Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.
Jet Li is, simply put, one of the great international movie stars. But for some reason, America’s never quite figured out what to do with him. It’s a fate many of the great martial arts stars have suffered, but Jet Li has pushed forward, film after film, experimenting with Hollywood even as he continues to work in China, stepping in and out of his comfort zone on a regular basis. For that, as much as for anything he’s ever done on camera, this is a guy I respect.
One of the reasons I agreed to do all of the MUMMY interviews in the first place was so I could finally have a chance to chat for a few minutes with a guy who I am convinced has carved out a permanent name for himself in the history of action cinema. When my phone rang, I was surprised, after interviewing people like Miyazaki or Jackie Chan or Stephen Chow in the past, how Jet Li used absolutely no translator, not even as a back-up, and by the quiet humility he exhibited as we spoke:
Jet Li: Hi, good morning.
Moriarty: Good morning.
Jet Li: Hi, this is Jet.
Moriarty: It’s very nice to speak to you, sir.
Jet Li: You too, thank you.
Moriarty: This is a very different role for you in terms of the technology involved. It looks as if there was motion capture done, or performance capture of some sort, obviously extensive make-up, and even in terms of the fact that this is a no-apologies bad guy in the film. When you were approached for it, what was your first thought about it?
Jet Li: I think years ago, the studio told me that they wanted to make a MUMMY 3 in China, and they offered me to play the mummy. I thought it was very interesting, because usually I play a lot of good guys, and I think this was the first time, well no, not the first time, but playing this mummy was very challenging as an actor, and also it’s a big movie. Of course, later on, I find out I know the director, we’re friends for many years, so I take the job and I feel very happy to do it. But it is very challenging.
Moriarty: Had you ever worked with this sort of technology before? You know, the motion capture... that sort of thing?
Jet Li: Yeah, I did it before, like on the movie THE ONE, there was a lot of motion capture. Also I did a videogame with Sony a few years ago.
Moriarty: Now the mythology of the film is actually drawn from actual Chinese mythology. Obviously it’s been changed and played with. When Hollywood plays with this sort of thing, when they go and dabble with Chinese mythology, how do you think this is going to play in China?
Jet Li: Uh… I don’t know yet. [laughs] I think we’ll know when the movie’s showing in China, but part 1 and part 2 are very quite successful in Asia.
Moriarty: Oh really?
Jet Li: Yeah.
Moriarty: Oh, okay. So you were involved even before the director came on board?
Jet Li: A little bit earlier, yeah.
Moriarty: So this was something that they had approached you about and they sort of built it around you. It’s exciting, because obviously they considered you one of the key pieces of this film. And you’ve sort of been able to go back and forth, work in Hollywood, work in Hong Kong at the same time. Is it hard to maintain that balance?
Jet Li: No, it’s easy for me. Because Asian audiences are a little bit different from American audiences. The culture’s different. So some movies work really well in the West and some movies work really well in Asia. It’s really difficult to find a story in the middle. But you do find that... we try to find, you know, like a HERO, or FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, work well with both sides.
Moriarty: Now obviously FORBIDDEN KINGDOM earlier this year was aimed at a very different audience. That was really much more of a general audience, or family film.
Jet Li: Yeah.
Moriarty: Is it important to you to be able to mix it up, to be able to do something for younger audiences, something that plays to older audiences, to play a bad guy, to play a good guy? Is it important to, each time out, do something a little different?
Jet Li: I think today’s world has become smaller, and family movies work for Asian audiences and American audiences, because when you play in the other kind of movie, maybe some movies only work for Western [audiences], they don’t really work in Asia.
Moriarty: Are you very involved in developing material for yourself? Do you initiate projects, or do you basically just look for things that are already in motion?
Jet Li: Uh… I’m involved a little bit. [Laughs] When the agent or manager got a job, they ask me my opinion. Some movies I turn down, some movies I think it’s interesting to play, then I just try to do something I believe is gonna work.
Moriarty: You’ve had such an amazing career, and it seems like you’ve done a bit of everything.
Jet Li: Yeah.
Moriarty: Is there anything you feel like you haven’t done yet and you’re just dying to do on film?
Jet Li: Yeah, some movies. Like I’ve been developing a movie called MONK IN NEW YORK that’s still not shooting yet, and it’s been developing ten years. [Laughs] But I still like the story, I really want to do it in the near future.
Moriarty: I love that you’re able to nurture a project for that long. Is it something that you feel like you’re getting closer to making?
Jet Li: I need to decide some things, because they always seem to want like a hardcore fight, for me to beat up somebody, you know, but I’ve done that kind of movie many times, and I believe that this is something that is different. I need to negotiate with the studio. It depends on some things, like if MUMMY’s successful, if something big’s successful, then you’ll have more power to negotiate. Say “This kind of movie I really want to do, give me one chance, I do this, then I do another commercial movie for you,” something like that.
Moriarty: I was a big fan of DANNY THE DOG.
Jet Li: Oh, thank you.
Moriarty: And it was really interesting to take my wife to see that. Because she’s not a martial arts fan, per se. It’s very hard sometimes to convince her to go see certain types of films with me. But what really worked for her in that film was the character work, and she found herself very moved by Danny in general.
Do you sometimes see movies cross into or reach a different audience, and is that something that you work towards, making movies that appeal to a broader audience than something like the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA movies? Which are really very traditional martial arts films.
Jet Li: Some movies I’m involved a lot. Like DANNY THE DOG, I really want to make a movie to tell people if your physical skill’s very well, like you can hurt people, but if you don’t understand human life, friendship, family value, you know, you become a dog, if you only live to hurt people. So that’s why I make that movie, which I personally like very much, but it’s not been successful everywhere. [Laughs] So some movies I do are very commercial, you know, just be the actor, just do the job, but some movies I really want to tell the story there, tell my personal beliefs, like FEARLESS, that kind of film.
Moriarty: That and KISS OF THE DRAGON were both movies that Besson was a producer on.
Jet Li: Yeah.
Moriarty: And it seems to me that Besson really loves martial arts, but at the same time he appreciates that there has to be that extra little bit of character, the extra little bit of heart, something to make the film a little different. He seems like somebody who really loves these movies. Did you work closely with him, was he involved in these films heavily?
Jet Li: Recently he’s not, but before, we were very close. We worked together, we talked about action films but we still needed to develop the character, and to show some way a difference from the Hollywood movies.
Moriarty: Your films really haven’t been remade yet in America, which is great. It seems to me that everything gets bought and remade, but so many of your movies depended on you. It wasn’t just the concept, it was you as a performer that made the film work. Are there any of your films that you would ever supervise a remake of, maybe with a younger actor or somebody that you picked and sort of nurtured?
Jet Li: Uh... not now, because recently I’ve put in my job go to do The One Foundation in China, I worked so hard and build up the Foundation, and to help people in China. So this year I turned down all the movies and focused only on that.
Moriarty: Well, you’ve been in films now since, if I’m not mistaken, 1982?
Jet Li: Yeah, the first movie?
Moriarty: Mm-hmm.
Jet Li: Yeah. I started in the ‘80s.
Moriarty: That is a remarkable run, to be able to have that longevity in your career. To be able to last that long doing what you do is unusual.
Jet Li: Yeah, it’s not easy.
Moriarty: And I know that it must take a physical toll. I know I’ve heard you say several times that there were certain types of films that you were moving away from, or that you weren’t doing to the same extent. When FEARLESS came out there was a big push, that it was the last of the traditional martial arts films that you would be doing. Is that a creative impulse? Is it simply, “Guys, I’ve been doing this for twentysomething years now, I’m just tired,” or is there just something else that you’re really looking to do?
Jet Li: In FEARLESS I just involved everything, and I told all my beliefs in the movie, why you’re learning martial arts and what martial arts are for, how it’s not just revenge and to hurt the others, and you don’t need to always be physical. If you need to beat up anybody, it’s yourself, because the most dangerous enemy is yourself. So I taught everything in the movie. Since then I’ve decided that movies are just my work. I didn’t stay as much involved as in the past. So I’m more focused on the philosophy now in my daily life.
Moriarty: One of the things I loved about FEARLESS was how it seemed to incorporate every style. Each fight was a completely different style of fight, and it really felt to me like a showcase for everything you had done throughout the course of your career.
Jet Li: Yes, I always think about the martial arts in the movie. You need to decide how to use the martial arts to help the story, to help the character in different situations. Not just the same fight in the beginning, the same fight in the end. A lot of times you do an American movie and you just fight from the beginning to the end, and there’s physically no difference.
Moriarty: And that seems to be a major difference between people who have grown up not only watching these films as fight movies, but the cultural implications. When you have a director like Ronnie Yu and you’re working with him, he understands that it’s performance, that the fighting isn’t just the action scene between things, that it is the point of the movie. I mean you act with your fighting, it’s not just fighting.
Jet Li: Exactly.
Moriarty: Is that something that you really only find in Asian directors? Obviously with Louis Leterrier and DANNY THE DOG, working with him, did you find that that was something he brought to the table as well, that he understood?
Jet Li: I always think a movie is like teamwork, and we always discuss before, and we tell them why Hong Kong action films are successful for twenty, thirty years. So it’s very important that the action movie has story, has character, and also the character has different emotions for why he fights differently. So they got that, but with the American films it’s difficult to discuss because they just calculate how to fight, how many fight scenes are in the movie, each time, you know, five minutes, ten minutes. Then it’s like “Okay, I’m finished.” They didn’t think too detailed about the character.
Moriarty: It’s a frustration I think for action fans. We look at what passes for martial arts films here in America, and there does seem to be a huge disparity in terms of how they’re approached. I think there’s a real purity to the films you’ve done like ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA. I loved all three of those films. I really love to show them to people because they make the argument that these films can be deeper and richer than just the surface.
Jet Li: Yes. You know, most Hollywood movies have first unit, second unit, and so the director is only in charge of the first unit. When they go to do the action scenes, they pass it, give to the second unit to do it. So they don’t have heart, they don’t have the director involved that much other than between the fighting. Emotion for the character, that part is always missing in the American films.
Moriarty: It seems like it’s very difficult to find that sort of project here that is written on both levels.
Jet Li: Yeah, but Rob did a beautiful job for MUMMY, I think.
Moriarty: Now with that, obviously he went to China and much of it was shot on location, and it’s beautiful work. Rob’s obviously someone who feels very strongly about China.
Jet Li: Yeah, I used to say this, but I feel that outside he looks like an American, but inside, he’s Asian. [Laughs] I remember the first time I went to the set, he told me, “I did 35 shots yesterday!” Just exactly like a Hong Kong director, they do 35-40 shots on set, but usually it’s not the American way. He’s like a Hong Kong director.
Moriarty: One of the things I think might happen with this here is that some of the younger audiences who haven’t seen you before may see you for the first time, or maybe if they saw FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, the second time. Is that something you think about? “Okay, these younger audiences see me, maybe they’ll be drawn to the older work that I’ve done?” Because obviously, there’s an audience that’s grown up watching your movies, but there’s now a younger audience who’ll be introduced to you in these films.
Jet Li: Yeah, I think the last two movies, THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM and THE MUMMY, may touch a new audience for me, and some children who’ve never seen me before. Maybe the children have watched DVDs already, I really don’t know. But I hope for the opportunity to see MUMMY going well, to make another decision in the future.
Moriarty: Will you be going to any of the Olympics this year?
Jet Li: Yeah, of course. I represent martial arts, so I need to go back and see the Olympics, and I hope to see the martial artists compete.
Moriarty: That’s cool. Well. Jet, it’s been an honor and a privilege, and I have to tell you that over the years, your work has brought me much joy and much pleasure, and I’ve enjoyed your films enormously. So thank you for taking the time this morning.
Jet Li: Thank you very much. Good luck with everything.
NEXT UP! Michelle Yeoh, the other reason I agreed to do the MUMMY 3 interviews! Will my shameless crush on her get the better of me as we talk? Check back and see!
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Moriarty: It’s a frustration I think for action fans. We look at what passes for martial arts films here in America, and there does seem to be a huge disparity in terms of how they’re approached. I think there’s a real purity to the films you’ve done like ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA. I loved all three of those films. I really love to show them to people because they make the argument that these films can be deeper and richer than just the surface.
Jet Li: Yes. You know, most Hollywood movies have first unit, second unit, and so the director is only in charge of the first unit. When they go to do the action scenes, they pass it, give to the second unit to do it. So they don’t have heart, they don’t have the director involved that much other than between the fighting. Emotion for the character, that part is always missing in the American films.
Moriarty: It seems like it’s very difficult to find that sort of project here that is written on both levels.
Jet Li: Yeah, but Rob did a beautiful job for MUMMY, I think.
Moriarty: Now with that, obviously he went to China and much of it was shot on location, and it’s beautiful work. Rob’s obviously someone who feels very strongly about China.
Jet Li: Yeah, I used to say this, but I feel that outside he looks like an American, but inside, he’s Asian. [Laughs] I remember the first time I went to the set, he told me, “I did 35 shots yesterday!” Just exactly like a Hong Kong director, they do 35-40 shots on set, but usually it’s not the American way. He’s like a Hong Kong director.
Moriarty: One of the things I think might happen with this here is that some of the younger audiences who haven’t seen you before may see you for the first time, or maybe if they saw FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, the second time. Is that something you think about? “Okay, these younger audiences see me, maybe they’ll be drawn to the older work that I’ve done?” Because obviously, there’s an audience that’s grown up watching your movies, but there’s now a younger audience who’ll be introduced to you in these films.
Jet Li: Yeah, I think the last two movies, THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM and THE MUMMY, may touch a new audience for me, and some children who’ve never seen me before. Maybe the children have watched DVDs already, I really don’t know. But I hope for the opportunity to see MUMMY going well, to make another decision in the future.
Moriarty: Will you be going to any of the Olympics this year?
Jet Li: Yeah, of course. I represent martial arts, so I need to go back and see the Olympics, and I hope to see the martial artists compete.
Moriarty: That’s cool. Well. Jet, it’s been an honor and a privilege, and I have to tell you that over the years, your work has brought me much joy and much pleasure, and I’ve enjoyed your films enormously. So thank you for taking the time this morning.
Jet Li: Thank you very much. Good luck with everything.
NEXT UP! Michelle Yeoh, the other reason I agreed to do the MUMMY 3 interviews! Will my shameless crush on her get the better of me as we talk? Check back and see!
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
