Jay Chou’s First Hollywood Film, “The Green Hornet” Opens January 14th
Jay Chou’s first Hollywood film, The Green Hornet <青蜂俠>will open in North America on Friday, January 14th. The day before, Jay’s co-stars, Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz, attend the film’s premiere held in California .
To match the green-colored themed of The Green Hornet, Jay wore a green tie, black suit and black gloves at the premiere. In the film, Jay will portray a Japanese highly-skilled martial artist named Kato. At the premiere, Jay posed in various martial arts stances during the photograph session, often stealing the spotlight!
Busy promoting The Green Hornet in Los Angeles , Jay recently accepted an interview with an American film site. Although he studied English conversation skills for one month prior to filming, Jay acknowledged that his English was still poor. Throughout the interview, Jay often turned to his interpreter for assistance.
Jay also joked that no one knew who he was in the United States , but he was happy to be a “nobody.” Jay said, “In a way, that’s good. I can freely roam around in Los Angeles , walk on the beach and play basketball with friends. In Taiwan , I can never do that due to the omnipresence of the paparazzi. My experience in Los Angeles has been like a vacation!”
Jay praised Seth Rodgen for his sense of humor in teaching him American curse words. Jay dared not compared himself to the legendary Bruce Lee, who first played Kato in the television series The Green Hornet in the 1960s. If a sequel for The Green Hornet were to be filmed, Jay would definitely participate.
Excerpt from the Sun
Jayne: It is exciting to see more young Asian stars in Hollywood films. Jackie Chan and Jet Li’s star power is still strong. Otherwise, who would you consider to be the most successful young Asian star in Hollywood ? Maggie Q?
I project mediocre box office results for The Green Hornet simply because the movie trailer didn’t seem very interesting.
It is great to see more young Asian stars in the US, but whether they are successful or not is a different story. Maggie Q has more advantages than Jay since she was born and raised in the US. She is also Eurasian as well so that may give her an advantage. However, congrats to Jay and wish him the best!!
Oh yea, Bruce Lee played Kato in the Green Hornet back then… No wonder the name sounded so familiar…
I think the box office results will be lackluster as well. The storyline itself seems a bit cheesy based on the dialogue. I will only be watching this to support Jay! I don’t care for Seth Rogen as an actor and don’t see him as superhero material either.
Agreed. Couldn’t be bother with Seth as an actor myself too!
Omg – Jay was horrific in his English pronunciation, similar to Replacement Killers with Chow Yun Fat.
I applaud them for tapping into this market but they really need to understand, filming in Hollywood is no game. Must learn English.
I really wish they put in some effort other than that 1 month period.
From interviews with Jay, it seems like this will be a one time effort from Jay. Maybe if there’s Green Hornet 2, he will participate. But, he doesn’t plan to go all out in Hollywood like CYF because he’s aware of his limited english.
I think he’s wise to do that. Focus on the market that appreciates you. It’s extremely hard for Asian actors to make it in Hollywood. Even if you get kinda popular, your roles will be limited.
Imo, he might use this opportunity to push his music into the international market more than looking for new movie opportunities in Hollywood. His English is too limited at this point for a Hollywood career but music can be appreciated cross languages.
And to be honest, I don’t really think there has been any Asian-born actors/actresses who have been able to “make it” in Hollywood. Yes, people like CYF, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi are internationally known, but when you look at their movies, they are pretty much typecast.
I’m sure they would want to put more effort into it too… but where are they supposed to find the time? Jay even had to audition for the role over Skype.
Imo, these chances do no just drop into your lap. Either you take it and do your best, or you don’t. I also doubt the studio would have been willing to wait months and months for him to perfect his English.
I saw an early screening of this like two weeks ago. It was very funny actually, but Jay’s English was sometimes hard to understand haha…so Seth Rogen’s character repeated every last word he said lol. I used to translate for old ladies who spoke broken English [or none] so I normally don’t have trouble understanding poor English by the way.
It was a solid bromance flick. Diaz wasn’t in enough scenes to be annoying. The movie had a lot of cool gadgets and gay jokes so that might draw a certain demographic of viewers. Geeky white boys? Just kidding. I liked it enough. Jay looks much better in a suit than Seth..yeah and the former is the real hero though the latter does get a moment of his own towards the end.
I’m not good at estimating box office figures but I can’t imagine it doing worse than other movies about obscure superheroes. ::shrugs::
I actually think the Green Hornet will do very well in the box office… I’ve heard rave reviews on radio stations, tv, etc.
Maggie Q?Seriously?
I would say NONE.
Why is it asian stars go hollywood always start with a kung fu sort of debut? Even Korean stars?
I suppose this will do better than Jang Donggun’s one and all of Rain’s one but against other action films releases, I think it wouldn’t do spectacularly well in America. BUT will do excellent where Jay Chou has fans and he has fans everywhere.
Good for him though.Seems serious in acting. I did enjoy his performance in that what was it? That Zhang Yimou movie? His acting was minimal but effective there since Gong Li did all the acting and he did all the sulking. But the themesong rocks.
I will watch this movie for nostalgic reason and for Kato. I watch the Green Hornet series with Bruce Lee when I was a kid. 😀
Hollywood is very stereotyping.
It was funny when I read a discussion of the JDG movie in imdb and there was a thread expressing happiness (in a sarcastic way) that an Asian guy finally get to kiss a white girl/has sexual scene with a white girl. There has always been complaint here and there about Hollywood always depicting an Asian guy as asexual or not sexy.
Agree with Funn that Jay’s acting was effective in 《满城尽带黄金甲》 (sorry, don’t know the English title).
But other than that, I find him a pretty lousy actor. Maybe it has to do with his articulation. I don’t even understand what he’s saying when he speaks in Mandarin, not to mention English. I feel that as an actor, you lose out if you can’t express through speech. Of course there are other things like facial expression and body language, but so far I’ve only seen one kind of expression on Jay’s face.
Jay Chow was pretty effective in Secret imho. That’s the first time I saw him act and he potrayed his character adequately.
Because Hollywood is prejudiced. I don’t mind as long as they can break out of the stereotype but unfortunately, they haven’t been able to.
I think Maggie Q is a good example of an asian person doing well in Hollywood. Nikita, the tv series she stars in is doing quite well. There is also Hawaii five-0 that has two asian people in the leading cast. We’re moving, slowly, but moving.
But like I have said, Maggie Q is eurasian and she was born and raised in the US. Therefore, she has that advantage over Jay and others that were not. It may be luck, timing and fate as well so lets see… I sort of doubt that Jay can be successful in Hollywood even if his English was good, but since it’s not…. His chances of success are even more limited.
Maggie speaks perfectly English and while I love Nikita – she’s still “just” an action star – a TV one to boot. In addition, while the ratings aren’t bad, the demos are which is what counts with advertisers. Hardly breaking the mould.
Jessica Alba and Jennifer Garner were TV action stars, too.
Aside from the language barrier, I think it’s hard for Asian-Asian celebrities to make it in Hollywood simply because the audiences are different. I think Asian audiences prefer different qualities in their celebrities than American audiences, so the crossover becomes very difficult. You’d have to market yourself much differently. Maybe even change your whole image. Then you risk losing the fans that you already have in Asia.
@ QuackieChau – If it wasn’t because Jessica was an “IT-girl” for a while and Jennifer marrying Ben Affleck, neither would be considered A-list actresses. Many still consider them B-list actually. Personally, I’m a big fan of Jennifer Garner but Hollywood is difficult and the audience is just as fickle.
She most probably made it because she looks Caucasian.
Lucy Liu is the most successful so far. She has a very typical Chinese look, but she’s not typecasted into typical chinese roles.
Agree with Judy. This movie will do well. All 3 reviews in imdb for the movie has been favourable.
I think the movie will do well because the buzz has turned from negative to mostly positive. Lots of reviewers have said it’s funny but with flaws. Furthermore, the other movies opening this week do not have nearly as much buzz, and the movie is also said to be tracking (estimation of how well it will do) quite well.
I also think this movie will do well. I have heard good reviews about it being funny. Good thing that his character is not drawn out to have perfect English. I saw the trailer and it’s quite funny.
The only acting I liked from him is in the movie Secret.
Excited to see this movie, not as a Jay Chou fan but as a Seth Rogen fan. I really wanted Stephen Chow to play the role of Kato but I understand his rejection for the role.
Stephen Chow’s idea was to make Kato implant a chip in The Green Hornet’s brain and control him with a joystick.
Sounds pretty damn crazy to me. I – and the director, Michel Gondry are happy that he walked away from the project.
What a crazy idea. I’m glad that he walk out too if that’s the case.
I think Jay Chou has a potential of receiving recognition for this role of Kato since Kato itself is a much remarkable character than Green Hornet – in my humble opinion.
After checking some eraly reviews my prediction was quite spot on hahaha..This movie is getting mostly good reviews and so is Jay Chou who’s being praised for his Kato performance.
I’m fine with Jay :). He showed some potential as a director in Secret although I can’t say the same for his other movies or TV series.
Didn’t bruce lee hated the role of kato? Being the sidekick? He also conceptualised Kung Fu but role went to carradine?
Interestingly Jay Chou shines more. Seth Rogen as some playboy batman type? Won’t buy that.
Character wise; I personally prefer Kato than Green Hornet. I don’t find a silly playboy batman type hero appealing. Oh, I didn’t know that Bruce Lee hated Kato.
I heard that Bruce Lee didn’t like it either. I feel it is sad that Bruce Lee did not really garner that much fame when he was alive. It feels like he has more fame after he passed away. He was truly one of a kind…
The movie is getting very mixed reviews now – people either really liked it or they really didn’t. But almost everyone liked Jay and is praising him for being funny, cool and charismatic. Even the bad reviews have said he was the highlight.
I hope the movie performs well enough to warrant a sequel so Jay at least will continue to work on his English.
What has happened to Lucy Lui? She is one of the only Asian representative that has been able to break into Hollywood without fully being type cast into all her roles. I never liked her at first but she truly has traditionally beautiful oriental features and is very sexy.
Lucy Liu is born and raised in America.
Yeah I know Lucy Liu was born and raised in the States but she is still of chinese ancestry. Hollywood does not accept yellow skin readily and for now Lucy is still pretty close to representing the asians :). Not even Gong Li or Michelle Yeoh comes close when it comes to not being typecasted.
@ Tamborine – I do agree that even American Asians are mostly typecast in Hollywood but I do not think they can be compared to the likes of Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, Jackie, Michelle Yeoh etc. who not only needed to break through stereotypes and prejudices, but also linguistic and cultural barriers. It’s simply not a comparison on equal levels.
Hey Jayne do you have any info on why Jay Chou was selected for the role over all the other asian american actors – eg John Cho (from Harry & Kumar). I initially though it was John Cho portraying Kato when I was watching the preview, but the penny dropped after a few more scenes and I was utterly shocked that it was Jay Chou.
According to the producer, it was because Jay resembles Bruce Lee.
According to Seth Rogan it was also because Jay was very charismatic – perhaps due to him being a pretty big star in Asia and that was what they were going for to contrast Rogan’s Britt.
Which part? Seriously the excuses producers come up with. I think Jay nailed the audition and then they googled him and found out he has a huge fanbase in asia thus hired him. He does not look like Bruce Lee, at all.
@ Funn
You can check out the comparison pictures here.
http://goodboygonebad.com/?p=2914
http://hiburan.net/berita-hiburan/jay-chou-tolak-tawaran-jadi-bruce-lee
It is also interesting to note that in the second article, it is stated that Jay Chou has to reject 2 offers to play Bruce Lee becaause of his tight schedule. So, the GH producer is not the only one who feels that Jay has some resembles to Bruce Lee.
@ Kidd: I think Jay resembles Bruce slightly, but Jay has a boyish look (still) while Bruce Lee was more masculine looking.
Most likely, there were more than one reason. From a financial point of view, I’m sure Sony was also thinking that Jay would be a draw in the Asian markets.
It is good to see some new people from the Asian side breaking into Hollywood.
I am interested in the movie cos of Seth Rogen. I am a Jay Chou fan too but I am worried it is gonna be an Initial D kinda movie (tho Jay looks like he does more than drive and nods).
I wonder if anyone remembers – sometime ago, Jay stated that he will never learn English. I am looking for that interview – please correct me if i am wrong. So why is he bothered with English? Cos he can’t resist Hollywood?
I haven’t come across anything like that, but I do think I recall him saying that it wasn’t necessary to learn English for his music to sell elsewhere – or something to that extend. Obviously, it’s different when it comes to acting. And I did see a recent interview where he encouraged kids to learn English.
Well just because you sing well in a language does not equate to being able to speak it decently. I have seen many people who can sing well in a number of languages but cannot speak a word of it and have no idea about what they are singing. THerefore, singing in a language well does not mean that you have the ability to speak it.
Not really sure what your point is? I never said anything about singing well in a language = speaking it well.
People change. When they experience more, see more, their thinking will change. I think it’s good progress for Jay that he recognise the benefit/importance of learning more languages.
I agree music is universal. But that was before he wants to break into acting and into the ultimate, hollywood and to do that even Jackie had to learn English. I am glad Jay takes his acting seriously, instead of expounding the important of his movie or some nonsense about lessons in life, he just focus on his career without being preachy. And may acting may make him at least try to speak more clearly and in turn sing more clearly.
@ Kidd: I agree.
@ Funn Lim: Mumbled singing IS his style though, so I doubt he’ll change that.
Learning a language takes a lot work, effort, motivation and sooo many other factors. Therefore, I am not surprised if Jay doesn’t want to put out the effort unless it is truly needed. Also, with his busy schedule, would he even want to make time to learn another language?? It is great to know more languages, but the work and effort to learn it will make one reconsider if they want to or not.
Jay sings in English!!! (I think ;P)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rwAdvtpyoM&feature=player_embedded
That’s a lot of chinese there. I wonder if they really didn’t recognise Jay.
I think some must have, because a lot were taking pictures. But then again, maybe the just thought it was funny.
@Funn,
I think you are right about why Jay got the part. He does not look like Bruce Lee at all. Jay looks 100% Chinese while Bruce has German blood in him so he looks a bit different than the typical Chinese does.
I’ve watch that interview. When asked about Bruce Lee, Jay said he cannot be compared to Bruce. It’s like comparing God to a normal person. 😀 So, he tried to play Kato ‘more real in my life’ (what he means is he incorporated some aspect of himself in Kato instead of trying to immitate Bruce Lee).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAg8qW6GggA
Haha God:Average Joe = to Bruce Lee:Jay Chou. Jay is no Bruce Lee, but so far all the reviews for The Green Hornet have liked him as Kato…well in comparison to Seth Rogen’s Britt Reid anyway.
I’m surprised no one has pointed out the fact that Bruce Lee was very handsome. I don’t think any actor has been able to achieve his natural “look”.
I think Bruce Lee is good looking too and his look isn’t that typical to me. Maybe it is because of his mixed blood??
What is more real in his life? Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee… he just play Kato the way he can play Kato. What immitate bruce lee? Bruce lee is distinctive in the way he speaks, walks, talks, fight. Jay plays Kato as Jay!
Why the hell are you so damn harsh? Jay offended you in some way?
Jay was very humble in the interview. He said Bruce Lee was a legend. Comparing him to Bruce Lee is like comparing a normal person to God. That’s why he played it another way (incorporating part of Jay into the character) instead of trying to immitate Bruce Lee. His english is limited. He tried his best to convey what he wants to say. There was no arrogance in it. I’m sure Jay knows how distinctive Bruce was since he’s a big fan od Bruce Lee.
So, what’s with this sarcasm?
Pray tell what is do damn harsh with what I said? I am just saying he is playing Kato as he as Jay does. I never said he is arrogant or not humble. Are you now the president of his fanclub and he is above a bit of criticism or analyzing over what he said?
It is hard to compare anyone to Bruce Lee since he was a legend. I think Jay knows that which is why he said that he doesn’t dare to compare himself to Bruce Lee. I actually feel bad for Jay because I think he knows that he will get a lot of pressure and critique from playing a character that has already been played by someone else(in this case, it was was Bruce Lee which makes it even harder for him to compare). However, that is inevitable and I think he knows that. Therefore, I admire his courage for trying. I think it is also normal since a lot of actors and actresses that play those JY and GL characters over and over again constantly get compared to the ones that played those characters before them.
@ Funn
‘I never said he is arrogant or not humble. ‘
‘What is more real in his life? Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee’
‘What is more real in his life? Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee… he just play Kato the way he can play Kato. What immitate bruce lee?
No need to draw out intestine also know how you feel with the second sentence. Don’t tell me that’s neutral analysis or objective criticism. You won’t go ‘pleaseeeeee’ if you don’t think there’s some arrogance in his reply.
You most probably thought the ‘more real in my life’ means he’s trying to say his potrayal is more realistic than Bruce Lee. Or you thought he can’t immitate Bruce Lee, but still tried to make himself look better by saying he played the character more realistically.
I like him as an actor but I never follow his music. I’m not a president of his fanclub nor am I a crazy fan of his.
He’s not above criticism. But, he has been humble and know he cannot compared to Bruce or play Kato like Bruce. So, he played Kato his way. His reply does not warrant your kind of sarcastic criticism.
This entire interview about Bruce Lee is exactly what you said. He can’t immitate Bruce Lee because Bruce is high up there. So, he played Jay like Jay. He already admited it.
@ Funn:
“Jay plays Kato as Jay!”
How else is he supposed to play Kato?
Jay has already said that any comparison between him and Bruce Lee is redundant because it’s like comparing a normal person to a God!
Even if the character has not be occupied by someone super famous before him, any actor should make the character his own. And that’s what Jay has done.
@advo,
SOrry, I was not really addressing your point. I was just trying to say that singing in a language does not imply that you will be able to speak it, that’s all.One of my friends used to think that just because you sing well in a language means that you can speak it well. Boy was she lost… It was nothing aimed at what you said so sorry for the confusion.
@ HeTieShou: Cool. I was just confused since your comment didn’t seem to have much relation to mine.
And I agree.
@Advo,
Thanks for your message! Sorry again for confusing you.
Was reading abt the premier of The Green Hornet in a British paper the other day. Almost every other actors in the movie was mentioned in the article with the exception of Jay Chou, whom didn’t even get a mentioned even when he’s one of the leads! Just goes to show how much “interests” western medias has in asian celebs..
Well I don’t really think it was the lack of interest. Only the Asian market is familiar with Jay Chou and until he leaves an impression, he will remain “nameless.” I’m sure after The Green Hornet, there will be plenty of opportunities for his name to be in the press.
He’s big in your eyes, but may not be the same when applied to others.
Well, what I was trying to say was as one of the leads in the movie, one would have thought that the actor’s name(whether he’s a newcomer to acting/huge in Asia or not) would be mention at least somewhere along the thousand-long worded article. But nope. While even the extras names were splashed across the page.
He’s not the lead, but technically supporting. But western media never cared for asian actors unless there’s no reason to not know them. Let Jay win something as MTV Movie awards, he will get known. Or produce a grammy award winning album which I think he can.
Not entirely true. I saw him on People’s Magazine’s website. And most American media have definitely mentioned him. But of course, if Jay is an unknown entity in the US, he is even more so in Europe.
Hey Advo I know Lucy Liu is US born and bred, but still she is of oriental look and ancestry. There isn’t too many Asians who have been able to cross from TV to film and not play typecast roles. Some of her roles are at least not typical stereotypes of asian action heros only.
I agree with you that her roles are not stereotypes. But there’s a HUGE difference between someone born and raised in an Asian country and “making it” in the US – which there really aren’t any examples of and someone born and raised in America. Lucy Liu does not count imo, because she is an American.
I still consider her as an Asian making it in Hollywood because it is equally difficult if not more so for an Asian American to make it in Hollywood. I believe Asian American actors will die for some of the major roles taken by Asian actors from outside. Asian Americans are also typecasted in their roles.
Even when Hollywood want to cast an Asian role, they go for established actors from Asia instead of using the existing Asian American in Hollywood.
Like you said, Hollywood chooses established actors from Asia. But that also means an actor has to establish him- or herself first in Asia – which in itself is a struggle.
I’m not saying it easy for American Asians either. I just don’t consider it the same thing, because they have to conquer different barriers.
of course we cannot compare asians from Asia making it in Hollywood and Asians in America making it in Hollywood. I think the minimum criteria for both should be that they are fluent in English — otherwise it’s hard to get a fan base here in the US.
On another note, Green Hornet is doing great in the theaters!
And in that line of thought, Maggie Q doesn’t count either – even if her career can be considered as breaking through in the US.
I agree with you advo! Maggie Q and Lucy Liu were both born and raised here, so I guess it doesn’t count that they are making a breakthrough in the US. I think it has to be someone that was born and raised in Asian country…Maggie Q is also only half Asian as well..
Its actually really sad that you all say it doesn’t count!(except for Kidd). No matter what, the likes of Lucy Lui or Maggie Q or Kelly Hu etc is of Asian descent / part Asian should be celebrated. They do represent Asians on screen internationally. It is sad that you support them in Asia, the likes of Amanda S, Maggie Q, Daniel Wu, etc, but not in Hollywood. It’s not like they had a choice where they were born or brought up.
Anyway despite all the different opinions, it is always good to see an Asian face on screen no matter where they were born or brought up.
Yes I totally agree with you… whether it’s on tv or on the big screen, whether they are part asian or full asian, born in the US or in Asia, it’s still Asian representation and is a larger step to being accepted by Hollywood.