"Dude, are you planning to break into Hollywood?"

Shen Fang lit a cigarette: "I guess so. After all, Hollywood is the holy land of the global film and television industry now, and it's also the most bustling place in the industry."

"Brother, Hollywood is very exclusive. Getting into this industry is really, really hard."

Shen Fang smiled slightly. Of course he knew that Jackie Chan had reached the top of the Hong Kong film industry and was thinking of breaking into Hollywood, but that attempt had been fraught with setbacks.

Ever since Bruce Lee successfully opened the door to Hollywood with "Enter the Dragon," making it to Hollywood has become the ultimate dream for every Hong Kong star.

Back in 1980, Jackie Chan, who had just established himself in the film industry, tested the Hollywood market with a film called "The Killer," but it was unsuccessful.

After that, Jackie Chan focused on developing his career in the Chinese-speaking world and gradually became one of the most influential action stars in Asia, but this wait lasted for 14 years.

In the latter half of 1980, Jackie Chan's action film "The Killer" was released, grossing HK$5.78 million in Hong Kong, ranking third for the year. This box office performance was only average, but it marked Jackie Chan's first foray into Hollywood.

Because it was a Hollywood blockbuster, "The Killer" was released worldwide, grossing over $20 million globally and topping the box office in Japan and Taiwan. However, in Jackie Chan's eyes, it was still a failure because the filming process was painful and the box office performance did not meet his and Golden Harvest's expectations.

Therefore, Golden Harvest also had the ambition to promote Jackie Chan, who was being groomed as Bruce Lee's successor, to the international stage.

Unfortunately, the young Jackie Chan had no international fame at the time, and Golden Harvest relinquished a great deal of autonomy in order to film the entire movie in the United States. As a result, both Jackie Chan and Golden Harvest were in a very passive position during the filming of "The Killer". Not only were the directing and editing rights controlled by the American director, but even Jackie Chan's martial arts choreography had to be done according to the foreigners' requirements.

Ultimately, the action sequences were at least 10 years behind Jackie Chan's "Young Master".

In 1979, after Golden Harvest acquired Jackie Chan, its boss Raymond Chow boldly announced in Hollywood that Golden Harvest would invest $60 million to produce six big-budget films featuring international superstars, with "The Killer" being just the beginning.

Following "The Killer," Jackie Chan immediately starred in another Hollywood film, "Cannonball Run," alongside Golden Harvest's top comedy star, Michael Hui.

Compared to "The Killer," Jackie Chan and Michael Hui only played race car drivers in "Cannonball Run," just one of many main characters. Their roles were far less significant than in "The Killer." Moreover, the highlight of "Cannonball Run" was the various racing scenes, which didn't showcase Jackie Chan's skills at all. He could only be seen as a comedic character with Michael Hui.

After filming "Cannonball Run," Jackie Chan returned to Hong Kong, concluding his first Hollywood trip.

In Hong Kong, Jackie Chan directed and starred in "Dragon Lord," which was the second highest-grossing film in Hong Kong in 1982; "Project A" in 1983 was also the second highest-grossing film in Hong Kong in 1983; in addition, films such as "Winners and Sinners" and "Wheels on Meals," which he collaborated on with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, achieved consecutive box office successes, and he was nominated for Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards and won the Best Action Choreography Award, consolidating his status in the Hong Kong film industry.

Riding on this momentum, Jackie Chan returned to Hollywood and starred in "Cannonball Run 2".

As it turned out, this experience was even worse.

Not only was Jackie Chan's role in "Cannonball Run 2" not guaranteed, but its box office and critical reception were also worse, and it even received two Golden Raspberry Award nominations, making it a complete disaster.

Therefore, Jackie Chan's second trip to Hollywood ended in disappointment, despite his initial excitement.

In 1985, with even greater ambitions, Jackie Chan and Golden Harvest embarked on their third foray into Hollywood, filming a crime thriller called "The Protector".

"The Protector" not only stars Jackie Chan, but also Hong Kong actors such as Moon Lee, Joe Chiao, and Sally Yeh. Jackie Chan's regular screenwriter, Tang King-sang, also participated in the scriptwriting, and Jackie Chan also had some editing rights.

As a result, "The Protector" was a complete disaster.

The American director, clearly biased, almost completely abandoned Jackie Chan's action strengths, arranging only a few action scenes, while making Jackie Chan speak broken English to play a dull detective.

Moreover, the director was very domineering, completely ignoring Jackie Chan's opinions and overturning all of Jackie Chan's action designs, which angered Jackie Chan so much that he directly called the boss of Golden Harvest to ask for a replacement director.

In the end, since the director couldn't be changed, Jackie Chan had to return to Hong Kong and reshoot some scenes himself. Sally Yeh's scenes were reshot later.

In the 1980s, the rise of Cinema City led to the poaching of Sam Hui from Golden Harvest, who rose to fame with the "Aces Go Places" series. This ushered in a period of intense competition between Cinema City, Golden Harvest, and Shaw Brothers in the Hong Kong film industry. Shaw Brothers adjusted its strategy, gradually expanding into television, making Golden Harvest the main force against Cinema City.

In 1985, Golden Harvest reversed Cinema City's fortunes with films such as "Lucky Stars Go Places," "My Lucky Stars," "Mr. Vampire," and "Police Story," which dominated the box office charts.

Jackie Chan's self-directed and self-starring film "Police Story" ranked third at the box office with HK$26.63 million and won the Best Film Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. It is a milestone work in Jackie Chan's transformation.

In "Police Story," Jackie Chan's unparalleled, death-defying performances have become his trademark, and his various thrilling, exciting, ingenious, and clever action designs have become the hallmark of Jackie Chan's action comedies.

Not only does he have a distinctive style, but Jackie Chan has also gained a deeper understanding of all aspects of the film production process.

Jackie Chan's third trip to Hollywood was also a failure, but it was not without its gains. His gain was the opportunity to make police-themed movies. "Police Story" was inspired by the failure of "The Protector".

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