Pag.266
COMING HOME
I came back home an angry young man.
I had something to prove, which I could do only in Hong
Kong. Hollywood had rejected me and turned me into something silly and shameful.
I had to show the world that Jackie Chan was still the biggest star—in
Asia, if not in the West.
Willie met me at the airport and was surprised at the way I acted: curt,
arrogant, and mean. I think I hurt his feelings. After all, I hadn’t
seen him for a while. But our friendship had seen harder days before, and
he was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt.
“Do you want to go home and get a rest, Jackie?” he asked. “You
seem quite out of sorts.”
“Forget it,” I said. “I want to go to the studio.”
He went silent and drove on.
“I know you’re unhappy about the way your trip to America turned out,”
he said. “But really, you shouldn’t let it get under your skin. Just a
matter of bad timing, I think. And of course, you’re still the big man here in
Hong Kong.”
Once we got to the studios, I
brushed my way past reception to go to Leonard’s office, with Willie in my
wake. Leonard seemed surprised to see me, but welcomed me with his usual
good grace. I shook off his attempts to make polite conversation about my
trip and instead told him about my idea for my next movie. It would be a
big picture, an epic martial arts film, with stunts that would put American
films to shame. I’d film in Korea, in Hong Kong, and Taiwan. I’d
shake up the entire genre of kung fu cinema and show people that Jackie Chan
was really back in town.
Leonard was silent throughout my monologue, simply nodding here and
there at points I made. When I was done, he looked over at Willie and raised an
eyebrow. Willie Shrugged.
“Jackie, it sounds like an ambitious project,” he said. “Of course,
anything you want, we’ll support you. But I feel like you need to think things
over a little bit—relax, perhaps look up some of your friends, take a vacation.
You’re young; you should live life, right?”
Pag.267
I shook my head angrily. “I’ve had enough time off. I’m a filmmaker,
and I want to make films. I’ve had enough of being a trained monkey in other
people’s circus shows.”
Leonard sighed. “Well, Jackie, do as you choose. Get started
immediately, if you like. But I just want you to remember: there are important
things in life besides work. Don’t put them aside, and don’t forget
about them, because you never know when it might become too late.”
I wasn’t in a mood for lectures, so I just thanked him and left the
room.
Recently, just this past year, Leonard Ho passed away—disappearing
suddenly out of my life and the lives of all those he’d touched with his
generosity, kindness, and wisdom. I attended his funeral and burned
incense in his memory, surrounded by his friends and family—many of them people
who had shaped my life as well.
He had adopted me as his godson, treating me as he would his blood—better,
in many ways, than any father figure I ever had.
Looking back, I think that lecture he gave me may have been the wisest
words I’ve ever heard; yet somehow, throughout my life from then on, I
managed to ignore Leonard’s precious piece of advice.
Time passes on, and people pass on. Work will always be there. I’ve
spent most of my life at work, and I’ve missed out on important things—including
my family and my friends. In some ways, I wonder if I’m too old to
change; the momentum of my career carries me on from project to project,
with little time in between to hold on to the golden moments. But now, as
I grow older, Leonard’s words still haunt me, and I think each year: this will
be the year I slow down to enjoy the important things in life.
Some year. Sometime soon.
A few weeks after my conversation with Leonard, I’d already pulled together
my stunt team, cast my actors, and set off for Korea. Unfortunately, I’d
made the mistake of not really preparing a script or even thinking through a
story line. All I knew for sure was that the movie would be a semi sequel
to The Young Master—it even started out under the title Young Master
in Love—and that it would feature the most spectacular kung fu action
sequences ever filmed.
Haste makes waste.
We stayed three months in Korea, spending over HK$1 million of Golden
Harvest’s money, and at the end of our time there we had almost nothing to
show.
I brought the whole crew back to Hong Kong, refusing to admit defeat. Then
we shipped off for Taiwan, virtually starting over from scratch.
The picture ultimately took almost a year to finish—almost forever, by
Hong Kong clocks. To his credit, Leonard hardly pressured me at all,
Pag.268
checking up on me more out of concern for my emotional state than the
amount of time and money I was spending. (Besides, Southeast Asian distributors
had already put up plenty of cash for release rights, so Golden Harvest wasn’t
likely to lose any money regardless of how much I spent.)
Willie, on the other hand, could barely keep himself from pulling me
aside and giving me a spanking. The truth was, I was out of control, and
no one was in a position to put me back in line.
Well, there was one person.
Someone I’d almost forgotten about, in my obsession with correcting my
American failures.
And one day, she just showed up on the set, looking like a dream.
“Hello, Jackie,” said Teresa. “I hope you’ve been practicing your
English.”
Ela de volta
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