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Jet
Li
Actor
Asia's
Leading Man Makes His American Debut
His
martial arts moves are so lightning fast and powerful he takes the
audience by surprise. I should know, I saw "Lethal Weapon 4"
several times, in movie theaters in San Francisco and Newport Beach
and each time the audience gasped at this newcomers' breathtaking
quickness and grace. I say "newcomer," but Jet Li is no
newcomer in Asia.
He is a national
treasure in China, a five time martial arts champion, and a huge
box office hit already starring as a hero in more than 25 movies
under his (black) belt produced by Hong Kong filmmakers.
"Lethal
Weapon 4," a hilarious comedy with all the usual Hollywood
spectacular car chases, buildings blowing up and good guys chasing
bad guys co-starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, is Jet Li's English
speaking debut into major American motion pictures. And yes, Hollywood
Director Richard Donner cast Jet Li as the insultingly
stereotypical bad guy, an Asian triad crime lord, but as
you try to dislike the "villain role" that Jet plays so
well, you look into this movie star's eyes and start to swoon. Miscast,
it's like casting Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise as an evil
character, such a waste of fine talent.
At
the recent National Association of Asian American Professionals
8th Annual Leadership Conference in Seattle, Asian American working
professionals in mainstream media, several from major media conglomerates,
decried with frustration that Hollywood is still portraying Asians
in degrading and one-dimensional roles.
After receiving
the gratuitous "bad guy" photo of Jet Li smashing Mel Gibson's
face from the film production studios AsianConnections spent several
weeks requesting a smiling photo of Jet from the Hollywood studios.
Finally, an industrious pr representative discovered the precious
single photo you see of Jet Li smiling and victoriously and graciously
hand messengered it to us. Thanks to the folks at Warner Brothers
and super pr agents Rogers and Cowan, for also going the extra mile
for us.
Jet Li is a
leading man if we ever saw one, a handsome and sexy one too, and
he deserves to be smiling on every frontpage publication.
The
rest of Hollywood may be noticing, too that Jet Li burns up the
screen, and not because he plays a good villain. Hollywood may be
waking up to the ring of the box office cash registers spurred by
their Asian actors. Like any shrewd for-profit making business,
Hollywood columnist Michael Fleming of Daily Variety reports that
audiences went wild over Jet during test screenings of "Lethal
Weapon 4" and Warner Brothers was quick to exercise an option
on his contract to capitalize on his appeal and is now keeping him
busy filming a second major motion picture.
Warner
Brothers, "Romeo Must Die," which Fleming describes as
producer Joel Silver's version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and
Juliet" was originally conceived for a Caucasian star and is
being re-drafted for Jet Li. "Romeo Must Die," effectively
delays Jet's starring role in Universal Studios', "Art of War"
movie which is now scheduled to be filmed right after shooting is
completed on "Romeo Must Die."
While
there was no news on the final storyline of Jet's next two movies,
his Hollywood spokesperson assures us, Jet is cast as the hero and
in at least one of the films, he gets the girl! Congratulations,
Go - Jet!
Li
was born in Beijing, where at the age of eight he was enrolled in
the Beijing Amateur Sports School for wushu training. After several
years of intensive instruction led by his mentor, Coach Wu Bin,
Li won his first and subsequently four more national championships
for the Beijing Wushu Team. As part of a world tour in 1974, at
age eleven, he had the distinction of performing a two man fight
set on the White House lawn for President Nixon and Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger.
Jet Li's entrance into American films has special significance to
those of us who care about stronger and better Asian representation
in the media. As an Asian American who has been working within America's
mainstream broadcast journalist community, I have been more than
an impartial observer of Asians in the media. Years ago, as an official
board member of a state film commission, I visited the desert set
in Tucson, Arizona of "Cannonball Run" and
was excited to meet a young new Asian star named Jackie Chan. I
still clearly remember that my friends accompanying me to the shoot
and I were thrilled to get a glimpse of Jackie and shake his hand.
The other movie stars, and there were plenty, including Burt Reynolds
and Dean Martin were just gravy for the long, dusty drive through
the Arizona desert. (We were all similar in age to Jackie, in our
twenties and had decided we couldn't ask for his autograph because
as members of the Governor's Film Commission, we had to act "dignified,"
even though stars and crew members alike, were busy taking photos
and getting autographs from each other.)
We
remember hoping that this film would be Jackie Chan's big break
into American motion pictures, so we wouldn't have to rent those
dubbed in English Hong Kong made films where people's mouths don't
match the English translation. It wasn't to happen. It took him
nearly fifteen more years to really make it in Hollywood as a big
box office draw. Watch for AsianConnections' upcoming features and
video clips on Jackie, his new inspiring autobiography and latest
American movie, "Rush Hour " with Chris Tucker, his first
in ten years.
While it has taken Jackie Chan, a martial arts master, comic genius
and Asian mega star in his own right, many years to successfully
cross the Pacific to star in mainstream American movies, we hope
Jet Li can capitalize on his current momentum in "Lethal Weapon
4." Sure, we've read the usual cynical criticism particularly
from the Asian press that he's been cast in yet another stereotypical
role, but hey, chill out for just a moment guys, let's celebrate
Jet Li's English-speaking American debut, tell Hollywood what a
treasure they have in their hands, and actively encourage
Hollywood movie producers and writers to create more films with
better multi-dimensional roles for him as well as all other Asians.
Motion
picture studios make money not only from U.S. audiences but increasingly
depend upon a global audience to bring home the money. Message to
Hollywood: we want to see Jet Li in more movies with better roles!
Look at his close-ups in "Lethal Weapon 4," he's
a leading man if we ever saw one! In San Francisco, three young
women sitting next to me at a screening of "Lethal Weapon 4"
told me they came to see Jet Li, not Mel Gibson or Danny Glover!
When
Jet Li smiles on-camera you can see a huge Hollywood star in the
making. Let's buy tickets to go to his films, send him lots of fan
mail of moral support* and let Hollywood know who they are dealing
with. We can hardly wait to see his next U.S. films.
By
Suzanne Joe Kai, Co-Founder, AsianConnections. Ms. Kai is a former
Emmy nominated broadcast television news journalist. She has been
a news reporter, documentary producer and talk show host at KRON-TV
(NBC) San Francisco, KCBS-Newsradio (CBS), KTVU-TV (Cox), and KGUN-TV
(ABC). Ms. Kai holds a BA in Sociology and Economics from Mills
College and a Masters Degree in Communicartion from Stanford University.
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More On Jet Li:
AC Team
Exclusive Interview with Jet Li
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