April 25th, 2009
News Links: April 25th, 2009
I’m sure you’re probably tired of hearing about Jackie Chan but just one note before we move on to other topics. Has anyone seen a Chinese transcript of Big Brother Jackie’s remarks? I’ve found the YouTube video of his remarks but the only Mandarin that I understand is the lyrics from 對面的女孩看過來 so I’ve been looking for a transcript. I’ve Googled high and low yet nothing! You’d think that with the abundance of media sources out there today, someone would put up a transcript. There’s over a billion Chinese people on this planet. Aren’t there other Chinese geeks like me who want to know what he actually said and the full context in which he said it?
It probably doesn’t really matter anymore because Big Brother Jackie has already been covered by the stink. In reality, he may not have said that “Chinese need to be controlled” but the general perception is that he said it. It’s like when I was playing on the junior high basketball team and eight kids were stuffed inside a van going to another school for a game. Someone in the van farts. It doesn’t matter whether or not you were the one who farted, if everyone else thinks you were the one who dealt it, you were the one who dealt it. I think Jackie Chan is now in the same boat. Maybe he’s looked at the situation and said, it doesn’t matter what I say, the damage is done. Maybe the best way to minimize the damage is to ignore it.
Watching this story develop over the past week has made the entertainment circle fan in me a bit sad. I think what I am feeling now is 
similar to what Muhammad Ali fans must have been feeling towards the end of his illustrious career. Ali took a couple of horrible beatings in his last two fights. I’m sure that a lot of his fans — who were electrified by his wins in the Rumble in the Jungle and the Thrilla in Manilla — wished that he would have retired earlier. I think I’m starting to feel that way too. There was no greater thrill in HK entertainment than watching Jackie Chan films like PROJECT A, POLICE STORY, MIRACLES and DRUNKEN MASTER II. Watching him now with his various gaffes and his starring roles in tired films like RUSH HOUR 3 and potential cheesefests THE SPY NEXT DOOR and the yet-to-be-named Jaden Smith KARATE KID project, you sort of wish he’d stop trying to be an alpha dog and scale back to being a dignified elder statesman (like, say, Jet Li).
Ultimately, these scanadals — Dragon Seed, drunken behaviour, unfortunate remarks — will all be footnotes to a glorious career but you always want your heroes to go out with a bang befitting their greatness and not with a whimper. Ali fans had to watch as the Greatest of All Time suffered the indignity of losing badly to a journeyman in his last fight. I hope Jackie Chan fans are spared the sight of Big Brother Jackie’s career ending in ignominy amidst a series of box office bombs.
I’ll shut up now. Here are the links:
JACKIE CHAN NEWS LINKS:
New York Times: Jackie Chan Strikes a Chinese Nerve
Jackie Chan chooses to ignore backlash
Singapore reaction to Jackie Chan’s comments
Hollywood Reporter: Jackie Chan books 100th movie
Electric New Paper: Close to Singapore, but not the actresses?
IN PRODUCTION:
Newly-crowned HKFA Best Actress Bau Hei-Jing showed up on the set of Ivy Ho’s CROSSING HENNESSEY earlier this week to shoot a wedding scene. In the film, Bau plays the mother of lead actor Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau’s character. Danny Lee Sau-Yin plays her husband. The film also stars LUST, CAUTION sensation Tang Wei. Asked what it was like to work with the ingenue, Heavenly King Cheung replied: “She’s a very hard-working actress who puts a lot of heart into her work.”
In related news, Jennifer Tse Ting-Ting (sister of Nicholas, daughter of Patrick) paid a visit to the set. Her rumoured boyfriend, Andy On Chi-Kit, has a role in the film.
RELATED LINKS:
GENERAL NEWS:
Spencer Lam Seung-Yi (1934 - 2009; LoveHKFilm People Page): `Uncle Spencer’ dies
Johnnie To thriller faces off against heavyweights at Cannes
Wong Kar-wai launches regional events company
RELATED: Sina.com video and photos from event
TVB.com partners MSN for online MyTV service
Jill Vidal pleads guilty to heroin possession
Patrick Tse: Son merely putting on airs
Charlie Yeung, Miriam Yeung, Louis Koo help UNICEF raise funds for Sichuan
Michelle Yeoh uses star power to promote road safety globally
Taipei Times Pop Stop: Lin Chi-Ling - “Toilet Prince” rumours; more
RELATED: In an interview for Hunan Satellite Television, Lin Chi-Ling refuted rumours that she has had breast augmentation surgery.
Singapore: Zoe (Tay) shoots Fann (Wong) over & over again
Taiwan: Suzanne Hsiao absent thrice for community service and risks retraction of probation order
Japan: SMAP star arrested for alleged indecency
South Korea: Activists to stage alternative beauty pageant
FEATURES:
HKFA Best Actor winner Nick Cheung Ka-Fai: Patience Rewarded
The Rape of Nanking: 1 Massacre, 2 Films and 3 Perspectives
PHOTO GALLERYS:
Richie Ren shoots a music video with Taiwanese model Bianca Bai
Jolin Tsai from January to December
Image credits: Library of Congress (Muhammad Ali)
April 25th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Uh, it says right in the youtube description: full English translation at:
http://cfensi.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/epic-post-3-what-jackie-chan-was-really-talking-about/
And yes, he was horribly taken out of context. Poor Jackie.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I think Sanney is looking for the full Chinese transcript not an English translation.
April 26th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
jackie in youtube vid: oh boy, he’s just rambling. how to you condense all the complex problems going on in HK & taiwan, to the “control/regulation” inferred from chewing gum and jaywalking? the context he sets up is a very simplistic one along the lines of, “without control, you have chaos and disorder” - mostly speaking from the privileged position of those in the room and himself being the ones excluded from the need to be controlled (i.e. he’s certainly not saying “ALL of us including everybody in this room, is contributing to the chaos in pan-chinese regions.” he obviously mean THOSE other people lacking self-respect & resources someone like he does, and therefore must get by or have their voices heard in a “chaos-erupting” manner, which calls for control.)
yes, he doesn’t speak directly of democracy itself, so the semantics of “need to control” vs. “to be controlled” is up to his supporters/”detractors” to underline. but he does set up his “tawk” with premise that china is 5000 years old, a 60-year-old republic that’s only been “open” for 30 years, so it can’t be judged as those democratic for a long time, & should play to its own rules (his example: “when making movie in china, follow chinese rules of the game”.) pandering much? yes.
i personally feel he’s just speaking to the frustration of those in power, who feel pressured and criticized about how to best exercise the power they have. jackie affirms them that A) it’s your power, it’s your land - use it to the best of your judgment. B) don’t feel guilty or inadequate in using your power (to control, etc.), because do you really want to end up in chaos like taiwan & HK?
if anything, it’s an ego-booster, pep talk in under 4 minutes. right now i’ll just take it as the button-pushing, ego-soothing small talk you don’t really take seriously after an extravagant meal with your filthy rich uncle:P to really address each complex major issue facing HK, Taiwan, China, filmmaking, “self-respect” as a diverse & large body of people…not even obama in his intelligence can wing it in such short time (groan.)
April 26th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
p.s. awesome and flavorful writing as usual, mr. sanney;) just a little light on juicy gossip this time:D