Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker hit out of the park with the Rush Hour trilogy. With Brett Ratner behind the camera bringing his imagination to life, the trilogy truly became one of the most revered and successful.
The series kicked off a minimal budget of $35 million but went on to gross $245 million at the box office. Obviously, a sequel was on the way. Following this success, the trilogy raked in a whopping $850 million overall. The movie had it all - Chan’s incredible action sequences and Tucker’s killer comic timing and dynamic camera movements from
Brett Ratner. But did you know a lot went behind and in to make this trilogy? Let us share some crazy facts that will make you love the trilogy even more.
Jackie Chan Speaks English for the First Time
Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in the first movie of the Rush Hour trilogy (Credits: IMDb/Rush Hour 1998))
Before
Rush Hour, Chan used to learn his lines phonetically. However, Ratner was not willing to go down that route. He insisted on the martial arts pioneer to learn his lines in English and he did so. Rush Hour then became the first film in which Jackie Chan delivered his lines in English.
Chris Tucker Improvised & Chan Hated It Improvisation is a skill that is used regularly by people in theatre. And if you’re a skilled comedian like Tucker, improvisation comes naturally. As Tucker naturally improvised, it made Chan really nervous as he was not fluent in the language. But the two co-operated and Tucker helped Chan learn English.
Brett Ratner Flies to South Africa to Convince Jackie Chan
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brett Ratner ברט רטנר Бретт Ратнер (@brettrat)
Ratner was hell-bent on bringing Chan on-board as Inspector Lee. He had no other option in mind. Being as powerful and big as Ratner at the time, one might think that he would simply let other actors take the lead. However, he flew all the way to South Africa for a single day to convince Jackie Chan for this role.
Chris Tucker Was Not The First Choice
Chris Tucker as Jamie Carter in Rush Hour (Credits: IMDb/Chris Tucker)
On the other hand, we have Chris Tucker who was not the first or the second or the third choice. Reports have often suggested that Eddie Murphy was chosen to be the poster boy for Rush Hour and play Carter. After he denied it,
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence were both approached. Ultimately, the role went to Tucker and we cannot imagine anybody else playing the role better than him.
Jackie Chan Devised & Performed His Stunts Chan has always expressed how back in Hong Kong everyone would perform their own stunts. While safety was paramount, Chan denied any stunt double and curated, devised, and performed his own stunts.
Rush Hour Is The Reason Why We Have Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is the go-to platform for anyone who wants to know if a movie or series is actually worth watching. But no one knows why and how it was built. US student Senh Duong was frustrated about the fact that there were very few reviews of Jackie Chan’s movies, and he was a fan. So when Rush Hour came out, he created Rotten Tomatoes to resolve the issue.
Don Cheadle Insisted On Fighting Chan
Don Cheadle in Rush Hour 2 (Credits: IMDb/Rush Hour 2)
Don Cheadle is seen in Rush Hour 2 as Kenny who is skilled in martial arts, fluent in Chinese, and is an ex-con. However, he was fascinated by the idea of going toe-to-toe with Jackie Chan and insisted on having a sparring scene. Hence, a special scene was written where the two fight each other, fulfilling Cheadle’s only requirement.
Eiffel Tower Was Hijacked By The Production Team For A WEEK! The iconic chase-and-capture sequence from Rush Hour 3 was shot in Europe, to be precise, the Eiffel Tower. But did you know that the production crew had access to this beautiful structure for an entire week? The iconic landmark was theirs for the taking while they filmed.
Elizabeth Pena’s Incredible Bomb Vest Prank
Elizabeth Pena in Rush Hour (Credits: IMDb/Rush Hour)
Saving the best for the last. Pena played Detective Johnson in the pilot Rush Hour. With comic talents like Tucker and Jackie Chan around, she decided to bring out her humor too. The movie has a scene where Thompson enters wearing a bulletproof vest, but she pranked the entire set by wearing JUST the bulletproof vest and nothing else.
