By Gill Pringle
“In 2005, I had already decided that movies were not my main business,” Jet Li tells FilmInk. “I don’t want to do a lot of movies anymore because I have had other experiences. I was in a tsunami and I almost died. If I just continue making movies, so what? I need to do something to pay back to society.” Though always a philosophical deep thinker, Beijing-born martial arts superstar Jet Li is now indeed a changed man. Jet Li suffered minor injuries in 2004 when the hotel he was holidaying in in The Maldives was flooded after the region was struck by a tsunami, and that experience has left profound emotional scars on the icon. The 57-year-old has since created the charitable organisation, One Foundation, and has also considerably slowed his cinematic output. Back in 2018, a photo of an aged, frail-looking Jet Li went viral, and the actor confirmed that he suffers from hyperthyroidism, a condition which causes fatigue and muscle weakness.
Li made his name in Hong Kong as a formidable martial arts performer and on-screen performer, with titles like Once Upon A Time In China (and its sequels), Black Mask and The Master etched in the genre’s firmament. He successfully jumped to Hollywood with films like Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die, Cradle 2 The Grave, The Expendables and The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, while also working consistently in Asia. A fitter and healthier looking Jet Li (who has assured fans that he now has his health issues under control) now takes on the venerable role of The Emperor in Disney’s big budget live action remake of its 1998 animated classic, Mulan, marking his first on-screen appearance since 2016. Jet Li, it transpires, has been busy doing other things…
How does One Foundation work?
“I’d tell young people, everybody, every month, donate 12 cents, and we’d put it together, and we’d help. They’d say, ‘No, you’re crazy! You donate your salary! Why do you ask me?’ I just continue to do it and continue to believe. Previously, there were no individual people doing charity work in China, helping people. None. We have more than 3 billion donations from young people…just a few cents or whatever. We have helped 17 million people in the past. That’s my life’s movie. It’s very important for me. Today in China, the younger people just donate. Even recently during the hurricane, they donated money. That’s what I want to pay back to society. They gave to me. They made Jet Li, it’s not me. They made me, and now I need to pay it back. That’s the main point. That’s why I don’t make a lot of movies…I nearly didn’t do this movie.”
Your fans have been waiting for you to make some movies…
“Yes, I can make people happy, but every time in life, you need to choose your goal from your heart. Right? When the foundation started, people didn’t understand. So I used the name Jet Li One Foundation. Then, three years ago, I removed Jet Li, and it is now One Foundation. We are human, and the idea is that we are human. We are lighting the earth, that’s our family. If everybody would do a little bit, the world would be better. So today at One Foundation there is no Jet Li, but people still work together. That could go on for ten years, or a hundred years, and that’s the important thing. Jet Li? Forget it, forget about it. Who is Jet Li? I don’t care who Jet Li is. I care about helping people, and how to help with this. So even with this movie in the beginning, I turned it down. I said no to Mulan. Why would we make Mulan? Everybody in the world knows it, especially in Asia. Why would I need to make Mulan? In the beginning, I didn’t like it.”
The reason that you decided to do this was your youngest daughter?
“My youngest daughter, fifteen years ago, asked me, ‘Did you share Chinese culture your whole life? Isn’t it your responsibility?’ I said, yes. ‘So Disney spends hundreds of millions of dollars to say Mulan is a Chinese story, with Chinese actors? Is it not a promotion of China?’ I said, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ She said, at that time she was fifteen, and she said, ‘Can you do the movie for me?’ I said, ‘Done.’ Thank you. Give me the opportunity to make the movie. That’s why I began the movie.”
How was it working with Disney on an all-star film?
“I am little bit crazy. I always think about the universe, the earth, family, and different cultures that don’t understand each other and make trouble. This is so small. That’s why when I think about making this movie, it’s not about working with an actor. I don’t care if my character will fight or not. I don’t really care about the costumes…I don’t really care. How do we share Chinese culture with the world? Finally, we in China, we have a very long history, a strong culture, but how do we make it easy to understand? So I think they put loyalty and devotion at the centre of the story. That’s very important for Chinese; it’s in our blood. Everybody knows those words. Loyalty to your culture, and to your country…this will always work…devotion to your family, and devotion to somebody who is helping you grow up. That’s also important because we’re human. Then also belief – be yourself, and be true to what are you thinking.”
Mulan is also a great female role model…
“The future is the younger people’s future, and the world needs to be balanced 50/50. There are too many male heroes. We need a lot of women in the future, leading the room, leading the company, leading the world. I was raised by a single mother. My dad passed away when I was two, and my mother brought me up. Women are deeply important for me. I talked with one of my best friends, Alibaba creator Jack Ma, about his production company, which is 47% female. We always discuss it. He believes that it’s very important to have women essentially involved in the company. Thousands of years ago, men needed to do a lot of work because they did the hunting, while women took care of the family. But today, everybody’s sitting in the office using the computer. The men will go home on time, but the women treat that company like home. They protect it together with compassion. It’s very important for the future. We must help bring more leaders in the future. Women have become leaders now. We need to support women in the future. Men are more like, ‘Fighting, fighting, fighting. Let’s start a company.’ After they start it, they don’t know how to handle it, because then they go back. They need a happy time, you know, a drink. Women, when they start to work at the company, they take care of everything. Without them, men forget. The women take care of very detailed things because they are true family, and they’re compassionate. It’s wonderful. That’s what I want to share forwards. Mulan is not only a beautiful film with good fights and costumes. I want to share with the young audience around the world the idea of looking forwards. You need to be independent and brave. You need to be the future. You are the leader. You’re needed to tell the world where to go.”
So, your criteria have changed on how you choose a film?
“Oh, I don’t want to make a movie. I didn’t make a movie in the past ten years. I wouldn’t even want to because in China, I had work. Life was like a movie…very dramatic. So that’s why I’ve spent almost fifteen years in real life, to make my beliefs happen. We need to help each other. Everybody can do it…it’s not only rich people. Put your heart into it and you can change. That’s what I want to share…that is more important than everything. So Jet Li made another two movies…who cares? Who is Jet Li? Fifteen years later, nobody will remember you. A hundred years later? There will be no movie theatres. Everybody will watch movies on the other side. So you need to be open. I always think about the universe and the long history. I’m nobody. The people made Jet Li. I need to do something for them. That’s all my belief and philosophy. I am a little bit crazy…I am sorry; I’ve just tried to tell you what today’s Jet Li thinks.”
Martial arts are still the most recognisable or attractive thing in a movie about China. How do you see the development of movies about China?
“Thirty years ago, I was already thinking about it. What is the martial art? Just two arms and two legs that fight with something. Maybe in the beginning, 5,000 years ago, they would fight with an animal. Now it’s a fight with an army. How do you make it fresh? You always look for how to make it fresh. Why do I need to see this again and again? But if you tell it in a good way, you can touch the heart of the audience. But if you just fight from the beginning to the end, however cool you are, people will not like it. It’s not meaningful. But in Mulan, the choreographer did a beautiful job. They move with Mulan’s heart inside. So when you move, use your heart, and the audience will get it. That will always work. I don’t ever worry about if technology can 100% replace martial arts. Maybe we can fight a lot of things in the future. 5,000 years later, maybe we can fight with a machine, with four arms and four legs. You need to respect everything, openly.”
When you read the script of this Mulan, how did you think it differed from the original?
“People always try to compare, and that is a human habit. This compared to that, can this be better than before? I watched Mulan 22 years ago. Then with this movie, they said that I needed to watch it again. But I needed to forget that there had been a Mulan before. You don’t want to compare. If you 100% make it like the cartoon, nobody will want to watch it. So you need something else…the story is one that everybody knows already. You try to make something new. If you 100% copy the other one, it will never work. That’s why I want to share it with the younger people and say, ‘You have a lot of idols, maybe a singer, maybe an athlete, businessman, or movie stars. You need to finally be yourself. Truly, you’re special. You’re unique.’”
Mulan will be available to stream for purchase on Disney+ from September 4, 2020.
