Tagline: This summer, they’re kicking it in Paris.
In the heart of Paris lies a deadly secret. Half a world away in Los Angeles, Ambassador Han is about to disclose it. In his possession is explosive new evidence about the inner workings of the Triads – the most powerful and notorious crime syndicate in the world. The Ambassador has discovered the identity of Shy Shen, the very crux of the wide-ranging crime ring, and he’s about to reveal it to the World Criminal Court – until he is silenced by an assassin’s bullet.
The Triads will go to any lengths to make sure their secrets stay buried, and there’s only one hope for stopping them,,, This summer, LAPD Detective Carter and Chinese Inspector Lee are back … back where they don’t belong. Rush Hour 3 finds the unlikely duo headed to the City of Lights to stop a global criminal conspiracy and save the life of an old friend, Ambassador Han’s now-grown daughter, Soo Yung.
They don’t know the city, the language or even exactly what they’re looking for, but their race will take them across the city, from the depths of the Paris underground to the breathtaking heights of the Eiffel Tower, as they fight to outrun the world’s most deadly criminals and save the day. Prepare for their finest Hour yet.
About the Production
Since making their debut as partners in 1998’s Rush Hour, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker have become the world’s most entertaining, if unlikely, cinematic duo. “Chris is truly a comedic genius,” says director Brett Ratner, who in addition to helming the first two Rush Hour films also recently directed X-Men: The Last Stand and Red Dragon. “He’s an incredibly gifted comedian, a guy who can say anything and make it funny. And it’s not even in the words – his face is better than a thousand words.
“Jackie Chan is another type of genius,” the director continues. “Working with Jackie, I feel like I’m a part of cinema history. He’s like Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd all wrapped into one – the most experienced, talented physical performer I’ve ever worked with.”
The chemistry of the two performers is magic, says Ratner. “You can’t take your eyes off of them, you really care about them. This is not something I created; it’s something that just exists.”
The dynamic, as explored in the first two films and continued in Rush Hour 3, stems from not only a clash of cultures, languages and personal styles, but also the affection and camaraderie between the two consummate performers. “Chris and Jackie don’t understand each other, and they’re from two completely different cultures,” Ratner continues. “Even with the first movie, literally, when one of them walked out of the room, the other guy would say, `I don’t understand what he just said.’ And they both have a lot of fun with that. They’re a great team; they really compliment each other, and I love watching them. When you watch these movies, you say, `Wow, they must have had so much fun making them.’ And it’s really true.”
Prior to his introduction to American audiences, Jackie Chan had already enjoyed a thriving career in the Hong Kong film industry that continues on a parallel track with his global success with American films. But while his Asian fans look forward to the next Police Story, everywhere else he goes he hears only one thing: “As soon as I get through immigration, I hear `Jackie, when is the next Rush Hour coming out?’” says Chan. “The audience makes Rush Hour happen, it’s not us. They keep watching Rush Hour 1 and 2 again and again, especially on American television. This kind of movie is like family getting together, so we’re happy, too.”
“It never gets boring,” says Chris Tucker, who returns to the screen after a six-year absence following the success of the Rush Hour series and performances in such diverse films as Jackie Brown, The Fifth Element and Friday. “Once we get together, we make each other laugh so much, and we’re friends in real life, so the comedy comes out of situations we’re in. I’ve been a big fan of Jackie’s since before we started doing these movies. I’m always excited when I go to the set and see him. We’re a good team, always creating new stuff to do together, and that’s the fun of these movies.”
“Just like in the movie, we didn’t know each other when we began shooting the first Rush Hour,” says Chan. “I’m from Hong Kong, Chris is from Los Angeles. Now, we’re buddies. We always have fun together.”
Much like the actors, their characters have grown closer throughout the progression of the three films. “In the first movie, they became partners,” says Brett Ratner. “In the second film, they became friends. In this film, they really do become brothers.”
After the phenomenal success of 1998’s Rush Hour and 2001’s Rush Hour 2, the filmmakers relished the opportunity to once again bring in screenwriter Jeff Nathanson to create the architecture for the continuing adventures of Carter and Lee. “I think the Rush Hour films are about two guys who have a great friendship,” comments Nathanson. “None of us wanted to do a carbon copy sequel. We like to stay true to the characters and the growth of their friendship, but we really look at this as a stand-alone film.”
Producer Arthur Sarkissian concurs. “I don’t really look at the Rush Hour films as sequels; I look at them as a continuation of these two guys and their evolution throughout their lives, whether it’s a week together or six years apart. You just let the characters tell their story. They’ve known each other for years, and Brett knows them like the back of his hand. I trust him implicitly, and I think this one is the best Rush Hour yet.”
“The movies couldn’t be made without Jackie or Chris. But they also couldn’t be made without Brett,” adds producer Roger Birnbaum. “He is just as important to the magic of these films as they are. He controls the energy masterfully. Sometimes it gets a little crazy, sometimes it gets a little wild, but it’s always fun. And Jeff Nathanson is the fourth musketeer on this project. He’s one of the funniest writers, and knows Jackie and Chris so well. He knows what they want as the characters and understands what Brett wants as well.”
While both Tucker and Chan are known for their gifts of improvisation, Ratner keeps a constant tone of structure that allows for the kind of controlled chaos that forms the heart of the films. “The atmosphere definitely fuels me,” describes Tucker. “Brett is like the trainer for Muhammad Ali. He keeps pushing and pushing because he knows he can get it out of you. We work well as a team. We’re good friends and we can say anything to each other, and Brett always listens to us. It’s a good partnership.”
With not only the stars and director, but all the producers and many members of the crew coming back for the third Rush Hour, the set had a true family atmosphere. “I love the energy on the set of Rush Hour,” says Ratner. “I think the positivity and fun are apparent in the making of the movie as well. You see people really caring and really trying. I feel so secure making these movies because my producers, who have been with me from the first movie, really understand what it takes to make a great Rush Hour movie, and they back me 100 percent. A movie of this scope and size needs a lot of hands on deck. Jamie Freitag, my assistant director, I’ve never done a film without him and he works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen. Everyone around me really loves this movie and loves what they’re doing.”
“I was so happy to go to the set,” remembers Chan. “I don’t want to be on holiday. I always want to be on the set because I see so many good people, many from the first two Rush Hour films. We’re the same group, the same family.”
Rush Hour 3 takes place six years after Carter and Lee boarded a plane bound for New York at the conclusion of Rush Hour 2. Carter, still a cop with the LAPD, is now working the streets as a traffic officer. “You see this guy in a police uniform directing traffic and think, `What did this guy do to get himself in trouble?’” says Brett Ratner. “But he’s not worried about it. He’s just dancing and singing to his favorite song in the headphones.”
“He’s not really caring about what he’s doing,” adds Chris Tucker. “He’s just listening to these headphones with the music blasting in his ears while this big accident is happening all around him.”
While Carter is in the eye of the traffic hurricane, the first meeting of the World Criminal Court is taking place nearby, attended by Ambassador Han, played by Tzi Ma (The Quiet American, “24”), who reprises his role from the first Rush Hour. Han has been appointed to head an investigation of the Triad crime ring, and at this historic first meeting, plans to reveal the identity of Shy Shen, an enigmatic presence that goes to the very core of the powerful, wide-reaching Chinese crime ring.
“Ambassador Han is ready to reveal the biggest secret that this particular court is going after, which is the secret of Shy Shen,” explains Tzi Ma. “But before he gets an opportunity to speak, he gets shot. And Lee, who is the Ambassador’s chief inspector and friend, has promised to protect him. So chasing down this assassin becomes very personal.”
“Lee pursues this assassin down a very steep skyscraper,” says Ratner. “And he comes very close to catching the guy before Carter, of course, messes it up.”
Before Carter flies onto the scene in a “borrowed” car, Lee discovers the identity of the assassin: Kenji, played by acclaimed Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, star of such films as the Ringu series, The Last Samurai and the upcoming Sunshine. Once Lee’s orphanage “brother,” Kenji is now a key figure in the Triad organization. “Kenji and Lee both grew up in an orphanage in China,” explains Chan. “His parents were killed by Yakuza, so he became an orphan and hid in China. They grew up together, and they are like brothers, but Lee became police and Kenji became a criminal. They equally love and hate each other.”
Sanada and Chan have been friends for over 20 years, but Rush Hour 3 represents the first time the two worked together. “I love this role of an evil, mean man,” says Sanada, “and Jackie is a great opponent. Kenji does not want to fight Lee, but Triads and police have to fight, so each action and each movement has a different meaning and emotion.”
“Jackie and Hiroyuki make their scenes together so emotional, you buy the connection between them,” comments Ratner. “And this really goes to the heart of the story. These scenes are very intense for Jackie. Hiroyuki plays his adopted brother, who is the bad guy, so the conflict in his character is so strong. And without Jackie’s and Hiroyuki’s talents it would never come across so strong.”
Reunited once more, Carter and Lee come upon another old friend when they arrive at the hospital to check on Ambassador Han – his now-adult daughter, Soo Yung, who as a child was kidnapped in the first Rush Hour, this time played by rising Chinese film star Zhang Jingchu (Peacock, Jade Warrior). “Her father had already mailed her some things, perhaps sensing that something was about to happen to him,” says Zhang Jingchu, who makes her American film debut after her critically acclaimed breakout films in China. “But she is a strong girl, a tough girl – just like the little girl in the first Rush Hour – and he knows he can trust her with this information.”
The urgency of finding and decoding the information about Shy Shen is made all the more potent because its existence threatens the lives of not only the Ambassador, but also his daughter, who are like family to Lee. “Ambassador Han is a very good friend,” notes Chan. “Lee always protects him, and as his daughter grew up, Lee taught her how to fight. He wants to protect Han and Soo Yung, and find out who’s behind it, in order to save their lives.”
“Han is the Ambassador from China, and he and his daughter are old friends of Lee’s, and Carter has also formed an affection for Soo Yung through their adventure in the first film,” adds producer Jay Stern. “The only way they can protect them is to break this crime ring. Lee has no choice, and Carter, who now considers himself Lee’s brother, is in it, too.”
Their investigation takes them to Soo Yung’s martial arts school, where Lee and Carter tangle with some very fierce young martial artists and one very large one, played by 7’9” Chinese basketball star Sun Ming Ming, who plays for the Maryland Nighthawks.“Nicest guy you’ll ever meet, but the tallest guy I’ve ever seen in my life,” says Chris Tucker.“Taller than any basketball player, but nicer than all of them.” The ensuing fight between Sun Ming Ming and Chan, says Tucker, “is one of the classic scenes, like in Game of Death when Bruce Lee was fighting Kareem Abdul Jabbar. It’s unbelievable.”
“The fact that we found Sun Ming Ming, and that everything worked out – the stars were aligned,” recalls Brett Ratner. “It’s a funny scene. It’s got great action and great humor. Everything about it is fun and represents what this movie is about – comedy, drama, action, martial arts and great characters.”
Carter also gets into a shouting match with the masters at the dojo named Yu and Mi. “They are virtually doing an Abbott and Costello routine, and it’s hilarious,” says producer Jonathan Glickman. “It has no place in any type of action movie you’ve seen before, but in Rush Hour, it’s perfect.”
Jackie Chan and his stunt team spent two weeks training with Sun Ming Ming, teaching him how to move like a martial artist. “We sat down and discussed why we’re fighting, because when you choreograph a sequence, you have to have a reason to fight,” Chan explains. “And he’s a basketball player. When the basketball is on his body, he moves so quick. When he’s with our `basketball,’ he doesn’t know what to do. Three hundred pounds, he can knock you down right away. But he’s clever; he’s good. Twenty-some years old, and twice my size. So, the scene was great.”
They soon discover that what the Triads are trying so desperately to keep hidden is a roadmap to their secret hierarchy. “A long time ago, the Triads were the Asian equivalent of the Mafia,” notes Ratner. “And they had an ingenious way of announcing who the new leaders were within the provinces.”
After a tussle with Triad assassins sent to dispatch Ambassador Han, a heated, expletive-filled exchange with a French-speaking Chinese assassin reveals another clue: the name “Genevieve,” and an address in Paris. “This is a mystery that really threatens the very existence of the Triad secret society,” says screenwriter Jeff Nathanson. “So, when there exists a possibility that this information is somewhere in Paris, Carter and Lee have no choice but to travel there to track it down, while lots of people try to kill them. It’s a race to see not only if they can break the case, but also if they can get out of Paris alive.”
In the first Rush Hour, Lee was the Hong Kong cop out of his element. In the second film, Carter had to negotiate Hong Kong. Rush Hour 3 takes them to Paris, where both are out of sorts. “We take two strangers in a strange land and put them into this real environment,” comments producer Arthur Sarkissian. “Neither of them fit in there in any way. They’re very contemporary people, and putting them in an old city, an older culture, a culture that has a stereotype of being a little bit snobbier – for comedy, that’s great.”
In Paris, Carter and Lee encounter a host of enigmatic personalities, which the filmmakers brought to life through an ensemble of diverse and acclaimed talent. “Chris and Jackie are scene-stealers, so I wanted to surround them with actors that command attention, or else they will become invisible,” says Ratner. “When you put a cast of phenomenal international actors in a scene with them, it just raises their game.”
Max von Sydow, star of such films as Pelle the Conqueror, for which he was nominated for an Oscar®, as well as iconic performances in The Exorcist, Three Days of the Condor and the legendary films of Ingmar Bergman, plays French Foreign Minister and World Criminal Court leader, Varden Reynard. “I sent him the script, not really expecting him to agree to do it because I know he is very selective,” recalls Ratner. “I was so excited when he accepted. He is magnanimous and charming, and such a pro. It’s a pleasure and such a dream fulfilled to work with him, because I grew up watching his movies and I feel so honored that he chose to be in this film.”
Von Sydow, who is not generally associated with action comedies, relished the chance to work with Chan, Tucker and Ratner. “It’s very interesting to see how all these quick action scenes are being filmed with or without special effects,” the actor notes. “Brett is a man of great energy, enthusiasm and generosity, and has a great sense of humor and of timing. He brings all of this to every day of filming, which is very inspiring for an actor. He is also a man of perfection; he doesn’t give up until he gets exactly what he wants, and I respect that very much.”
Like the director, the actor’s presence on set inspired the film’s stars. “When he comes on the set, it’s like King Arthur is visiting,” enthuses Chris Tucker. “I was almost scared to talk to him, and then he warmed up to me and I was calling him `Mister.’ He said, `No, call me Max.’ And once he said that, I was like, `Max! What’s up, Max?’ He’s just a great guy.”
French actor and filmmaker Yvan Attal, whose films include Ils se marirent et eurent beacoup d’enfants and Ma Femme est une actrice, and as an actor recently appeared in The Interpreter and Munich , plays George, whose adventure begins when Carter and Lee get into his cab, and takes him through the high-speed shoot-outs and tense situations he has previously only seen in movies. “He’s an innocent French cab driver who has read a lot about Americans, and his idea is that they go around shooting people or creating wars,” says producer Arthur Sarkissian. “So, when they jump into his cab, this bickering starts between them, but their adventures together allow George to form this new admiration for these two guys.”
“This film plays with the French and American relationship,” says Attal. “I play this grumpy French cab driver who hates Americans, and Lee and Carter get into his cab at the airport. They are like fish out of water – one is American, the other Chinese, but then on top of that, they’re going to another country where everything is strange to them.”
“Yvan didn’t go for the easy joke with this role,” says Ratner. “His character is a guy who starts off hating Americans, but by the end he wants to kill somebody. Yvan brought so much humanity and humor to his character that I kept asking Jeff to write more and more scenes for him. I loved his character so much, and he delivered every time.”
For Attal, perhaps the greatest challenge of working with Chan and Tucker was keeping a straight face. “When we shot the scene where they’re singing in my cab, I wanted to laugh,” he recalls. “But there were so many scenes when I’m on edge. It’s like I’m in the audience. I have them in my cab, I look at them in the mirror, and I want to laugh.”
Beautiful women have become one of the hallmarks of the Rush Hour series, and the third film continues the tradition. Youki Kudoh, star of Memoirs of a Geisha and Snow Falling on Cedars, stars as Jasmine, the deadly club owner who tangles with Lee in her exclusive underground French club, Chandelle. “Jasmine works exquisitely,” says Kudoh. “She kills exquisitely. That is her homage for Kenji, her boss. To be so cold-blooded is a way to show her love towards him. It’s kind of sad, but at the same time, it’s rewarding for her.”
Jackie Chan helped Kudoh prepare for the intensity of the fights between Jasmine and Lee. “I’ve known Youki a long time,” says Chan. “She’s not a fighter, but in the film we have to make her a killer, just like Zhang Ziyi was in Rush Hour 2. But she’s very good, and she learned so quick.”
Rising French actress Noémie Lenoir also stars as Genevieve, a young woman whose name is the crux of Carter and Lee’s journey to Paris. Though her connection to the Triads draws them, Genevieve becomes more than just a clue to Carter. “I really wanted to have a love interest,” notes Chris Tucker. “I told Brett before doing the film, `Jackie has all the fun. Let me have some fun.’ So, they cast this beautiful French actress, Noémie Lenoir, and she’s fantastic.”
“Noémie is absolutely right for Genevieve because she is very tough but effortlessly so,” says producer Arthur Sarkissian. “So, though what you see is this beautiful, glamorous woman, you believe that she’s tied up with the Triads.”
Acclaimed director Roman Polanski, who won an Oscar for The Pianist, makes a cameo in Rush Hour 3 as French Police Inspector Revi, who gives the partners an uncomfortable welcome to Paris. “This is one of those obnoxious French characters that we sometimes meet at the airport,” says the director, who, along with his children, is a fan of the first two Rush Hour films. “I get beautifully punched by Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. It was quick but very amusing. We had a lot of fun.”
“Apart from being a great director, Roman is one of my favorite actors of all time,” Ratner enthuses. “The Tenant is one of my favorite films, but his performance in this film is terrific. One of the greatest moments I can remember is him calling me and saying, `Can I meet you?’ He meets me in the lobby of the hotel, and he says, `Do you mind if I run the lines with you?’ And I’m like, `Can someone see me right now? Roman Polanski is running lines with me in the lobby of the hotel.’ Roman is always thinking and coming up with hysterical nuances for his role. To have him in the room with Jackie and Chris was one of the highlights of making this movie, and that scene is one of my favorites.”
As Lee, Carter and their reluctant accomplice George track the Triads through, below and above the streets of Paris, “These guys are put in as many odd situations as possible,” says producer Roger Birnbaum. “Because they are fun-loving characters, and very game actors, we find them drenched in sewage underneath the city, dancing on a burlesque stage in Paris, and dangling from some very high places. For us, the challenge is to come up with enough different set pieces to take the audience on a new ride, and this film does that and more.”
As Carter & Lee move closer to the very people who want them dead, their journey culminates in a monumental clash at the one place in Paris from which there is no escape – the Eiffel Tower.
“On top of the Eiffel Tower, Jackie squares off with one of the villains and a big fight scene goes down,” says Chris Tucker. “I have a big fight scene with a lot of the villains; it’s just a big battle on top of the Eiffel Tower, which as you know is very high up off the ground. We’re facing a lot of odds, and we can’t escape. It’s exciting.”
The sequence is pure fighting and acrobatics – no explosions, no shooting, just one of the best stunt teams in the world working at the height of its abilities. The experience was something none of them would forget, least of all Jackie Chan. “I was by myself on top of the tower,” recalls Chan. “They yelled, `Jackie, when are you coming down? Let’s shoot.’ But after that night, I can tell my grandchildren, `This is your grandfather. This is me. That’s not a double flying around the Eiffel Tower in 100 mile-per-hour winds.’ Everybody else takes the elevator. I was outside the elevator. I get to do some cool things in this film that normal people cannot do.”
The production set down for 15 days in Paris to complete the majority of sequences taking place in the City of Lights. “Paris is a character unto its own in the film,” says Brett Ratner. “The people, the set pieces, the skyline, the city, the fountains, the architecture – all these aspects contribute to the story. And I wanted to show every facet of Paris. I wanted to go as deep into the heart, the center of Paris, in the sewer, to as high as the top of the Eiffel Tower, to the poshest hotels, to the streets, to the restaurants. It’s really going to be an eyeful. We show Paris in a beautiful light.”
“All the team from America, they fell in love with Paris,” says French cast member Noémie Lenoir. “And that was important for me because it’s my town.”
“I was really happy to find out that it was going to be shot in Paris, because the Rush Hour films all anchor around a locale, so I knew it would be very challenging and also very fun,” comments production designer Edward Verreaux, whose diverse credits include Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand, as well as Monster House, Starsky & Hutch and Jurassic Park III.
Verreaux went on numerous location scouts throughout Paris prior to commencement of production with his Parisian art director, Anne Seibel. A number of the sequences shot in Paris would be seamlessly augmented later with footage shot either on practical locations in Southern California or on-stage at Culver Studios, so much of the scouting involved finding matching structures. “We took a lot of photographs and began to look at French signatures and styles that could be recreated as needed in Los Angeles,” Verreaux notes. “Paris is so specific. The French style is so different from what you see in Los Angeles, but our goal with some of the L.A. sets was to really make you feel like you’re in Paris when you watch this film.”
While in Paris, the production shot at such world-famous locales as the Champs Elysee and, of course, the Eiffel Tower. “The whole point of shooting in Paris is to get to see the Parisian landmarks,” says Verreaux. “To actually get to shoot on the Eiffel Tower at night was spectacular.”
For the climactic sequence atop the iconic tower, production was granted access on the ground level, 1st & 2nd floors, and on the Observation Deck.
The Eiffel Tower is the most widely beloved tourist attraction in Paris, which precluded the company from shooting at the iconic tower until 11:00pm. The crew would typically arrive and off-load equipment prior to that time, and then shoot until sunrise.
Lighting the Eiffel Tower was an adventure all its own for director of photography J. Michael Muro. “The Eiffel Tower was a challenging location because it’s an environment that requires a low level of intensity, to enable visitors to see the city,” he explains. “Since Brett shot the first two Rush Hour movies in anamorphic, he wanted to close out the trilogy that way as well, and for anamorphic we needed a lot of light.”
Considered to be one of the best SteadiCam operators in the world, Muro worked on the first two Rush Hour films before making the jump to cinematographer with such productions as Open Range, Crash and The Last Mimzy. “Jimmy Muro’s a wonderful cinematographer,” comments Ratner. “He worked for all the greatest directors before making the transition to DP. He has incredible instincts and shot about a half-hour of X-Men for me. So, this was a perfect collaboration for us – he knows the characters, he knows the energy and he knows the pace of a Rush Hour movie.”
Across the River Seine from the Eiffel Tower, at the Palais de Chaillot, is the Trocadero Fountain, where the whole adventure culminates. “So, we had to light quite a bit of area,” Muro continues. To light the tower, the fountains and the surrounding environment, Muro and his team worked with the Eiffel Tower management to coordinate lighting to match the color and tone of the 352 floodlights that illuminate the world-famous landmark. “It’s a Philips bulb light that is only available to the Eiffel Tower, so we ultimately used those lamps rather than conventional film lighting.”
In addition to a single light at the top of the Eiffel Tower, the structure has two sets of lights – an internal set that lights the inner structure and a second set that lights the outer structure – a `light show’ of sorts – that sparkles for ten minutes, at ten-to-the-hour, every hour. Both light sequences take place between sundown and 1:00am. Each night production made the necessary adjustments, often timing their takes around the light show-both when shooting on the Eiffel Tower itself, and at the Trocadero Fountains with the tower in the background.
The Eiffel Tower staff was enormously accommodating to the filmmakers, allowing the production free reign within its parameters, and extending the primary set of lights until sunrise on the days production was shooting on the tower.
In one instance, when the timer-controlled tower lights went black as normally scheduled at 1:00 AM, a single phone call from the production’s Parisian locations department brought the lights back on. “Working with the French was fantastic because we were constantly amazed at what they’d let us do,” Verreaux notes. “The culmination of the film takes place at the Eiffel Tower, on the second level, in a restaurant called the Jules Verne Restaurant, which is the actual four-star restaurant in the tower. For the matching set we built on stage in Los Angeles, the Eiffel Tower provided us with sample light housing, so even though we had to make certain changes to accommodate our production needs, the match was seamless.”
Other Paris locations include the Ministre of Foreign Affairs at Quai D’Orsay; the river’s edge beneath the Carousel Bridge on the Seine for the underground sequence; the Hotel Plaza Athenee, in Montaigne; the Café de la Paix at Le Grand Hotel, in one of Paris’s major districts-L’Opera; and Aux Gouts d’Asie, a Chinese restaurant in Paris.
The drama and style of Paris would again be explored in a sequence set at the historic Folies-Bergere, which Carter and Lee must crash to save Genevieve’s life. “We have this huge dance sequence that Carter and Lee interrupt that is set in the Folies-Bergere,” says Ratner. “So, Carter finds himself on-stage in front of an audience and doesn’t know what to do, so he starts to sing.”
Exteriors for the sequence were shot at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. “Brett originally wanted to shoot this sequence in Paris, but the Folies-Bergere was in the process of being remodeled, so we had to make other plans,” recalls Edward Verreaux. “But this turned out to be an opportunity to create something of our own back in Los Angeles.”
Verreaux found an ideal space at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, south of Los Angeles. “We wanted to have a stage, but it needed to be a somewhat intimate setting,” the production designer explains. “The Galaxy Theatre was ideal and we reconfigured it so that you feel like you’re in this large Parisian cabaret.”
Sequences taking place at Charles de Gaulle airport, where Carter and Lee encounter Inspector Revi and first climb into George’s cab, were shot at the actual French airport and on stage at Studio Transpasets in France.
For Club Chandelle, where Carter and Lee get into trouble while hunting down their only real lead, Verreaux sought interiors in Los Angeles that could then be matched with exteriors in Paris. “Brett wanted this very intimate and private club that was kind of sexy with an elegant feel,” recalls Verreaux. “We looked at a lot of places for a match in L.A. and one of the places was this old theater downtown called the Los Angeles Theater. It was this very elegant theater back in the `20s, and it had this large oval room that had been a lounge down in the basement, and a couple of rooms off to the side. So, we were able to shoot the entry and exit in Paris, at a little club called Le Rive Gauche, and then cut to our set in Los Angeles. Le Rive Gauche even gave us some of their door hardware for authenticity.”
With the film set in Paris, the costumes would need to reflect the Parisian sensibility while also expressing the unique tone of Rush Hour. “I wanted to use as many French elements as I could,” says costume director Betsy Heimann, who previously worked with Brett Ratner on Red Dragon and Family Man in addition to designing costumes for such films as Be Cool, Vanilla Sky and Almost Famous. “Since portions of the costumes would be made in France, we had access to fabrics that you can’t find in the U.S. I had an assistant in Paris who went to all of the locations mentioned in the script and took pictures of what was going on in the various locations – who is in the clubs, who is in the lobby of the hotels, what does the concierge wear? And we amassed all our research through actual photographs.”
Seventy-five percent of the costumes for the film would have to be hand-made to meet the various demands of the production. “Brett and I had never done a film with so many made-to-order costumes,” Heimann notes, “so it was really great to collaborate with him on that process. This was an opportunity to make things exactly as he dreamed, or I dreamed, combined. We had a fantastic time walking through the sketches and the fabrics and fittings, and it was a fun collaboration.”
For Jackie Chan, Heimann worked to ensure that all his clothes would accommodate his unique presence in the film. “Since Lee is a little more polished in this film, I tailored his clothes with linings and such that would give him a little more flair when he kicked and punched in them,” she says.
She also made sure her designs would be durable enough to be used as props in Chan’s stunts. “In the Eiffel Tower scene, he whips his tie off, ties it around his leg and hoists himself up on the side of the tower,” she relates. “When you work with Jackie, you have to know that every piece of clothing that you make for him may get used physically, and you have to be prepared for that.”
For Chris Tucker, Heimann wanted to express his character’s growth since the previous film. “He has had a lot more years on the job,” she says, “he has evolved. He has learned Chinese and come to understand Asian culture much better, so I wanted to have a little Asian influence in the clothes he wore.”
By far the most expansive set piece for costumes was the Folies-Bergere sequence. For this scene, which involved scores of beautiful Folies dancers, Brett Ratner wanted the costumes to feature a gangster flair. “We were going to use the song `Bonnie and Clyde,’ so that was our jumping off point,” says Heimann. “I looked at more cinematic musical numbers for inspiration – Natalie Wood as Gypsy, the French gangster movie Le Cercle Rouge and Borsalino and Co, with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon.”
Heimann relished creating costumes for the two glamorous women who play critical roles in the story: Youki Kudoh as the deadly Jasmine, and Noémie Lenoir as Genevieve. “Noémie is gorgeous and very French, but Youki’s Jasmine character has been living in Paris, so though she’s Asian, she’s also very French,” Heimann describes. “Genevieve runs with the Triads and looks chic and sophisticated, and Jasmine runs her own night club, so she looks somewhat strict… but all of a sudden, she unzips the side of her dress and kicks Jackie Chan, so both their costumes were very exciting to create.”
For the Triads, the crime syndicate Carter and Lee must ultimately face on the Eiffel Tower, Heimann created a uniform of sorts: “We wanted the Triads to wear white, particularly Kenji, because he is going to make a funeral for Lee, and in China, white is the color of death. Kenji is the bearer of death for Lee in this movie, and when all the Triads descend on the Eiffel Tower, they’re all wearing white because this is a funeral.”
Of all the actors she dressed, Heimann took particular delight in the iconic director Roman Polanski as Inspector Revi. “He invited me to his home, and he had pulled everything out of his closet in case there was something there I might think would be right for his character,” she remembers. “But in a French costume house, I had found this really ratty jacket that seemed right for Inspector Revi, which I brought just in case. He fell in love with this jacket, and he did what I love so much – he starts to become the character right before my eyes. He runs his lines with me in the outfit, and he gets his body language inspired by the costume. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me to have worked with Roman Polanski.”
After the major work was completed in Paris, production returned to Southern California for the remainder of the shoot. Downtown Los Angeles provided the backdrop for the opening scenes in the film, in which Carter is directing traffic while Lee thwarts an assassination attempt on Ambassador Han. For the Divinity Hospital sequence, production moved to the non-functioning facility of St. Luke’s Hospital in Pasadena, with some interiors and exteriors at the busy Long Beach hospital, St. Mary’s.
The cast and crew even spent time in a functioning morgue in the basement of St. Mary’s. The location was all too real: another local hospital fire caused the relocation of corpses to the hospital morgue as the company was there shooting, resulting in practically a “full house” when production arrived. On two occasions the set had to be cleared to allow orderlies to relocate two new arrivals to the morgue.
“We were all being really respectful, but it was a humbling experience to work in a morgue,” recalls Chris Tucker.
Filming was also completed at the Alexandria Hotel, Sable Ranch in Canyon Country, the Red Cross in Pasadena and the Santa Monica Airport. The sequences at Soo Yung’s Kung Fu/Karate school were shot on a set built at Culver Studios. “They looked all over Los Angeles for a Karate and Kung Fu studio, and none of them had exactly the element I was looking for,” remembers Brett Ratner. “And I think Ed did a great job of bringing my vision of what the ultimate Kung Fu studio would be, and serves the story so well. The idea to build a doorway really short so when the giant came out he had to duck underneath, all those design choices were really smart.”
Fresh off his work on X-Men: The Last Stand, Ratner had benefited from the vast visual effects demands of the sci-fi adventure and invited his visual effects supervisor from that film, John Bruno, to join the Rush Hour 3 team. “We have more visual effects on this film than any Rush Hour movie to date,” says Ratner. “I brought in John Bruno, who did such a brilliant job on X-Men, to come in and help visualize how we were going to execute these sequences. He and the team at ILM have done a brilliant job delivering really clever visual effects that help drive the story forward.”
Bruno, a multiple Oscar nominee who won for his work on The Abyss, and co-visual effects supervisor Adam Howard, who contributed to the effects of such films as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, sought to create more organic effects to enhance the reality Ratner sought with this film. “John’s inventiveness and design approach is always done the old school way, which I love,” the director notes. “It takes a real set piece and just enhances it – enhances the story, enhances the jeopardy, enhances the drama. It’s not about creating the virtual world in CGI. And he has a brilliant team of visual effects artists at ILM that just kick it up a notch.”
For Bruno, the challenge was to funnel his expertise into supporting the in-camera footage with as much realism as possible. With a complicated fight sequence on the Eiffel Tower involving Chan’s creative and often unpredictable choreography, that meant “in a non-effects movie, the third act became an effects sequence,” says Bruno. “So, we brought in a special three-camera set-up that gives you a 180 degree seamless crossover, or cyclorama, to make that possible.”
Bruno and his team locked together three VistaVision cameras, which feature a bigger negative and thus provide more detail, and boarded a 300-foot crane to shoot the cityscape and the tower, and also shoot in all directions from within the tower. This footage would become essential to the later green screen work to be done at Culver Studios.
Verreaux supervised production of a complicated set on stage at Culver Studios that matched the section of the tower beam-for-beam to accommodate the design, lighting, stunt and visual effects needs for the complicated sequence. “We had to match what was done on location,” says Bruno. “We had angles and shots of the real tower that would be intercut with the footage shot on the stage. All that photography is realistic, so the green screen footage would need to match it seamlessly.”
For the stunt in which Lee and Carter parachute off the Eiffel Tower on a giant flag, special effects supervisor Clayton Pinney created a special gimbal rig that hung upside down from the ceiling of the soundstage, which would swing the actors. “They’re both looking at each other and screaming while being shot at by the bad guys from the tower, who are shooting holes in the flag,” Bruno describes. “And they’re losing more and more of the billow inside the flag. It looks very real and is very funny.”
On an adjacent stage, Verreaux built a match for the Jules Verne restaurant on an 18-foot platform and hung a massive, realistic photo-backing (“translight”) of Paris 270+ degrees around it. The photo-backing was created by positioning five still cameras high atop the Eiffel Tower which shot 8” X 10” negatives to capture the images that would later be stitched together on a computer to create a single digital file. Capturing Paris in such a way resulted in the largest seamless photo-backing ever manufactured for a film.
“John and Adam did a brilliant job at executing the visual effects on this movie, which are bigger than I’ve ever done on a Rush Hour movie,” enthuses Brett Ratner. “The Eiffel Tower required shots that I could never have done practically, unless I was in a helicopter, and they won’t let you fly a helicopter around the Eiffel Tower.”
For Ratner, the Rush Hour trilogy’s heart and soul is the seamless mix of action and comedy. Critical to that alchemy is the work of Jackie Chan. Legendary stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano, a veteran of nearly 200 films (who also served as the film’s second unit director), notes that, “Any time you’re working with a master like Jackie Chan, who is an action King, his creativity is so beyond the norm that the hardest thing to do is just trying to keep up with him, and make sure your ideas are equal to what he’s throwing out. He’s one of a kind.”
“The action that Jackie creates is very innovative because it really does come from within,” says producer Jay Stern. “There is a personality in every stunt that he performs, and he’s always trying to better himself. He has such a great wealth of experience to draw on that watching him is like watching a master painter who knows all the things that people have done in the past and is always able to make something original.”
Mixing the equally demanding art forms of action and comedy, says Chris Tucker, “is the hardest thing to do because you use a lot of your energy to make sure that every take is the same and has the same energy. If the energy is high you’ve got to be like that until you finish the scene. It’s all in timing and capturing those moments.”
The massive stunt work, involving one of the most inventive and celebrated martial artists in the world, demanded a close collaboration between stunt coordinators Palmisano and Eddie Braun (a stunt veteran with such credits as Transformers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and both previous Rush Hour films) and Jackie Chan and his team. “They worked so well together,” says Ratner. “Connie and Eddie have done a lot of my films, and both really learned how to work well with the Hong Kong team, which uses a very different style and approach. Connie’s an old-school stunt man and knows how to take what Jackie does and enhance it, and Eddie is the same way. It’s truly a perfect example of mixing Eastern and Western styles together. Their collaboration was really fantastic and so much a part of what Rush Hour is.”
“Jackie wants to raise the bar and everyone around him raises the bar as well, because he sets that tone,” says Braun. “He also has a sense about him that is very disarming because he’s so kind. He believes in teamwork, as you can see by his guys, the JC Team. It’s not Jackie Chan; it’s Jackie’s team. He collaborates with all the people around him, and that brings out the best in them.”
“Jackie is a master and can direct as well, so it’s very easy to step into these fights – one, two, three rehearsals, then shooting,” says Hiroyuki Sanada. “Sometimes it’s not even in rehearsal, just talking and checking the timing and positions. He always finds some interesting, exciting way to try to do something. It’s a very happy and exciting process.”
Known for his elaborately creative and entertaining stunt sequences, Chan and the JC Team would choreograph each sequence and create a video rehearsal, with members of the team acting out the various roles, then edit it together and present it to the filmmakers and stunt coordinators. From there, the rest of the crew would join in and work out the scene. “There’s a very free and open line of communication between Brett Ratner, Jackie, Chris, Connie and myself,” says Braun. “So, sometimes some of the best, wildest ideas end up on film. Nobody is locked down, we just wait and see whose way turns out funnier.”
“Since this film is a sequel, you want to try to come up with new and more creative things to do,” says Palmisano. “At the same time, we wanted to maintain what those characters are about and the kinds of situations they get themselves into.”
The stunt crew was an international mix of American, French and Chinese stuntmen. The production also benefited from stunt luminaries such as driver Michel Julienne, of the Remy Julienne family, coordinating vehicular stunts in Paris, and Master Simon Rhee, an actor and martial arts master who worked on the previous Rush Hour films. In addition to appearing as a fighter in the film, Master Rhee helped train Sun Ming Ming for the dojo fight sequence.
The stunt team was in Paris for three months preparing for the substantial needs of the production. “When you go from the top of the Eiffel Tower to the sewers of Paris, you really have hit the highs and lows of it all,” says Palmisano. “I think we’re taking best advantage of the city and its mystique. The privilege of working on the Eiffel Tower alone, and that the Paris government allowed us to have so much access, was fantastic.”
For the Eiffel Tower sequence, the production was allowed to perform some practical stunts, which had Jackie Chan hanging off of elevator cables. “Jackie Chan has been able to jump to moving elevator cables and swing from place to place on the Eiffel Tower,” explains Palmisano. “Our guys are pinned and trapped there. They’re being shot at. Their backs are up against the wall. They have no other way out but to do something seemingly desperate.”
“I’m so happy when the stunt team thinks about a great idea,” comments Jackie Chan. “Like the great action at the end of this movie. For the stunt coordinators and me, action sequences are very easy and difficult at the same time. What we created was simple, without big explosions, without a lot of violence, but we add comedy – that’s very difficult. I’ve been doing this for so many years, but this one will make the audience excited and on edge, but it’s comedy. In the end, everybody’s happy.”
For Chris Tucker, the experience of once again witnessing Chan’s feats was magic. “Sometimes I’ll watch on playback a lot of the stuff he did when it’s all cut together and I’m like, `Boy, that’s cool. I’m glad I’m in this movie – because Jackie Chan brings a whole other vision to a movie, stuff we’ve never seen before, action and creativity. I remember the first time I saw the first Rush Hour. I couldn’t believe the way he was doing it. It’s just genius. Nobody can do what Jackie does.”
But more than simply stunts, both the action and the comedy of Rush Hour 3 emerge from the personalities at its core. “Rush Hour works, not only in the United States but around the world, because these two characters don’t understand each other, and they’re from completely different cultures, but they’re brothers,” says Ratner. “That’s what makes their dynamic so interesting, but when chemistry and camaraderie like that are there, it’s undeniable. It’s up on screen. When I have the camera on them, I’m excited watching them. And the action in this movie is beyond anything I’ve done in terms of scope and size, but it’s always in service of the comedy and heart that goes into these movies. That makes it exciting.”
Adds producer Arthur Sarkissian, “You have a certain expectation from worldwide audiences that are fans of these films, so you owe it to them to deliver and also be very true to the characters. The way Brett approached it, the stakes are higher and it’s bigger, but it’s bigger action around this amazing relationship and the chemistry of Chris and Jackie.”
“There are some really great, wonderful actors this time,” says screenwriter Jeff Nathanson, “and that’s a tribute to Brett and the desire we have to make these films not just cookie-cutter, but to create the action around these two guys and their relationship. And it’s quite a ride.”
“Carter and Lee come across very bad villains, some beautiful villains, and some great set pieces,” sums up Ratner. “It’s a joy ride from beginning to end. The minute you sit in your seat, it’s non-stop laughs and action from beginning to end. But at the heart of this film there is a tremendous mystery. It’s a comedy, but it has the plot of a thriller – grab your seats and get ready for it!”
Rush Hour 3 (2007)
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Starring: Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, Hiroyuki Sanada, Max Von Sydow, Noemie Lenoir, Vinnie Jones, Yvan Attel, Roselyn Sanchez, Roman Polanski, Youki Kudoh
Screenplay by: Jeff Nathanson
Production Design by: Ed Werreaux
Cinematography by: J. Michael Muro
Film Editing by: Mark Helfrich, Billy Weber
Costume Design by: Betsy Heimann
Music by: Lalo Schifrin
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of action violence, sexual content, nudity and language.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date: August 10, 2007
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