Jet Li

This volume explores the life and career of film and martial arts star Jet Li. The book describes Li's childhood and later career; reveals his reasons for becoming an actor; and talks about his philanthropic efforts, which were motivated at least in part by a first-hand experience with a tsunami in the Maldives. The breadth of biographical information on Li makes this an especially interesting volume.

Jet Li is arguably the best martial arts actor alive, and his career has crossed numerous cultural and geographic boundaries, from mainland China to Hong Kong, from Hollywood to France. In Jet Li: Chinese Masculinity and Transnational Film Stardom, Sabrina Qiong Yu uses Li as an example to address some intriguing but under-examined issues surrounding transnational stardom in general and transnational kung fu stardom in particular. Presenting case studies of audiences' responses to Jet Li films and his star image, this book explores the way in which Li has evolved from a Chinese wuxia hero to a transnational kung fu star in relation to the discourses of genre, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and national identity. By rejecting a text-centred approach which prevails in star studies and instead emphasising the role of audiences in constructing star image, this book challenges some established perspectives in the study of Chinese male screen images and martial arts/action cinema. As one of the first book-length studies on Chinese stars/ stardom and transnational stardom, Jet Li: Chinese Masculinity and Transnational Film Stardom is essential reading for students and researchers in Film Studies.

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to Jet Li: A Biography by James Robert Parish. Jet Li: A Biography is noteworthy as the first English-language biography of the martial arts superstar. Known as the "Gene Kelly of the action film," Jet Li was part of the wave of new Asian stars taking Hollywood by storm in the 1990s and early 2000s. Along with Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Jackie Chan, and Maggie Cheung, Jet Li kicked and punched his way out of the cult film underground and into global mainstream movie superstardom. This expansive narrative traces the star's engrossing journey from his humble birth in Beijing, his later life and career in Hong Kong and on to Hollywood moviemaking. It takes the reader from Jet Li's early days in Hong Kong as a fledgling actor to becoming the successful superstar who appeared in such classics as Once Upon a Time in China. Special attention is given to his Hollywood debut alongside Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 4; his later star turns in the gangland fable Romeo Must Die, and the sci-fi hit The One-proving his power as a top-billed box-office attraction. Jet Li: A Biography examines the actor's fiercely protected private life and explains the broad appeal of Hollywood's new Bruce Lee to fans of all ages-from Hong Kong chop-socky cultists to the new Hollywood that eagerly embraced him. This revealing volume includes a detailed filmography of his screen work in Hollywood and Hong Kong.

A biography of the Asian film star and martial arts master Jet Li, including action photographs and a listing of his films.

The secrets of great portraits are shared with photographers at every level in this resource that includes sections on cameras, illumination, film and digital, lighting set-ups, creativity and conceptualization, connecting with the subject, and having a point of view. Original.

Machine generated contents note:1.Blogging Donnie Yen: remaking the martial arts body as a cyber-intertext --2.`Flickering' Jackie Chan: the actor-ambassadorial persona on photo-sharing sites --3.`Friending' Jet Li on Facebook: the celebrity-philanthropist persona in online social networks --4.YouTubing Zhang Ziyi: Chinese female stardom in fan videos on video-sharing sites --5.Discussing Takeshi Kaneshiro: the pan-Asian star image on fan forums.

This volume explores the life and career of film and martial arts star Jet Li. The book describes Li's childhood and later career; reveals his reasons for becoming an actor; and talks about his philanthropic efforts, which were motivated at least in part by a first-hand experience with a tsunami in the Maldives. The breadth of biographical information on Li makes this an especially interesting volume.