Jackie Chan, maraming rebelasyon sa ‘Never Grow Up’
UMAMING ‘TOTAL JERK’
INILABAS na ang English-language version ng confessional memoir ni Jackie Chan, ang
Never Grow Up, nitong Martes, at ito ay puno ng kuwento ng mga behind-the-scenes story ng kanyang action-packed career at kanyang mga ginawa noon, gaya ng pakikisalamuha sa prostitute at pagmamaneho ng lasing, ayon sa Variety.
Nakasulat din sa libro ang malalaswang detalye tungkol sa kung fu star at honorary Oscar winner gaya ng money drinking, gambling at pagbili ng mga bonggang regalo. Binanggit niya rin dito ang maling pagtrato niya sa pakikipagrelasyon sa mga babae at pamilya, at inilarawan niya ang sarili dati bilang “total jerk.”
Ang mapangahas na libro ay unang inilathala sa salitang Chinese noong 2015 ngunit ngayong lamang isinalin sa English. Sinabi ni
Jeremy Tiang, Singaporean translator ng libro sa Variety na ang English version nito ay ang buong nilalaman din ng naunang libro.
“I was pleasantly surprised by how frank and open this book is,” sabi ni Jeremy. “Though there was a co-writer involved, it felt as if Jackie Chan was speaking very much from the heart, and coming clean about even the less noble aspects of himself and his past. Chan is clearly a complicated person, and this book will allow fans to learn about aspects of his personality they may not have previously been aware of.”
Sa isang section, inilarawan ng aktor ang pagkabiglang naramdaman ng 20-something niyang katauhan, isang “uneducated chap who suddenly has 10 million” Hong Kong dollars makalipas lamang ang isang gabi.
“All day I’d drink and drive, in the morning bashing a Porsche, in the evening bashing a Mercedes. Every day I was in this dizzied state,” kuwento ni Jackie sa Chineselanguage version ng libro.
“I wanted to go and buy everything I’d ever wanted in the space of a week,” dagdag pa ni Jackie, at ibinahagi na minsan na siyang humawak kasama ng kanyang stunt group ng 500,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash – ngayon ay $64,000 – sa isang tindahan ng relo at tinanong ang clerk: “Is this the most expensive, with the most gemstones? OK, I’ll take seven, in cash, no need to wrap it up!”
Nagsuot si Jackie ng iba’t ibang relo araw-araw sa loob ng isang linggo, at sinadya niyang nakarolyo ang manggas ng kanyang damit para ipagyabang ang suot na relo sa kanyang mga kasamahan.
“You see how bad, how childish I was back then. At the time, I still had no confidence, and was always afraid of people looking down on me,” aniya pa.
Inamin din niya sa libro na hindi siya naging “best father”, ngunit naniniwala siya na “children these days are often misbehaved and should be hit.”
“When [my son Jaycee] was still young, I hit him once, and was very heavy-handed – directly lifting him and throwing him onto the sofa,” anang aktor. “That time I really scared him and his mother to death, and I myself was very regretful.”
Ibinunyag din ng aktor ang tungkol sa pangangaliwa niya sa kanyang asawang si
Joan Lin, dahil sa pakikipagrelasyon niya sa beauty queen na si Elaine Ng Yi Lei, ang 1990 Miss Asia. Hindi naman binanggit sa libro ang anak ni Jackie kay Etta Ng, na ngayon ay 19 taong gulang na at nagpakasal nitong nakaraang linggo sa girlfriend nitong si Andi
Autumn, isang Canadian internet celebrity. Ibinahagi ni Ng sa nakaraan na hindi naging ama si Jackie sa kanya. Post nga niya sa Instagram tungkol sa announcement ng kanyang kasal: “A home is the family that you can choose…Love is undoutbly stronger than blood.”
Co-writer ni Jackie sa Chinese version ng kanyang memoir si Zhu Mo, dating PR director ng Huayi Brothers Media, ang backer ng ilang pelikula niya. Nakuha niya ang ideya na magsulat ng libro habang nakikinig sa mga kwento ng martial-arts star habang nagbibiyahe sila sa Myanmar at Thailand para sa charity work, ayon sa Chongqing Evening
News sa southwestern China.
“He has friends all over the world, and wherever he goes, he goes with a bunch of people, and talks of his adventures once he’s in good mood,” sabi ni Zhu, ayon sa China Daily.
“In 2013, I asked him if I could write his stories down and make it a book. He answered right away, ‘You can give it a try.’”
Sa likod ng Chinese book, isinulat ni Jackie: “I almost forgot who I was until Zhu started to write about me….This man is not the one on the big screens, neither is he the one in the news. I want you to know him.”
Mainit na tinangkilik ng fans sa China ang libro, at nakatanggap pa nga ito ng 7.5 out of 10 on user-review sa site na Douban, at komento ng isang user, “Really, there is no more authentic autobiography than this one!”