[left]Chan Kong-sang known as Jackie Chan (born on April 7, 1954 in Hong Kong, China) is a Chinese martial artist, actor, director, producer, stuntman and singer.
Chan is one of the most well-known names in Kung fu and action movies worldwide, known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and use of props including furniture and other set pieces as improvised weapons. Chan has appeared in over a hundred movies, and is one of the most recognisable Asian movie stars in the world. He has a star on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong as well as the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Chan is also a major pop star in Asia, and has released over 100 song titles in 20 albums since 1984. He sings in many different languages including English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese. He also sings many of the theme songs to his films.
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Screen Name
Cantonese Pengyam Seng Long
Mandarin Pinyin Chéng Lóng
Chinese 成龍 (Traditional)
成龙 (Simplified)
Birth Name
Cantonese Pengyam Can Gõhng Säng
Mandarin Pinyin Chén Gǎngshēng
Chinese 陳港生
Alternate Personal Name
(see below)
Cantonese Pengyam Fong Si Lung
Mandarin Pinyin Fáng Shìlóng
Sometimes credited as Jacky Chan
Yuan Lung Chan
Yuen-Lung Chan
Lung Chen
Long Cheng
Wellson Chin
Sing Lung
Chinese 房仕龍 (Traditional)
房仕龙 (Simplified)
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Biography
Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong, China (presently part of People's Republic of China). Chan is the son of Lee-Lee and Charles Chan, who emigrated to Canberra, Australia in 1960 as refugees from the Chinese Civil War. Prior to leaving China, Lee-Lee and Charles had worked as a maid and butler, respectively, for the French ambassador to Hong Kong. Chan's Chinese name at birth was Chan Kong-Sang, meaning "born in Hong Kong".
Before he adopted the Westernised name, "Jackie", he was known by a variety of other nicknames. As he was a heavy baby, (12 lb at birth, he claims to have spent 12 months in the womb), his mother nicknamed him "Pao Pao" (meaning "Cannonball"). Later, while studying at the Peking Opera School he was known as Yuen Lo, as a mark of respect to his master, Yu Jim-Yuen.
In his early stuntman and acting career (prior to New Fist of Fury in 1976) he was known as Chen Yueng Lung (or Chen Yuen Lung). It may be ann odd coincidence that Sammo Hung's Opera School name was similar - Yuen Lung. He was thereafter known as "Jackie", named by his Australian co-workers when living in Australia in 1976-1977[1]. Working on a building site alongside a labourer named Jack, Chan's co-workers nicknamed him "Little Jack", and later shortened this to Jackie. Because his father's family name was originally Fong and was changed only when arriving in Hong Kong, Chan's Chinese name was changed in family records years later to "Fong Si Lung"[2]. He has also been listed as "Sing Lung" (meaning "young dragon" or "to become a dragon"), particularly in relation to his music and it may be no coincidence that his character in the film Fearless Hyena was called "Shing Lung".
Early years
Chan was educated at Nan Hua Elementary Academy, but his parents felt he didn't fit in at school so they sent him to the Chinese Opera Research Institute (1961-1971) and later, due to financial difficulties, they enrolled him at the Peking Opera School. Whilst there, he was taught skills in acrobatics and kung fu under an extremely strict regime. It was here that Chan joined a number of other students who would become members of the Seven Little Fortunes (the Opera school's best students), and ultimately his Hong Kong film industry compatriots. They included Yuen Wah, Corey Yuen (Yuen Kwai) and Yuen Qiu. He also became firm friends with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, and the three of them would later come to be known as the Three Brothers or Three Dragons.
Upon finishing at the Opera school, and a brief spell in Australia, Chan returned to Hong Kong and like his fellow former students, found work as a film stuntman, before ultimately being offered acting roles. Chan got his first international success in 1978, with the film Drunken Master. The movie depicted Wong Fei Hung, played by Chan, as a young and mischievous rascal instead of the venerable master of Kung fu that he normally was. This approach made the movie pretty radical. Another special thing about the movie was the silly antics and charm of Chan and Yuen Siu Tien (also known as Simon Yuen), father of renowned martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. The film was a big success and led the way for other international hits such as Rumble in the Bronx.
1980s
Chan married Taiwanese actress Lin Feng-Jiao (Chinese: 林鳳娇) in 1983 according to his autobiography, but many Asian sources state he was married on December 1, 1982. His official website states that he was married in 1982. Chan admitted on an interview with Indian Talk Show hostess, Simi Garewal that he married his wife because she got pregnant before marriage [3]. Chan and Lin Feng-Jiao have a son, Jaycee Chan (aka Jo-Ming), who was born on December 3, 1982, although Chan's autobiography lists his son's birth year as 1984. Chan also alledgedly has a daughter, Etta Ng Chok Lam (b. November 19, 1999), as a result of an affair with Elaine Ng Yi-Lei.
Between 1983 and 1985, Chan enjoyed his most prolific period of acting alongside his opera school brothers. The three appeared together in Chan's Project A and the first of Hung's original Lucky Stars trilogy, Winners and Sinners in 1983. These were followed by Wheels on Meals in 1984, and they were reunited twice more for the Lucky Stars semi-sequels My Lucky Stars and Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars, both in 1985. This was something of a golden period for Hong Kong cinema-goers, as three of the nation's most loved stars performed together on screen.
Chan is perhaps best known for performing the majority of his own stunts, which he cheorographs along with his stunt team. Around the time of Project A in 1983, Chan officially formed the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, allowing him to train and work with a group of trusted martial artists and stuntmen for each of his ensuing movies. Chan stated that this makes it easier to choreograph fight scenes as he already has knowledge of his team's abilities. He and his team also undertake many of the more dangerous stunts for the other characters in his films. These are usually shot from behind or otherwise obscuring the faces so it is not obvious to the viewer. The dangerous nature of the stunts make it difficult for Chan to get insurance, particularly in the US, where his stunt work is contractually limited.
Chan holds the Guinness World Record for "Most Stunts By A Living Actor". The record notes that "no insurance company will underwrite Chan's productions, in which he performs all his own stunts"[4]. Chan has been injured several times during his stunts, and these are sometimes played amongst the bloopers shown over the closing credits of his later movies. He came closest to death while filming Armour of God (1985), when he fell from a tree in a relatively routine stunt and fractured his skull.
In his autobiography, Chan says he originally created his screen persona as a reaction to that of the martial artist Bruce Lee, and the numerous imitators who appeared before and after Lee's death (see "Bruceploitation"). Where Bruce Lee's characters were typically stern, morally upright heroes, Chan plays well-meaning, slightly foolish regular guys, often at the mercy of friends, girlfriends or families. However, his characters always triumph in the end.
Chan repeatedly attempted to break into the American movie industry, appearing in movies like Battle Creek Brawl, Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run II and The Protector in the early 1980s.
1990s
In the 1990s, Chan was offered two roles that would portray him as a villain, but declined both of them. His friend, Sylvester Stallone, offered Chan the role of the criminal, Simon Phoenix, in the futuristic film Demolition Man but he declined as he did not want to play a villain for fear of being typecast for any future Hollywood roles. The role was instead taken by Wesley Snipes. He also declined to play a villain in the film Lethal Weapon 4 with the role taken by Jet Li. Was approached about playing the bad guy in Rambo IV, but turned it down since he feels that a lot of kids look up to him and he wants to be a good role model. Additionally the character was a drug dealer and Jackie has a very personal reason for not wanting to play any character associated with drugs.
While he did attain cult popularity in the US, his break into the mainstream was Rumble in the Bronx in 1995. He has attained the box-office guarantee that has so far eluded other Hong Kong movie stars like Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh in Hollywood. He also made a successful animated series called Jackie Chan Adventures.
In 1994, MTV honoured Chan with a lifetime achievement award for his action-oriented movies, and a year later, he made his "official" debut in North America with a worldwide release of Rumble in the Bronx.
2000s
As well as many on-going projects, Chan is a keen philanthropist and has worked tirelessly to champion many charity works and causes. As a well-respected figure of the Hong Kong entertainment industry, he is often one of the leaders in such works, speaking up for conservation, against animal abuse as well as promoting disaster relief efforts for flooding in mainland China and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Chan helped raise thousands of US dollars, however this money was later stolen by a third party. In June, 2006, he announced that he would donate half of his assets to charity when he dies. He stated that he admired the efforts by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to help those in need.[5][/left]
السبت مايو 17, 2008 7:53 pm