Jackie Chan isn’t holding back when it comes to his thoughts on today’s movie industry.
While speaking during a packed Q&A at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, the 71-year-old actor said he thinks modern filmmaking has been hurt by Hollywood studios focusing too much on profits.
“I think the old movies are better than today,” Jackie shared, via Deadline.
“Right now, a lot of big studios, they’re not filmmakers, they’re business guys. They invest 40 million and think, ‘How can I get it back?’ And you can’t go over. It’s very difficult to make a good movie now.”
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Jackie, who was at the festival to receive the Pardo alla Carriera award for career achievement, also reflected on his decades-long career, telling stories about his start in the industry, performing dangerous stunts, and learning every role on set.
He also joked that in all of Asia, only two directors could write, direct, act, stunt coordinate, and edit: his friend Sammo Hung and himself.
“And I’m better because I know how to sing,” he teased.
The Rush Hour star revealed that he took up singing because he didn’t want to be limited to risky stunt work forever.
“I cannot do this forever. It’s just so dangerous,” he recalled. “Whatever station I would go to, they ask me how to punch and kick. I thought, What should I do? I should learn how to sing. Then I started trying to learn how to sing.”
He added that he quickly switched his professional goals, and that his mantra was: “I wanna be the Asian Robert De Niro.”
He also admitted he once considered quitting Hollywood altogether due to poor scripts and difficulty connecting with American audiences, but decided to try one last project, which became Rush Hour.
“Rush Hour. It was the last try. If it doesn’t succeed, then I finish,” Jackie said. “I think Rush Hour changed the culture.”
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