YVR president takes on Jackie Chan in Rumble at YVR
When in 1992, with the introduction of the original sound on action film sets in Hong Kong, a big step was taken towards a globally competitive film market compared to Hollywood, France and Germany, it wasn’t enough for Stanley Tong, Jackie Chan’s favourite director. He was one of many in the Hong Kong film industry who wanted to take domestic action films a step further and in 1995 made the most successful action flick in Hong Kong to date with “Rumble in the Bronx”. After his flop with “The Protector” (1985), Jackie Chan had another leg in the doorway to Hollywood.
There is a lot to be said about why “Rumble in the Bronx” was so successful around the world. First of all, the script and the cinematography had been adapted to the international standard of the time. In addition, it was shot with original sound and in English with an international cast. This was not a coincidence, but allowed Golden Harvest to conquer completely new markets like in 1973 with “Enter the Dragon”. And the fact that the main role went to the greatest Asian action hero of all time was also decisive.
What does the Bronx have to do with Canada?
The Bronx is a district of New York City, in the eastern United States, that had and still has a high crime rate. Vancouver, on the other hand, is a more peaceful city on the west coast of Canada. And this is exactly where many scenes for “Rumble in the Bronx” were filmed, because filming on the original locations in the Bronx was too tricky even for the breakneck Jackie Chan. In an exterior shot, snow-capped mountains can even be seen in the background; impossible in the Bronx.
After the success of the film, Jackie Chan made it back around the globe. In 2000, he returned to Canada, this time to shoot a few scenes for his box office hit “Shanghai Noon”. Canada, like the USA, is an important part of Jackie Chan’s career. So it was all too logical that, in his position as Hong Kong’s official tourism ambassador, he was hired by Hong Kong Airlines as a testimonial for the inauguration of the new Vancouver-Hong Kong flight route.
Jackie Chan takes off!
Hong Kong Airlines’ maiden flight of the new route took place on June 30, 2017. One of the passengers was Jackie Chan, who had been promoting the airline in the months before by posing with stewardesses on board the aircraft for the press and Hong Kong Airlines. While in flight, he got ready to meet with CEO and president Craig Richmond. The managing director of Vancouver Airport YVR had allowed himself some fun beforehand with some employees and shot a 2-minute action short film.
The date for the introduction of the new Vancouver-Hong Kong flight route, which will be used by planes every day, was chosen deliberately. Canada celebrated the 150th anniversary of the country on July 1st. Jackie Chan was also present at the celebrations and sang “We are the World” in front of thousands of fans.