Jackie Chan: "Karate Kid's" New Mr. Miyagi?

HONG KONG — Mr. Chan may be the new Mr. Miyagi.

Jackie Chan is in talks with Columbia Pictures to star in a remake of "The Karate Kid," a spokesman for the Hollywood studio said Thursday.

Steve Elzer, senior vice president for media relations at Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, confirmed the talks in an e-mail to The Associated Press but didn't give further details.

The plot of the remake will mirror the original, with Chan being eyed to play a mentor who helps a youngster stand up to bullies _ a role similar to Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 film, Hollywood trade publication Variety reported Wednesday.

The youth will be played by Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith, who starred alongside his father in "The Pursuit of Happyness" and appeared in the Keanu Reeves sci-fi movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still," Variety reported.

The setting has been changed to Asia from California, with shooting due to start in Beijing this summer, according to Variety.

The movie will be a co-production with state-run China Film Group, according to Variety, which would allow Columbia to bypass China's annual quota of 20 film imports on a revenue-sharing basis.

Chan, who juggles careers in Hollywood and Chinese-language film, has been shooting the American film "The Spy Next Door," an action comedy about a Chinese spy working in the U.S. who loses his cover.

Comments

[peepeeray]

Chan as Miyagi? I guess David Carradine was unavailable.

[PlaceboStudman]

Simple fact: Pat Morita (The original Mr Miagi in the Karate Kid movies) would kick Jackie Chan's ass. This movie should NOT be made, it is an insult to an iconic character in modern American sports cinema!

The only better portrayal of sports heroes may have been Jean-Claude Van Damme's portrayal of Frank Dux in Bloodsport (Kumitae)

[Hirnlego]

"Simple fact: Pat Morita (The original Mr Miagi in the Karate Kid movies) would kick Jackie Chan's ass. "

Oh please. I saw Karate Kid as a kid and I had been practicing for at least one year and found the entire movie laughable.

[IndependentJones]

It's nice to see young, disadvantaged youths like Will Smith's son being given opportunities to better their lives. (end thick sarcasm)

That being said, a movie called Karate Kid set in China is absurd. That's like setting a disco movie in a hip-hop club.

[SILLYME]

Takae,

Bruce Lee was full Chinese his son Brandon was bi-racial may they both rest in peace.

[Takae]

Thanks. However, you and I are both right and wrong. :)

I double checked to make sure I wasn't crazy for thinking he was a half. It turned out Lee's mother was one-quarter Chinese and three-quarter Caucasian (German).

Therefore, Lee was three-quarter Chinese and one-quarter Caucasian. :)

[superlive]

You're calculexic. If Mama Lee was 1/4 Chinese and Papa Lee was 4/4 Chinese, then Baby Lee would not be 3/4 Chinese. You must move the denominator to 8 because you are calculating the racial origins of 8 Baby Lee great-grandparents.

1/8 + 4/8 = 5/8 Chinese

3/8 + 0/8 = 3/8 German

5/8 + 3/8 = 8/8 = 1 Human

[Takae]

My math is off, isn't it? How unAsian of me. :P I'm sure you get my drift, but thanks for making me double check, though. :)

[Takae]

My response was deleted? I'll make it shorter with a hope it'll go through this time:

Bruce Lee's mother wasn't full Chinese. However, I thought Lee was half-white, but I've just discovered he was actually quarter-white.

[FawkesNews]

Hiroyuki Sanada* would be a much better choice. He is an excellent actor ("Twilight Samurai", e.g.), and has the requisite martial arts skills.

* http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0760796/

[Takae]

Not again. I'm getting so SICK of studios casting Chinese actors in Japanese roles.

[DrJimmy]

Example of recent ones?

[DrJimmy]

Give us a recent example..

[Takae]

Good grief. OK, the most famous example would be Memoirs of a Geisha and the most recent, from what I personally saw, is Hannibal Rising.

[Df7702]

if Bruce was still alive would you care what nationality he was or would you rather just want to see him in the movie. But yeah they probably should have gone with a Japanese actress for Geisha .

[Takae]

Bruce Lee? He was a half-Chinese and half-Caucasian American, but almost all his roles were in American movies (even though half of them are categorized as either Hong Kong or Chinese movies), so he was still within his character roles. What's your point? :/

Yes, they should have done with Geisha! lol. It was pretty insensitive on their part. :/

[Changeling]

He's actually a good choice.

[Treehuggindirtworshiper]

Karate is translated "Chinese Hand"

http://www.gojukai.com/originof.htm

[DrJimmy]

Wrong.....­translatio­n "EMPTY HAND"

[beihai]

Wrong, it is both. If you actually read the link you would not be look so silly now.

[Takae]

I avoided this discussion because I was lazy. I'm sorry for not jumping in earlier. I hope my contribution will clear up this possible misunderstanding.

唐手 (からて, pronounced as 'kara te') - lit. china hand [唐 - tou/china; 手 - te/hand] - Chinese-styled hand
(originated in Okinawa)

空手 (からて, pronounced as 'kara te') - lit. empty hand [空 - sora/empty or void; 手 - te/hand] - empty-handed
(developed and recognized in mainland Japan)

The widely accepted spelling of karate is 空手.

[Treehuggindirtworshiper]

I guess my link is wrong. Was trying to respond to robXdion. Won't go see it any way.

[robXdion]

"Mr. Miyagi" was a Japanese character. Karate is a Japanese martial art. Chen is Chinese. Will this be called the "Kung Fu Kid"? Not all Asians are interchangeable.

[beihai]

So Tom Hanks can never play an Italian, and Brad Pitt can never play a Frenchman, because, you know, not all Europeans are interchangeable. It is called acting, not being. If Tom Hanks can play some ethnic background not his own, so can Jackie Chan.

[Takae]

I get where you're coming from, but the problem is almost ALL Japanese characters in US-produced movies were performed by Chinese actors. It's seriously getting on my nerves.

[robXdion]

It's not the same thing. Chinese don't even look like Japanese. Different accents and plus given their recent history, it's insulting. Stop forcing your Eurocentric ideas of representation on other people and get to know them on THEIR terms. That's the problem with Americans now.

[superlive]

I can't wait to see Tom Hanks playing the lead in THE LIFE OF IDI AMIN and Brad Pitt in LEOPOLD SENGHOR, THE TRUE STORY.

[superlive]

Karate is an OKINAWAN martial art. It is not a wholly native Ryukuuan martial art, it was developed after the Japanese invasion of "Okinawa" by the natives using imported Southern Chinese kung-fu forms.

[robXdion]

I'm aware of where karate came from. I was stationed in Oki for quite a while. And although there is some Chinese heritage intermingled on the island, the culture and people are authentically Japanese.