UNITED KINGDOM: Stars of the new "Karate Kid" film walk the red carpet at London premiere

Record ID: 218630

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Stars of the new "Karate Kid" film walk the red carpet at London premiere
  • Date: 16th July 2010
  • Summary: JADEN SMITH AND FAMILY ARRIVE JADEN SMITH SIGNS AUTOGRAPHS JADEN SMITH POSING WITH FAMILY WITH FATHER WILL SMITH PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS JADA PINKETT SMITH ON RED CARPET JADEN SMITH ON RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR JADEN SMITH, SAYING: "We just did lots lots lots of training. We did it for like four hours at a time, every day. Push ups chin ups sit ups, everyt
  • Embargoed: 31st July 2010 13:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA14S51LX430R3TWQWWYLEDUZSE
  • Story Text: Stars of the new "Karate Kid" film walk the red carpet at London premiere.
    The 12-year-old son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith makes his debut in a lead role in the new "Karate Kid" film.
    Jaden Smith plays Dre Parker, an American boy who moves to China with his mother, who is transferred to Beijing from Detroit, USA for work.
    Dre quickly finds life tough in Beijing. He is no match for the local bullies who attack him with their kung fu moves and Dre's attempt to fight them with the little karate he knows, fails spectacularly.
    He must learn how to defend himself, or continue to be bullied.
    Enter Mr Han, played by Jackie Chan. He's the maintenance man in Dre's block who just happens to be a kung fu master willing to take on a young charge.
    To prepare for the role, Smith was paired with Wu Gang, the stunt co-ordinator from Jackie Chan's Stunt Team, formed in 1983 to choreograph movie fight scenes.
    He juggled school with traning in Los Angeles for three months before production began and continued perfecting his kung fu skills in Beijing for the duration of the four-month shoot.
    Speaking at the London premiere of the film, Smith told Reuters he found the discipline of training tough.
    "We just did lots lots lots of training. We did it for like four hours at a time, every day. Push ups chin ups sit ups, everything", he said.
    Smith says he also watched a lot of Jackie Chan movies to prepare for his role and even tried to copy some of the Chan's moves.
    "He's a legend", said Smith. "It's great, working with him it's great. It's just so much fun."
    Because Smith's character Dre was moving to China, it was decided that he would need to learn a Chinese fighting style rather than karate, which has Japanese origins.
    The karate reference in the movie comes when Dre is teased for using karate instead of kung fu.
    The film was produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, meaning Jaden was working with his parents.
    It was their job, along with director Harald Zwart to give Karate Kid a modern update.
    Will Smith told Reuters, ""There are elements and aspects of this story that are absolute perfection for young children and adults in a way that Cinderella is just a perfect story. It's like the Karate kid has those elements and this is a story that's going to be told over and over again and we just felt like we had a fresh take on it."
    There's no doubt the youngest Smith's family ties have helped him become the new Karate Kid, but he's already proving to be a talent in his own right, winning a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor for his role in "The Day The Earth Stood Still". He also won several awards for his role as Chris Gardner Jr in "The Pursuit of Happyness".
    Getting Jackie Chan on board as Mr Han was important to the Smiths.
    " It was so great to be able to have an opportunity for people to see how soulful and talented he is because in this movie it's strictly acting and he's so brilliant and it's something we've always seen in him and we were just grateful to give him that opportunity. We thought he was perfect, " said Jada Pinkett Smith.
    Jackie Chan said he relished the chance to show the world his acting skills.
    " When I read the script I say yes, that's a great chance for me to show the audience I can act. Everybody know I can fight, do stunt comedy, but very few people know I can act. Rush Hour 1, 2, 3. No. I can act. So this is why I accept the script. it's a big challenge for me."
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