By Iain Blair

Was talking to Jackie Chan the other day about his new movie “The Forbidden Kingdom.” Shot on location in China, it marks the historic first-ever onscreen pairing of martial arts superstars Jackie (RUSH HOUR,) and Jet Li (FEARLESS, ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA), and features the awe-inspiring action choreography of Woo-Ping Yuen (THE MATRIX, CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON).  Jackie told me that shooting in China “was easy, as the government really wanted to make this happen.” Directed by Rob Minkoff (STUART LITTLE, THE LION KING and written by John Fusco (YOUNG GUNS, HIDALGO), the story is based on the traditional Chinese legend of the Monkey King and also stars Michael Angarano - “24″, “Will and Grace,” as an American teen who magically is transported back in time to ancient China. There, he’s charged with a monumental task: he must free the fabled warrior the Monkey King, who has been imprisoned by the powerful Jade War Lord. Luckily he’s joined in his quest by wise kung fu master Lu Yan (Jackie) and a band of misfit warriors including Silent Monk (Jet). Pre-production planning in China started before Chinese New Year in January 2007, lasting just four months before the 17-week long principal photography commenced on May 2, 2007. While much of the film was created on the sound stages of Hengdian World Studios, numerous spectacular locations in China were chosen for exterior scenes: the Gobi desert in Dunhuang, the Nine Bends River, the waterfall at Xianju, the greens of the Wuyi Mountains, the Bamboo Camp at Anji and the Plum Blossom Garden at Fangyan. “And now we’re building the biggest studio in the world right now in Beijing,” Jackie told me, “so the Chinese film industry is growing very fast now. Maybe we don’t all the latest technology yet, but we have the space, and the new studio will open later this summer.”

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