I like who I am Now - Jackie Chan

This is a really nice and fairly comprehensive article from the Shanghai Daily on the unveiling of "Battle for Harmony" at the JC Film Gallery.

Hong Kong film star Jackie Chan, who recently unveiled a statue of himself in Shanghai, said he is happy to be living a more varied and relaxed life.

“In addition to films, I do other things and relax. A park is in the planning in Beijing under my name and it will serve 600,000 people living in the area,” Chan said.

“The way I speak and the way I approach people is changing,” Chan said, “and I like who I am now.”

Chan unveiled the statue, called “Battle of Harmony” last Friday. It shows a dragon fighting Chan and is located in front of a museum being built about his film career, called the JC Film Gallery. The gallery will open to the public in Changfeng Ecological Business Hub in Putuo District in April.

The dragon is composed of thousands of models of the action star’s hands and was created by Omri Amrany, an Israeli-American sculptor and painter, and his wife Julie Rotblatt-Amrany.

The significance of the statue is that everyone’s biggest opponent is oneself.

“I always challenge myself to be better each time, almost killing myself,” Chan said. “I hope this spirit can be passed on to more young people through the sculpture.”

Chan “inspires all generations, especially the young. He’s an inspiration for us. It’s a way to honor and admire him,” said Julie Rotblatt-Amrany, who attended the ceremony. “The sculpture involves yin and yang elements from China and brings harmony in tension.”

At the same venue, Chan has installed streetlights that he bought in Los Angeles in 2007 during the shooting of “Rush Hour 3.” Originally, the 17 lights came from a private garden in Shanghai and were later taken abroad by the owner. Chan bought them and installed them at his Hong Kong home, but he chose the nine best-preserved lights to donate to Shanghai.

“I’m glad that finally they returned home,” Chan said. “There are stories behind every light. Each light will be sponsored by one enterprise for one year or 10 years. The money will be for charity.”

The ceremony was part of a campaign to promote the film gallery, which will be dedicated to Chan’s years as a world-renowned action star, and display his costumes and props from his films in the past 40 years, as well as information on his charitable causes.

Chan has been working on the gallery for five years, and it has been under construction for the past three years.

Visitors not only will get a close view of the action film star’s career, but also get a peek at the whole industry.

“After filming finishes, I put the props and costumes in a trunk and later it became rubbish. I thought to myself, why not show them to the world,” Chan said.

“Few celebrities ever have a museum. I think every costume is a treasure. I regret not having started collecting my costumes and props earlier to give the public a chance to know more about the film industry and me.”

The props will include saddles that Chan used in the shooting of “The Myth” and props used in the United States.

Chan said he hopes the gallery, which will cost 40 million yuan (US$6.6 million), will be a venue for gatherings of film and culture enthusiasts. There is a corner of the gallery that may serve as a place where students from Fudan University can attend lectures by celebrities. Chan and the university are discussing a way to work together.

“Leehom Wang will do music lectures and Jonathan Lee will do lectures on lyrics and I will address how to do filming,” Chan said. Wang is a Chinese-American singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and film director who acted in Chan’s film “Little Big Soldier.” Lee is a record producer, singer and songwriter from Taiwan who also has worked with Chan.

“It’s an art corner and I hope it will be used one or two times each week.”

SOURCE: SHANGHAIDAILY