Chan goes for good, clean family fun

Jackie Chan started his film career in 1962 at the age of eight when he appeared in the Cantonese film, Big and Little Wong Tin Bar. Since then he has appeared in dozens of films, winning a following first in Asia and then around the world. Many say he is the most famous living Chinese actor. He is certainly the most popular. Chan made his Hollywood debut in 1980, playing a small role in Cannonball Run. Realising he had been a big fish in a small pond, Chan returned to Hong Kong, where he concentrated on the Asian market. When Chan re turned to Hollywood 16 years later, he had a totally different experience. Starring in Rumble in the Bronx, he conquered the United States market he had previously coveted. Since then, his name has become synonymous with Hong Kong cinema around the world.Chan is now working on Accidental Spy, scheduled for release next year. Although the film has segments shot in Hong Kong and Seoul, it was mostly filmed in Turkey, where Chan learned to his surprise that he had a large fan base. Apparently, you have a rather large following in Turkey. Did this come as a surprise to you? It really surprised me. I'm also popular in Iran and Iraq - all over the Middle East. But they're all pirated films. But it's okay. Otherwise, no one there would know about me. How is it different filming in Istanbul and in Hong Kong? In Turkey, the Government helped me. They blocked the roads and sent in the police. They did almost anything I wanted. In Hong Kong, no way. There's only one answer: 'No!' It's different here. Hong Kong is so small. For the last 10 years I've never filmed in Hong Kong. What was the most surpris ing thing that happened to you in Turkey? Once I was watching a Jackie Chan movie on TV. One man dubbed the whole thing. When I spoke, it was a man's voice. When the girl spoke, it was the same voice. I have no idea why. What was it like working in Turkey? It's not like in Hollywood where they have mobile homes [for the actors in eat in]. So when I was eating in the street, there were about 500 people watching me eat and saying 'hi' and asking for my autograph. So I had to eat and say 'hi' and eat and say 'hi' and stop to sign autographs. Did anything funny happen on location? [For one scene] I had to jump from a building on to a moving car. About 1,000 people were watching. Before filming the scene, I decided to go to the bathroom, but 300 to 400 people started running after me. They thought I was going to do a stunt. I turned around and said: 'I am sorry, but you can't watch me pee.' If you had to pinpoint one event that changed your life, what would it be? Going to Hollywood. Before I went there I thought I was really big - a superstar. But when you see Burt Reynolds' trailer that's as big as this office - and it's got two floors, you think: 'I'm not big.' When you see Farrah Fawcett walk by with a bodyguard, you think: 'I'm not big.' And when Whitney Houston walks by with five bodyguards, you think: 'I'm really not big.' I realised I was a big star in a small town. Hong Kong has just six million people. Hollywood really destroyed my confidence. I became humble. Your second time around, however, was different. You've now got a good reputation in Hollywood. What changed? The first time, I went to take Hollywood by storm and I failed. The second time I decided to just be Jackie Chan and do what I'm good at. I act well, so I get paid for acting. You write well, so you get paid for writing. I'm sure you get paid a lot more for acting than I do for writing. That's true now, but not in the beginning. I was born into a very poor family. When I started, actors in Hong Kong were paid $350 a film. Stunt co-ordinators were paid $1,500. That's why I started doing my own stunts. I got paid as an actor and as a stuntman. Then I became famous. The first time I got paid $1 million, do you know how that felt for a poor boy like me? I went out and bought six or seven watches - all with diamonds. I bought a Porsche and a Ferrari - all the same day. What are your plans? I want to make movies, not Hollywood movies and not local movies, but Jackie Chan movies. What makes Jackie Chan movies different from other kinds of movies? No violence, no sex, no foul language. People always think that action involves violence. In my movies, there is only action. If there is a gun, I always find a way to kick it away. You also need some comedy. How did this commitment to non-violence get started? It came from my fans. Children wrote me letters saying they didn't like violence. I realised that the people who make movies have a responsibility. Movies are so powerful. If they like your movies, they will try to copy you. If you are violent, they will want to be violent. If you dye your hair, they will want to dye their hair.