Jackie Chan Action Movies---After first establishing his martial arts prowess in his native Hong Kong, actor-choreographer-director Jackie Chan translated his massive success in Southeast Asia to become a huge international star, particularly in America. With a reputation as an unrelenting performer willing to risk bodily injury - both with himself and his fellow stuntmen - to create elaborate and jaw-dropping action sequences, Chan amazed critics and audiences with his sheer technical skill while redefining Hong Kong action movies by bringing in an element of comedy.
He spent the first couple of decades finding his footing, but had a major breakthrough with the action-comedy, "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" (1978), which propelled the previously-struggling performer into the limelight.
Though he took a shot at Hollywood with "Battle Creek Brawl" (1980) and "The Cannonball Run" (1981), he would have to wait until "Rumble in the Bronx" (1996) to make his mark in the United States. But it was his starring turn in the wildly popular "Rush Hour" (1998) and its sequels that cemented his place as one of Hollywood's elite action stars. His status as a bankable actor was further enhanced with "Shanghai Noon" (2001) and its follow-up, "Shanghai Knights" (2003), though he took a stumble with "Around the World in 80 Days" (2004). While he returned to Hong Kong for a number of films, including his first with Jet Li, "The Forbidden Kingdom" (2008), Chan remained busy in Hollywood, as he retained his hold on being a popular box office draw.
Born on April 7, 1954 in Victoria Peak, Hong Kong, Chan was raised in a working class home by his father, Charles, a cook, and his mother, Lee-Lee, a cook and domestic respectively at the French consulate in Hong Kong. After failing out of the Nah-Hwa Primary School his first year, Chan immigrated to Australia with his parents where his father found work as a cook at the American embassy. A year later, Chan was sent back to Hong Kong, where he attended the Chinese Drama Academy, studying mime, acrobatics, singing, kung fu and Peking Opera for the next ten years with master Yu Jim-Yuen. A renowned wu-shen performer, Master Yu created the ensemble group, The Seven Little Fortunes, of which Chan became a member. He made his first onscreen appearance as one of the Seven Little Fortunes in the now-lost martial arts movie, "Big and Little Wong Tin Bar" (1962). He followed up with "The Love Eterne" (1963) and later in the decade with "Come Drink with Me" (1966), a martial arts film directed by King Hu that remained an all-time classic of Hong Kong cinema.
In 1971, Chan graduated from the Chinese Drama Academy and began appearing as an adult in numerous features, including forgettable fare like "A Touch of Zen" (1971) and "Monkey in the Master's Eye" (1972), while serving as a stuntman in famed Bruce Lee movies like "Fist of Fury" (1972) and "Enter the Dragon" (1973). Chan soon had his own starring vehicle, "The Little Tiger of Guangdong" (1973), which became a box office disappointment. By the time he made the adult comedy, "All in the Family" (1975), which did not feature one fight or action sequence, Chan had fallen into a slump, which led to rejoining his parents in Canberra, Australia in 1976, where he worked as a bricklayer and briefly attended Dickson College. Chan was called back to Hong Kong by producer Willie Chan, who paired him with director Lo Wei for "New Fist of Fury" (1976), in which he was billed as a new Bruce Lee. Even though Lo Wei directed Lee in the original "Fist of Fury," Chan was unable to duplicate the success and suffered another box office flop.
Chan finally had a major breakthrough with "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" (1978), which featured a more comedic style that allowed him to fully flourish on screen, leading to a change of course in the Hong Kong martial arts film. He began attracting larger audiences with "The Young Master" (1980) and "Dragon Lord" (1982), while breaking out internationally with a starring role in the slapstick "Battle Creek Brawl" (1980) and a small part as the driver of a high-tech Subaru in "The Cannonball Run" (1981). Chan next took a turn at directing with the action comedy "Project A" (1983), which he followed with an appearance in the abysmal sequel, "Cannonball Run II" (1984). The following year, he directed, starred and performed his own stunts in "Police Story" (1985), which became a huge hit and won several Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture. But because of numerous large-scale stunts, several stuntmen - including Chan - were injured during production. Forced to form the Jackie Chan Stuntmen Association after none were willing to work with him again, he assembled his own team, trained them personally and paid their medical bills out of his own pocket. He also formed Jackie's Angels, a casting and modeling agency, to cast his increasingly elaborate productions.
Read more: http://movies.yahoo.com/person/jackie-chan/biography.html
He spent the first couple of decades finding his footing, but had a major breakthrough with the action-comedy, "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" (1978), which propelled the previously-struggling performer into the limelight.
Though he took a shot at Hollywood with "Battle Creek Brawl" (1980) and "The Cannonball Run" (1981), he would have to wait until "Rumble in the Bronx" (1996) to make his mark in the United States. But it was his starring turn in the wildly popular "Rush Hour" (1998) and its sequels that cemented his place as one of Hollywood's elite action stars. His status as a bankable actor was further enhanced with "Shanghai Noon" (2001) and its follow-up, "Shanghai Knights" (2003), though he took a stumble with "Around the World in 80 Days" (2004). While he returned to Hong Kong for a number of films, including his first with Jet Li, "The Forbidden Kingdom" (2008), Chan remained busy in Hollywood, as he retained his hold on being a popular box office draw.
Born on April 7, 1954 in Victoria Peak, Hong Kong, Chan was raised in a working class home by his father, Charles, a cook, and his mother, Lee-Lee, a cook and domestic respectively at the French consulate in Hong Kong. After failing out of the Nah-Hwa Primary School his first year, Chan immigrated to Australia with his parents where his father found work as a cook at the American embassy. A year later, Chan was sent back to Hong Kong, where he attended the Chinese Drama Academy, studying mime, acrobatics, singing, kung fu and Peking Opera for the next ten years with master Yu Jim-Yuen. A renowned wu-shen performer, Master Yu created the ensemble group, The Seven Little Fortunes, of which Chan became a member. He made his first onscreen appearance as one of the Seven Little Fortunes in the now-lost martial arts movie, "Big and Little Wong Tin Bar" (1962). He followed up with "The Love Eterne" (1963) and later in the decade with "Come Drink with Me" (1966), a martial arts film directed by King Hu that remained an all-time classic of Hong Kong cinema.
In 1971, Chan graduated from the Chinese Drama Academy and began appearing as an adult in numerous features, including forgettable fare like "A Touch of Zen" (1971) and "Monkey in the Master's Eye" (1972), while serving as a stuntman in famed Bruce Lee movies like "Fist of Fury" (1972) and "Enter the Dragon" (1973). Chan soon had his own starring vehicle, "The Little Tiger of Guangdong" (1973), which became a box office disappointment. By the time he made the adult comedy, "All in the Family" (1975), which did not feature one fight or action sequence, Chan had fallen into a slump, which led to rejoining his parents in Canberra, Australia in 1976, where he worked as a bricklayer and briefly attended Dickson College. Chan was called back to Hong Kong by producer Willie Chan, who paired him with director Lo Wei for "New Fist of Fury" (1976), in which he was billed as a new Bruce Lee. Even though Lo Wei directed Lee in the original "Fist of Fury," Chan was unable to duplicate the success and suffered another box office flop.
Chan finally had a major breakthrough with "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" (1978), which featured a more comedic style that allowed him to fully flourish on screen, leading to a change of course in the Hong Kong martial arts film. He began attracting larger audiences with "The Young Master" (1980) and "Dragon Lord" (1982), while breaking out internationally with a starring role in the slapstick "Battle Creek Brawl" (1980) and a small part as the driver of a high-tech Subaru in "The Cannonball Run" (1981). Chan next took a turn at directing with the action comedy "Project A" (1983), which he followed with an appearance in the abysmal sequel, "Cannonball Run II" (1984). The following year, he directed, starred and performed his own stunts in "Police Story" (1985), which became a huge hit and won several Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture. But because of numerous large-scale stunts, several stuntmen - including Chan - were injured during production. Forced to form the Jackie Chan Stuntmen Association after none were willing to work with him again, he assembled his own team, trained them personally and paid their medical bills out of his own pocket. He also formed Jackie's Angels, a casting and modeling agency, to cast his increasingly elaborate productions.
Read more: http://movies.yahoo.com/person/jackie-chan/biography.html
