by Katharine Schroeder

I was in California only once before, many many years ago. So you can imagine my surprise when I recognized someone standing on the side of the street near the location where filming for Rush Hour 3 was taking place. "I know him!" I exclaimed to Diana, Jackie's dialogue coach, and her nanny Saisie. "What the heck? Why do I recognize him?" Soon we figured it out - it was Sean, a production assistant for the movie and I'd recognized him from one of the photos that Dorothy and Osumi had sent me from the set. This would happen time and time again as I ran into people whom I'd previously seen photos of and read about while editing Jackie's diaries. I felt like I knew all of these people before I'd even met them!

After parking the car we went to the catering truck to order hot breakfast. We then moved into a large tent that was set up nearby and I was introduced to the world of food on the set of a Hollywood film. When we were in Hong Kong on the set of Rob-B-Hood, lunch consisted of take-out from the nearest Chinese restaurant. Here it was a totally different story. There was every kind of food imaginable, all presented beautifully for the cast and crew to enjoy. For breakfast there is a choice of hot meals such as French Toast casserole, omelettes, breakfast burritos, or pancakes. There are also bagels, fruit, muffins, hot cereal, cold cereal, toast (three different choices of bread), yogurt, and granola. There is frest fruit and a juicing machine, every type of coffee creamer you can imagine, tea (herbal or regular), and hot chocolate. It is an incredible selection, like food heaven.  

Once we had gathered our breakfast, we went to one of the tables set up under the tent and sat down. Within seconds, people started stopping by to say good morning and Diana introduced me to everyone. It seemed like each person I met had visited our website and many had seen themselves featured in either Jackie's diary or in one of the photos from the set. All of them loved Jackie's site and were very complimentary. I told them all to beware of me because I was here to gather material to write about and my camera was always at the ready. They laughed and said that I couldn't possibly catch them in a more unflattering pose than Jackie already had - you will recall Jackie's "sleeping photos." We all had a laugh and soon got down to the business of eating breakfast. A few minutes later, a buzz was heard all around - people whispering, "Have you heard? Did you hear?" It soon became clear that something was going on. As it turned out, Brett Ratner was sick and shooting for the day was cancelled. As this was my first day on the set, I guess I should have been disappointed, but I wasn't. I was with great people, I was in California, and it didn't matter what we would do. So we walked over to Jackie's trailer where he had just returned from removing all his makeup and changing out of his costume. Diana spent some time recording the diary with him, we played around a little with Diana's baby, and then we talked about what we should do. Jackie wanted to go meet with the stunt guys who were going to be rehearsing an action sequence and so I said goodbye to Diana and Saisie and joined Jackie, Osumi, Dorothy, and Haishu for the ride to the location.

Since I have the longest legs, I was kindly invited to sit in the front passenger seat and that was fine with me. Or so I thought until I was told that I was the navigator and it would be my job to follow the GPS (Global Positioning System). For those of you who are not familiar with this, the GPS is a satellite guided navigation device which basically tells you where you are and how to get where you are going. It looks like a little television screen set into the dashboard:

Now, I pride myself in being able to figure out all manner of electronics, but I have to admit that this one had me stumped. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what all these lines and numbers and words meant. If it displayed a street name, did that mean that we were near that street, on that street, passing that street? I was completely clueless. So as we drove, I sat and tried to make sense of the thing and readied myself for my call to duty. Suddenly, the GPS said that we should exit the freeway. I told Jackie and he obediently pulled off the next exit. We then turned left, left, right, left....I had no idea what we were doing. Jackie just drove happily and soon commented that we were right back on the freeway we'd just left. Oops. Seems I'd missed the call. I waited for the inevitable sounds of annoyance from either Jackie or the others, but incredibly nobody seemed to mind. They chatted away as we returned to our previous position on the road and headed in the direction of the location. This would happen several times over the course of the day, and not once did anyone get annoyed with me for not knowing what I was doing. As it turned out, by the time we got home later that night, I had finally figured it out. A little too late, but at least I would be prepared for the next time!

We arrived at the location and Jackie jumped right into the rehearsal with the JC Stunt team. The whole team was there: Wu Gang, Peng Zhang, Guan Hua Han, In-Seob Lee, Hyun Jin Park, Brad Allen, and Andy Owen. I can't tell you about the action sequence they were working on - that's a secret and you'll have to wait until Rush Hour 3 is released to see. But I can tell you that it was fascinating to see Jackie and the team at work. On the set of Rob-B-Hood I saw Jackie plan and rehearse small action sequences. I seem to remember that these planning sessions were quick and not really noteworthy. However, this rehearsal was extraordinary! Because it is so intricate and important, Jackie and the stunt guys spent a lot of time going through each and every aspect of the scene. What was most remarkable was the interaction between Jackie and his men. Several times, Jackie would freeze in place, his hands in the air, his face deep in concentration. And each stunt guy would stand completely still as well in whatever position he happened to find himself. No one would move one muscle as Jackie stood in complete silence. It was something I'd never seen before, even after all my time spent on the Rob-B-Hood set. It was obvious that Jackie and his team were in complete harmony and understanding. Wow! As I watched Jackie working with these young stunt men, I could see all his years of experience coming into play. I watched him standing as still as a statue, and I realized that he was actually seeing this scene take place in his mind's eye. It's hard to describe with ordinary language. It was breathtaking.

As the team rehearsed the scene, I walked around the location a little and took a few photos. But I admit that I spent most of my time there mesmerized by the interaction that was going on in front of me; Jackie and his stunt team at work. I know that when you see the movie, you will be very impressed.

When they were finished we went to have lunch. Somehow they'd found a Chinese restaurant with a private room (we were not in a very fancy neighborhood) and we all trooped in and settled down for lunch. I felt like I was right back in Hong Kong! Round table, all the food in the center, real Chinese food, and the familiar faces of Jackie and his group around me. It was really good to see everyone again; I hadn't seen the stunt guys since Rob-B-Hood finished filming. Lunch was delicious and when we were done, we took a few photos:

After lunch we said goodbye to the stunt guys and climbed back in the car. It was time to go shopping! Jackie had several places in mind that he wanted to go to, so we headed back in the direction of the freeway. The GPS was displaying all kinds of information and I asked Jackie how I was supposed to tell when it would be necessary to alert him to an exit. He pushed a button on the panel and a female voice came on saying "You are proceeding in the right direction" or something to that effect. He said that the woman inside was supposed to help. Problem was, she wasn't doing her job!

Some of you might wonder what Jackie listens to when he's driving in the car and I am happy to tell you. We started out listening to Christmas music because that's what was playing on the station we were tuned into. When "Joy to the World" came on, he asked me who wrote it. I told him that I had no idea; that the song had been on the radio for as long as I could remember. Osumi started singing the Japanese version of the song and Jackie was singing a Chinese version. I didn't know it had been translated into so many languages! (By the way, I later found out that the song text is actually a translation based on five verses from Psalm 98 in the Old Testament. Isaac Watts, the English hymnist and cleric, published his Psalms of David, which contains these verses, in 1719. More than a century later, in 1839, American composer and music educator Lowell Mason decided to set them to music.)

In between songs, when someone is talking on the radio, Jackie does something which is not that easy to do (I tried). He repeats what the person is saying as they are talking. So Jackie's voice is a split second behind the announcer's and he can continue to do this without skipping a beat. It's pretty hard to do - try it yourself. Try to repeat what someone is saying AS they are saying it. Jackie also likes to repeat phrases or words that he fancies the sound of, and he does that not only while listening to the radio, but any time anyone's talking. It's his way of practicing English and also of teasing the person whose words he's mimicking!

Since we had just been in the recording studio for the dubbing of The Myth, Jackie had the music from the movie on his mind. So there in the car, we listened to the soundtrack from The Myth. And every time the track changed, Jackie would ask me, "What scene is this music from??" I tried guessing, but my answer was usually "The battle scene."

"Every song can't be the battle scene!" Jackie shouted, laughing.
"Well," I asked, "do you know what scene this music is from?" 
He looked at me sheepishly and said, "Not really. Is it from the battle scene?"

When Endless Love came on, Jackie started singing along. I thought to myself that this was a really unique situation - sitting and listening to Jackie singing on the stereo while Jackie sang along next to me. A kind of Twilight Zone moment, I think.

Eventually - and no thanks to the woman who lives in the GPS - we arrived at a garden center somewhere in the middle of I-don't-know-where. We all jumped out to have a look around. Jackie was looking for something for his house and he had questions about one of the items displayed in the outdoor area, so we went into the store area to speak to the attendant. First thing Jackie did was ask to use the bathroom and the woman behind the counter said, "Sure!" and then looked at who she'd just spoken to and began to jump up and down and actually squeal. A big Jackie fan, she had just seen Rob-B-Hood the night before and she was just about jumping out of her skin. She calmed down a little by the time Jackie came back and I took a photo for her. To her credit, she regained her composure and was able to answer Jackie's questions. We walked around the garden center for quite a while and Jackie took some reference photos, and then we left.

Back on the freeway and we were now heading in I-have-no-idea-what-direction. Jackie didn't seem too worried about where we were going, and I hoped that it wasn't because he'd put his trust in my ability to deal with the GPS. I was beginning to get a feel for the machine, but I found that I was spending nearly all my time staring at the little screen and not looking out the window, so I ignored it for a while. All around us the landscape was kind of bleak. I guess because of water shortage in California, they don't have a lot of greenery growing on the roadsides like they do in most places. Jackie pointed out some cement barriers off to the side that were covered with graffiti. He said that he thought it looked okay since it kind of decorated the roadside. He really doesn't like graffiti when it is painted on buildings, however.

After driving for a while, we pulled in to a saddlery. For those of you unfamiliar with what a saddlery is, it is a store where you can buy things for horses. This was a small store, stuffed full of all kinds of accessories for horses and clothing for people who like horses. Jackie tried on a few of the cowboy hats and instantly I was reminded of Chon Wang from Shanghai Noon! He didn't buy a hat, but if he did, I think it should have been this one:

As we walked around looking at all the items in the store, I finally expressed my confusion to Jackie. "What are we doing here? Do you have a horse that I don't know about?"

"I have two," he replied, referring to Jonesie and JJ.

Someone had told Jackie that he could buy things for his dogs at this shop, and that is why we were here. After about an hour, we were ready to leave. Jackie really did buy a few things for the puppies at the horse store!

Back in the car we now faced a long ride home and there was a lot of traffic by this time of day. Although Jackie said later that he was irritated by all the traffic, you'd never know it to be in the car with him. He seemed quite calm and accepting of the situation, although at one point he said that he felt sleepy. I told him that I'd be happy to drive and I searched through my wallet for my driver's license. I found that I did indeed have it with me, and passed it back to Dorothy to prove it. Within seconds I was assaulted with uprorious laughter from the back seat. Dorothy, Osumi, and Haishu had gotten a look at my driver's license photo. They were having quite a hoot back there and I demanded my license back. What can I say...the photo is very old and everyone knows that driver's license photos are not the most flattering. How embarrassing!

"Let me have a look," Jackie said as he extended his hand. I quickly intercepted the pass and snatched my license away, telling Jackie, "I don't think so."

As we drove along, we talked about all kinds of things and listened to more music on the radio. Jackie is very observant and loves to discuss just about everything. He told me that if everyone kept talking, he would be able to stay awake better anyway. Eventually, after a very long drive, we were home. And although I didn't get to see Rush Hour 3 filming, I sure did have a great day - Jackie's day off!

Text and photos ©2006 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

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