Jackie Chan’s March 2019’s Visit in Dubai – His Purpose, Thoughts and Leisure Activities

Jackie Chan’s March 2019’s Visit in Dubai – His Purpose, Thoughts and Leisure Activities

Is Dubai a happening destination? The answer’s a given. From time to time, we see things that reaffirm the fact that Dubai’s a happening tourist city. The narrative of this article is informed by Jackie Chan’s March 2019’s Dubai visit to film his upcoming movie, Vanguard.

If Dubai isn’t a good fit, it’s obvious he wouldn’t visit the city with a parching sun the second time to shoot a movie. In fact, this is manifest in his word: “Dubai is really hot, but that’s okay.” We’ll dig deeper into his thoughts about visiting Dubai, but until then, let’s have a rundown of his visit in an orderly fashion.

Jackie Chan’s Purpose of Visiting Dubai

The history of Jackie Chan’s shooting movies in Dubai goes back to 2015 and 2016 when he shot his first movie, Kong Fu Yoga, in the city. On the 19th of March, he arrived in Dubai, to reiterate, to shoot a movie to be entitled Vanguard. This event lasted only four days according to plan. Thus, his stay in Dubai spanned March 19th untill March 22th

The plot of the movie has to do with an international security company which is hired to protect a Chinese businessman and his daughter from a shadowy group of terrorist. The director of the movie is Stanley Tong; he was also the director of Kong Fu Yoga.

The movie was shot extensively in Dubai in various places including Dubai Studio City, Downtown Dubai, City Walk and its surroundings with the support of the Dubai Film and TV Commission (DFTC). The shooting of the movie in Dubai is made possible by a collaboration between Shanghai Lix Entertainment Co Ltd, Dubai-based Alkatraz Production and Line Producer Maxine de Vere.

According to IMDB, London, Taiwan and India are among the other filming locations for the film. The movie is expected to release globally next year.

Chan’s Thoughts About Visiting Dubai

“After ‘Kung Fu Yoga’, I go back, I tell all my friends — no matter Hong Kong, Taiwan, all the directors there — you should film in Dubai… When you film here, you’re comfortable,” Hollwood star says.

“I am happy to be back in Dubai three years after the shooting of Kung Fu Yoga. Dubai is a good place to film. This is why I have come back,” the Rush Hour star says during an interaction at Dubai Studio City. “I will come back again and again in the future.”

He also says he is impressed with the high quality of the filming infrastructure in Dubai and the support he has received for shooting his new movie. “Compared to some other countries, Dubai fulfils all the promises it makes,” he adds. 

Things He Did

While the chap in our spotlight had only four days for the shooting of his movie in Dubai in March, he still didn’t fail to squeeze out some time for some leisure activities. The following are by no means all he did.

He Visited Sheikh Hamdan

Jackie Chan and Sheikh Hamdan
Credit: What’sOn.ae

Jackie Chan visited Dubai’s Crown Prince, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. A fan account, F3, shared a picture of the duo together.

He Visited Dubai’s Smart Police Station (SPS)

Jackie Chan in Dubai's Smart Police Station (SPS) 2019

Chan visited Dubai’s Smart Police Station (SPS) and in fact had a tour of it. In this tour, he was guided by Saeed Al Janahi, the director of operations at Dubai Film and TV Commission. This police station is an automated one and is completely free from any human intervention. Its services include the reporting of crimes, traffic incidents and community services.

Further, Chan got a first-look at Dubai Police’s newest hi-tech supercar, Ghiath. The Ghiath is an SUV that has been dubbed “hi-tech beast on wheels”. It is equipped with artificial intelligence systems featuring facial recognition technology. It boasts touchscreens, technological features with crime-busting abilities and can also recognize vehicles that are being tracked by Dubai Police.

He Visited A Top Italian Restaurant

The 64-year-old visited a top Italian Restaurant, II Borro Tuscan Bistro. This was made known by Mony Helal, Miss Egypt World 2018. She had some pictures with him and posted one on her Instagram.

Conclusion

As of March 2019, he was the latest, of the stars who made the UAE one of their key shoot locations in 2019, following from Pierce Brosnan, who was in Dubai to shoot The Misfits, and Ryan Reynolds, who spent time in the Abu Dhabi desert alongside the rest of the 6 Underground crew.

Dubai has been featured as the backdrop of several big-budget international blockbusters including Syriana (2005), Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) Fast and Furious (2009), Star Trek Beyond (2016) and a host of major Bollywood movies including Happy New Year (2014). The rapid rise in the number of international productions choosing Dubai as a filming location is testament to its rise as a leading global destination for filmmaking and a regional hub for the film production industry.

In this connection, Jamal Al Sharif, Chairman of Dubai Film and TV Commission says, “Dubai continues to attract blockbuster movies from the major film production markets of the world and we are happy to embrace all of them.”

Filmmakers are drawn to Dubai by its robust infrastructure, advanced filming facilities including highly-equipped soundstages in Dubai Studio City, its deep pool of production talent, the availability of superior production services and the emirate’s diverse locales. Jackie acknowledged these in his words: “The city’s exceptional production infrastructure, support services and exciting backdrops make it an ideal place to film movies.”

References:
MediaOffice.ae
TheNationale.ae
WhatsOn.ae & 2
StepFeed.com
DigitalStudioMe.com
KhaleejTimes.com
MonyHelal.com
GulfNews.com & 2