Page 30 - Fujifilm Exposure_19 Spider_ok

U P, U P
U P, U P
“You’llbelievea Thestartledtouristspour- ing into the grounds of Dublin Castle on a wet
Saturday morning believe it, too, as they watch open-mouthed while Jackie Chan races through
an outdoor cafe set in the upper yard of the castle, scrambles past the al fresco diners and vaults over a barrier.
From a distance, it looks like Chan is defy-
ing gravity. It is only
when one moves much closer to the action, as
the scene is shot again
and again, that a thin
wire becomes visible, connecting Chan’s jack-
et to a nearby crane -
and hoisting him into the air.
Jackie Chan does it
with
wires
on Highbinders
in Dublin.
man can fly,”
promised a
famous film publicity slogan.
It’s all in a day’s work on Highbinders for Jackie Chan, the charismatic Hong Kong actor who was born into abject poverty in 1954 and
has made a hugely successful career out of action movies over the past two decades.
A superstar in Asia since the
1980s, Chan was a longtime cult favourite in the west before break-
ing into the mainstream in recent years with the action comedies, Shanghai Noon, Rush Hour and its recent sequel, which have seen his earnings rise to $20 million for a single film.
One of the reasons why Chan’s action sequences are so convincing is that he is quite clearly performing all his own stunts - an unthinkable policy
for a Hollywood action star and surely a nightmare for the insurance compa- ny engaged by his producers.
What is most remarkable about seeing the lithe and graceful Chan in action in Dublin is how supremely fit and agile he is at the age of 47 -and he looks many years younger in person than he does on screen
Chan left Dublin after five weeks’ shooting on Highbinders, which, with a budget of $35 million, is the most expensive production ever to emanate from Hong Kong. Shooting the movie resumes in Hong Kong and Thailand after Chan shoots another movie, The Tuxedo, in Toronto.
Highbinders is an action comedy in which he plays Eddie Yang, a Hong Kong detective who uncovers an inter- national slavery syndicate and pur-
sues them to Dublin where a bumbling British Interpol detective (played by comic Lee Evans) is also on their trail.
This unlikely duo is joined by another Interpol agent (Claire Forlani from Meet Joe Black) as they try to track down the elusive Snakehead who is running this ruthless human traffic operation.
On the set, while Chan does another re-take of his running and jumping routine, screenwriter Bey Logan, a Hong-Kong-based Englishman, explains that the title, Highbinders, has a convoluted genealogy:
“A highbinder is someone who is killed and brought back to life
Photos: On location in Dublin with Jackie Chan, Lee Evans, John Rhys Davies, Claire Forlani, Director Gordon Chan and DP Arthur Wong filming Highbinders
EXPOSURE • 28 & 29