by Katharine Schroeder

April 9th

When Jackie was in China for a charity concert last year and the weather was threatening rain, he said, “When the dragon walks, it rains.” Well what about when the dragon runs? What happens then? I can tell you that when the Dragon (Jackie) is running around our office, it has the same effect as a hurricane or a tornado. That was how it was last week when Jackie returned to Hong Kong after a long absence. It was like a switch was turned on and the entire JC Group was thrown into a whirling cyclone.

After Jackie returned from a quick trip up to Beijing, China, he called his staff, family, and a few friends together for a dinner party. Although he’d only had three hours of sleep the night before, he was in high spirits and spent the entire evening talking, laughing, and even doing some magic tricks. Of course we also took photos. Lots of photos. When the JC Group gets together socially, taking photos is something that they will inevitably do, and it’s always a lot of fun. Although Jackie was tired, you’d never know it from looking at him. He seemed really happy to see everyone and spent the entire evening visiting with all of us. He even handed out lai see (lucky money) envelopes to everyone in the room! It was a wonderfully relaxed and happy evening. Nobody wanted to say goodnight, but it was getting late and we needed to rest up for the busy days ahead of us.

Jackie hands out lai see at the party.

Jaycee holding Eryn McGuire, daughter of Jackie's Segway partner.

Jackie, tired but happy, toasts his guests.

Jackie does a trick with some coins.

April 10th

The next morning Jackie was scheduled for a press conference in Hong Kong to introduce his collaboration with George Foreman to sell the George Foreman grills in Asia. (George Foreman is a very famous American boxer who parlayed his celebrity into a very successful business career.) I went into the office to get some work done before leaving for the press conference. When I arrived, two fans from Germany, Sabine and her son Sebastian, were just arriving and I had the difficult task of having to tell them that Jackie would not be in the office that day. He had a meeting at another location in the morning and would go directly to the press conference from there. I always feel terrible when I have to tell fans who are visiting that Jackie is either not in town or not available. Another German fan, Jacqueline, also happened to stop by to have a look at the office. After telling her the same bad news, I brought her into the reception area and introduced her to the other fans who were visiting. What a coincidence that they were all from Germany! As we sat and visited, I noticed Jackie’s assistants walk through the side door. That meant only one thing: Jackie was in the building. I went back to the inner office to talk to Dorothy and found out that there’d been a change of plans and Jackie had time to stop by the office. In Jackie’s world, schedule changes are part of the normal routine because there are so many variables in his life. No one is ever surprised when a schedule is changed. It’s just the way it is.

A moment later I noticed Jackie standing on the stairway and seized the opportunity to tell him that several fans were here and I asked him to come say hello. Although he only had a few moments before he had to leave again, he immediately agreed to greet them, as he always will do if he has even a few seconds to spare. I wish I had a photo of the stunned look on the faces of the three fans as Jackie entered the room. It was a priceless moment and one that I am always happy to be a part of. After taking a few photos, Jackie was off and running again, leaving three very happy people in his wake. I found out later that the three fans ended up spending the day together at Ocean Park. This is the wonderful thing about Jackie – whether he means to do it or not, he brings people together in friendship.

Soon it was time to leave for the press conference. I was happy that I would be getting a chance to meet George Foreman. Where I come from (the USA), George Foreman is a legend – a two time World Heavyweight Boxing champion and a man who is widely loved and respected. We arrived at the breathtakingly beautiful Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and were led to a reception area where Jackie was greeted by Salton executives (Salton manufactures the grills), Mr. Foreman, his son George, and a public relations agent. Jackie talked to the PR woman for a few minutes and then we all just relaxed and waited for the press conference to begin. Ken Low, Dorothy, Osumi, and Fibe were there, as were Jackie’s managers Willie Chan and Solon So. Before long we were called to the press conference which took place in a beautiful room near the reception area where we’d been waiting. When we walked into the press conference room, I noticed that a roped off area in the back of the room was filled with photographers. Because I am not with the press, I was able to sit up near the front so I could get some photos of Jackie to show you. I began taking pictures and within a few seconds I realized that there was something very wrong with the flash on my camera. It was not cooperating at all; one photo would be completely overexposed, the next would be underexposed, the next just fine.

This is what it looks like when the flash doesn't go off.

My poor flash had been through a lot. It was about 5 years old and had been bumped, jostled, and even dropped on the ground (at the HK premiere of Rob-B-Hood). I understood why it had finally given up, but silently cursed it for doing so just at this moment. I was able to control any panic about broken equipment because I knew that although it would be nice to have some photos from this press conference, it was not the once-in-a-lifetime event that it might have been – I knew I’d be spending the next few days with Jackie and Mr. Foreman. During the past year and a half I have been in situations where malfunctioning photo equipment would have been devastating; luckily this was not one of them. So I did the best I could in a bad situation. The way I figured it, if my camera was making a successful exposure one time out of three, I should take three times as many shots as I normally would. A few times I could see a questioning expression on Jackie’s face as I kept shooting over and over again. He seemed amused; obviously he couldn’t know what I was dealing with. As it turned out, I was able to get plenty of acceptable shots. Whew!

Jackie and George sign a grill for a charity auction.

After the sit-down press conference we went out into a reception area where there were more reporters waiting for Jackie and George. Most of these reporters had tripods set up, so there was little opportunity for me to get in and get any pictures. However, at one point I was able to stick my head (and camera) in between two photographers and call out Jackie’s name. In America, when there are a lot of people around taking photos of Jackie, they all yell out “Jackie! Jackie! Over here! Jackie!” When this is the case, the way I get his attention is to call out “Dai Goh!” (Dai Goh is Cantonese for “big brother” and is the name that Jackie is called in Hong Kong.) On the flip side, when we are in Hong Kong or China and all the reporters are yelling out “Dai Goh! (in Hong Kong) or “Da Ge!” (in China), all I have to do is call out “Hey Jackie Chan!” to get his attention. It always makes him smile and look in the direction of my camera.

After liberating myself from the crowd of photographers, I had a look around the room and noticed an exquisite buffet table covered with delicious looking food. Three or four proud chefs stood by and I went over to one of them and told him how beautiful everything looked. He seemed pleased and thanked me, but later on I wondered if he might have preferred to hear how delicious everything was. Alas, I was so busy taking photos of the food that I didn’t really get a chance to taste much of it. My colleague Fibe was willing to step in and do the research, however, and she wants you to know that everything tasted as good as it looked.

We waited for Jackie and George to be finished with the press and then we got ready to leave. Since we’d been given a pass when we entered, we were entitled to a gift bag on our way out (as long as we returned the pass). This was a quandary for me since I collect all the passes that I am given when I attend any function or event. Do I keep my pass and forfeit the gift bag or give up the pass and get some presents? A quick look at the pass (it was very plain) and I made up my mind. The gift bag it was. Inside was a t-shirt, a shaver, and a Jackie Chan coffee mug. Very nice.

Boxes full of gift bags for press and visitors.

It was time to head to the Shing Fung Studio where Jackie and George would be filming the “Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine” infomercial over the next few days. (You might remember that Shing Fung Studio was one of the places where we filmed scenes from Rob-B-Hood.) There was one problem, however. The broken camera flash. Fibe and I talked about it for a few minutes and decided that the only course of action would be to make a stop at the photo store in Mong Kok on our way up to the studio. So Jackie, Osumi, and Dorothy headed up to the studio, Willie and Solon headed back to the office, and Ken, Fibe, and I went toward Mong Kok. We dropped Ken off so he could pick up his car and then after a quick stop at the photo shop and a fast lunch, we drove up to the studio to meet up with Jackie.

When we arrived we found Jackie fast asleep in his dressing room. He was leaning back in the makeup chair with his feet up on the counter looking so peaceful that I just couldn’t bring myself to take a photo. The sound of my camera’s shutter sometimes wakes him up and I didn’t want to do that, so you will just have to use your mind’s eye to see Jackie fast asleep while someone applies makeup to his face!

A few minutes later someone knocked on the door to say that it was time for Jackie to go to the set. He woke up smiling, greeting Fibe and me warmly. As usual, he didn’t show even a hint of being annoyed at having had his sleep once again interrupted. The makeup artist finished up and we were on our way over to the set.

As I told you before, the infomercial was being filmed at the same studio where we filmed Rob-B-Hood’s apartment scenes. A new set had been constructed at the back of the building, leaving lots of open space around it. This was a good thing because there are always many people running around, lots of wires, and tons of equipment.  More space equals less chance of tripping or bumping into someone. I can’t show you some of the photos that I took of the set until after the infomercial airs but I can tell you that the attention to detail was incredible! You will be amazed at how beautifully the set was decorated.

Jackie and George rehearsed a few times and then the director yelled “Action!” and filming began. After the first take, Jackie came over to the video monitor to have a look at what they’d just shot and George Foreman went over to the side of the set to sit down and wait. As Jackie watched the playback on the video monitor, he immediately noticed something that no one else had even seen. It was a very small detail and I doubt that anyone would ever notice it on the infomercial, but Jackie saw it right away. The set designer quickly fixed the problem and the director called for Jackie and George to retake the shot. As he walked past, George said, “Wow! Did you see that? Jackie is amazing – how could he notice such a small detail?” Well, that’s Jackie. He notices everything, everything, and everything.

The crew kept filming throughout the rest of the day and I noticed that there was a lot less downtime on this set than on a movie set. I suppose that’s because all the filming is being done on one static set with only minor details that need to be changed from scene to scene. This means that the actors spend a lot less time waiting. There are no costume or set changes and few lighting adjustments. In between scenes, Jackie had a few business meetings and spent some time visiting with everyone (even Baba - Jackie’s dad - came for a visit). I spent some time showing Jackie the items I’d brought with me from the office so he could see some of the wonderful things his fans were doing for him. He was very interested in everything I showed him and even posed for a few photos. Although I had also brought the box full of his birthday cards, there really was no place to set them up to have a photo, so I abandoned that idea and put the cards back in the car.

Jackie poses with some of the many wonderful gifts made for him by his fans.

Later in the day, while Jackie was meeting with a business associate, I noticed George Foreman sitting off to the side of the set, just looking around. I watched him for a few minutes, trying to get a feeling for whether he was approachable or not. Some celebrities like to be left alone and it’s usually pretty easy to figure out by quietly observing them. I decided that George looked like he wouldn’t mind someone talking to him, and I went over and introduced myself. He was quite friendly and we talked for a few minutes. On a whim, I asked him if he’d be willing to answer a few questions for our website. He said “Sure! I’d love to!”  I told him I’d be right back and dashed over to find Fibe and her mp3 recorder. I told her that George had agreed to an interview and the two of us quickly scribbled down a few questions to ask him. If I’ve learned one thing during the time I’ve worked for Jackie, it’s to immediately seize an opportunity if it presents itself to you because it may be the only chance you get. After we finished writing down three or four questions, Fibe interviewed him and recorded the answers on her mp3. George was wonderful. He is such a gracious man, an interesting conversationalist with a terrific sense of humor. And what a great Texas accent! During the course of the interview he was called back to the set several times, but always went to find Fibe when he was done to tell her he was ready to continue.

Fibe interviews George Foreman.

 
Jackie looks over some business papers.

Once Fibe finished the interview, I went to see what Jackie was up to and found him signing some autographs for the shoot’s public relations agent. When he was finished I sat and talked with him for a while, trying to catch him up on a few things that had happened recently. A few minutes later he said “Come with me, I want to show you something.” We went across the room and Jackie showed me several t-shirt designs that he was considering. “Which do you like?” he asked. I looked at the three designs and immediately pointed to the one I liked best. Jackie nodded and then asked me what I thought of another one of the designs. I told him my feelings about it and he said that he’d noticed the same thing – this particular design just didn’t work. Jackie appreciates an honest answer when he asks for an opinion. I have always told him my true feelings when he’s asked me what I think about something because he values honesty and doesn’t need his staff telling him what they think he wants to hear.
It was getting late and although Jackie and the rest of the crew would be staying on to continue working, I took the opportunity to get a ride home with Fibe. We said goodbye and left. There would be more filming tomorrow.

April 11
To say that Jackie was having a busy week would be an understatement. Early in the morning there was a press conference at the Asia World Expo and after that it was back to the studio to continue filming the infomercial. Jackie and George took their places and filming began. The director for this shoot was very professional; he knew what he wanted and was very good at making his wishes known. He was quite relaxed and confident and his behavior created a very comfortable atmosphere on the set. There were several funny moments, one which involved a live crab. After the director was done filming the scene, it was time for the crab to go back to his cage, but it seemed that he didn’t want to let go of the wicker basket that was sitting on the countertop. Jackie picked up the basket, thinking that the crab would let go, but instead the crab’s claw continued to hold on while the rest of the creature stayed on the countertop. Jackie looked a little horrified at first – he had accidentally pulled the poor crab’s leg off. George quickly told him that what had happened was entirely normal. If a crab’s leg is grabbed by a predator, the crab will shed the leg and grow a new one later on. Jackie plucked the leg off the basket and was looking it over when the claw opened and closed and nearly bit him! It was pretty funny to see Jackie’s reaction. Luckily he has lightning fast reflexes and didn’t get his fingers in the way of the claw. (Yes, a crab’s claw can continue to grab things for a few moments after the leg’s been shed.) All in all it made for an amusing interlude in a busy day of filming.

I looked around the set some more and noticed two young men dressed in chef’s whites. I had seen them several times over the two days I’d been on the set and assumed that they were there to help prepare all the food. But they did a lot more than help with the cooking. They were food stylists and they had the very important job of making every bit of food look perfect for the camera. I talked to Joe Wan, the food stylist director, and he told me that there was a lot involved in doing a shoot like this. The set contains six different stations and each has its own theme. This meant, according to Joe, visiting “many, many markets” to find everything they needed. They even had to bring some items in from places like Japan and Korea. It was a challenge to keep the set looking pristine over the three-day shoot, and all of the hundreds of details regarding the presentation of the food were handled by Joe and his fellow stylist Eddie. They did a great job and everything looked beautiful. (I was curious how a Hong Kong chef could do such a great job with Western food, so I checked Joe’s website and found that he is a specialist in preparing Western cuisine.) There are so many interesting people to meet on a film set and I was glad I could learn more about the artistry of food styling and share it with you.

Food stylist Joe Wan works his magic as Jackie looks on.

Joe with the crab.

Soon it was break time and someone went to the bakery and bought all kinds of treats for the crew. Jackie, always a gracious host, brought the food back to George’s dressing room and offered everyone a snack. One of the treats was a traditional Chinese egg tart, the other was a Chinese donut. Although George looked a little hesitant at first, he tried a bite of the donut and gave a big thumbs up. “Delicious!” One thing I have learned about Jackie is that he is very attentive to everyone around him and will always make sure that everyone is comfortable and taken care of. He will always offer a chair, a drink, a bite to eat – it doesn’t matter who it is because he really does treat everyone as an equal.

Soon it was back to the set to continue filming. I stationed myself out of the way where I had a good view for taking photos but where I would not interfere with the crew. As I stood watching the filming, our good friend Ken Low arrived at the set and  thought it would be amusing to come up behind me and bellow into my ear, causing me to nearly lose my balance. If you’ve read these Scrapbooks before, you know that Ken delights in startling me – he’s a practical joker. I managed not to react (well, not verbally, anyway). I nearly dropped my camera and I quickly informed Ken that if my camera broke because of his antics, it would be his nickel that bought me a new one. “Yeah yeah yeah!” was his only reply.

Speaking of Ken, it was really fascinating to see his reaction to George Foreman. Most of you know that Ken Low is not only an actor/stuntman and Jackie’s bodyguard, but he is also a champion Thai boxer. What most of you probably don’t know is that he’s a huge fan of George Foreman. To watch Ken in the presence of George was to see an example of “celebrity as fan.” Ken was so excited and looked a little awed by George. He seemed nervous to approach George for a photo, so he asked Jackie to come with him. It was very endearing. George and his son were quite happy to meet Ken and even though Ken teases me mercilessly, I was happy to take a photo for him.

Before I knew it, it was getting late so I said goodbye and went home. Tomorrow would be the last day of the infomercial filming.

April 12th

It was the last day for filming the infomercial and everyone was still in high spirits. A few reporters from local magazines came by to interview George and Jackie. They joked about Jackie putting George in one of his movies in the future (hey, you never know). When they were gone, it was back to the business of filming. Although Jackie had been working long hours, he was looking fit and well rested. As I mentioned earlier, the atmosphere on the set was very relaxed and although the pace was constant, it wasn’t frantic.

Jackie and George pose for photographers after the interview. Jackie
is holding the autographed boxing gloves given to him by George Foreman.

For the scene they were shooting today, Jackie was required to eat some food. Jackie’s not too picky about the food he eats, but here on the set he was required to do several takes, each time while taking a bite of food. Luckily they were able to do the scene in just a few tries, otherwise Jackie would only have two choices: Keep swallowing and become very full or spit the food out after each take. As you can probably imagine, it’s not very glamorous to be spitting food into a garbage can but these are the kinds of things that actors have to do while filming.

"Cut! Take two!" is called. Will Jackie have room for all this food?

After that scene was done, Fibe went with Jackie to record his diary and I went off in the other direction. I noticed that Ken was back again, looking sheepish and carrying an envelope in his hand. I asked him what he had and he showed me an 8 x 10 print of the photo I’d taken the day before of him with George Foreman. He told me he wanted George to autograph it, so I pointed in the direction of George’s dressing room and said, “He’s in there right now. Go ahead in!” Ken just looked at me. He was nervous! I thought back to all the times that Ken had scared me on the set and considered taking my revenge by pretending that I didn’t know he wanted me to go with him. But I couldn’t be that mean, so I said, “Do you want me to come with you?”  He nodded and we went over to George’s dressing room. George was more than happy to sign the photo and a pair of boxing gloves that Ken had brought. It was wonderful to see how humbled and excited Ken was and I was compelled to silently forgive him for terrorizing me in the past.

Ken looks on as George autographs the photo.

George and Ken.

Seeing the boxing gloves reminded me that I wanted to take a photo to show you a close up of the gloves that George Foreman had autographed for Jackie some time ago. Although the gloves are usually kept over at Jackie’s loft, they had been brought over to the studio for the magazine interview that morning. I eventually tracked them down – they were in Jackie’s trailer parked right outside. (Jackie had his trailer brought over from JC Studio so that Baba could have a place to rest while visiting the set.) Since Baba wasn’t there, I went in to take some photos of the gloves and was happy to see that Jackie had brought another set of autographed boxing gloves over – those from Sugar Ray Leonard. So you get to see both pairs! Jackie has a lot of admiration for both George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard and is so proud to have the autographed gloves.

The gloves say "To Jackie, a Real Champ. From one who admires you. George Foreman."

Sugar Ray signed "To Jackie, the Best Champ" and on a small card he added "I
like your style! P.S I can be one of your partners in your movie! Sugar Ray Leonard"

The rest of the day’s filming went by quickly and before long it was time to say goodnight. Jackie would be leaving the next morning to go back to the US to finish up Rush Hour 3. It was great to have him back in town and it gave me lots of interesting things to share with you. Once the infomercial is released, I will add more photos from the set and a small video of Jackie playing around with one of the props. The infomercial will probably be released in China in August or September.

I hoped you liked reading all about Jackie’s activities from his short return to Hong Kong. Jackie loves to share his life with his fans and as always, I am happy to help him do that.

A few more photos:

 
During filming.

Jackie reacts to a comment from the director.

Fibe records the diary with JC.

Jackie and George on the set.

Jackie with some props.

Oops! Jackie flubs a line.

More eating.

Jackie spouting some gibberish when he forgets another line.

A smile for you between takes.

Ken has a laugh with Jackie, George, and George's son.

Jackie's chair on the set. There is a special story behind the book that
you see sitting on the desk. You can read about it soon here at our website!

During filming.

Jackie meets with a business associate.

CLICK HERE TO READ OUR INTERVIEWS WITH JACKIE AND GEORGE

Text and photos ©2007 The Jackie Chan Group. All Rights Reserved.

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