BEIJING – Jackie Chan will play the wise kung-fu master in a Hollywood-Chinese remake of the 1984 hit “The Karate Kid” that kicked off filming in the Chinese capital at the weekend, a movie company publicist said Monday.
Chan’s young disciple in “Kung Fu Kid” will be played by Jaden Smith, the son of Hollywood superstars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, China Film Group spokesman Weng Li told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
In “The Karate Kid,” Pat Morita plays the iconic building handyman Mr. Miyagi who trains one of his young tenants, portrayed by Ralph Macchio, into an accomplished fighter.
The co-production between the state-run China Film Group and Columbia Pictures started shooting Saturday in Beijing, Weng said.
“Kung Fu Kid” is being directed by Harald Zwart, who also directed “One Night at McCool’s” and “The Pink Panther 2,” Solon So, the chief executive of Chan’s company, JC Group, told the AP.
Chan and Smith, along with Smith’s parents and sister Willow, attended a traditional Chinese ceremony to mark the start of the shoot Saturday. Photos on China Film Group’s movie news Web site show the Smith family and Chan holding incense sticks.
Will Smith — one of the film’s producers — Chan, Zwart and others symbolically removed a piece of red cloth covering a movie camera, after which Smith gave Chan a hug, according to video posted on Chinese news Web site Sina.com . His hair done in a huge Afro and wearing a bright red track jacket and blue pants, Jaden Smith stood and waved when he was introduced. His father ruffled his hair when he sat down.
Chan said on his Web site he also attended the younger Smith’s 11th birthday party last Wednesday, where he and Will Smith posed for pictures with young performers wearing red and yellow costumes with dragon patterns.
Ken Stovitz, one of Will Smith’s partners in the production company Overbrook Entertainment, said at the ceremony Saturday that “Kung Fu Kid” will be set in modern-day Beijing. China Film Group chairman Han Sanping said shooting will last three months.
Chan juggles careers in Hollywood and Chinese-language film. The veteran 55-year-old Hong Kong action star will be seen in the upcoming the Hollywood action comedy “The Spy Next Door,” about an undercover Chinese spy whose cover is blown, and the Chinese production, “Big Soldier,” about the friendship between two soldiers set in China’s ancient Qin dynasty.
It's official folks!!!
The movie will be called The Karate Kid, and Sony has artwork that's that shows a release date of June 11th, 2010. Which means a release after Memorial day, but before the summer. I'm not too sure about this release date being a good idea, however the clip that is available is hot.
Don't just take my word on it, judge for yourself.
[youtube jy3TwgpOfr0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy3TwgpOfr0 youtube]
There are some out there that think that this film will ruin a fond childhood memory of the original that starred Pat Morita, and Ralph Macchio. Check your preconceived notions at the door and open your mind to the thought that a story line can be adapted (which is different than simply remaking the stale original film) resulting in a story of its own right.
While the story is loosely based upon the original (afterall it is an adaptation and not a wholly original work) the trailer shows great promise of a film that could get audiences in a theater to see something other than cars, robots or aliens. Need an incentive for your kids to improve their grades, then this may be the movie to dangle in front of their faces…. I can't wait to see more….