Hey there all you readers! I've been enjoying this whole JET LI thing here in Austin (Go back and read FATHER GEEK's Piece on it) at the Dobie as well as the American Release of BLACK MASK, a very fun movie.
But as I think about Jet Li, I believe that of the three male Hong Kong action stars (Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan and Jet Li) that are currently making American films, he is the one with the highest potential to reach superstardom here.
Why? Because I've just got that feeling. The film that's probably going to do it for him is ROMEO MUST DIE, being produced by Joel Silver. It's a take on the Romeo & Juliet story, but this time it's with Han Sung & Trish. And is closer to a non-musical West Side Story in tone.
Jet Li is going to be playing Han Sung, the progeny of a Chinese gangster who is out to avenge his brother's death. Just as WEST SIDE STORY was a conflict between Puerto Rican and Irish, in this story race plays a card as well. In ROMEO MUST DIE it's between a Chinese Gang in L.A. and an African-American Gang in L.A. And I believe that what WEST SIDE STORY did for Switchblades, and what Baz Luhrmann's ROMEO & JULIET did for Gunplay, this movie will do for Kung Fu, or so I hope...
It's the perfect role for Jet to pick up millions of adoring femme fans from the U.S. And God I hope it works.
Next up, I'd love to see KUNG FU done right. I'm talking about the old Bruce Lee conceived, David Carridine acted show. Imagine, John Woo directing Jet Li in KUNG FU. That'd be soooooooooooo cool in my book. And it would feel so right. Just so long as by the end of the film, he DOESN'T find his brother.
What brought that up? Well, ya see, I just bought a 16mm copy of an old KUNG FU episode... specifically the one that guest starred Harrison Ford, and while it was very cool, there was a lot of room for improvement.
Basically what I'm saying is.... I want to see Jet kick ass over here on his own terms with good stories. There's a lot of room for this market. The series of his at the Dobie has been filling up with a very enthusiastic audience, and all Jet needs is a well directed American film to explode his audience. I'm hoping ROMEO MUST DIE is the first step in that direction, but he has to follow through with other strong projects. I believe he has 2 more films under Warner Bros., I just hope they make GREAT ones and not short change a remarkable star.
Suffice to say, anything you hear about upcoming Jet Li movies, drop me a line, ok?
Thanks....
