MCLC: Jackie Chan theme park

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: Jackie Chan theme park
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Source: The Guardian (9/19/13):
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/19/jackie-chan-theme-park

Jackie Chan to open 'JC World' theme park
The Chinese star says proposed attraction in Beijing will exhibit 'all my
stuff', including famed collection of sandalwood houses
By Ben Child

Jackie Chan is to bring his own theme park to Beijing, China, titled JC
World, the Hong Kong martial arts star has revealed.

Speaking at a media event in the city, Chan said the park would centre on
his famed collection of historic Chinese sandalwood houses. The actor was
recently criticised on Chinese social media for donating three examples to
a university in Singapore; the remaining seven will now be assured a
future in China.

Chan was otherwise unclear on exactly what else visitors to JC World might
expect to find inside his proposed park, almost a square mile in size, in
Beijing's Yizhuang district. He did reveal it would be split into five
sections, each offering a different "cultural experience".

Entrance to the park will be free, though certain attractions will carry a
charge that Chan intends to use to maintain the sandalwood houses.

"I want to exhibit all my stuff. They may not all be worth a lot of money,
but they may have a story behind them," Chan told reporters. "I was very
poor when I was a child, so when I had money later on, I bought all sorts
of things and went around the world collecting them." The actor is also
believed to have amassed impressive collections of jewellery and furniture
over the course of his career, which began at the height of kung fu's
1970s popularity.

Theme parks are becoming increasingly common in China. Disney will open an
enormous resort in Shanghai in 2015 which has been 15 years in the
planning, while the world's first Angry Birds park recently opened in
Zhejiang province in the country's far east. Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks
plans a resort titled the Dream Center, featuring cinemas, shops,
restaurants and hotels, for 2016, also in Shanghai.

Chan's most high-profile upcoming Hollywood role will be an appearance in
The Expendables III, the upcoming latest instalment in Sylvester
Stallone's popular 80s action throwback saga. He will join an ensemble
cast that already includes Stallone, Jason Statham, Harrison Ford, Mel
Gibson, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer and
Wesley Snipes.