May 21, 2008

Jackie at Cannes Film Festival

On May 19, 2008, Jackie attended the 61^st Annual Cannes Film Festival to promote Wushu, a film which he produced.

The movie, which was directed by Antony Szeto, stars Sammo Hung and a cast of talented newcomers. It tells the story of five friends who grow up together in the world of martial arts.
At a standing room only press conference, Jackie watched as two of the cast members, Wenjie Wang and Fenchao Liu performed a wushu demonstration, giving them a thumbs-up of approval when they were finished. He spoke to the press about his desire to give young talent opportunities in film. He said that for the kinds of films that were being produced, martial arts talent was not enough and spoke of the need for young talent to possess other skills, such as acting, singing, film theory, and editing.

During the question and answer session, many of the reporters asked Jackie about his feeling regarding the China earthquake. Jackie spoke of his visit to China following the quake and renewed his vow to help rebuild the many schools that were destroyed. Jackie talked about the immediate need for manpower, saying that although money was of course important, he appreciated all the people who are helping to recover victims and begin the cleanup. Jackie said that the needs of the Chinese people will continue to be his priority in the future and talked of plans for fundraisers, including a charity concert.

Speaking to reporters on the beach at Cannes, Jackie said that his enthusiasm for events such as the Cannes Film Festival had dimmed after he saw the horrors in China and expressed his desire to get back to helping the victims.