StudioLA's Mike Kai interviews Jet Li Star of Kiss of the Dragon

Mike talks to Jet Li, the martial arts star of Kiss of the Dragon

StudioLA's Mike Kai videotaped this exclusive interview in Hollywood with superstar Jet Li about his film "Kiss of the Dragon" now available on DVD and VHS."Kiss of the Dragon" is a gift from Jet Li to his fans. His hard core fans. He listened and he delivers with a punch. No wires, no "Matrix" type special effects, just plain back to the basics street fighting reminiscent of his popular '94 classic "Fist of Legend." [Order
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Also, read what co-star Bridget Fonda said about working with Jet on the set of "Kiss of the Dragon!"

Mike: Hi Jet, it's so great to see you again after "Romeo Must Die." I understand that you actually created the story concept for the movie "Kiss of the Dragon." Was there any underlying message that you wanted to convey?

Jet:I think, to let you know, after "Romeo Must Die," a lot of hardcore Jet Li fans, they emailed messages to me [at JetLi.com] to say they did not really like the martial arts sequences in "Romeo Must Die." They thought it was too choppy, could not see the whole designs (and) it was not as good as my older films made in Hong Kong. I thought and I have some feeling and OK, I decided to do it again.

So, years ago I met Luc Besson. We started to talk about how to make movies, and I decided, say how about work[ing together] and mak[ing] a movie like "The Fist of Legend" and "The Professional," that kind of strong character and the hard core fighting.

Mike: That was one of the things that I really enjoyed about the movie is how you went more back to the basics, and less "Matrix" style and special effects.

Jet: Because after "Matrix" I already knew it. The next few years, we would see lots of that kind of movies. Like "Charlie's Angels," you know, "X-Men," "Spy Kids," whatever. Even cartoons, they could fly around. [laughter] Because its exactly the form like Hong Kong. In the beginning of the 1990's I made two films, one is "Once Upon a Time in China" and the other is, I don't know the English name, and (we) fly around.

So, suddenly you have a hundred action movies! Everybody, all the actors and actresses, they fly around and do the fantasy movement. That kind of movie for actor or actress, maybe you train for a few months or a few weeks. You use movie magic, you can make very cool, everyone [can] do martial arts! [Jet waves his arms and laughs] But in "Kiss of the Dragon" that kind of fighting, you really need to know martial arts, or training for a few years and know how to control. Because maybe [there's] one shot that takes twenty movements for contact with twelve guys, you really need to learn how to do it.

Mike: Not only was "Kiss of the Dragon" action-packed, but your character, he had more human emotion. He was less of a superman as you might see in most action films.

Jet: That's why I wanted to make this movie. Just like Luc and I produced together this film. I wanted to make a real person, not a superhero to save the day, you know, you don't worry about him. [laughter] You don't worry because he always wins.

This guy, this character, you worry about him because he is the professional cop. But when he went to Paris, you don't know how many bad guys are around him. He's really scared. He's scared! He's scared himself. He doesn't know how to do. He just doesn't know the culture. He's lost in the whole city!

Then, later on, he grew up, trying to find himself. Also, the character grew up, after he gives the word to the girl. Until the ending, he's not fighting for his job. He's fighting for a man's promise. I thought it was nice. [That's] very important.

Mike: I want to thank you, and can you say hello to your fans at StudioLA.com.

Jet: Hi, I'm Jet Li, StudioLA to all the fans. I tried my best with this film. I hope you enjoy it!

Mike: Thank you!

Jet: Thank you so much!