No coffee rush for Jackie in RP

LOS ANGELES - Jackie Chan may be unstoppable in his career as an international star but in his role as a businessman trying to open a chain of Jackie's Java Coffee shops in the Philippines, he has met a stumbling block.

At Jackie's recent press conference for his new movie, "Rush Hour 3," we asked the star if the first coffee shop in the chain is open in the Philippines. He flew to the country a year ago to launch the first international franchise of his Hong Kong-based coffee shop chain.

Jackie, who is always an entertaining interview subject,

often stood up, sang, danced and dished jokes at the press con. The comedian-action star's limited English is part of his charm. He replied to our question like a good storyteller would, saving the punch line in the end. "I had a one day holiday. They (Manila investors) said, 'Please come. We have a lot of people waiting for you.' I got a private jet. We flew even though there was a big typhoon. I got there, said hello to everybody and flew back (to Hong Kong). Then Java sued us."

"They sued you?" one of our colleagues asked him.

"Yeah," he answered. "They said you cannot use Java (in my coffee shop name) so we stopped." Jackie did not offer specific details on who or which entity is trying to prevent him from using the word "Java" in the name of his Starbucks-style coffee shop chain. There is a business entity already named Jackie's Java that's registered in Colorado. Could this be the firm that's suing to prevent Jackie from using the name, Jackie's Java Coffee?

When we followed up on the subject, the multitalented star replied, "We are in negotiations right now. If I cannot use Java, I will call my chain Jackie's Waja Coffee (laughter). But I want Java in the name. No Java Waja, no Cha Cha. I can use Cha Cha Wawa, yeah." Did we tell you he's amusingly silly too?

Apparently, the use of Jackie's Java Coffee as his chain's name is being legally challenged only in the Philippines. Jackie, who operates other businesses, revealed, "This year, we will open 20 in the Middle East and Africa. The investors joked that nobody would bomb a Jackie Chan coffee shop (laughter). I said, 'Oh, is that right?' They said, 'Yeah. Because everybody loves you.'" (After the press con, Jackie did tell us that he's aware and appreciative that many Filipino moviegoers love him.)

He announced, "We are also opening a few in Malaysia and Singapore. On Jan. 1, 2008, we will open the first one at the Beijing airport. Our Shanghai branch is opening soon, too."

Buddy cops

In the meantime, there's "Rush Hour 3," where the martial arts ace teams with Chris Tucker again as buddy cops. But this time they bring the action to Paris where they battle a crime family. Directed once more by Brett Ratner, the movie begins with an action-packed sequence set in downtown Los Angeles before the odd couple move on to the City of Light.

In that fabled European city, Jackie and Brett had the pleasure of having the exiled director, Roman Polanski, as an unlikely guest star. Surprise, surprise, Roman, an acclaimed filmmaker, is a fan of the previous "Rush Hour" movies. Adding to the international flavor of the cast are esteemed veteran Max von Sydow, Julie Depardieu (daughter of Gerard Depardieu), Hiroyuki Sanada, Yvan Attal, Noemie Lenoir and Zhang Jingchu.

Jackie acted like a kid -- and who wouldn't be? - when he recalled how the film production had the Eiffel Tower at its disposal, from midnight to six o'clock in the morning for several days. When Brett told him that they would be shooting stunts on the famous landmark and not just use it as a background, he said, "Are you kidding?"

Jackie shared Brett's response and the rest of the exchange:

"Yes, we paid a lot of money."

"How much money?"

"Like a couple of million dollars. We can turn on or off all the lights. We can do whatever we like to."

And so they did. Brett, whom we interviewed separately, also beamed like a boy at a toy store when he shared his thrill at being able to tell his assistant director to switch on and off all the lights on the Parisian landmark. He admitted giving the command "three or four times" just for the sheer pleasure of seeing the Tower go dark and then ablaze with lights again.

In Jackie's case, he remembered "being there 30 years ago. We had to get in line and then we were squeezed in with all the other people when we were inside."

No daring action

Flash forward to the present: "I had my private elevator (laughter) with an engineer and a security guard." He was able to explore the landmark by just pointing at closed areas and saying, "I want to go there." Doors were opened for him.

He enjoyed the freedom to roam anywhere on the steel structure. But there was one thing he wanted so badly to do but couldn't: do all the stunts Hong Kong style (virtually no safety or protection measures). He tried and said, "Let's do it the Hong Kong way." But since "Rush Hour 3" is an American production, multimillion dollar liability clauses forbid him from indulging his taste for derring-do.

Brett explained: "Jackie jumped into an elevator shaft. The difference was he had 10 cables connected to him so if he fell or missed the elevator shaft, he wouldn't fall. If he was in Hong Kong, he'd be like, 'OK, let's do it. Quickly. Lets go.' Boom. He would do that. Jackie is crazy. It has been proven that he's crazy (laughter)."

The actor's narration of how his friendship with co-star Chris grew from "fake" to a true one was complete with gestures and facial expressions. "Honestly, in 'Rush Hour 1,' it was all fake. All I could say to him was, 'Hi. How are you?' Because my English was not that good. And he's a very shy boy. He tried to be nice to me but I was shy. When Chris said, 'Hi Jackie, good morning,' I answered (he demonstrated with a timid wave of his hand), 'Hi, good morning.' Then I walked away.

"I told the driver to put my trailer away from his trailer. He was hiding. I was hiding. We only saw each other on the set. By the time we finished the movie, we were slowly becoming friends. But I returned to Hong Kong and he stayed in America. When we saw each other again to promote the movie, we stayed at the same hotel. We ate together almost every night. We got to know each other better.

"When we made 'Rush Hour 2,' we were good friends. Now we are brothers (laughter). He came to Hong Kong to surprise and see me. I came to the US to see him. We showed up in Cannes where we went out, ate and had drinks. Now we talk about our families."

Speaking of Hong Kong, he's on a mission to make that territory clean. He claimed that he once ran after a car when he saw a passenger throw a napkin on the street. "It turned out to be a mother with her children," Jackie said. "I told her, when you throw trash anywhere, your children will learn from you."

Good training

He stressed that cleanliness and orderliness should extend inside the home. "I have never dropped one rice grain on the table. Because when we were young, if you dropped one rice grain on the floor, you got one slap. When I drop food on the floor, I pick it up and still eat it. That's how we were trained. Now, the children are too wild. They will say, 'Don't hit me. I will sue you.' "

With his hands, he demonstrated how he even arranges his shoes neatly back home. "I wash my socks and underwear," he said to guffaws. "Go to my bathroom right now at my President's suite," Jackie dared. "That's how we were trained. My son, until now, his shoes are like this (he showed how the pair is not aligned). He never listens. I have been telling him for 20 years."

Asked if he has any dreams left, Jackie, who is 53, replied, "My dream is to continue filming until my body tells me to stop. Five years ago, I told everybody, 'Five more years and then I retire.' But now, I don't know how many more five years (laughter). Right after 'Rush Hour 3,' I started 'The Forbidden Kingdom' (his movie with Jet Li). We finish this month. In September, we start another film which I will direct. After that, in 2009, Zhang Yimou and I will make a movie."

"Rush 3" sequel

With his storytelling flair, he added, "So I told Brett and Chris, if you want to make 'Rush Hour 4,' it will have to be in 2010 (laughter)."

But he does have another dream, to nurture new talents. He said, "I started a new company in China that will make 10 small budgeted films featuring new directors, actors, writers, everybody is new. I want to help new talents. Otherwise, it's always Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Jet Li (laughter). We started a program like 'American Idol' in China. I am looking for the new Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh and so on. We also need new stunt coordinators. Otherwise, it will always be the same people. No new guys."

Our colleague who saw him at an LA store buying gardening and cleaning tools asked if that's the way he likes to spend his free time in the US. He replied, "Each time I am in America on vacation, I go to home improvement stores. Last time, I bought cleaning tools and shipped them to China."

"But weren't all those items made in China?" another reporter countered. "Yeah, everything's made in China but I cannot get them in China." He got another laugh on that one, of course.
Ruben V. Nepales
Inquirer