Jackie wants to be China’s DeNiro!

Jackie Chan also wants to be China’s Robert DeNiro! He gets candid with TOI...
You appear in a slightly different kind of a role in The Karate Kid, although you do get to show off some kung fu skills.
I don’t want to be an action star my whole life. I want to be an actor who can fight, not a fighter who can act. So this is what I am planning to do: one children’s movie, which is The Karate Kid (although everyone will love it) and then one heavy drama.I want to be China’s Robert DeNiro. The next movie after these, probably I will do an 'Indiana Jones,' happy-go-lucky, lots of action, happy action. I have been planning it for so long. I think I have been doing this kind of light action for so many years, I can tell what kind of movie will work for what kind of audience. When I do Rush Hour, I know what kind of action it is. Children’s movie means a different kind of action and a different kind of humor. I think I am good in this kind of thing.
You’ve been doing your action comedy and your stunts for decades.
Yes, since the 70s and 80s.
Does it still sell today though?
I love action comedy. A big dilemma. I like action but I hate violence. But the only thing I like is comedy with action. I still like action things. I don’t know why. Maybe because I’ve been training my martial arts for so many years and also, I like to make people smile. I like to make the audience excited.
You think they will still smile at your action comedy?
I don’t think the audience like watching Jackie Chan running around a beach, kissing and sing a song — do you love me and I love you and bye bye and my girlfriend got cancer and she’s dying in the end, or maybe she’s blind and I don’t like her to see me.
How has the audience, especially the Asian audience changed over the years, do you think?
I think the audience in Asia has become more Westernised. American movies are very strong all these years, not only movies, but Internet, TV drama, or rap, song. When you go on the street, the young people have headphones and if you take it, always American songs. On TV shows, all young people, go ‘yo yo’, or now their movement like this, why, because of the culture. Why do you never see people in America do this (demonstrating a ‘wai’ gesture) Everybody is learning American culture.
So is it a good or bad thing?
It’s a good thing, but shouldn’t be only one side, should be many sides. When you wear a dress like this, I don’t even know if you are an Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Japanese, or Korean, I don't know. See, I promote my own culture. Even my jeans, they have a Chinese print.
What happened to the HK movie industry? It seems to have quietened down.
We don’t have a HK movie industry anymore, we call them China movies.
Is the Chinese government doing something like that, supporting the movie industry?
Yes. But China is too big. China government is against piracy, but you clamp down here, they start there. Even in HK right now, we still have piracy. I’m so depressed for this. I’ve been trying to talk to the government and they try to do the best they can, but there are just too many bad people out there. On their side, they want to survive. I think one day, when I have nothing to do, I might become a pirate businessman. Today I am Jackie Chan, I’m against this. It’s a dilemma. They want to survive, we want to survive, it’s like a war.
You know some people say when an actor is funny on-screen, they are serious off-screen, are you that way?
Yes, because I do have a responsibility. I work on charity helping people not only in Hong Kong. I travel around the world and help different kind of people. Because when I was young, I see so many people from around the world coming to Hong Kong to help us. When I was young, the Red Cross from America helped me, from England and from some other countries, and when I watch TV, I see so many people flying in to China to help Chinese people. They are not Chinese. So today, I’m grown up, I have the responsibility, if not to represent my country, but at least to represent myself, to give back to society. I travel around the world. I help one person, yes, enough, that makes me happy.
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