With plenty of dash， Rush Hour imitates and approximates a zesty form of popular filmmaking---the Hong Kong action movie Chan has been making as a movie king of the Pacific Rim.

In the film， bi-racial pairing and good cop/bad cop¹ storyline are predictably formclaic--Chan is Chinese and co-star Chris Tucker is black--similar to such films as the Lethal Weapon series starring Mel Gibson and Dany Glover. Yet the producers have wisely focused on the strengths of the two stars: Tucker's hilarious， rapid-fire jive-talk， and Chan's nimble derring-do² in tight spaces and high places.

In the script Chan plays Lee， a Hong Kong detective fighting corruption and drug dealing in the colony at the time of its handover to China. One of his friends， Han Tzi Man， a mainland Chinese diplomat， is leaving for Los Angles as consul general and taking his young daughter Soo Yang， who is studying martial arts under Lee's supervision. Soon after her arrival， the child is kidnapped， and Lee comes to America to help with the investigation. The FBI， deeming Lee a nuisance， teams him with James Carter(Turker)， a mouthly L.A. cop who gets on everyone's nerves. They hate each other and are totally opposite. In other words， they are the typical odd-couple.

At first， Chan seems to be a hapless patsy³ to Tucker's bullying. Ultimately， he proves himself by making a getaway in the inimitable Jackie Chan way--deftly leaping from the top of a doubledeck tour bus to a street sign suspended overhead， dropping onto a passing flat-bed truck， then into the motor-home of startled American vacationers， before somer saulting⁴ into a taxi --all in 15 seconds.

In one funny fight， he must kick beaucoup butt while keeping precious vases from toppling and breaking. The climax of the film comes when Chan is seen tip-toeing across five-story-high beams inside the Los Angeles Convention Centre.

Thus， what lifts Rush Hour above Chan's earlier stabs⁵ at American assimilation is that it lets Jackie do his uniquely nimble stunt magic with minimum interference.

In addition to his making of a well-known star， his autobiography displays a more complicated fellow to us. Here， he talks for the first time about his bittersweet love affair with pop star Terasa Teng Lai-Kwan and his secret， 15-year marriage with Taiwan actress Lin Feng-jiao. Moreover， he makes comment on many other things about himself. In one word， the book manages to be brutally revealing and consistently charming--Jackie is beating himself up， just to entertain you. This is also true in his interview with a Time reporter.

The author is a movie star first and workaholic， for whom， career comes first. He says in the book: \"I spent two-thirds of my time abroad， and even when I'm in Hong Kong， my schedule is so full that I can barely find time to be with my wife and child.\" He continues: \"I think each year: this will be the year I slow down to enjoy the important things in life. Some year. Some time soon.\"

But he can enjoy his new American eminence⁶ in the silly， thrilly Rush Hour-- \"the movie to me is like a toy，\" he says--and start planning the inevitable follow-up. \"The last scene of Rush Hour has Chris Tucker and me on the airplane， headed for Asia，\" Chan notes. \"We said， 'If the movie opens at $30 million， we'll land in Hong Kong. If it opens at $1 million， then let's say there was a plane explosion. No more sequel. ' So yes， there is a sequel.\"

In this whirlwind， can he push the \"important things in life\" from his mind? That Rush Hour subplot of the kidnapped child must resonate in Chan. In the days when he denied he had a wife and son(with good cause: one Japanese fan threw herself in front of a subway train after reading a rumor of the marriage)， Jackie's stuntman friends would take the boy out for a walk. \"One day he saw a poster with my face，\" Chan recalls， \"and started uttering， 'Dad! ' And the stuntmen grabbed him away. Later they told me this， and I cried.\" And when the boy was 12 or 13， his father warned him about kidnappers. \"Then my son said， 'Don't worry， I'll never tell people that you are my father. 'Wow! I just sighed.\"

In public， he just smiles. His still boyish energy and purity and relentless charm are a tonic⁷ in this glum⁸， sordid⁹ age. At a time a Time reporter asked him why he had turned down some scripts of foul language or dirty jokes， he showed his good morals in the following words: \"Because so many children see my movies. All my action films have lots of fighting but no blood. I often ask art directors to put NO SMOKING signs behind me. In Rush Hour I pick up a newspaper off the floor and put it in the trash can. I want to educate children.\" He is unfailingly gracious to the press， fan and colleagues. Bob Shaye of New Line cites a dinner party Chan threw at a Los Angeles restaurant after the opening of Rush Hour. \"He invited 40 people--agents， friends of his， company executives--for a Chinese banquet. He helped serve the food， and got up to talk to people like a real host. He's a terrific guy--a Chinese mensch.\"

He is always modest about his own success， ever working for the better， for the next. For instance， he must be thrilled by Rush Hour's popularity， right? You would think that. But listen. \"All those years in Asia， all my life， every movie I made， the one moment I waited for was the opening，\" he says， punctuating his thoughts and acting out his feelings as if every sentence were the climatic fight scene from Drunken Master Ⅱ. \"Bang! Yeah! Success! O.K. ! Then， go on to something else. Ｉ waited 15 years to become a success in America. Now Rush Hour is a hit， and there's a lot of happy news. People keeping calling up and congratulating me. But I say what I always say: 'Wow! Finished. What's next?'\"

He is so strikingly earnest， frank and open about himself， his friends and everything concerning him that he sometimes even seems stupidly funny and interesting. Once， a Time reporter asked him about the future of Hong Kong movie industry， he declares his scorn at it， disregarding the trouble it might bring-- \"Hong Kong films and their influence are getting smaller. America is so strong. Michael Jordan shoes， hot dogs， Coca-Cola -- everybody wants American things. We don't have our own culture anymore in Hong Kong. I don't see any way Hong Kong films can break through. If you gave a ticket to a local person and said Hong Kong film or U. S film， I bet you $100 they'd go for the American film. Samo Hung is a person threading through his life， who met him in drama school， starred with him in films and later directed him. In the book， he is portrayed as a bully. And about him， he talked again to the Time reporter--\"Yeah， he is a devil. Even now， in America， he would say 'Jackie， give me an ashtray!' If he asks somebody else to get him one， he will stand up and say， 'Thank you very much.' Not me. He treats everybody better than me. But I still like him.\" And when the reporter reminded whether he had omitted any subjects in his new autobiography though it is filled with very personal detail， he aston ishingly came out with truth: \"There are lots of things I have left out of this book. Later I believe I will write a book about the triads and me， about the police and me， about my love stories.\"

He is considering other Hollywood projects， with titles like Strike Out， Escape， West West. \"All actions，\" he says， \"New for American audiences. For me， I'm a bit bored already.\" Just like his stardom. After all， he has been Jackie Chan， superstar， for two decades; and smacking his head against the Hollywood wall all those years hardened him against emotional vertigo¹⁰ when he finally hit the heights there. So instead of moving to L. A.， as Samo and Michelle and Chow Yun-fat have done， Chan wants to make his next film in Hong Kong. And describing this， he feels the excitement of the artist-salesman: \"A love story. First Jackie Chan movie love story! Everyone in Asia will say， 'Yes! We are going to see it! '\". In the interview with the Time reporter， he added more about it: \"It is a love story， a fantasy about a village girl in Taiwan who comes to Hong Kong. I'm the playboy.\"

Nice career move， Jackie. And who will be his co-star? Maybe Lin Feng-jiao? At least， then， Mrs. Jackie Chan could get to spend some time with her husband.

In answer to the reporter's question who his successor will be， he made such statement: \"I've been looking for a young Jackie Chan， a star who can make action movies. And then young people will follow my step. There are young stars， but they either fight or sing， and after two years they are finished. Maybe I'll try my son.

So far， we have a glimpse of Jackie Chan， following his autobiography and the interview with the Time reporter. Evi- dently， what Jackie has， at this moment in a spectacular career， is exactly what he wants: a happy middle， an American hit， the faithful adoration of his Asian fans， and his own renewed enthusiasm to keep fighting， loving， filming.

注釋：

(1)good cop／bad cop：一個(gè)紅臉／一個(gè)白臉。

(2)derring-do：大膽的行動(dòng)。

(3)haples spatsy：運(yùn)氣不好的傻瓜。

(4)somersault：翻筋斗。

(5)stab：企圖，嘗試(常加介詞at或on)。

(6)eminence：顯赫，杰出。

(7)tonic：補(bǔ)藥，激勵(lì)物。

(8)glum：悶悶不樂的。

(9)sordid：骯臟的，卑鄙的。

(10)vertigo：眩暈。

《尖峰時(shí)刻》以宏大的氣勢，模仿和接近一種狂熱而流行的制片模式——香港武打片，成龍一直以太平洋周邊地區(qū)之影帝的身份在投入其拍攝。

在片中，兩種民族的角色配對(duì)及紅臉、白臉合唱的故事情節(jié)就預(yù)示著有落俗套——成龍是中國人，而搭檔影星克里斯·塔克則是黑人——類同于由麥爾·吉本遜和丹尼·格羅維主演的系列片《致命武器》這類電影。然而，制片人非常高明，特別突出了這兩大明星各自的優(yōu)勢：塔克的機(jī)關(guān)槍似的逗噱胡扯和成龍?jiān)谡】臻g、高險(xiǎn)場所展示的大膽敏捷的身手。

在劇本中，成龍飾演李，一位香港警探，在這塊殖民地交還中國的時(shí)刻，從事反貪和打擊販毒的工作。他的一位朋友韓志明，身為中國大陸的外交官，即將赴洛杉磯出任總領(lǐng)事，且打算攜幼女舒陽同行，她一直拜李為師學(xué)練武術(shù)。剛到不久，這個(gè)孩子遭到綁架，于是李隨后來到美國幫助此案的調(diào)查。聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局認(rèn)定李是個(gè)討厭的廢物，讓他與詹姆斯·卡特(塔克飾)——一個(gè)讓人人心煩、多嘴多舌的洛杉磯警察——配合行動(dòng)。他們相互憎恨、完全對(duì)立。換句話說，他們真是奇怪的一對(duì)。

起初，成龍似乎是個(gè)老受塔克欺負(fù)的倒霉蛋。最后，他用無可比擬的成龍式身手成功地逃身脫險(xiǎn)，證明了自己的實(shí)力——從一輛雙層旅游客車敏捷地躍上懸掛在頭頂?shù)慕诌呎信?，隨后穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地落在一輛疾馳而過的平頂卡車上，接著又飛身鉆進(jìn)載著美國游客的旅宿汽車內(nèi)，令他們心驚膽戰(zhàn)，最后才一個(gè)筋斗翻入一輛出租車內(nèi)——全部過程只用了15秒。

在一場滑稽的打斗中，他必須優(yōu)雅大方地沖刺，同時(shí)又竭力使珍貴的花瓶不跌落摔碎。

影片的高潮部分是：成龍?jiān)诼迳即墪?huì)議中心的五層樓高的橫梁上，踮著腳尖，從容而過。

因此，《尖峰時(shí)刻》讓成龍盡情地施展了自己獨(dú)具魅力、干凈利落的特技魔法，且一路如行云流水，少有羈絆。正是這一點(diǎn)使該片超越了成龍以前試圖讓美國人認(rèn)同的種種努力。除了介紹他成為著名影星的成功之路外，他的自傳還向眾人展示了一個(gè)更為復(fù)雜的普通人——在這里，他首次談起了自己與紅歌星鄧麗君的又苦又甜的愛情往事，以及他與臺(tái)灣女演員林鳳嬌15年來秘密的婚姻生活。此書不僅能無情地揭示、而且始終散發(fā)出無窮的魅力——成龍?jiān)谕创蜃约?，為的正是讓大家開心痛快。在他與《時(shí)代》的記者的訪談中，又何曾不是這樣!

作者首先是個(gè)影星加工作狂，對(duì)他而言，事業(yè)是第一位的。正如他在書中所言：“我的三分之二的時(shí)間都在國外度過。而且即使我人在香港，我的日程也排得滿滿的，幾乎抽不出空與妻兒在一起?！彼又f：“我每年都想：這一年該是我放慢步伐，享受一下人生中重要的東西了吧。將來某一年，不久的某個(gè)時(shí)間吧?！?/p>

而在這個(gè)不幸的、興奮的“尖峰時(shí)刻”，他只能享受自己在美國下一輪的輝煌業(yè)績——他說：“在我看來，電影就像玩具?！彼谥只I劃必不可少的續(xù)集——成龍解釋道：“在《尖峰時(shí)刻》的最后場景里我和克里斯·塔克坐在飛機(jī)里，直奔亞洲。我倆講過，‘假如拍該片賺了3 000萬美元，我們就安心在香港著陸。假如它只賺了100萬美元，那么，就當(dāng)發(fā)生了一次飛機(jī)爆炸吧。決不拍續(xù)集?！虼藳]錯(cuò)，會(huì)有續(xù)集?！?/p>

可是在這種旋風(fēng)下，他能夠把“人生中重要的東西”拋之腦后嗎?《尖峰時(shí)刻》中孩子遭綁架這個(gè)次要情節(jié)肯定回響在成龍的心中。在他否認(rèn)有妻兒的那些歲月里，(的確事出有因：一名日本女影迷在看了一則有關(guān)他結(jié)婚的傳聞后，竟在地鐵臥軌自殺)，成龍的那些干特技的朋友經(jīng)常帶孩子外出溜達(dá)。成龍回憶：“一天，他見到一張刊有我面孔的張貼畫，于是大嚷起來：‘爸爸!’那些特技演員馬上把他拽開了。后來，他們告訴我此事時(shí)，我哭了?！碑?dāng)孩子長至十二三歲時(shí)，其父告誡他要當(dāng)心綁匪?！爱?dāng)時(shí)，我兒子說：‘別操心，我絕不跟人說你是我爸爸?！?我真是松了口氣?！?/p>

在公開場合，成龍總是面帶微笑。他仍然保留的那種孩童般的蓬勃朝氣和純潔以及不屈不撓的魅力，正是這個(gè)沉悶、骯臟的時(shí)代的興奮劑。例如，記者問他，為什么在過去拒絕了一些帶臟話和粗鄙笑料的劇本，他在言詞中這樣表明了自己的高尚情操：“因?yàn)榭傆羞@么多的孩子看我的片子。凡是我的武打片都有大量的打斗場景，可決沒有血腥味的刺激。我經(jīng)常要美工導(dǎo)演在我的身后放置‘嚴(yán)禁吸煙’的招牌。在《尖峰時(shí)刻》中，我從地板上撿起報(bào)紙，扔進(jìn)垃圾箱，希望能教育兒童。”

他對(duì)新聞媒體、影迷和同事從來都寬厚大度。新干線電影公司的鮑伯·沙業(yè)引證了成龍?jiān)凇都夥鍟r(shí)刻》發(fā)行后在洛杉磯舉行的一次晚宴為例。“他請(qǐng)了40人——有經(jīng)辦人、朋友、公司的經(jīng)理們——大家共赴中式宴會(huì)。他幫著上吃的，起身向大家致辭，就跟真的男主人一樣。他真是了不起——一名中國式的大好人?！?/p>

他總是謙遜而坦然地面對(duì)自己的成功，永遠(yuǎn)追求下一個(gè)更好的目標(biāo)。例如，他肯定為《尖峰時(shí)刻》的轟動(dòng)一時(shí)而興奮不已吧?大家都會(huì)這么想，可聽聽：“在亞洲這么多年來，在我的一生中，每拍一部片子，我只期盼開拍的那一刻?！彼f此話時(shí)，突出自己的思考，充分表現(xiàn)自己的情感，似乎字字句句都是出自《醉師第二集》的那個(gè)最精彩的打斗場景。“好啊，呀！成功啦!下一步干點(diǎn)別的。我等了15年才在美國成功了。現(xiàn)在 《尖峰時(shí)刻》很熱門，好消息真多。人們不斷地打電話來，向我祝賀?？晌疫€是那句老話：‘哇!干完了!下一部呢?”’

他是如此驚人地坦誠、直率，直言不諱地談起自己、自己的朋友以及與自己有關(guān)的一切， 以致有時(shí)他甚至顯得傻得可笑，耐人尋味。一次，一位《時(shí)代》周刊的記者問他香港電影業(yè)的前途如何，他公然表白對(duì)它的蔑視，全然不顧這樣可能招惹麻煩：“香港電影及其影響在不斷萎縮。美國太強(qiáng)了，邁克爾·喬丹牌鞋子，熱狗和可口可樂——人人都只要美國貨。我們?cè)谙愀鄄辉儆凶约旱奈幕?。我怎么也看不出香港影片能夠有所突破。如果你給一位本地人一張票，問他要看香港片或美國片，我賭100美元，人們準(zhǔn)會(huì)去看美國片?！辟惷伞ろn是貫穿其 一生的人物，他在京劇院結(jié)識(shí)了他，與他合演了多部影片，后來又當(dāng)他的導(dǎo)演。在書中，他被描寫成惡霸。關(guān)于他，成龍竟再次向這位《時(shí)代》記者這樣坦陳：“是啊，他真是位惡魔。甚至現(xiàn)在到了美國，他也會(huì)說：‘成龍，給我拿煙灰缸!’要是他請(qǐng)別人幫他拿，他會(huì)起身說：‘多謝?！瘜?duì)我卻沒這一套。他待大家比待我要好?？晌疫€是喜歡他。”當(dāng)記者提醒雖然這本書全是詳盡的個(gè)人細(xì)節(jié)，但他是否遺漏了好些問題時(shí)，他直截了當(dāng)?shù)卣f出事實(shí)：“有許許多多東西我從這本書刪掉了。以后我相信我會(huì)寫一本書，談?wù)勅私M合和我，談?wù)劸旌臀?，談?wù)勎业膼矍檩W事?！?/p>

他正在考慮其他的好萊塢發(fā)展計(jì)劃，起的片名像《猛烈的打擊》、《逃脫》、《西方的西方》。他說“這些全是動(dòng)作片，會(huì)令美國觀眾耳目一新。對(duì)我而言，我已有點(diǎn)厭煩了?！睂?duì)他的名星聲名，他也深有同感，畢竟他身為巨星成龍已20年了。所有這些年來，他一直在用頭撞擊好萊塢的城墻，這使他堅(jiān)強(qiáng)如鋼，能夠戰(zhàn)勝一切感情的漩渦，這樣，他終于抵達(dá)好萊塢的頂點(diǎn)。因此成龍不像賽蒙·韓和米謝爾、周潤發(fā)那樣已移居洛杉磯，相反他想在香港拍自己的下部影片。在描述這一點(diǎn)時(shí)，他表現(xiàn)出藝術(shù)推銷商的興奮：“一個(gè)愛情故事，成龍電影所講述的第一個(gè)愛情故事!現(xiàn)在全亞洲人會(huì)說：‘好!我們準(zhǔn)會(huì)看!’”在會(huì)見一位《時(shí)代》記者時(shí)，他對(duì)此作了更多的補(bǔ)充：“這個(gè)愛情故事純屬虛構(gòu)，講述一位臺(tái)灣鄉(xiāng)姑來到香港的經(jīng)歷。我演那個(gè)花花公子?！?/p>

成龍，這招真妙，大業(yè)可成!誰和你搭檔?也許是林風(fēng)嬌吧？至少，那時(shí)，成龍夫人或許有更多時(shí)間與夫君團(tuán)聚。

某一次，在回答記者問起他的接班人是誰這個(gè)問題時(shí)，他是如此說的：“我一直在物色一個(gè)小成龍，即一個(gè)能拍武打片的影星。那樣，年輕人可接我的班。年輕的影星并不少，但他們不是爭斗不休就是改行唱歌，兩年后，他們就玩完了。也許我會(huì)試著讓兒子上。”

至此，我們跟隨成龍的自傳和他與《時(shí)代》記者的會(huì)談，一睹他的風(fēng)采。顯然，在一項(xiàng)壯麗的事業(yè)中，成龍此時(shí)擁有的一切，的確了卻了他的夙愿：中年美滿、紅透美國、始終深受亞洲影迷的愛戴，還有自己熱情煥發(fā)，從而可以不斷地拼搏、奉獻(xiàn)愛心和投入拍攝。