One thing I did pick up from Cannonball Run was the use of bloopers and outtakes under the final credits, which I've done in all my movies since.
Interpretation
Jackie Chan emphasizes the importance of including fun and candid moments in films.
In this quote, Jackie Chan reflects on the influence of 'Cannonball Run' in shaping his filmmaking approach. He highlights how incorporating bloopers and outtakes during the credits adds a playful element to movies, fostering a connection with the audience and enhancing the overall viewing experience. This practice not only entertains but also humanizes the actors, making the film more relatable.
In practice
During a film festival Q&A session, you can discuss how bloopers enhance audience enjoyment, using Chan's quote as a reference.
American stuntmen are smart - they think about safety. When they do a jump in a car, they calculate everything: the speed, the distance... But in Hong Kong, we don't know how to count. Everything we do is a guess. If you've got the guts, you do it. All of my stuntmen have gotten hurt.
Martial arts is not for hurting people, it's for protecting people.
Martial arts is for defense. It's not for attacking. So when people are fighting, always, always, defend.
We learn martial arts as helping weakness. You never fight for people to get hurt. You're always helping people.
In the past when I was in Hollywood, I was like a dog. I felt humiliated. My English was not good. People would even ask me 'Jackie Who?'.
Why did I become Jackie Chan? Mostly because I work very hard. When people were sleeping, I was still training.
If I want to write a movie, I'll write a screenplay, but if I have an idea for a book, it's something that I think can only be done novelistically.
No matter what anybody thinks about any of them, every record I've done has been done with the same amount of care, anguish, pain, suffering, and joy.
I hadn't performed by myself in a while. It feels very natural to me, and I assume people come for the very same reasons as they do when I'm with the band: to be moved, for something to happen to them.
For me the true business of photography is to capture a bit of reality (whatever that is) on film...if, later, the reality means something to someone else, so much the better.
I want to photograph the considerable ceremonies of our present. I want to gather them, like somebody's grandmother putting up preserves, because they will have been so beautiful.
Writing is very improvisational. It's like trying to fix a broken sewing machine with safety pins and rubber bands. A lot of tinkering.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.