Jackie Chan’s Action-Packed Western Couldn’t Have Existed Without One Major Box Office Hit

It’s very strange that Hong Kong Jackie Chan was taken for so long to burst in North America. He was a massive star in Hong Kong throughout the 1970s, and his films were exciting and fun. For any reason, however, this success did not reflect very well to the American public, despite some tests of major American studios.

In 1980, for example, Warner Bros. And Golden Harvest teamed up to make “The Big Brawl”, alias “Battle Creek Brawl”, an American production that was supposed to bring Jackie Chan to the United States. “The Big Brawl” played Chan, playing a sweet restaurateur in the 1930s, Chicago, who rises up to the crowd. He played Kristine Debell, José Ferrer, Mako, Rosalind Chao and Haggerty, of the wrestler. The film was actually a success, but Warner Bros. It was disappointed that he was not as tall as Bruce Lee’s recent film “Enter The Dragon”. Chan was unable to remain in American conscience only by cameos in films like “The Cannonball Run”. The remake has never happened.

Chan also did not like the way the American directors filmed combat scenes. He used to have a giant team of fighters and waterfall performers who would repeat a lot to make sure that a scene was right. In America, it was only Chan, and the directors wanted to move on after two or three doses. It would not be before “Rumble in the Bronx” that Chan could make a film in her own idiom, but still with an American public in mind. It was a success.

After that, the studios tried their luck on Chan. He was at “Rush Hour” in 1998, playing half of a mismatched boyfriend duo in front of Chris Tucker, and he exploded in popularity. “Rush Hour” won $ 244 million with a budget of $ 30 million and has caused a whole deductible. This was also proved to be Chan as a bankable American star and led directly to his work on “Shanghai Noon”, a comedy / action / western in which he played with Owen Wilson. It was also a massive success. Chan talked about her way to an American western A vintage interview with WFAA ABC News.

Chan, it seems, had wanted to make a Westerner for many years. Chan has always been a big fan of Hollywood films, and even said in past interviews that her lively physique on the screen was deeply inspired by Buster Keaton. He loves westerns and had been aiming to make one of his own since at least 1980. Indeed, his experience on “The Big Brawl” led directly to his writing of a first draft of “Shanghai Noon”, which Chan was forced to keep in a drawer for decades. As he said:

“20 years ago, I was going to make a film in Texas and Arizona. And I would see a lot of cowboys […] And suddenly, my idea! Wow! It’s a good idea; A film from the 1800s, a Chinese who went west of Back East. I write the script. […] When I look at a cowboy [he mimes silently] That’s all. It becomes a comedy. But the studio will not listen to me, they don’t want to take a risk. So I stopped the project. But I kept the script. Then, after “rush hour”, I just presented my script to [producer] Roger Birnbaum. So I can speak English! Then Owen Wilson is a train thief! Then they changed a little … but I like it. “”

Chan was unable to make his western made in 1980 because, as the American producers told him at the time, he did not speak English enough. Therefore, it was relieved to be informed that he would be authorized to speak English for “Shanghai Noon”. The film was refurbished as a script for Alfred Gough and Miles Millar; Chan is not credited as a screenwriter or producer, but he maintains that making a western was his idea.

“Shanghai Noon” was a modest success, Make almost $ 100 million with a budget of $ 50 million. He inspired a suite entitled “Shanghai Knights”.