It seemed as though we had just returned from the Dragon's Heart charity trip to China, and here we were once again packing our suitcases for another adventure. Jackie was scheduled to fly to America to begin filming The Spy Next Door in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so on the morning of October 24, 2008, Jackie's assistant Osumi and I, his webmaster/photographer/assistant, left the office and headed for Hong Kong International Airport to handle the luggage and check-in. We would be joined a bit later by Jackie and JC Group CEO Solon So.

No matter how many trips one takes, it's always difficult to figure out exactly what to pack when going to a new place. Even Jackie, who has been traveling all over the world for much of his life, has trouble deciding what to take with him. Although he has assistants who can pack for him, he is usually very involved in the process and likes to pick out what to bring along. However, sometimes it gets to be too much even for an experienced traveler like Jackie and he turns the packing over to someone else. Such was the case this time. He spent hours trying to figure out what he needed or didn't need until he finally gave up and went to sleep, leaving the decision making to his staff.

Because Albuquerque is located in a desert region, the temperature  during November and December can range from below freezing at night all the way up into the '70's during the day. Albuquerque is uncommonly sunny and in the winter the temperature can vary widely depending on whether you're standing in the shade or in the sun. Now you know why poor Jackie was having such a terrible time packing. You really need to bring a wide variety of clothing  with you when you visit a place like New Mexico.


After checking in and handing over the luggage, Osumi and I met up with Jackie and Solon and headed for our gate. As we approached the security check area, we all got our carry-on luggage ready for inspection and Osumi, Solon, and I removed our laptop computers from their bags to be x-rayed. Suddenly Osumi and I noticed that Jackie was fussing with something in his carry-on bag. To our immeasurable surprise and amusement, he removed a laptop computer from his bag and placed it in a bin for inspection.  We were flabbergasted; our jaws dropped and our hands flew to our mouths in an effort to stifle the chuckles that came bubbling up. You see, in the past Jackie could never understand why people found it necessary to travel with computers. He would point out how much of an effort was involved in getting through security when traveling with a laptop; crossing his arms and shaking his head in disapproval of all this techno-travel. And now?  Well, here he was, Jackie "I Hate Computers" Chan, fumbling around with a laptop at the security check.

Helpless to keep a straight face, Osumi and I covered our mouths with one hand and held our stomachs - aching with semi-suppressed laughter - with the other. Jackie looked over at us and asked "What?" He was trying to look stern, but was finding it quite difficult. The corners of his mouth were curving upward, his eyes were twinkling merrily - he knew he'd been caught.

After finishing with the security check, we walked about a mile to our gate. Actually, this is only a slight exaggeration since the passenger terminal at Hong Kong International Airport is nearly one mile long. Although there is a walkway called a "people mover" that runs the length of the terminal, Jackie doesn't use it and neither does his staff. He sees the hike to the airline gate as an opportunity to get in a little exercise. And boy does Jackie walk fast!  According to Jackie, walking fast serves two functions: it gives more of an aerobic workout than walking slowly, and it prevents fans from stopping him when he's trying to get somewhere on time.

When we got to the gate we had a few minutes to wait, so Jackie began rounding up the luggage carts. I've watched him do this many times and have come to the conclusion that gathering the carts serves three purposes for Jackie. First, it satisfies his desire to have the area around him neat and orderly. Second, it gives him an additional dose of daily exercise. Third, it keeps him busy and moving so that he is not besieged for autographs and photos. I gave him a hand rounding up the luggage carts and when we finished we sat down and waited until it was time to board the plane for our flight to America.


Sixteen hours and 7,254 miles later, we landed at Los Angeles International Airport. There are no direct flights to Albuquerque from Hong Kong and we had a layover, so after making our way to the correct area of the enormous airport - pausing briefly so that Jackie could take some photos with the security personnel on their Segway PTs - we met up with Jack Tu and waited at a corner table in a coffee bar.


You may be wondering who Jack Tu is; I know I was very curious to meet him myself. Jack is the guy who won Jackie's "American Idol" type competition in China known as "The Disciple."  It was a contest in which contestants had to excel at martial arts, acting, singing, and dancing. Additionally, the winners of the contest had to have the personality, charisma, and  humility that was essential in order to be chosen as "the next Jackie Chan." Out of 100,000 people who entered the contest, Jack Tu was the winner.


After we were introduced, I asked Jack to tell me a bit about himself. As he spoke, I jotted down his words in my notebook. I scribbled furiously, unaware that Jack would be on the set for the entire duration of filming and that he and I would be spending hundreds of hours together for the next two months. Over the course of the time I spent in Albuquerque, I gathered a lot of information about Jack Tu and you will be able to read about him in a separate article here at JackieChan.com in the future.

Finally it was time for the short flight to Albuquerque. After passing through security and watching Jackie pretend not to see our amusement when he checked his laptop, we boarded the plane. This was one of those "first come, first served" type of flights; no assigned seating. The airline was nice enough to allow us to take the first few rows of seats so that we could stay together and Jackie could avoid having to spend the entire flight being stared at. It was quite comfortable and since we were flying in the middle of the day we got to look out the window at the beautiful landscape below. Jackie took lots of photos and talked about how amazed he was by the vastness of the landscape beneath us. "When you look at something like this, it's hard to imagine that we'll ever run out of room on Earth," he said. "So much space!"


After a while Jackie pulled his hood over his face, put his feet on the bulkhead, and fell asleep. As I watched him quietly napping in what appeared to be a very uncomfortable pose, I was once again astonished by his ability to sleep any place, any time, and in any position.



At the airport in Albuquerque we were met by several of the JC Stunt Team; they had arrived a few days earlier to begin preparations for the movie. It was great to see everyone together again; I hadn't seen some of these guys since the filming of The Forbidden Kingdom last summer. I knew they'd be in Albuquerque; my colleague Fibe from the Hong Kong office had spent many weeks working on preparing the travel documents, resumes, and seemingly endless paperwork that was required for them to work on the film.

We drove to our hotel, dropped off the luggage, and headed out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant where Jackie was greeted with tremendous enthusiasm. Although we had a nice time, the restaurant was not exactly the kind of place Jackie likes, and we never went back there again. (Don't worry, though. Jackie soon found a local restaurant which would become his "home away from home" for Chinese dinners.)

Back at the hotel, everyone gratefully retired to their rooms to get some sleep. It had been a long trip and it was a good feeling to be settled into one place. Little did I know that even as I happily surveyed my comfortable surroundings, Jackie was next door plotting and planning our move to a different hotel. Although the place where we were staying was beautiful, it was a little too fancy for Jackie. He wanted the kind of place where he could feel comfortable having his door (and his staff members' doors) open, everyone being free to run around the hallways in robes and slippers, kind of like a friendly college dormitory. He also found out that a nearby apartment was right across the street from a beautiful shopping area where we could all walk around, eat dinner, or relax and have a coffee.

First thing in the morning, Jackie was up and off with a few of his stunt guys to take a look at the apartments. He was back in a flash; the moment he'd seen it, he'd liked it and couldn't wait to move in. We hadn't unpacked much, so it took us only a few minutes to get everything together and load up the cars. As we walked past the front desk, Jackie kept his sunglasses on and his head down, pushing me along and whispering "Walk fast!" because he really felt bad for the workers at the hotel we were leaving. Everyone had been so nice and had thought that Jackie would be staying there for two months.


After we left the hotel we headed over to the production office so that Jackie could be fitted for his costumes. We were met there by the director, Brian Levant and the team of people who would be in charge of Jackie's wardrobe for the duration of the movie.



I watched for a while as Jackie tried on dozens of different outfits. Have you ever heard the expression "The clothes make the man"? Well, it's true. Just by changing his clothes, Jackie instantly went from completely nerdy to ultra-cool. Of course we all know that the right (or wrong) clothes make a big difference in how we perceive people, but having this perception sway from one extreme to another in a matter of seconds was really interesting.

When I was through amusing myself watching Jackie transform from his familiar self into someone I barely recognized and then into someone I would be afraid to meet in a dark alley, I wandered around the offices for a few minutes to see if there was anything interesting going on.

Inside a workroom I met a friendly guy named Jesse Travino. He is the set costumer and when I met him he was in the process of dying some brand new white socks a dull shade of grey. He explained that white socks right out of the package appear much too bright on camera; therefore they need to be dulled down a little before they can be worn. Bet you didn't know that trick! (I didn't know it either.)


We left the production office and drove to our new apartments. As soon as we saw them, we agreed that it was much more suited to Jackie and the rest of our team. Each of us had a private apartment, but they were grouped together in one wing of the building and Jackie's suite was kind of the epicenter or focal point of activity. It was much more casual than the first hotel and we were able to come and go more freely. This is just the kind of setup that Jackie enjoys because it feels more like a home and less like a hotel. Since Jackie likes to eat some meals in his room, the little kitchen would come in handy as well.

The best thing about the apartment was that it was right across the street from the ABQ Uptown. This is not a shopping center or mall in the traditional sense; in fact they call it a "premiere open-air lifestyle center." All the stores and restaurants are outdoors; it's not one of those massive indoor mall-type buildings. It was perfect for Jackie because it gave him the freedom to walk around outdoors, go to the bookstore, or have something to eat when he had time off. In the two months that we spent in Albuquerque, I think we visited the ABQ Uptown at least once a day!


After we got settled in the apartments, it was off to the supermarket to buy food and supplies. Some of you may already know that Jackie's tastes in food are quite simple. Although he will eat anything, he prefers the simple homestyle Cantonese cooking that he grew up with. Luckily, he was able to find just about everything he needed at the local supermarket.

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