DRESS TO KILL

JC : One thing I really want to say is that Jennifer was really brave. I think it helped that she had a dance background. You try to teach some people and they have no rhythm, they are just bam bam bam. Jennifer was really good.

Jackie, what do you find to be the biggest difference between the Asian audience and the American audience, when it comes to movies?

JC : Asian audiences know what to expect from me, they have already seen this kind of exciting movement already. American audiences are more into it. They respect the movies and the film business. They always go to a theatre to see a movie, they never buy a pirate version. In Asia, pirate copies are killing the movie business. Most people just wait until the pirate comes out to buy.

Jennifer, you sing, you produce, you act, you're very creative. How do you focus?

JLH : I hope to keep on doing them all. I like mixing it up a little bit, that way I never get tired of one thing.

Jackie and Jennifer, if you could get a fancy tuxedo like the one in the movie, what functions would you like it to have?

JC : First, I would send it to some company to make more. If I could not do that, then I would have it make a movie at daytime, then at night-time it would save the world.

JLH : I would want to wear Jackie Chan's tuxedo, and hopefully my tuxedo would make me Jackie Chan so that I could do the stuff that he does every day.

What was the most difficult sequence to shoot and to get right?

JC : For me the dancing part was the biggest problem. When I remember the step, I forget the lyric. When I remember the lyric, I forget a step. The dancing was horrible.

JLH : The most difficult part for me was probably the pool scene where I am supposed to be drowning because I am claustrophobic, and have a huge fear of my head being held underwater. I was terrified for nine hours, while I was in a pool with this big guy continually dunking my head under the water.

Had you guys met before? Had you done anything together before? Could you reflect on your first meeting together?

JLH : When we first met, Jackie was like: "I don't remember meeting you, Jennifer. [Laughs] Was she in the movie?" We first met in Toronto. Jackie was super busy, and that day we read through the script for the first time.

JC : When my manager said that Jennifer was going to be my new sidekick, I didn't know who she was, honestly. I would recognise her face, but not her name. But when I saw her in Heartbreakers, I knew who she was.

Any injury stories whilst filming to divulge?

JC : I only pulled a hamstring. So I didn't need a medic, just a massage

JLH : I am a klutz. I was always hurting myself. I cracked my ankle during a triple-kick scene. I had crutches, and Jackie carried me around a little bit. He also came up with these cool ways of making me feel better, as he had hurt himself so many times during his movies. It was no big deal.

Jackie, what do you think about the use of the martial arts in so many different movies today?

JC : Doing martial arts for me is a daily routine, and after all these years I like to do something new. When I found out about The Tuxedo, that it had all the special effects and Dreamworks involvement, I had confidence in the film. The only thing was the dancing part. I am not very good at dancing. It just makes me nervous.

Jennifer, could you imagine doing a TV series, or are you only committed to building a film career now? What kind of role would you like to play the most?

JLH : I would love to do television one day, but probably not for a while. I am really enjoying doing films, and getting to play different characters. I do miss acting every day. That was the great thing about being in television, constantly working on my craft. Every single day I was developing the same character over and over again. It was a good acting exercise.

Jackie, do you ever regret not going to America in your career?

JC : I was thinking about going to America about fifteen to twenty years ago, when I was really big in Asia, but nobody knew me there. The American market totally destroyed my confidence. It makes me sad because, when I looked at myself, I hated myself. But now I am just like a huge star. I'm a huge star in America. When I go back to Hong Kong, I change. I am humble, no more diamond watches. The American audience really changed me in that time. I think that now when I go back, it's the right timing, the right moment. In Asia I'm like an old star. In America I'm still new.

Jennifer, I'm just wondering what you are more nervous about; this movie coming out, or your new album coming out? And also, will you be performing?

JLH : I'm going to be performing on a bunch of talk shows, and have everything like that coming up. I'm probably more nervous about the record coming out. You can't be nervous about a Jackie Chan movie coming out. He's the greatest ever and people are lucky to see his movies, and I was lucky to get to be in it.

You're both in the public eye all the time. What do you do to relax and try to stay away from the Hollywood crowd in your free time?

JLH : When I'm not working, I just hang out at home and I don't really do much. I like to be quiet and hang with my family and my dog, and eat pizza and watch TV.

JC : For over fifteen years I haven't felt like I had a private life anymore. Before I was famous, I could walk down the street wearing my glasses and nobody would recognize me. I could take off my glasses, and still nobody would recognize me. But now, I cover my face and people still recognize me. I just don't understand why. Sometimes I am walking so fast, and people who are passing by are saying: 'Hi, Jackie Chan'. I don't go shopping much. I mostly relax in LA, because I have a big house. Not like in Hong Kong, where three million doesn't buy much. I enjoy staying at home, wearing my underwear, by myself. I train in the morning, just maybe a punch, punch; kicking, kicking and then I go into the garden and clean. And I go to the swimming pool, and I cut some roses. I clean the whole garden, then go back, training, training, training, training. Then go back to the swimming pool. I love to clean.

Jackie, your character, Jimmy Tong, gets his new job in a very extraordinary way. I just wondered if you ever had a similar experience to that, or did you expect to be where you are today?

JC : I'm quite lucky, I never had to go to an interview. I think I'm this kind, very shy person, and when I was seven years old a director came to our school to choose a child actor, which turned out to be me. When I turned 11, I became a low-class stuntman. After being a low-class stuntman I became a high-class stuntman, and then a stunt coordinator. The stunt coordinator then becomes an actor, and then an actor/director. All my life I don't think I can audition. When I come sometimes to America to audition people, I feel shy. It's just so hard when five people are so good and you have to choose one. That can really hurt you. Sometimes you have to choose these people, and you know that you have to hurt one, and from now on I'm just not going to do it.

Jackie, which kinds of movies do you like to see when you're not working? And which kind of movie do you prefer?

JC : In the last couple of years, I have tried to change myself. I don't always want to do Rush Hour One, Rush Hour Two, even if you like it. I am tired. I flew to New York to see Ang Lee, we had a conversation and he's writing a script with me; a drama. He says that he wants to write for me, but right now he is doing an action film. I said okay. He left and then I left, also to do an action film. I want to change. I want to be a Robert De Niro. A bad guy. And I want to do like The Tuxedo, okay. If The Tuxedo was showing today, tomorrow I have, I hope I have, a movie like Kramer Vs Kramer. Then come back and have like a Shanghai Night. The next movie will be a Sixth Sense. Then coming back as something else. I want to change my image. I want to be an actor.