In Rush Hour 3, the latest comedy-action film, Jackie teams up again with American comedian Chris Tucker, 35, for another round of merry mayhem as the two mismatched cops hunt down triads in Paris.

Rush Hour (1998) was the film that finally brought Jackie mainstream recognition in the West and Director Brett Ratner, 38, who helmed all three instalments in the successful franchise, claims credit for dreaming up the formula: ‘I’ve always loved buddy-cop movies. And I thought a fish-out-of-water comedy, teamed with the buddy-cop movie, would be great for Jackie Chan.’

Ratner’s instincts were proven right at the box office. Rush Hour made over US$244 million worldwide and its 2001 sequel topped that with a US$347 million haul. One would think Jackie would be pleased as punch about the series’ success. But with almost 100 films to his credit, he admits frankly: ‘I don’t really like Rush Hour 1 and Rush Hour 2. I made them just for the American and European markets.’

Jackie says that he agreed to make Rush Hour as a final attempt to break into the lucrative American market, where his previous films, The Big Brawl, Cannonball Run 1 and Cannonball 2 and The Protector failed to do so many years before.

“Rush Hour 2 was for the box-office because the first Rush Hour was so successful. I was so proud of the US$200 million box office,� Jackie says with a smile. “Rush Hour 3 was made for the fans Everywhere I went in the world, everyone’s asking me, ‘When are you doing Rush Hour 3?’�…

Although despite the overall success of the film franchise Jackie still sounds bemused by the popularity of the series, adding: ‘I would rather return to Asia to make my own films.’

Prior to the August 10th 2007 US and UK releases Jackie sat down with a bunch of Press for the following rap session in Los Angeles…

Press: Rush Hour 3 has taken a long time to come together – why did it take so long to happen?

Jackie Chan: For me, honestly for me it’s like an unfinished movie, filming, filming, right after Rob-B-Hood, then I do Rush Hour 3, the day I finished Rush Hour 3 then I go to next day start Forbidden Kingdom in China. Non-stop. For me, Rush Hour 3 just another movie. Maybe to the audience, wow, we’ve been waiting so long for Rush Hour 3.

Press: When you and Chris Tucker first met in Rush Hour, you don’t really understand each another and the audience picks up on that and were in on the whole thing… the comedy.

JC: I think you can feel it, the whole Rush Hour series, between 1, 2 and 3 the relationship changes between me and Chris. In the first one, I’m the shy boy and my English was not that good, I don’t know all the crew members, I was hiding on the set after rehearsals, even though I was the stunt co-ordinator. When you are the stunt co-ordinator you have to control the set, but I don’t know the rules. I even asked the driver to move my trailer away from Chris Tucker’s. Chris felt that way too. I didn’t want to see the social fake things, the “Hi, good morning!“ and after five minutes then run away (Laughing).

That makes it very hard to work, mostly ad-lib, I don’t know, so I don’t talk so much on the movie, and by the time five months later and the movie finished slowly we became friends off screen and on screen and especially during the promotion, I had to come to America and we stayed together at the same hotel and flying on the same aeroplane, so slowly we know each other, then suddenly Rush Hour 2 filming in Hong Kong, that’s my hood, suddenly I have to take care of everybody. Every day dinner, and in the car I show my friend, that’s mine, mine, mine, my territory. Then from Rush Hour 2, then we talk more, and I understand him more, my English is getting better, and now Rush Hour 3, now he is like my brother, he comes to my trailer, he comes to my home in LA, he’s shopping with me, I buy some present for him, we call each other, he come to Hong Kong to surprise me, and for five days we fooling around and we see each other at the Cannes film festival, with Brett (Ratner) but I don’t know why it takes six years to make Rush Hour 3. I don’t know what he’s [Chris Tucker] been doing. I called him, he says he’s busy! I said, “Ok, I’m the one who is busy! What are you doing?� No, No, I just say “Let’s do Rush Hour 3!“ because when we do the first Rush Hour we never expect there to be a part two or three, we just do it, then done. Actually, I don’t like Rush Hour 1, Rush Hour 3, I don’t like either, not my type of movie but I know the audience like it, for the audience, for the American market, the Western market. Myself, I am so busy, I have my own company, I make my own films.

But for the market, the audience wherever I go, in Asia people always ask me when am I going to do Drunken Master 3, when Operation Condor 3, nobody asks when are you doing Rush Hour 3. But when I travel in America and Europe, ‘when are you doing Rush Hour 3’, you know what I mean. Then I think, “Ah, I have to do Drunken Master 3 for the Asian market, I have to do Rush Hour 3 for Western market�. They are two different audience and even though I don’t like them, I still have to do it.

If you go to the theatre in America, then you go to the Asian audience, then you see the difference. For Asian’s, even if you understand English, it’s American slang English, in USA when you see Rush Hour 3 audience they like “Waaaa, yeah!“ at the funny slang dialogue, but in Asia nothing, quiet, then the action in Asian audience, no, terrible, the action nothing like I do in New Police Story, Rumble in the Bronx. The jokes, they don’t understand. My own movies in Asia, 50 million, Rush Hour only 10 million, see the difference? But my Asian movies cannot release in America, only the DVD market, but Rush Hour 100 million in America so later on I find out wow, I have two different markets,

Press: There is still lots of action in Rush Hour 3 isn’t there? These films are famous for that, and you still do this incredible physical stuff yourself…

JC: Actually all those years, nothing fresh, honestly from Who Am I, Drunken Master 2, even Drunken Master 1, nothing different, all punching kicking, somersault, punch. What makes Rush Hour unique is the story, comedy, humour, and different location like the fighting sequence on the Eiffel Tower. Just kicking, punching we fall down, then fighting, kicking, punch again, then on a building, kicking, punch, then in an office, kicking, punch - all the same. We are not doing a special effects movie, really like Superman or Spiderman, not like in a cartoon, they can do whatever they like, they are magic, but we are two human beings, Chris and I so it’s not how high I can jump, no, my punch cannot twist so far , the unique thing is with the comedy and humour, story, partnership, then different location then different action, wow. I think I am lucky, I am always choreographing myself, I know how high I can jump, how far I can go. As to how long I can continue, well, I don’t know, until my body tell me to stop, then I stop. Action sequence, I always like to do, I like to make the audience go wow, this guy still can do it so well.

Press: Why is the chemistry so good between you and Chris Tucker?

JC: In my movie I always like to make fun, I make fun of Chris, he make fun of me, that’s how to make the movie work. But you ask me why the chemistry is good, I don’t know, I have no idea, there is so many buddy movies out there. Why just Chris Tucker and me work? Why the audience like it? I still don’t understand.

Now it all change, the first time I meet him ten years ago here in LA in front of people on the set he would talk, the moment they said Chris he was quiet, he stayed in his trailer, very shy person, most of the time he was hiding. Me, when I get to know people then I try to speak, I try to have more conversation to practice my English, from the conversations in interview I learnt a lot of English. And, young boy Chris Tucker no discipline, he last on set, so easily get tired, he would ask me, “Jackie, come on! You are a big star! You can be late on the set! Every time you are on time you make me look bad!�, and I said “What, but that’s my job!�. I still don’t know the American system, with my system in Hong Kong, in Asia if it’s 5 o’clock then I have to be there. Then slowly, slowly, and in Rush Hour 2 Chris is changing a little bit, now Rush Hour 3 he talks very open, and he turn up on time, before I get to set he already on set, disciplined, whatever I tell him to do he do it, he never say no, and more friendly, doesn’t mean the first one he doesn’t like me, he’s just not hiding anymore, comes to my trailer, now it’s really a good feeling. Before I don’t know if I‘m shy, or what reason, I always hiding, when he come in I just smile, and wait for him to go away, I have nothing to say, nothing to talk about, only “Hello!�, but now we talk so much (Laughing)

Press: Was there a lot of improvisation on the set between you and Chris?

by Richard Cooper.

For the rest of the interview please see SCREEN POWER VOL. 8, ISSUE 2