logo
"CGI stunts lack reality"

"CGI stunts lack reality"

Express Tribune13-05-2025
Legendary action star Jackie Chan believes modern film stunts have lost their edge. In an interview with Haute Living, the 70-year-old martial arts icon reflected on the evolution of stunt work in Hollywood, noting a shift away from physical risk toward computer-generated spectacle. "In the old days, the only [choice we had] was to be there and jump; that's it," Chan said. "Today, with computers, actors can do anything, but there's always a sense of reality that you feel is missing."
For Chan, whose bruising and often bone-breaking work in films like Drunken Master and Police Story became the stuff of legend, CGI is a "double-edged sword." While it enhances safety and expands possibilities, it also blurs the lines between possible and preposterous. "The audience is numb [to it]," he added. "But I'm not encouraging anybody to risk their lives to do the stunts like I did; it truly is too dangerous."
Despite the digital age, Chan hasn't retired his signature approach. "Of course, I always do my own stunts. It's who I am," he said. "That's not changing until the day I retire, which is never!"
With six decades of stunt work behind him, Chan credits instinct and experience over training. "Everything is in your heart and soul; it is muscle memory." He has reportedly broken nearly every bone in his body during his career, including his pelvis, fingers, and skull.
Chan returns to the screen with Karate Kid: Legends, releasing May 30, alongside Ralph Macchio and Ben Wang. He reprises his role as Mr Han from the 2010 reboot, reminding audiences once again that while effects may dazzle, authenticity still lands the hardest punch.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Loni Anderson dies aged 79
Loni Anderson dies aged 79

Express Tribune

time04-08-2025

  • Express Tribune

Loni Anderson dies aged 79

Actress Loni Anderson, who won acclaim for her US television sitcom role as the brainy, glamorous radio station receptionist defying workplace sexual stereotypes on WKRP in Cincinnati, died on Sunday at age 79, according to her publicist. Anderson, also remembered for her much-publicized storybook marriage to actor Burt Reynolds in 1988 and their tabloid-fixated divorce six years later, died at a Los Angeles hospital "following an acute prolonged illness," her family said. "We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother," the family said in a statement, adding that she was surrounded by loved ones. Anderson, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and natural brunette who competed in local beauty pageants and got her showbiz start in community theatre, dyed her hair platinum blonde after moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. A flurry of television work followed, with appearances on such prime-time series as The Bob Newhart Show, Police Story, The Incredible Hulk, The Love Boat and Three's Company. She had auditioned for the role of one of the two female lead characters, Chrissie, on Three's Company, but the part ultimately went to Suzanne Somers. Anderson's big break came soon after when she landed the co-starring role of Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati, persuading the show's producers to let her play the part against the stereotype of a bubble-headed blonde. Instead, her character was written as the deceptively shrewd receptionist who refused to take dictation or fetch coffee but turns out to be the smartest person in the room, keeping the fictional Ohio radio station afloat despite the shortcomings of male bosses. The show ran four seasons, 1978-1982, on the CBS network, and earned Anderson two prime-time Emmy nominations. She also played two real-life, ill-fated sex sirens of earlier Hollywood eras in a pair of made-for-TV-films – The Jayne Mansfield Story, co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as her bodybuilder husband during the 1950s, and The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd, set in the 1930s. In all, Anderson starred in six television series, seven feature films, 19 television movies and two mini-series during a four-decade career she chronicled in her best-selling autobiography, My Life in High Heels. She and Reynolds first met in 1981 as guests on a television talk show, began dating a year later and co-starred in the 1983 race car-themed romantic comedy film Stroker Ace. They wed in 1988, she for the third time, he for the second. Anderson is survived by her adopted son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, and her fourth husband, Bob Flick, a member of the 1950s-60s folk-singing group the Brothers Four. Reuters

Lilo & Stitch' tops North America box office again
Lilo & Stitch' tops North America box office again

Express Tribune

time02-06-2025

  • Express Tribune

Lilo & Stitch' tops North America box office again

Film raked in more than six times its budget. PHOTO: File Disney's family-friendly Lilo & Stitch, a live-action remake of the 2002 animated film, won the North American box office for a second week in a row, taking in another $63 million, industry estimates showed Sunday. So far, its worldwide take is at a whopping $610 million, Exhibitor Relations said. Maia Kealoha (as Lilo), Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B Vance and Zach Galifianakis star, while Chris Sanders again provides the voice of the chaos-creating blue alien Stitch. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – the latest, and ostensibly last, in the hugely successful Tom Cruise spy thriller series based on a 1960s TV show – took second place with $27.3 million in the United States and Canada. The Paramount film has made another $231 million overseas, which should help offset its massive production budget, reportedly at $400 million. Debuting in a disappointing third place was Sony's Karate Kid: Legends, a sequel featuring Ralph Macchio – – the star of the original 1984 classic – – and action flick icon Jackie Chan, along with Ben Wang in the title role. It made $21 million at the domestic box office and another $26 million overseas. "Legends is trying to invigorate the story with a new Kid – – again – – but business is not strong," said David A Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. In fourth place was Warner Bros and New Line's horror film Final Destination: Bloodlines, at $10.8 million. And another horror film, Bring Her Back, debuted in fifth place with $7.1 million. "This is a very good opening for an original horror movie that cost only $4.5 million to make," said Gross. Rounding out the top 10 were: Sinners ($5.2 million), Thunderbolts ($4.8 million), Friendship ($2.6 million), The Last Rodeo ($2.1 million) and J-Hope Hope on the Stage – live tour broadcast ($940,000). afp

Jackie Chan jokes about making Rush Hour 4 at 100, teases return to Shanghai Noon sequel
Jackie Chan jokes about making Rush Hour 4 at 100, teases return to Shanghai Noon sequel

Express Tribune

time30-05-2025

  • Express Tribune

Jackie Chan jokes about making Rush Hour 4 at 100, teases return to Shanghai Noon sequel

Jackie Chan recently offered a humorous update on the long-anticipated Rush Hour 4, joking that both he and co-star Chris Tucker might be past their prime by the time it finally happens. Speaking with ScreenRant, Chan quipped, 'Hurry up! Otherwise, Chris Tucker and me [will be] 100 years old. We'll be old men doing Rush Hour,' when asked about the sequel's status. Though no official production timeline has been announced, Chan emphasized he's still eager to return to the franchise, which launched in 1998 and earned over $850 million globally across three films. The last entry, Rush Hour 3, hit theaters in 2007. Chan previously shared in 2017 that he and Tucker had agreed on a script, but progress has since stalled. Alongside Rush Hour, Chan is also eyeing a return to another early-2000s buddy comedy series. He confirmed that a third installment in the Shanghai Noon franchise, titled Shanghai Dawn, remains in development. 'The script is still going on,' Chan told ScreenRant. Back in 2016, Chan and Owen Wilson were reportedly working on the sequel with MGM. Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) was attached to direct, based on a story by Smallville creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, with a script by Theodore Riley and Aaron Buchsbaum. As Chan revisits some of his most iconic roles, fans of both franchises are hopeful that long-awaited sequels will eventually move forward. While timelines remain uncertain, Chan's playful optimism and continued enthusiasm suggest audiences may not have seen the last of these beloved duos.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store