Big Trouble in Little China

Intro

***The Development***

• Original Script Written by Gary Goldman and David Z. Weinstein
  • First time screen writers
  • Goldman would go on to write Total Recall as well as The Minority Report screen adaptation that wasn’t used.
  • Film was inspired by the new wave of martial arts films
    • Films that contained a lot of action and special effects.
  • Original script had the main character providing meat to feed Chinese railroad workers in the Old West (1880s)
    • Script combined Chinese fantasy elements within in the western backdrop.
    • Also plots of having his horse stolen instead of the iconic truck.
  • Script was pitched to a limited audience with claims that it would revive the western genre which fizzled in popularity in the early 80s.
    • Was pitched that I t would be a big blockbuster like Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
  • They submitted the script to TAFT Entertainment Pictures (division of 20^th Century Fox) executive producers Paul Monash and Keith Barish during the summer of 1982.
    • Monash bought their script and had them do at least one rewrite but still did not like the results. He remembers, “The problems came largely from the fact it was set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, which affected everything – style, dialogue, action”
  • Was purchased by The president of 20^th century Fox at the time Larry Gordon
    • Who was Goldman’s former boss
    • Gordon loved the script but was known around Hollywood for always wanting big changes.
      • Especially this film because he wanted to stick it to Goldman who he had fired.
    • Loved the mystical aspects of the film but didn’t like the time period.
    • He wanted to make a less expensive film and wanted to erase the original authors.
    • Brought in W.D. Richter to rewrite the film.
      • Invasion of the Body Snatchers
      • 1979 Dracula
      • Brubaker
      • Directed Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the 8^th Dimension (1984)
    • Script by Richter
      • Written in 10 weeks
      • Updated the time of the story to more contemporary time period.
      • Kept ghostly mystic and kung fu.
        • Most of the main story was lost except The David Lo Pan Story
      • Used Rosemary’s Baby as a template, “the foreground story in a familiar context – rather than San Francisco at the turn-of-the-century, which distances the audience immediately – and just have one simple remove, the world underground, you have a much better chance of making direct contact with the audience”.
      • Both Goldman and Weinstein were unhappy with the rewrite and the studio kept their names off the script.
        • However, the Writers Guild of America west determined that “written by” credit would go to Goldman and Weinstein, based on the WGA screenwriting credit system which protects original writers.
        • Richter received an “Adaptation by” credit.
          • This disappointed Carpenter.
        • Here’s Johnny (Hiring of John Carpenter)
          • Was hired following the rewrite.
          • Carpenter had been a long fan of Chinese Martial Arts Cinema.
            • He credits 1973’s Five Fingers of Death as an inspiration to his vision of the film.
              • Wanted to mesh both Martial Arts Cinema and Mystic plot points while removing stereotypes.
            • Carpenter then contributed some aspects to the script.
              • Removing offensive material
              • Extending the Role of Gracie Law
              • Making sure to point out that the real heroes are the Chinese characters.
              • While the Caucasians are there for comic relief.
            • Casting
              • To compete with the film the Golden Child in terms of a big star. Carpenter originally wanted a huge star to be in the film. Initially considering Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson but both were considered too busy.
              • Kurt Russell was considered a up and coming star and at first was hesitant to taking the role of Jack Burton when offered. Carpenter had to convince him and while thinking about his. Kurt Russell confessed on the DVD commentary that he was afraid of starring in the movie because he had made a string of movies that flopped at the box office. When he asked John Carpenter about it, he told Kurt that it didn’t matter to him – he just wanted to make the movie with him.
                •  
              • For the Role of Wang, Carpenter wanted to cast Jackie Chan due to his performance in Police Story but received push back from the studio that believed Chan’s English was great at the time.
                • Jackie Chan was John Carpenter’s first choice to play Wang Chi, but producer Lawrence Gordon was highly against it, fearing Chan’s English wasn’t good enough after seeing his performances in Battle Creek Brawl (1980) and The Protector (1985), but Carpenter wanted Chan after the success of Police Story (1985). Chan declined and Dennis Dun was cast instead.
              • John Carpenter had seen Dennis Dun in Year of the Dragon and liked his work in that film. He met the actor twice before casting him in the role of Wang Chi only a few days before principal photography.
                • Dun’s martial arts work wasn’t that hard for him as he had trained a little as a child and had done Chinese opera as an adult.
              • The studio pressured Carpenter to cast a rock star in the role of Gracie Law, Jack Burton’s love interest, but Carpenter wanted Kim Cattrall. The studio was not keen on the idea because at the time Cattrall was primarily known for raunchy comedies like Porky’s and Police Academy. She was drawn to the film because of the way her character was portrayed. “I’m not screaming for help the whole time. I think the humor comes out of the situations and my relationship with Jack Burton. I’m the brains and he’s the brawn”
                • Kim Cattrall left the set at 4:30 p.m. each day, then performed in a production of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Cattrall remembers having to explain to studio bosses who Chekhov was. “My film career subsidized my theater career,” she said. “If I only did theater, I would have had to waitress, and I didn’t want to waitress.”
              • For the film’s many fight scenes John Carpenter worked with martial arts choreographer James Lew, who planned every scene in detail. Carpenter stated, “I used every cheap gag – trampolines, wires, reverse movements, and upside down sets. It was much like photographing a dance.”
              • James Hong was cast due to his ability to adapt to play different forms of a character.
            • Soundtrack
              • John Carpenter and his group Coup de Viles sang the title song.

***Film BreakDown***

• Plot
  • The film tells the story of truck driver Jack Burton (Russell), who helps his friend Wang Chi (Dun) rescue Wang’s green-eyed fiancée from bandits in San Francisco’s Chinatown. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan (Hong), who requires a woman with green eyes to marry him in order to be released from a centuries-old curse.
• Characters
  • Kurt Russell as Jack Burton, a cocky, wise-cracking truck driver who gets involved in an ancient battle between Good and Evil when he makes a delivery to Chinatown, San Francisco.
    • Based his acting off John Wayne
  • Kim Cattrall as Gracie Law, a lawyer who is Jack’s love interest.
  • Dennis Dun as Wang Chi, Jack’s best friend and restaurant owner whose fiancée is kidnapped by Lo Pan.
  • James Hong as David Lo Pan, an ancient Chinese sorcerer who was cursed by Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
  • Victor Wong as Egg Shen, a sorcerer and old enemy of Lo Pan who also drives a tour bus.
  • Kate Burton as Margo Litzenberger, a reporter who briefly helps the team find Miao Yin.
  • Donald Li as Eddie Lee, a successful businessman and Wang’s friend who helps them rescue Gracie.
  • Carter Wong as Thunder, an elemental master who can expand his body
  • Peter Kwong as Rain, an elemental master and expert martial artist with a sword
  • James Pax as Lightning, an elemental master who can shoot out bolts of lightning
  • Suzee Pai as Miao Yin, Wang’s fiancée, who was kidnapped by Lo Pan when she arrives in America.
  • Chao-Li Chi as Uncle Chu, Wang’s uncle.
  • Jeff Imada as Needles, a member of a street gang called The Lords of Death.
  • Al Leong, Gerald Okamura and Nathan Jung appear as Wing Kong hatchet men. Lia Chang and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa have minor roles as Wing Kong members. Frank Ho, Conan Lee (Uncredited) and James Lew (the film’s martial arts choreographer) appear as Chang Sing warriors. Noble Craig appears as “Sewer Monster”. Jerry Hardin appears in the beginning of the film as a lawyer.
• Breakdown of Scenes
  • Egg Shen in Lawyer office
    • Jerry Hardin appears as the lawyer
  • Jack Burton talking into the radio on the Famous Pork Chop Express
  • First Meeting of Wang and Gambling with him in China Town
    • The set used for the opening scenes in Chinatown was created by The Thing production designer John J. Lloyd. Kurt Russell and John Carpenter both remember the set being used for a Janet Jackson video with Carpenter even remembering seeing Michael Jackson walking around looking at the set while they filmed. Michael Jackson on the set. The Hell of Bubbles the Chimpanzee scene was sadly cut.
  • The first meeting of Gracie Law and the Kidnapping Mao Yin
  • Funeral in China Town
    • First appearance of the 3 storms
    • First appearance of David Lo pan
    • Lo Pan spitting white light
    • Back to Dragon of the black pool
      • Meeting of Margo, Egg Shen, Eddie Lee, Gracie Law, and Uncle Chu
    • The trip to the brothel
    • Trip to the Wing Kong Exchange
      • Meeting of Lo Pan
      • Lo pan tells of his plan that involved girls with green eyes
        • The brides of Lo Pan must have green eyes, yet Kim Cattrall and Suzee Pai both have brown eyes. They wore green contacts for the movie. This is very obvious in the high definition version.
      • The Escape of the Exchange
        • Wheelchair stunt
        • Rescuing of the girls
        • In the prison scene, Gracie is the only prisoner kept bound and gagged in her cell. This is explained by a deleted (but unfilmed) scene where she gives the guards verbal abuse, resulting in her being gagged and hog-tied. As there was no prior indication due to the scene being deleted, a surprised Kim Cattrall had no idea she would be spending the scene trussed up until the day of shooting. She endured it like a professional, occasionally having her gag removed so she could drink water. When asked by John Carpenter whether or not she was uncomfortable, she simply replied ‘I’ve been in tighter situations than this!’
        • Gracie is captured by monster
      • The Entrance of Lo Pan Headquarters
        • Production designer John J. Lloyd designed the elaborate underground sets and re-created Chinatown with three-story buildings, roads, streetlights, sewers, and so on. This was necessary for the staging of complicated special effects and kung fu fight sequences that would have been very hard to do on location. This forced the filmmaker to shoot the film in fifteen weeks with a $25 million budget
        • Monster coming out of wall
        • Flying monster
          • One of the more difficult effects was the floating eyeball, a spy for Lo-Pan. It was powered by several puppeteers and dozens of cables to control its facial expressions. It was shot with a matting system specially designed for it.
        • Elevator
      • Wedding of Lo pan
        • In the wedding scene where Lo Pan is putting the Needle of Love in Miao Yin, James Hong jabbed Suzee Pai too hard. You can see her flinch as he puts it in her.
      • Final Battle
        • In the last scene featuring the character Lightning, the last frame of the lightning effect forms the Chinese characters for “carpenter” – a tribute to director John Carpenter. There is a still image of this in the photo gallery.
      • Lo Pan Final Fight
        • The lipstick coming off of Kim Cattrall and onto Kurt Russell wasn’t a planned joke, but something they improvised when they saw the makeup used on the actress came off so easily. Carpenter notes this is just another example of how certain actors won’t let themselves look like a fool and why Russell was such a perfect choice for the Jack Burton role.
      • Celebration
      • Ending
        • Right before the end credits when Jack Burton is driving his truck and talking on his CB Radio, he says, “You just listen to the old Pork-Chop Express here now, and take his advice on a dark and stormy night, when the lightning’s crashing, and the thunder’s rollin’, and the rain’s coming down…” paying homage to the names of the 3 Storms, Lo Pan’s bodyguards.

***Critical Reception and Fan Theories***

• Movie had a 25 million dollar budget and only made 11.1 million at the box office
  • Movie was not marketed well as promised.
  • The film was released in the midst of the hype for James Cameron’s blockbuster Aliens, which was released 16 days after. On the DVD commentary for Big Trouble in Little China, Carpenter and Russell discuss this among possible reasons for the film’s disappointing box office gross.
  • Film was released on VHS which helped boost its popularity and sales
    • Like Carpenter’s The Thing — now regarded as among the greatest horror movies ever made — Big Trouble slowly began to find fans via home video. By 2012 it was a full-fledged cult phenomenon. A “Gangnam Style” parody video called “Lo Pan Style” went viral. In 2015 the company Funko released a line of Big Trouble vinyl figures, and later this year BOOM! Studios will publish two books about the film, The Official Making of “Big Trouble in Little China” and The Official Art of “Big Trouble in Little China.”
  • Video game released in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC.
  • Card game released in 2016 by upper deck
  • Comic Book Series released in 2014 by Boom Studios written by Eric Powell and John Carpenter.
    • Also released a board game in partnership with Everything Epic and Flipside
  • Sequel
    • In June 2015, TheWrap reported that Dwayne Johnson was developing a remake to star as Jack Burton and produce with his Seven Bucks Productions film studio. Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz were hired screenwriters.[45] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Johnson expressed interest in having Carpenter involved in the film. Carpenter responded stating, “It’s very early in the process. I haven’t spoken to Dwayne Johnson about any of this… I’m ambivalent about a remake.”
    • By August 27, 2018, Seven Bucks Productions’ President Hiram Garcia clarified that the film will be a sequel and a continuation of the previous film. The creative minds behind the new film acknowledged that they have no intention of replacing Kurt Russell by re-casting Johnson as Jack Burton, but will make a follow-up movie to the original.
    • John Carpenter on the sequel
      • “They want a movie with Dwayne Johnson. That’s what they want. So they just picked that title. They don’t give a sh*t about me and my movie. That movie wasn’t a success.”
    • Russell has come around to the sequel now.
      • “Dwayne Johnson as Jack Burton? Hey, I’m sure he’ll come up with a good take on it. I’ve got no problem with that. Movies are movies. You throw the dice and see what happens… At the end of the day, all that ever matters is you make a movie that holds up. And John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China holds up.”
      • Made 2 requirements
        • Kurt Russell is open to the idea of reprising his role in a potential Big Trouble in Little China 2 if the script is better than the first one and if John Carpenter agrees to direct.
        • “You never say never. I mean, if somebody were to write a great script, that was better than the first one, [and] it had something new to say, I don’t know, we can slap John Carpenter around a little bit and say, Come on, John! Let’s go do this.”

• Reception
  • Was not accepted at first by Asian audiences due to the belief of white savior.
    • Carpenter has pushed back on this due to presenting that Wang and the other Chinese characters are the real heroes.
  • Mixed reviews by critics
    • Thumbs up by Ebert with 2 stars
    • Siskel hated it lol
      • Due to the special effects
    • One of the bigger Cult Films out there!
      • Production stills have out sold blade runner, Seinfeld and balls of fury
    • Inspirations
      • The Marvel Supervillian the Mandarin was modeled off the appearance of David Lo Pan
      • Lightning has inspired Raiden from mortal Kombat
        • Lo Pan inspired Shang Tsung
      • Takia Waititi said the movie inspired Thor Ragnarök

Fan Theories

• Gremlins and Big Trouble in little China in the same universe
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/7gaaqz/gremlins_and_big_trouble_in_little_china_are/
• 3 Storms are linked to Lo pan
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/1pwf54/big_trouble_in_little_china_three_storms_theory/