually finished in a few days.Besides, as a martial artist, I have been working on the set for a long time, and I can see what kind of movie is good and what kind of movie is bad. The title of the movie I took over was very interesting, it was called "Little Tiger in Guangdong".At the beginning, I didn't know whether they asked me to play a human or a little tiger.All joking aside, this is the first time in my life that I played the leading role in a movie, and it's obviously a low-budget movie.The plot tells the story of my little tiger avenging his father in the fighting between gangs.The shooting process of the movie was very embarrassing, there was no script, no martial arts guidance, the shooting environment was harsh, the equipment was outdated and outdated, and the work was often overtime. As the leading actor, I was only ordered by the director to pose various actions or poses in front of the camera. These even feel boring to me.Many people withdrew as the filming progressed. In the end, the entire crew ended up disbanding. The producer and director disappeared with the money. None of us got paid, and the show came to an end.

At that time, the martial artists collected money on the same day they started work. I still remember the last scene. All the martial artists didn’t even get the money for the day. I felt very sorry, so I paid the money out of my own pocket.At that time, I only earned a little bit, and I paid for the martial arts show with the money my father gave me. As a result, such a work of course failed to be released, and my first experience as a leading actor ended there. When I return to the set and continue to do martial arts, my biggest wish is to become a martial arts instructor.Seeing how majestic they are on the scene, and more importantly, they control everyone's jobs and have the opportunity to earn more money.For me at that time, this was almost the highest ideal.

At that time, the big brother Sammo Hung had already become a martial arts instructor, and Yuen Biao and I often started work with him.One day, after I had just finished a stunt and fell hard to the ground, everyone called it a day. I was tired and in pain, so I didn't stand up right away.At this time, someone came over to say hello to me. I was very upset, but I still answered.After the man explained his purpose, I immediately became refreshed.He was looking for a martial arts director for a new play, and he fell in love with me. "The budget of our new drama is not high, and we can't afford the current martial arts director's money. We want to try to cooperate with newcomers. Many people told me that there is a martial arts that is very good, and that person is you, so I took the liberty to come to you and see you Are you interested in signing a contract with us?" Oh my god!Isn't this my dream opportunity? "Excuse me, where can I go to sign?" I blurted out without thinking.The man was taken aback for a moment, and he could tell he was surprised that I said yes, so he made an appointment with me the next day to discuss the details. The next day, I went to their company early, met with the producer, and quickly signed the contract.I asked if I could hire some helpers to do it with me, and they readily obliged.I went to find Yuan Kui and Yuen Biao to join the crew, bragging to them about how great the production of this movie will be, and leading them to imagine a bright future together.And myself, I can finally experience the feeling of giving orders as the boss. When I actually got to the set, I started to realize that things weren't going as well as I thought.The crew was very chaotic, and there were arguments everywhere.The producer came to interfere with the equipment used by the cinematographer, and the director felt that the set set by the art team was too poor.Yuen Biao is my junior brother, he didn't say anything, while Yuan Kui muttered beside him: "Look at the scene, it's totally different from what you said." This made me very embarrassed. As it turns out, it's a bad movie.Although Yuan Kui and Yuen Biao and I tried our best in the action scenes, it didn't prevent the fate of this movie from failing.I also played the leading role in this film, which is very funny when I think about it now.In the end, the film's box office was only a few hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars.Not long after, I collaborated with them on the second film as a martial arts instructor, and the box office results were very poor, and I did not turn the company around at all.At this time, the company was already heavily in debt, and it was almost impossible to even pay everyone's salary. At this time, Bruce Lee, the world's most eye-catching Kung Fu star, passed away.With his departure, kung fu movies declined rapidly in Hong Kong.The audience seemed to be injured, and they no longer wanted to watch Kung Fu movies without him.Although many filmmakers have tried to create the next Bruce Lee, none of them have succeeded.Soon, the film market was re-occupied by romances and comedies. My initial experience as a martial arts instructor also ended in failure. My career hit rock bottom after my first failure as a martial arts instructor.At this time, my parents in Australia asked me to go to them. They had already obtained the green card at that time, and they hoped that I would also apply for the status in the past.I didn't have much chance in Hong Kong, so I got on the plane to Australia. However, I only stayed in Australia for a few months, and decided to return to Hong Kong because I couldn't bear the parasite-like life. When I opened the door of that small apartment in Hong Kong again, I was taken aback.The house that no one lived in for months turned out to be a horrible place, full of dust and cobwebs, and a lot of the furniture I made myself was broken. I regrouped, starting with tidying up the room, and then called the big brother Sammo Hung and asked him to help me find a job. He was already a contracted martial arts instructor of Golden Harvest Company at that time.It's just that I haven't realized that even though I've only been away for half a year, the surrounding environment has changed a lot. When I returned to the set, I became a complete newcomer again. Fortunately, the big brother quickly introduced me to a job.That movie was called "Shaolin Gate", and Sammo Hung was the martial arts director, and I was the assistant director.The director is Wu Yusen, who is famous today. At that time, he was just a fledgling kid.I said to Sammo Hung: "Who is Wu Yusen? I have never heard of him." "Neither have I heard of him. He is a novice." Feel very emotional. "Shaolin Gate" is a good movie. Not only did I act as an assistant director in this movie, but I also played a supporting role.John Woo and I are both newcomers, and the two happened to be competing with each other on the set.In the past, those directors usually left all the action scenes to the martial arts director, and they would sleep next to them or simply call it a day, but Wu Yusen did not do this. He would seriously watch how we set up moves, how to break them down, and how to complete each one. Action scenes, and he doesn't have the temper of those old directors, he is very gentle to everyone on the set.In his spare time, he would teach me about directing, even though at that time I had no idea that I would become a director myself one day.All in all, I admire him a lot. The good times didn't last long, and just when I wanted to continue to take root in this industry, Sammo Hung brought bad news. "After Bruce Lee's death, action movies are still in the doldrums until now, and the company has recently dropped a lot of projects..." I understood what he was going to say, although I was very reluctant to accept this fact. "Don't talk about finding jobs for you now, I might lose my own job." The senior brother sighed. I slumped down on the chair.There are many photos hanging on the walls of the company, recording the glory of action movies.And now, I don't know what to do next.I have realized that I am cornered.If you continue to work hard on the set, you will only be paid a few dozen yuan, but where is the future?Frustrated, I thought of going to my parents again. Not long after I left Australia, I wanted to make a name for myself before going back home, but I didn’t expect to go back home so soon in despair, I felt really aggrieved.I am almost out of money, and three meals a day will be a problem.I have been in drama school since I was a child, I have nothing but martial arts and action, can I really just go back like this? On the way home, I looked at the tall buildings and neon lights all over the street, and felt that they had nothing to do with me. I'm still that loser. When I went to Australia for the second time, I could no longer rely on my parents to support me. I started juggling two jobs at the same time. One was working as a cement worker on the construction site, and the other was working as a waiter in a restaurant.A few months later, my mother saw my unhappiness in the smile I forced every day. "Son, what you are doing now is not what you want to do, nor what you should do." My mother's thoughtfulness broke me down. "I spent ten years learning a whole body of useless kung fu, I have nothing left, I don't know what to do..." Not long after this, I received a telegram from Chen Ziqiang.At that time, he was already the general manager of Luo Wei's director company, and he was preparing for the director's new film "New Fist of Fury", so he sent me an invitation.At first, I thought he was looking for me as a stuntman, but when I was about to remind him that there was no need to travel so far to invite me, I was stunned by his words, "We want you to be the leading actor." However, my The salary is only 3,000 Hong Kong dollars. After thinking for a few seconds, I took the job.What will happen in the future? Is 3,000 Hong Kong dollars enough to live on? What if the movie fails again? I have no time to think about these issues. I only know that I have to fight for myself again. I bid farewell to my parents again. They didn't stop me, but my father gave me a deadline. If I still haven't made a name for myself after two years, I must return to them completely. I am back again. Even with such a small salary, I was able to participate in the top production in the industry for the first time.Luo Wei is a great director who personally made Bruce Lee famous. He has filmed such works as "Fist of Fury" and "Brother Tangshan". Why should I not cherish this opportunity? Although director Luo Wei thought that the person recommended by Chen Ziqiang was not handsome enough and his nose was too big, he still had high hopes for me.He hopes to use the grand production of "New Fist of Fury" to win another Kung Fu star again. For this reason, he also recruited the original cast. Many actors who have appeared in "Jing Fumen" will appear in this movie. Play the same character again in the film.But this time, what he wants to come up with is a brand new story.When I heard this grand blueprint just now, I was also beating drums silently in my heart. Is this person who they said will become a star in the future, is it me? In director Luo Wei's office, I signed my first artist contract.The contract period is two years, the monthly income is 3,000 Hong Kong dollars, and the salary for each movie is also 3,000 Hong Kong dollars.I had to be involved in all of Rowe's productions and accept any role he assigned me. Looking at it today, this is a very harsh contract, but at the time, I didn't think it was unfair, at least I had a stable job. My boss is not very satisfied with the appearance of this artist under his banner.In addition to affirming my muscular body, director Luo Wei felt that there were many places in me that needed to be corrected, such as crooked teeth and small eyes.He suggested that I get some plastic surgery, but luckily I escaped with all sorts of excuses. On the first day of "New Fist of Fury", I arrived at the set very early.When I got there, I found that everyone was worried about the temporary situation of the martial arts instructor, so I immediately proposed myself, and they readily agreed.Ironically, I was paid three times as much as a leading actor as a martial arts instructor.After all, I already had rich experience as a martial arts instructor at that time, but I was still a newcomer as a leading actor. The filming process was not very pleasant. Director Luo Wei hoped to portray me as the second Bruce Lee. I played a person who was bent on revenge, cold-blooded, angry, and impersonal, but I didn't agree with this character from the bottom of my heart.In private, I once complained to Chen Ziqiang: "I am not suitable for such a role. The director hopes to make me the second Bruce Lee, but I don't think that is my goal and direction." The box office results were announced, and the results were a mess. The moment I saw the numbers, I almost bought a plane ticket and flew back to Australia.I remember that I was so nervous that I kept sweeping the floor and picking up trash in Luo Wei's office. This was a habit formed in drama school when I was a child. Fortunately, I signed a contract with the company, and director Luo Wei immediately arranged for my next film - "Shaolin Wooden Man Lane", directed by a young man named Chen Zhihua.The two of us quickly got to know each other on the set, we cooperated tacitly and happily, and learned a lot from each other, but the results of this film were still mediocre. In the days that followed, I collaborated with the big star Wang Yu in "Two Meteors in Wind and Rain", and successively starred in "Sword, Flower, Misty Rain and Jiangnan", "Eight Steps of Snake and Crane", "One and a Half Ways to Climb the Jianghu", "Fist Master", "Dragon Fist" ", these films have a common feature, almost all of them tell stories of revenge, and as a result, they either suffered from box office Waterloo, or did not get the chance to be released at all. I "deservedly" was dubbed "box office poison" by the outside world. In the 1980s, Golden Harvest wanted to push me into the Hollywood market after I had a taste of being popular in Hong Kong.In order for me to get rid of dependence and learn the language well, they put me on the plane to the United States without a colleague. The person who picked me up at the airport was David, and when he saw me, he danced and danced drunkenly.In order to make me happy, he hastily started to introduce the new project I will be involved in, "They invited the team of "Enter the Dragon", the lineup is very strong, the script is also great, I think you will become popular here soon!" He The words not only didn't raise my interest, but made me feel a little nervous. After experiencing a series of failures in the 1970s, I really don't want to follow the old path of Bruce Lee. The person who arranged a job for me in the United States was Andrew Morgan, the head of the Golden Harvest International Department. He had worked with Zou Wenhuai for 12 years, and his fluent Cantonese impressed me. At that time, I was almost an English idiot. Andrew is also full of confidence in my new film "Killer's Trenches". He believes that the plot arrangement of this film will give me an excellent opportunity to show kung fu to Americans. What makes him more confident is that the whole film The production budget is as high as 4 million US dollars. This figure is also a great stimulus to me who is used to the production budget of Hong Kong films.At the same time, Andrew also hopes that I can do more interviews and appear on some TV shows, which will help me become famous quickly. However, the filming process of the film was not smooth. I am used to Hong Kong-style productions, but I am not used to the rules and regulations of the United States.Director Robert Clouse is the director of Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon". He will strictly follow the storyboard script for each shot. , just doesn't work for me. When I was filming in Hong Kong, I often broke out creative sparks with the team on the spot. It is common to modify scripts and lines on the spot, but these are completely unworkable in the United States.In addition, my English is very poor. During the acting process, I can only focus on talking but not on facial expressions and movements. I often stumble and my face becomes stiff.Going back to the action scenes that I am best at, their work style is also incompatible with me. I am used to choreographing complex and beautiful movements by myself, but the director who shoots strictly according to the script often asks me not to play it casually.I tried to express my thoughts on action scenes to the director many times, but every time he said without changing his face: "No, just shoot as written in the script." So some scenes that could have added a lot of fancy actions The scene has become a cutscene where I walk around.I said to the director, "No one will pay to see Jackie Chan strolling in a movie." The filming of "Killer's Trenches" ended, and the company quickly helped me take over the next film. Andrew looked very excited, "In this movie, there will be many Hollywood stars playing with you. You are playing a race car driver, and the plot is very exciting. The title of the movie is "Cannonball Run." Just listening to the title, I'm already interested, and I'm silently hoping it's a different film. Knowing that I was not used to the shooting method of "Killer Trenches", my colleagues comforted me and said: ""Cannonball Run" is not an action movie, now you don't have to worry, just focus on the performance." Unfortunately, it turned out not to be that simple.I played a Japanese racing driver in that movie, which already made me a little uncomfortable, but it was impossible to reject it, so I had to bite the bullet and act.The Hollywood stars I work with will greet me politely every day when they see me, but that's all.I know I am nothing to them.At that time, there was a famous black actor named Sammy Davis Jr. He walked up to my makeup van and told me, I just came back from Japan, and I know you are very popular in Japan.I said I was from Hong Kong, not Japanese.He said, um, yes, you are from Hong Kong. Sayonara!As a result, every time he saw me after that, he would speak Japanese to me.I didn't bother to explain.In this movie, there is no longer a need to speak a large number of English lines, but I am responsible for making all kinds of faces to be funny.All these things made me very unhappy every day on the set. Later, I was too lazy to talk to everyone, so I just stayed by myself and didn't make a sound. What happened to these two films? First, the box office failure of "Killer's Trenches" in 1980.After the film was released, I bought a ticket and went to the theater myself, only to find that there were not many people in the theater, and they were all Chinese. American audiences obviously had no interest in this film.Although I have let go of the harsh words with the director, "No one will buy tickets to see Jackie Chan strolling", but seeing the few audiences in the theater, I still feel very uncomfortable. I have become so popular in Asia, almost King, but no one here watches his movies. The problem with this movie is obvious. In addition to the problems in the plot, the main reason for the failure is that the audience does not accept that kind of action.I later asked some experts why, and they said that the audience thinks your fists have no strength.I asked how to say this.They said, you have been fighting with that person for ten minutes and you have kicked him eight times, but he is still standing there and you are still kicking him.The action scenes in the audience's impression are still like Bruce Lee's. When he kicks out with a "boom", people have been kicked away!I thought to myself, let me tell you earlier, how easy this shooting method is, one punch and one kick, but this is not the style of Jackie Chan's movies, I can't shoot it, and I don't like it.In that case, admit defeat. Let's talk about "Cannonball Run" released in 1981.My Chinese partner in the film is Hui Guanwen.With my name and his name on the poster, the Asian market is guaranteed, while in the United States, the name on the poster becomes Burt Reynolds.Ultimately, the film was a success in the US and Japan, but a total failure in Hong Kong.My native audience didn't want to see me play a Japanese guy, doing it in a boring and funny way, and being reduced to a foil for a group of American actors. This is my first experience in Hollywood, which can be summed up in four words: come back with a feather. Three years after leaving Hollywood, my colleagues hoped to convince me to try again. "American audiences are now most accustomed to the image of a tough guy, like Clint Eastwood, isn't that what you do best?" I can only say that at that time they, even myself, did not know myself well enough. There are also many types of "tough guy" images. Clint Eastwood is a killer with a cold-blooded temperament, but I am used to acting as a small person who is unyielding in the face of life.Even though I look like a "tough guy" on the outside, it doesn't mean I can try that kind of persona. The play I received this time is called "The Dragon Detective".The production team solidly built me ​​into the "tough guy" in their hearts.The director was James Glickenhaus, and I had a lot of trouble with him during the shoot.During the middle, I called the boss of Golden Harvest, if the director did not leave the crew, I would not act.Of course, this can only be a coquettish show to my own people. Everyone has already signed the contract, and I don't have the ability to just leave. What I'm most dissatisfied with is that the crew only set aside four days for the action scenes to be filmed, which is a joke to me who makes a living out of action.In the past in Hong Kong, as long as I could control the production of the crew, every picture must be perfect. From the very beginning to the real shooting, we tried every means to make the action more beautiful and more tense. Every detail They have been researched repeatedly, and it is common to shoot a shot more than ten times. But here, the director thinks that action scenes are not important, and he doesn't know how to shoot them.In my eyes, the shots that were completely unpassable were actually given green light all the way to him.Seeing the movie slipping in an uncontrollable direction, there was nothing I could do.I hate the feeling of being out of control. In the end, I finished the film patiently, but I don't think it is a masterpiece of Jackie Chan. The movie is going to be released in both the US and Asia, and to avoid what happened to Cannonball Run, I decided to do whatever it takes to salvage the situation—I'm going to make an Asian version myself that's different from the US version.I invited some of the foreign leading actors in the film to come to the Hong Kong studio to start filming the action scenes again, this time completely following Jackie Chan's style. My partner, screenwriter Deng Jingsheng added some new plots to the film. In order to cater to the preferences of Asian audiences, he also invited the popular Ye Qianwen to play one of the roles.Of course, all those vulgar images that are not suitable for children in the American version have also been deleted by me.Ultimately, this version was well received in Hong Kong and Japan. Now I have no intention of asking you to compare the quality of the two versions.That was just a blip in my career.After this time, I made a solemn statement to the company that I will never go to Hollywood again, let alone sacrifice my film style for their so-called market. This is the most worthwhile thing. If there must be a next time, then I don't want to follow the old path that anyone has walked.Bruce Lee and Clint Eastwood are great actors, but they're not someone I should emulate or try to surpass.I am Jackie Chan, if I want to be successful in the world one day, it can only be because - I am Jackie Chan.