Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Jackie Chan is the flavour of the season ever since he came for the audio launch of Dasavatharam in Chennai. Now Mohanlal is supposed to do the film Nairsen with him in September.
At the Dasavatharam audio launch, Jackie was introduced to Asin and photographed together which may have lend credence to the story that Asin is going to do an ad with him.
When contacted in Mumbai, Asin said: "It is a figment of somebody's imagination running wild. No such offer has come my way, and I don't thing that Jackie is endorsing any products."
HONG KONG (AP) — Jackie Chan's Web site says construction has begun on a museum for the action movie star in the Chinese financial capital Shanghai.
A statement published Friday says the 54-year-old attended a ceremony marking the start of work earlier this week.
The museum will house props and costumes from Chan's movies, photos and other memorabilia, the Web site said. Construction is scheduled to finish in October 2009.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Jackie visited the Southeast-Asian country of Timor-Leste this week, acting as UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador. He met with young people on a mission to promote peace and to gather information about the plight of the Timorese youth. Timor-Leste has a large number of youths who are involved in martial arts gangs and Jackie met with them in an attempt to guide them to more peaceful and productive behavior.
On Tuesday, June 24th, he visited a Youth Center in Comorro where he visited classrooms, spoke with the youngsters, and played basketball, volleyball, and soccer. He encouraged them to continue their studies, reminding them that education was the key to a bright future. Jackie then met with United Nations Special Representative for Timor-Leste Atul Khare and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. In the evening he attended a reception with United Nations donors and government partners at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On June 25th, Jackie traveled by helicopter to the mountain district of Ainaro to meet with martial arts groups and youth leaders. In a passionate and heartfelt speech, Jackie shared the story of his own life, reminding the young people that he was very poor when he was young; telling them that with hard work and a "never-give-up" attitude, they too could lead happy and successful lives. He visited the home of one young member of a martial arts group, and attended a small reception at the Office of the District Administrator to sample the local coffee.
After returning to Timor-Leste's capital city Dili, Jackie visited School Aidak Bihare in Camea Village. He visited the classrooms, where the children read to him and sang a song. Afterwards, Jackie joined the students on the playground for some jumprope and a quick game of volleyball. After stopping to watch a football game in Becora, where he met with team members, he traveled to the Dili Stadium where he and the Prime Minister watched martial arts demonstrations and a traditional Chinese Dragon Dance. Jackie then participated in a "unifying exercise" during which he led over 3,500 martial arts group members in a series of powerful thrusts, kicks, and punches. He spoke to the audience of 5,000 people, encouraging the youngsters to embrace peace and to stay away from violence. He shared lessons he'd learned in his own life and encouraged the youth to work hard and never give up on their dreams.
In the evening, Jackie attended a dinner-reception at the home of President Ramos-Horta. Before leaving Timor-Leste, Jackie recorded several public service announcements aimed at local youth.
On Dasavatharam's success hinges the Rs 700-crore project of Ascar V Ravichandaran For Ascar V Ravichandran, Tamil film Dasavatharam starring Kamal Haasan in 10 unique roles was a huge leap of faith. At Rs 60 crore, it ranks amongst the most expensive films ever produced in India.
Ravichandran's next film will be made at a cost of Rs 600-700 crore – enough to bankroll ten Bollywood blockbusters and a decent Hollywood flick. He has roped in action star Jackie Chan to play the lead.
Ravichandran is considered by many the most risk-taking producer in the Tamil film industry. He started as a small time distributor in Vellore in the early 1980s. Ravichandran was once a major distributor of Hollywood films in Tamil Nadu. He was the pioneer in popularising Jackie Chan movies in the state.
In the mid-1990s, he took over the distribution of Kathalukku Mariyathai for entire Tamil Nadu. It turned out to be the biggest blockbuster that year. Ravichandran never looked back after that . In 2006, he distributed and supported several films that were facing financial problems and all of them did well.
Ravichandran's latest plans are ambitious. Many producers in the Indian film industry have gone down real fast in the whimsical world of movie making.
But that will depend crucially on Dasavatharam's success. It is clearly a Kamal movie. When the movie finally made it to the screens, Kamal managed to break the record of his hero, Sivaji Ganesan, who had given a nine-role stunner in 1964 in the movie Navarathiri.
On release day, the movie was shown at 22 centres totalling 70 shows in Chennai, alone breaking the record set by Rajinikanth's Shivaji: The Boss released in 2007 in 17 centres. Including the suburbs there will be 120 shows every day with 700 prints. The Hindi version will have 400 prints.
So, is the cash flowing in? Initial reviews in newspapers were hardly generous. For the first few days, Chennai's movie circles were buzzing with rumours that Dasavatharam had bombed. In fact, some even said that Ravichandran himself had blocked three days show tickets in some theatres in Chennai to create an illusion of demand.
Ravichandran rubbishes these rumours and says the first week shows helped him recover Rs 50 crore, and he sure would be laughing his way to bank when the movie finally does its last act. "Is it even possible to do that? Why would I make such an expensive movie if I was going to buy the tickets myself," he quips .
Ravichandran believes that Dasavatharam will gross nothing less than Rs 200-300 crore in domestic and international exhibitions. He is, in fact, banking on this to part-fund his dream project of making a movie with Jackie Chan. He had made Dasavatharam with some support from banks. He hopes the same banks will stand by him for his next venture, too.