by Katharine Schroeder

It's not polite to stare, but I couldn't help myself. The man sitting across from me looked so familiar! I was at the breakfast table outside of St. Luke’s Hospital in Southern California where we would be filming Rush Hour 3 for the next few days. The weather was breathtakingly beautiful; sunny but cool, and the crew that provided food services for the production had brought its moveable feast and set it up on a grassy area beneath the trees outside of the hospital. The familiar looking man was talking and laughing with others at the table and I sat watching him, trying to figure out where I knew him from. Diana introduced me, but still I couldn’t make a connection. His name was Gelbert and he was here on the set of Rush Hour 3 because he was one of the background actors for the hospital scene. We talked a little bit and as I watched him it suddenly dawned on me where I’d seen him.

“Oh my God! You're the guy in the karaoke bar. In Rush Hour 2!” I blurted out.

He smiled proudly and confirmed my suspicion. “Yep, that was me!”

"Oh, this is too much!" I exclaimed. "Every time I see that scene I laugh. Your singing was so...uh...memorable."

"Well, in reality I'm a very good singer," he said, "but I was willing to pretend that I wasn't, so they let me have that role."

With that he picked up a bottle of sauce from the table and, using it as a microphone, launched into a rendition of some unidentifiable song. I silently wondered if he was singing poorly for my benefit or if he was indeed pretty awful. Throughout the entire breakfast I couldn't help but chuckle every time I looked at him.

There were a lot of interesting people at breakfast that morning. Along with Diana, Saisie, and Didi (and of course Gelbert) was a man who'd worked in the film industry for many years. Right now he was working as a driver, but he had held many different positions over the years and worked with numerous celebrities. When he found out that I was Jackie's webmaster, he began sharing his own personal experiences with me. "Jackie is the best," he gushed. He told me that in all the years he'd been working, he'd never met a celebrity who received such a warm welcome wherever he went. "I mean it," he said. "Everyone just loves Jackie, and with good reason. He's so down-to-earth and he treats everyone the same. Treats everyone with respect." Of course I agreed with him since I'd spent enough time with Jackie to know that he is equally polite and warm to the guy who sweeps up on the set as he is to the executive who produces his movie.

Another man at the table - Alex - was Chris Tucker's personal videographer. Two others were background actors for a scene we'd be shooting later. It was a great mix of people and I really enjoyed visiting with everyone. Soon, however, it was time to head over to see if Jackie was ready to start the day.

Good company at breakfast.

This is the coffee/tea table. Notice the special care taken to make it look pretty.

The very long table full of every type of breakfast you could want.

Didi at breakfast.

Jackie was still getting dressed in his trailer so I took a few photos to show you while I waited for him to get finished:

The Segway is a dead giveaway - this is Jackie's trailer.

Jackie put this pink tape on a sharp corner of his trailer so no one would accidentally get hurt walking into it.

Inside Jackie's trailer sits the original Rush Hour chair which stunt coordinator Eddie
Braun had been holding onto for Jackie all these years.

Once Jackie was ready, we walked over to the hospital where most of the crew had already been working for quite some time to get everything ready for filming. As we walked along, Jackie pointed out that the hospital looked like it might have been operating quite recently - it didn't look abandoned. However, it was closed now and he told me that it was because of the many lawsuits which had been filed against it. The hospital was now used as a location for filming both movies and television shows.

As soon as we arrived on the set, Jackie jumped right into action and it was hard to keep up with him. He was very involved in what was going on that day and he spent a lot of time consulting with Brett and the others about the scenes that they were preparing to film. As has become my habit, I kept off to the sidelines and walked around observing everything that was going on. Everyone was so busy and focused on what they were doing! I can't tell you what the scene was about - you'll have to wait until the film comes out - but I will tell you that you're really going to like it. Jackie and his stunt team worked closely with the rest of the crew to create a very clever and action packed sequence.

As I walked around the set, I noticed a group of background actors waiting off to one side of the main area. I went over to say hello to them and was surprised to see none other than Gelbert, my friend from breakfast. One of the other men began talking to me about Jackie, telling me what his experience of working with him was like. Like many others I'd met, he had nothing but great things to say about Jackie's friendliness, professionalism, and warmth. We chatted for a while and as I was about to leave, one of the guys suggested I take a photo. So, in memory of Gelbert's breakout performance as the really bad karaoke singer from Rush Hour 2, I took a picture:

It was turning out to be a very long morning; there was a lot of intricate detail involved in the scenes that they were filming. I spent a lot of time watching the way that the crew worked and I was so impressed with their professionalism and their patience. Everyone had an important job to do and it was necessary for the crew to work together to get the job done. I felt humbled by all the talent I was surrounded by.

Since everyone was so busy, I didn't get much of a chance to talk to many people, but I did have a lot of time to observe. Here are some photos I took of Jackie on the set. I think you will find them quite interesting:

While waiting for the cameras to roll, Jackie checks out his surroundings. He
is always very curious. I took a series of shots so you can see his reaction to some
props on the set.

Jackie stands patiently as Felicity fixes his makeup.

At one point during the day I noticed Jackie sitting alone in a chair. He appeared to be deep in thought. When he is sitting like this, no one approaches him - they just seem to know that he needs to be left alone. As I watched him, I wondered what he was thinking about. Soon it became clear that he was replaying a scene in his mind, perhaps planning out the next sequence. Jackie is able to actually see a scene being played by an invisible camera in his head - it's really neat to observe him when he's deep in concentration and "watching" something in his mind:

Soon it was time for lunch and I took the opportunity to walk around the town a little bit. Sometimes when I am on the set I don't know if it's night or day because the lights can simulate sunlight and the blackout curtains on the windows take away any clue as to what is going on outside. It was still a beautiful day, although there wasn't a lot going on in the town. There wasn't much indication around the town that a big Hollywood production was going on in its midst. The only thing I noticed was a small sign stuck on a lamppost.

After lunchtime, I went back to the set where the crew was setting up for the next sequence. Jackie was wandering around visiting with some people and playing with some of the rubber gloves. Jackie knows how to have fun and he is also an accomplished practical joker. Luckily, he didn't have time to use these gloves to scare anyone, although he did get plenty of strange looks as he walked around the set:

As the afternoon wore on, it became clear that it was going to take all day to complete filming of just a few scenes. As I watched them film one small sequence over and over and over again, I tried really hard to see the differences between the takes. It was obvious that Brett Ratner had something very specific in mind, and even though I watched carefully, it was difficult for me to see the slight variations that he saw. Sometimes it would be the tilt of someone's head or the tone of someone's voice that would cause a take to be no good. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be able to see these minute differences each time the camera rolled. Again I couldn't help but be impressed by all of the talented people around me.

Towards the end of the afternoon, Jackie did an interview for an entertainment show and after he was finished he went right back to work. He didn't have a lot of dialogue in the final sequence they were filming that day, so it looked like Diana and I could leave a little earlier than Jackie. As it turned out, we left late at night, but Jackie and the others stayed for quite a while longer. So if you see photos of Jackie and the crew catching a nap during breaks on the set, you won't have to wonder why they're tired - they work really hard!

Jackie during the interview.

Here is a small video I took on the set. It shows Jackie's solution to the problem of an out-of-order men's room. You will hear someone on the video say the word "joke" but I assure you that this was not staged!

Click on Jackie to view the video.

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

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