While Jackie Chan is often cited as one of the most influential personalities in Hollywood, acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg turned out to be the Kung Fu legend’s icon. Therefore, meeting him for the first time turned out to be rather hilarious for Chan, based on the story he shared during his appearance on CONAN.
Recalling his first meeting with the Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, whom Jackie Chan often considered the “God of Cinema”, the Rush Hour star shared the anecdote with his fans. Recounting the first conversation he had with Spielberg, Chan later dropped his badass response to the filmmaker’s highly anticipated question.
Jackie Chan Recalled His Excitement Over Meeting Steven Spielberg
Jackie Chan’s popularity in the US might have exploded in 1995, following the release of Stanley Tong’s Rumble in the Bronx, but he has undoubtedly been a celebrity since at least the early 1970s, following his work in Hong Kong cinema. Thereafter, navigating through Chinese as well as American theaters, Chan became one of the best stunt performers and martial artists in the entertainment industry.
After becoming well known in Hollywood, among kung-fu movie enthusiasts, Jackie Chan himself acquired a great taste in cinema and began admiring the renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Quickly becoming one of Spielberg’s ardent fans, Chan began dreaming of meeting with the Jaws creator. Finally, when the time came for him to meet, Chan’s initial encounter with Spielberg became an exchange of hilarious responses.
Years later, recounting his first meeting with Steven Spielberg, during his appearance on CONAN, Jackie Chan noted the conversation between them. Dazzled by meeting his icon in person, Chan admitted fumbling for words. However, after gathering his courage and his fanboy self, the actor went on to ask the filmmaker about one of his hit movies, Jurassic Park.
First time I met Steven Spielberg, I was like ‘wow it’s Steven Spielberg. What should I say?’ So I open the door and I say, ‘hi, how are you?’… Let me find the word to say something, and I go, ‘oh, can I ask you a question? How can you make a movie with a human, moving camera with a dinosaur, together?’
For me, we lock the camera, put the dinosaur, the human, then we put a camera – that’s easy, but move, that is so difficult. He said, ‘easy Jackie, just punch [gestures punching buttons on a computer, symbolizing VFX and CGI], punch. Then ok.’
Continuing to describe his Spielbergian encounter, Jackie Chan shared the question he asked about the creation of the cinematic montage where dinosaurs and humans pace together in a frame. Thereafter, stating how Steven Spielberg casually explained to him the usage of CGI and VFX, Chan opened up about a question asked by Spielberg.
Jackie Chan’s Hilarious Response to Steven Spielberg’s Anticipated Question
Considering how Jacki Chan has mesmerized audiences with his performance and captivated fans with his iconic stunts, it has been a prevailing question in the entertainment industry about how the Kung Fu legend performs those stunts. This particularly curious question even appeared to be bugging Steven Spielberg, which is why he asked Chan about his stunt work, following their discussion about VFX.
Speaking with Conan O’Brien on his talk show, while addressing how he performs his stunts without thinking about the negative consequences, if any, Chan thus shared the anecdote of his first conversation with Steven Spielberg, since even the director had the same question. Therefore, Chan revealed his hilarious response after Spielberg asked him about his stunt work.
He said, ‘can I ask you a question?’ I said, ‘yes’, so he said, ‘how can you jump from this building to this building?’ I said, ‘more easy. Rolling, camera, action, jump, hospital’.
Making his fans and Conan O’Brien break out into laughter with his response to Steven Spielberg’s question, Jackie Chan once again proved how he has prevailed in Hollywood’s cutthroat competition with his charm, wit, and most importantly, passion for his work.
