Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A passionate advocate for animals, Jackie Chan has once again teamed up with the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) to create awareness of a little-known example of appalling cruelty to animals – bear farming in Asia. Chan and WSPA have filmed a powerful 30-second PSA calling for an end to the cruel practice and showing the intense suffering and deplorable conditions bears on farms are forced to endure.
WSPA has identified bear farming as the planet’s worst example of animal suffering inflicted by humans, and the PSA is part of a worldwide campaign to highlight the plight of the 12,000 bears living in Asia’s bear farms.
“Around the world, WSPA is working hard to make people aware of what happens on bear farms,” said Peter Chen, WSPA Canada Community Outreach Officer. “We’re grateful that Jackie Chan is helping to further WSPA’s mission to end bear farming.”
Bile from the gall bladders of bears is used in Tradition Asian Medicine and believed to have medicinal properties. As a result, bears are raised in captivity and forced to suffer painful procedures to extract their bile. The conditions the bears live in are dire – most live in cages about the size of a telephone booth turned on its side, where they cannot stand or easily turn around. They can live this awful existence for decades.
The use of bear bile in Traditional Asian Medicine is unnecessary. A synthetic alternative has existed since the 1950s, and many experts in Traditional Asian Medicine agree that alternatives such as herbal remedies and acupuncture are equally effective.
“The World Society for the Protection of Animals campaigns to stop cruelty and change attitudes towards animals,” said Jackie Chan. “They are doing great work in so many countries and deserve our support.”
To watch the PSA and for more information, please visit: www.wspa-usa.org
Jackie Chan’s support lends a well-known voice to an important campaign to protect defenseless bears in Asia. The public can also lend their support by signing WSPA’s petition at www.endbearfarming.org.
One of the biggest threats faced by bears in the United States today is an illegal yet thriving trade in bear parts, including bear gallbladders. Each year wild bears are killed so that their parts can be sold in Traditional Asian Medicine (TAM) shops in the United States and internationally. US Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) recently re-introduced H.R. 5534, the Bear Protection Act of 2008, to protect North American bears. The Act specifically bans the import, export and interstate trade of all bear parts and products, while closing loopholes in existing state laws.
Supporters are urged to contact their representative and encourage them to co-sponsor and pass this important legislation:
http://capwiz.com/wspausa/issues/alert/?alertid=11109406
The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) works to raise the standards of animal welfare throughout the world. WSPA holds consultative status with the United Nations and observer status with the Council of Europe, and is the world’s largest international alliance of welfare organizations. Headquartered in the UK with offices in 15 countries, WSPA works towards building a global animal welfare movement with compassion and action through partnerships with over 850 animal organizations in more than 150 countries.
| Name : | Jackie Chan |
| Birth Date : | April 7, 1954 |
| Birth Place : | Hong Kong, China |
| Birth Name : | Kong-Sang Chang also known as Jackie Chan Sing Lung (which means 'Already a Dragon') |
| Height : | 5'8 |
| Education : | Nan Hua Elementary Academy Chinese Opera Research Institute (1961-1971) Peking Opera School |
| Nationality : | Hong Kong/Chinese |
| Profession : | Actor, director, producer |
| Wife : | Lin Feng-Chiao (aka Lin Feng Chow; Taiwanese; actress; married in 1983; separated) |
| Relationship : | Elaine Ng (Miss Asia, 1 daughter) |
| Claim to fame : | as Ah Keung in Rumble in the Bronx (1995) |
| Fan Mail : | Willie Chan Golden Harvest Ltd. Hong Kong China |
The only child of Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, Jackie Chan was born Chan Kong-Sang (meaning Born In Hong Kong) on the 7th of April, 1954. The family lived in a mansion in the exclusive Victoria Peak district, not owned by them Charles worked as a cook for the French Ambassador, while Lee-Lee was the housekeeper. He was not academically bright which was noticed by Charles, who decided to enrol the boy, now 7, at the Peking Opera School, operated by Shu Master Yu Jan-Yuen.
Being part of the Chinese Opera Research School, Jackie learnt through ten years of nineteen hours a day the major discipline of the Peking Opera, which includes acting, singing, dance, mime, acrobatics and a variety of martial arts. After graduation he went to work at the Shaw Brothers Studios as a stuntman, where after two years he was promoted to stunt co-ordinator. Watching Jackie direct stunt men, a producer spotted his talents and gave him his first adult in Little Tiger from Canton (1971). After years of being paid minimally for his abilities, 1978’s Snake in the Eagle Shadow and Drunken Master gave Jackie the freedom to create the genre of kung fu comedy, which transformed the Hong Kong film industry. In 1980 Jackie directed his first film, The Young Master, with producer Raymond Chow. The major success of The Young Master prompted Chow to bring Jackie to the United States to star in Big Brawl and Cannonball Run, which also starred Burt Reynolds and Roger Moore.
With his experience in American film making techniques, Jackie’s headed back home to improve Hong Kong cinema and this is evident in Project A (1983). Jackie returned to the United States twice as an actor, in Cannonball Run 2 and the Protector, before the New York Film Festival honoured him for Police Story (1986). His direction in Police Story II, Project A II, and Armoured of God II which were all well acclaimed in the States increasing the popularity of Hong Kong Cinema. The conquest of Jackie and many of Hong Kong filmmakers went into full swing. But a major turning point came when Jackie starred in Rumble in the Bronx (1994), a Hong Kong production filmed in Canada and distributed by New Line Cinema. The success of Rumble in the Bronx helped launch a series of American films of Jackie’s and which lead finally to the present day of Rush Hour and it’s sequel Rush Hour 2.
Hollywood studios are taking their fight against piracy in China into the belly of the beast by erecting a huge billboard with an antipiracy message from Jackie Chan in Beijing's Silk Market.
Billboard features a simple warning from the Hong Kong star: "Protect the movies, say NO to piracy."
Billboard was launched in partnership with the Beijing Silk Street Co. and Chaoyang Model Anti-Copyright Infringement and Piracy-Free Zone.
It will be displayed for two weeks in one of the busiest spots in Chaoyang district, spreading its message to more than 20 million people.
"Chan's message to Beijing's citizens is direct and simple," said Mike Ellis, MPA's regional prexy and managing director. By eschewing pirated fare, Chinese will take steps toward "nurturing and protecting China's movie industry, which then will be free to reach out and tell compelling, exciting Chinese stories to people around the world."
Putting the billboard in Silk Market is an ironic touch for the MPA, as the shopping area was once the place to go for counterfeit goods, including pirated DVDs, despite its location right next to the U.S. embassy.
These days, following some high-profile legal actions and so much international attention on combating piracy, the Silk Market is trying to go legit. It recently launched its own brand of goods and warned pirates not to copy them or risk the consequences.
The MPA has been busy in China, announcing the winners in a copyright protection-themed student film contest and last week inking a deal with the seven most popular Chinese websites -- where millions of films and TV programs are being uploaded, watched or downloaded every day -- regarding copyright protection of U.S. films.
The websites have promised to remove any programs illegally uploaded by users once notified by MPA and its member companies.
Armour of God (Chinese: 龍兄虎弟, Long xiong hu di) is a 1986 Hong Kong martial arts-action film co-directed by, and starring Jackie Chan. The film features Chan's regular kung-fu, comedy and stunts, with an Indiana Jones-style theme. During a relatively routine stunt in this film Chan came the closest he has ever been to death when a tree branch snapped sending Chan plummeting a huge distance and cracking his skull.
In the movie Jackie plays the character of Asian Hawk (the character's real-name being also Jackie), an adventurer with a mercenary-like way of thought. Jackie used to perform in a band with his friends Alan and Laura (Lorelei) before he was kicked out of the band by Alan, who wanted Laura for himself. At the beginning of the film Jackie steals a sword from an African tribe that is one of the five pieces of a valuable armour known as the Armour of God. Alan is still a successful singer and Laura is a renowned fashion-designer,
An evil cult wants to destroy the armour and has already collected two pieces of it. To get the final three pieces they kidnap Laura to force Alan to get Jackie to collect the remaining pieces of the armour for the cult.
* This film was taped in Croatia and Slovenia.
* Chan and his crew were filming in Yugoslavia and the scene called for him to jump from a wall to a tree branch. The first take went perfectly, but Jackie wasn't satisfied and had wanted to do the scene once more. The second time, his grip on the branch slipped and Jackie fell 15 feet to the ground below. He landed on a rock on his head, causing part of his skull to crack and shoot up into his brain. He was flown to the hospital and was in surgery 8 hours later. He now has a plastic plug, and a permanent hole in his head. He is also slightly hard of hearing in one ear from that fall. Chan took time off for a month in recuperation, touring across Europe. During his recuperation, Producer Raymond Chow opted Chan to keep his hair long, which explains the continuity problem between his short hairdo in the beginning in the film to the long hair we see after completing the tree stunt once more along with the rest of the film.
* In the scene where Jackie infiltrates the cult's hideout and rescues Alan and Laura, Laura addressed Jackie's name as "Kong-Sang". When Jackie tries to leave Alan in the prison by himself, Alan addressed his full name as "Chan Kong-Sang". In an ironic twist, "Chan Kong-Sang" is actually Jackie Chan's birth name in real life. However, in the U.S. version of the movie, Jackie's name had been changed from Kong-Sang to "cowboy". Whether this change is due to Chan's childhood fascination as a cowboy or merely a ploy to westernize the character of Asian Hawk is up for debate.
At the Hong Kong box office, Armour of God was Jackie Chan's biggest hit up to that point, grossing HK $35,469,408 in its theatrical run.
In North America, Armour of God was released direct-to-video by Miramax after the theatrical distribution of its sequel, Armour of God 2: Operation Condor, which was released in North America as simply Operation Condor. As such, the title Armour of God was changed, somewhat confusingly, to Operation Condor 2: The Armor of the Gods it was released after Operation Condor.
A new musical score was created for this release, and English dubbing (with the participation of Chan) was also done. Nine minutes of cuts were made to the Miramax version, including:
* The concert scene of Jackie Chan's band, 'The Losers.'
* Chan's dream sequence.
* The scene in which May (played by Lola Forner), disguised as a prostitute, encounters a monk who wants to sleep with her.
* An extended version of the slapstick sequence in which Alan (played by Alan Tam) hides in May's room. The scene also includes Laura (while under the cult's spell) attempting to seduce Jackie.
