by Katharine Schroeder

Perhaps you will think it odd to read about the conclusion of the filming of The Forbidden Kingdom before you’ve had a chance to hear all the stories about what went on during the making of the movie. But impressions fade, and I want to share the final days with you now, while the memories are still fresh.

The last days of filming were difficult for Jackie because of a painful injury he suffered while shooting an action sequence. The scene called for him to hang upside down while straining and struggling and this aggravated an old back injury he suffered years ago. He was also required to twist and lift during a fight scene and this just added to the trauma to his back. The day following the filming of these scenes found Jackie in excruciating pain, nearly unable to get out of bed in the morning despite medication and a brace to stabilize his back. Thankfully, all of the action scenes had been completed already. If they hadn’t, there would have been no choice but to postpone filming until Jackie had recovered.
 
During the two days that Jackie was in torturous pain, it was impossible not to admire the fact that despite his agony, he was still able to maintain his positive, upbeat attitude (he calls it “being happy-go-lucky”). He continued to tease the cast and crew, discuss business with his staff, and break into spontaneous singing at odd times during the day. He never stopped thinking of others, even while he had every right to be completely focused on himself. This says a lot about Jackie Chan.
 
One of the most difficult times for Jackie and for the rest of us who were on the set the day after he was injured was watching him struggle with the misery caused by the movements he needed to make for the scene that was being filmed. He was required to go down three steps and join Jet Li for a simple reaction shot. The act of walking down these stairs caused him extraordinary pain, and despite his best effort, he was unable to hide his anguish from the camera, so the shot had to be redone several times. While Jackie struggled to get the scene done, it was dead silent in the room. No one spoke; no one moved – even between takes. Every single person on that set shared Jackie’s suffering – you could see it written all over their faces. Although he had only known many of these people for a few months, Jackie had become endeared to them, and watching him suffer was heart-wrenching for everyone. After several takes, the shot was mercifully over and Jackie was finished for the day.

Jackie's face betrays the pain he was in during the last few days of shooting.

In a testament to Jackie’s amazing powers of healing, he was in nearly perfect shape on the last day of shooting, only two days after injuring his back. This was good news because the last shot required Jackie to move quickly and throw a punch, something he would have been incapable of doing the day before. After he and Michael filmed the final shot, the entire cast and crew burst into applause. Although Jackie says he is used to people cheering at the end of filming, he was obviously touched by everyone’s reaction. There was a lot of hugging, kissing, and back-thumping and everyone was grinning ear-to-ear. Jackie went around shaking hands with everyone, including all of the many extras who were on the set that day. Camera flashes were popping all around, something you never see on the set since flash is strictly forbidden. It looked like a New Year’s Eve party, minus the champagne and confetti.

Jackie presents Rafaella with a photo album.

Jackie had gifts for some of his co-stars and for the director and producers – photo albums filled with pictures from the filming of the movie. Each album had a personal message he’d written on the first page and all of the recipients were very touched. After saying goodbye to everyone on the set, I took one last look around and hurried out to join Jackie and the rest of our group to head back to the hotel for one final time. Of course for Jackie, this is a normal part of life. Finish filming one movie, look ahead to the beginning of the next. But for a regular person like me, the end of filming is filled with sadness.

Packing up to leave the location.

Jackie takes one last look at the Qin Dynasty set.

Jackie on the streets of Hengdian, riding his Segway back to the hotel.

Once we were back at the hotel, it was time to pack up and get ready to leave. After being in Hengdian for months, there was a lot of stuff to be dealt with and everyone pitched in to help. In addition to personal belongings, there were Segways, boxes of coffee, books and magazines, cooking supplies, coolers, exercise equipment, stunt gear, gifts, camera equipment – the list goes on. Jackie asked Mong Cha Cha to put on some music during packing, and as everyone busily moved from room to room, the sound of Jackie singing blasted from speakers. (Mong Cha Cha is a big fan of Jackie’s music.)

Mong Cha Cha chooses some music for packing.

At one point I stopped what I was doing and watched five men - Jackie included - trying to pack coffee cartons into a large box. I paused to wonder how long it was going to take them to figure it out. They put all the cartons into the box sideways, only to find out that the last few wouldn’t fit. They took them all out and started again, putting them in long-ways. That didn’t work either. Out came the cartons. All five of them worked furiously to figure out how these cartons could be put back into the box they’d originally come out of, each voicing his own theory about how it should be done, and all of them ended up laughing at their inability to make things fit. These are men who are highly skilled at what they do for a living, yet none of them could get the box packed properly! It was very funny.
 
I took dozens of photos of the packing, and when we were finally done, I asked Jackie to sit for a few minutes to record his diary, which he did. He talked about his feelings as the filming came to an end and he talked about the headache of packing. (You can read about this in his diary.) Poor Jackie, I said. Always having to pack and unpack. He smiled and said that it was okay, he was used to it. It’s just all the decisions that make his head hurt.

Everyone helps with packing.

Once packing was done, we all went back to our rooms to rest. We had gotten up very early that morning and needed to be refreshed for the wrap party later in the evening.
 
At 7:30 all of us gathered at the hotel restaurant for one last dinner together. Not everyone could join us, and some people could only stay for a little while. But those who were there had a great time, including our host. Jackie was feeling really good and he spent the evening bouncing from table to table, toasting, hugging and kissing, and posing for tons of photos. Ever the master storyteller, he had everyone bent over double laughing for most of the evening. As I watched Jackie telling yet another story, I marveled at his ability to embellish his words with body movements. I always wonder what would happen if Jackie was made to sit on his hands and try to tell a story without moving out of his seat. I don’t know that he could do it.

Our lively host.

Too soon, it was time to say good night. Everyone was exchanging email addresses and phone numbers, promising to keep in touch. After one last goodbye, we headed upstairs for our final night in Hengdian.
 
In the morning, several of us drove together to the airport in Hengzhou. When we arrived, we said our goodbyes and I was on my own. This was the first time I had traveled in China by myself (Fibe wasn’t with me; she’d returned to Hong Kong a week earlier). Jackie and a few others were driving to Shanghai and the stunt guys were off to Beijing or Korea. While wandering around, I had a chance to practice some of my Mandarin with several of the girls who worked at the shops in the airport. Although my Chinese is halting and very limited, they were quite happy to talk to me and told me that I spoke very well. Of course they were probably just being polite!
 
After a two hour delay at the airport (the Chinese military was flying maneuvers that held up all air traffic), I was on my way back to Hong Kong. I will miss Hengdian and all the people I met on the set. But I have much to tell you, so stay tuned for many more Scrapbook stories and photos about Jackie and the filming of The Forbidden Kingdom. 

View of the clouds above Hengdian taken from the airplane.

CLICK HERE to see Jackie's photo album from the wrap party.

Text and photos ©2007 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

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