'Expectations are low for fight scenes with Jackie Chan'
Hong Kong, Aug. 22 (AP): Jet Li is urging audiences to keep expectations low for his eagerly anticipated fight scenes with Jackie Chan in the upcoming Hollywood movie ``The Forbidden Kingdom'' because it's not that kind of movie _ and they are both getting too old.
In a phone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, 44-year-old Li said he and Chan, 53, talked about working together for more than a decade.
``When Jackie Chan and I first wanted to work together 15 years ago, our passion was at its peak. We were both in our 30s. Our desire to succeed was very strong,'' Li said. ``Now we joke that when we watch the 'The Forbidden Kingdom' our combined age is 100.''
But, he added, if the audiences still want fight scenes, ``we'll oblige.''
The martial arts stars come to blows in ``The Forbidden Kingdom'' because of misunderstandings rather than genuine animosity, and that the story doesn't really call for anything more, Li said.
``How intense are the battle scenes? My mentality is to not have high expectations,'' he warned.
``The Forbidden Kingdom,'' due out in the U.S. on Friday, is about an American teenager's fantasy journey to ancient China to rescue a mythological monkey king. The idea for the film originates from the classic Chinese novel ``Journey to the West,'' in which a monkey king, a pig and a friar guard a Buddhist monk in search of religious texts.
Li plays the monkey king and a silent monk, while Chan will play another monk called T'sa-Ho.
But audiences should no longer look for reflections of Li's true character or beliefs in the films that he appears in.
``I'm done talking about my aspirations for martial arts,'' he said.
Li said ``Fearless'' _ a 2006 film about a brash, proud young man's transformation into a sage master _ captured his true philosophy of martial arts, but that all his movies since then have merely been a means to an end.
``I don't necessarily identify with the stories I act in. I don't necessarily have to agree with their handling of violence and life. I'm just an actor. ... I just do my job,'' he said. ``Often when I go back to the hotel after shooting I reflect on why I'm doing this.''
The actor's focus, he says, is One Foundation, a charity he launched recently to promote disaster relief and mental health among youngsters and that acting gives him the profile to promote the cause.
``If I don't have the platform of movies, how can I get the chance to promote my beliefs?'' he said. ``It's quite a painful choice.''
Li, a former Chinese kung fu champion, made his name in Hong Kong movies with the ``Once Upon a Time in China'' series before moving to Hollywood.
But although his Hollywood movies have been consistent box office earners, he hasn't crossed the US$100 million (euro74 million) mark at the U.S. box office, according to figures compiled by sales-tracking Web site Box Office Mojo.
Li said his movies are budgeted and marketed with a specific return in mind.
``The budget for the kind of action movies I make won't exceed US$35 million (euro25.91 million). You have to earn that amount back in global sales. Your marketing budget is limited, perhaps between US$5 and US$8 million (euro4 and euro6 million). With that setup, your box office will fall between US$20 and US$40 million (euro15 and euro30 million),'' he said.
``This business approach _ how much to invest, how many people will watch movies of this kind _ it's a fixed model,'' Li said.
Li called the martial arts hit ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' an aberration, saying that usually huge box office successes are underpinned with comparably larger production and marketing budgets.
The Oscar-winning Ang Lee film set a record for the top-grossing foreign-language film in U.S. box office history, earning US$128 million (euro95 million), according to Box Office Mojo figures.