Sunday, April 15
Wow! When I woke up this morning, I felt so refreshed! It’s amazing how important sleep is. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t gotten a good night’s rest.
Today we are filming a splinter unit. I am with one unit and Chris is filming with Brett on another. We were only filming a few blocks away from each other, but I didn’t see either of them. We are running out of time, so we have to concentrate on getting our shots done. I had just arrived on the set when I was told that I would be doing a stunt. I had to jump from the side of the freeway and slide down a pole onto another level of the freeway. I looked at the stunt and immediately put on my harness. When I was asked if I wanted to rehearse, I said, “No.” I think everybody was surprised. I am so used to doing this kind of stunt. I’ve done it in so many films through the years. I didn’t even need to warm up and did it in one take. Everybody clapped but I just smiled.
Today’s our last day filming this chase sequence. All I’ve been doing is running, running, and more running. In movie running and fighting, you use very different muscles than if you were to do the actual action. I think part of the reason is because it’s stop and go movements. You have to do the same take, sometimes over and over again. The muscles in my calf and thigh were so sore. The strange thing is when the camera is rolling film; I always forget my aches and pain. As soon as they say “Cut!” then my body reminds my brain that I’m sore all over again.
No matter how much we’ve filmed or how little, the minute the sun goes down, there’s little we can do. Dayton, our Chief Lighting Technician, has a whole range of lights, but he can’t create miracles. When we ran out of light, we had to wrap. Today was an easy day for me.
When I went home, I met with a lot of friends. They all came over my house to eat some Yakitori. I still had to work tomorrow, so I didn’t want everybody to stay too late.
I still had to have meetings and I wasn’t done until 2:00 AM. After everybody left, I took a hot shower and went to sleep very quickly.
Monday, April 16
This morning, when I went to work, I got dressed very quickly. I went to Village Recording Studio to work with Salaam Remi on a song that Chris and I sang in our film, “The Closer I Get to You.” He’s a big music producer who has contributed to Martin Scorsese’s film, The Departed (based on the Hong Kong film, Infernal Affairs), amongst other projects. He taught me how to stay in the beat and even to do a bit of rap. It was fun and I was surprised how quickly we got it all done. I was willing to stay and work some more because I was enjoying myself so much. Salaam felt we got everything we needed to record. I’m looking forward to hearing how it’s all going to sound. Chris came as well, but he didn’t record because his voice was raspy. He was screaming all day yesterday during his scene so he can’t sing today.
I also had to shoot a promotional video. There wasn’t too much dialogue so I went through it pretty fast. The studio was booked for four hours but I think I was done with my work in two.
Tonight we are filming at Sable Ranch in Santa Clarita. We have to be in the cold water all night. I heard it’s very dusty too. We shall see what happens. But this is an American movie, so I’m not scared. I heard a hot bathtub will be provided right next to the pool so we could keep warm in between takes.
For me, I can do with or without a hot tub of water. It doesn’t really matter to me because I would still do the scene. When you are making an American film, you know you never have to worry about your comfort level. I am just scared, because now that I’m spoiled after working on an American film, I will have to put up with some harsh conditions. For my next film, I will be shooting in challenging environments. I will be filming in some beautiful locations in China, but certain locations may not be too comfortable. I will also be going to the Gobi Desert. I don’t know what to expect, but I will definitely let you know! With time, I will get used to any working, no matter what they are.
Our production company was really considerate and brought in a beverage trailer. They made hot coffee, drinks, and smoothies. Because it was so cold, everybody ordered one.
Rob Colasanti, the President of the National Association of Professional Martial Arts (NAPMA), came to interview me for his magazine. Many of the martial arts schools across the United States subscribe to his magazine. He also brought Kathy Long, who’s a five-time World Kick Boxing Champion and she’s also a Kung Fu San Soo Master. She actually interviewed me during Rush Hour. It was a long interview but I hope the readers will enjoy reading it.
Ok, now it’s time for me to get into my wet suit and prepare for the night shoot.
It’s an amazing set. The construction crew, under the supervision of Billy Holmquist, did a great job in the short time they had to create this huge pool for us to jump into. There are two hot tubs standing by with hot water. The jump was easy and we got it done in just a few takes.
Sometimes I had wanted this film to be finished. Now that I’m finished, I don’t want it to end. I am going to miss all the cast and crew that I’ve grown close to; all the people who have been taking such good care of me throughout these last seven months of filming.
Since today was the last day of filming, it was time for Ric Spencer to let me have one of his braids. If you've been reading my diary you know that Ric promised that I could have one for my museum, but he would only give it to me after the film was wrapped. I thought that he might be nervous about giving up some of his hair, but he was happy to do it and we had a lot of fun. I chose my favorite braid and he let me cut it off. He also gave me a beautiful painting.
I cannot thank everybody one by one, but here in my diary I want to thank every single person who has worked on our film and helped Chris and me through this long adventure. I want to thank all crew for their hard work. It is because of their tremendous contribution that I know our film will be a success.
I always remind Chris, “Our films have always been hits not just because of you and me, but because of all the people who have worked tirelessly with us, other supporting cast and crew.” They help us become “movie stars.” From the bottom of my heart, “Thank you and I love you all!”
I also bid farewell to Diana and gave her a big kiss for helping me so much. As you all know, in addition to working as my dialogue coach, she’s also been writing my diary. I know it’s a lot of work and whenever she’s not coaching me on the set, she’s busy writing in her computer or interviewing various crew members for my website. I know that my fans really enjoy reading what my activities are on a daily basis, so I was grateful to her that she’s continued this tradition that we started many films back. Because she has children and some of the conditions during filming may be harsh, she cannot work on my next film. Ten years ago, when I was filming Rush Hour, she introduced me to her friend who will be able to help me. Her name is Janis Chow and I am looking forward to working with her.
Jackie and Diana at the Santa Monica Airport.
Thank you fans for being so supportive of my work. I shall write about my adventures when I begin the filming of The Forbidden Kingdom.
Text and photos ©2007 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.