Big Trouble in Little China
Jack Burton's in for some serious trouble and you're in for some serious fun.
![Video for the film Big Trouble in Little China — BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA Theatrical Trailer [1986]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C6y6mTU5cTQ/sddefault.jpg)
Country
Budget
$25 000 000
Box office
$11 100 000
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Larry J. Franco, Paul Monash, Keith Barish
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
John J. Lloyd
Audition
Editing
Short description
When trucker Jack Burton agreed to take his friend, Wang Chi, to pick up his fiancee at the airport, he never expected to get involved in a supernatural battle between good and evil. Wang's fiancee has emerald green eyes, which make her a perfect target for immortal sorcerer Lo Pan—who must marry a girl with green eyes so he can regain his physical form.
What's left behind the scenes
- The final song was written and performed by the group 'The Coupe De Ville,' which included John Carpenter, Nick Castle, and Tommy Lee Wallace.
- Dennis Dun's character in the movie 'Year of the Dragon' left a positive impression on John Carpenter. Consequently, the director met with the actor twice before offering him the role of Wang Chi, just a few days before pre-production began. The martial arts that permeated the film posed no difficulty for Dun, who had studied them since early childhood.
- According to John Carpenter, post-production took four months.
- Russell believed that the film would face challenges at the box office, as it featured only a handful of non-Asian actors, and the plot was built on Chinese legends, folklore, and the history of 'Chinatown'.
- John Carpenter was dissatisfied with the company responsible for the visual effects; in his opinion, they had taken on too many projects, and as a result, some of the film's footage had to be cut. Richard Edlund, head of the visual effects company Boss Film Studios, stated that they encountered no problems working on the picture and that it is one of his favorite films of that era, second only to 'Ghostbusters'. The visual effects for the movie cost 2 million, which Edlund considers to be very little. One of the most difficult effects for the film was creating the flying eyeball that spied for Lo Pan. The contraption was operated by several puppeteers using dozens of cables to control its expressions. It was filmed using a special system mounted specifically for it.
- The film was originally planned to be shot under the title 'Buckaroo Banzai vs. The World Crime League', which was intended to be a sequel to 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'. However, after a complete rewrite of the screenplay, the resulting film had a completely different plot.
- Although Kurt Russell was John Carpenter's first and only choice for the lead role, the studio considered Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood.
- During the wedding ceremony, when Lo Pan plunges the Needle of Love into Miao Ying's hand, James Hong actually pricked Susie Pai quite hard. In the film, you can notice that she even jumps during this scene.
- The studio pressured Carpenter to cast rock star Grace Lau as Jack’s lover, but Carpenter chose Kim Cattrall. The studio was not thrilled with this idea, as Kim Cattrall was known as a comedic actress thanks to the film Police Academy.
- The studio was in a hurry and feared that filming might lead to a serious budget overrun, so they hired John Carpenter, giving him only 10 weeks for preparation. The filming crew, led by Carpenter, rehearsed hand-to-hand combat scenes for about a week.
- According to commentary on the John Carpenter and Kurt Russell DVD, the film's script was originally written in the style of a Western, but Carpenter later decided to move the setting to the present day.
- During filming, Kurt Russell was ill with the flu, so the sweat on his body in some scenes is genuine, caused by a high temperature.
- During filming, Kurt Russell had the flu, so in some scenes, the sweat on his body is real, caused by a high fever.
- Just before his death, Lightning forms a Chinese character that means "carpenter." John Carpenter is the director of this film.
- Before filming began, Kurt Russell ran for two months to lose weight.
- Production designer John J. Lloyd recreated parts of "Chinatown," including three-story buildings, roads, lanterns, and sewers. This was necessary to create visual effects and stage complex fight scenes that would have been difficult to film on location. This forced the director to shoot the film in 15 weeks and spend $25 million. Carpenter said that in order to save money, he used very cheap materials for the shooting, such as trampolines, ropes, and wires.
- The studio was in a hurry and feared that filming could lead to serious cost overruns, so they hired John Carpenter, giving him only 10 weeks for preparation. The crew, led by Carpenter, spent about a week rehearsing the hand-to-hand combat scenes.
- It was originally planned to film a movie titled 'Buckaroo Banzai vs. The World Crime League', which was intended to be a sequel to 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'. However, after a full-scale rewrite of the script, the film ended up with a completely different plot.
- In the scene where Jack (Kurt Russell) attempts to enter the brothel, he is wearing the same clothes as Russell's character in the film "Used Cars" (1980).
- Jackie Chan was considered for the role of Wang Chi, but decided to decline after the box office failure of several of his films and focus on his career in Hong Kong and the film Police Story.
- In the scene where Jack (Kurt Russell) tries to enter the brothel, he is wearing the same clothes as Russell's character in the film 'Used Cars' (1980).
- The character in the triangular hat who throws lightning served as the prototype for Raiden – a character from the 'Mortal Kombat' game series.
- The final song was written and performed by "The Coupe De Ville," featuring John Carpenter, Nick Castle, and Tommy Lee Wallace.
- The studio pressured Carpenter, demanding that he cast rock star Gracie Lau as Jack's love interest, but Carpenter chose Kim Cattrall. The studio was not thrilled with this idea, as Kim Cattrall was known as a comedic actress thanks to the movie 'Police Academy'.
- A martial arts expert, who developed the Jeet Kune Do kickboxing technique for the famous Bruce Lee, participated in the choreography of the stunts and fight scenes.
- During the wedding ceremony, when Lo Pan plunges the Love Needle into Miao Yin’s hand, James Hong actually pricked Susie Pai quite badly. In the film, you can notice that she even jumps during this scene.
- A martial arts expert who developed kickboxing technique for the famous Bruce Lee participated in the choreography of the stunts and fight scenes.
- John Carpenter learned that Eddie Murphy's new project, titled "Golden Child," which featured similar themes, was scheduled for release around the same time as "Big Trouble in Little China." The director demanded explanations from the film's director and Paramount Pictures. He didn't believe the simultaneous appearance of a film with the same setting and subject matter was a coincidence, as no major studio had released a film on this topic in the past 20 years. And certainly not at the same time. To beat the competition, production on the film began in October 1985, to be ready by July 1986, five months before the premiere of "Golden Child."
- According to the DVD commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, the film's script was originally written as a Western, but Carpenter later decided to move the setting to the present day.
- 20th Century Fox wanted to exclude the names of screenwriters Gary Goldman and David Weinstein, who wrote the first draft of the script, from the credits and press releases. The studio wanted Richter to be listed as the sole screenwriter. In March 1986, the Writers Guild of America ruled that Goldman and Weinstein must be credited as authors of the screenplay. Nevertheless, Richter was included in the credits as the writer of the adaptation. John Carpenter was disappointed by the Guild's decision, as he wanted Richter to be listed as the only screenwriter.
- A moment before his death, Lo Pan forms a Chinese character that means 'carpenter.' John Carpenter is the director of this film.
- The characters on Shen's bus read: "Uncle Egg's Tours guarantee a good time."
- Initially, Russell was not interested in the project, as he didn't know if the role of Jack could be played in a way that would interest the audience. However, after talking with Carpenter and reading the script several times, he liked the idea of playing a character with so many flaws.
- Russell believed that the film would face distribution difficulties, as it featured only a handful of non-Asian actors, and the plot was based on Chinese legends, folklore, and the history of Chinatown.
- Jackie Chan was considered for the role of Wang Chi, but he decided to decline after the box office failure of several of his films to focus on his career in Hong Kong and the movie 'Police Story'.
- John Carpenter learned that Eddie Murphy's new project titled 'The Golden Child,' which featured similar motifs, was scheduled for release around the same time as 'Big Trouble in Little China.' The director demanded explanations from the film's producer and Paramount Pictures. He believed that the appearance of a film with the same setting and theme was no coincidence, as no major studio had released a film on such a topic in 20 years—let alone at the same time. To beat the competitor, production began in October 1985 so that the film would be ready by July 1986, five months before the premiere of 'The Golden Child.'
- 'Big Trouble in Little China' was a debut for Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who played one of the numerous minor villainous characters in the film.
- Initially, Russell was not interested in the project, as he didn't know if he could play Jack in a way that would be interesting to the audience. But after talking to Carpenter and reading the script several times, he liked the idea of playing a character with so many flaws.
- John Carpenter was dissatisfied with the company responsible for the visual effects, believing they had taken on too many projects, which led to some material being cut from the film. Richard Edlund, head of Boss Film Studios, which handled the visual effects, said there were no problems working on the film, and it was one of his favorites of the time, with the exception of "Ghostbusters." The visual effects cost $2 million, which Edlund considered quite low. One of the most challenging effects for the film was creating the flying eyeball that spied for Lo Pan. The structure was operated by several puppeteers with dozens of cables to control its expressions. It was filmed using a special system built specifically for it.
- Producers Barish and Monash first offered the project to Carpenter in July 1985.
- Dennis Dun’s character in the film Year of the Dragon impressed John Carpenter. Therefore, the director met with the actor twice before offering him the role of Wang Chi, just a few days before the start of pre-production. The martial arts that permeated the film were not difficult for Dun, who had been studying them since childhood.
- 20th Century Fox studio wanted to exclude the names of screenwriters Gary Goldman and David Weinstein, who wrote the first draft of the script, from the credits and press releases. The studio wanted Richter to be credited as the screenwriter. In March 1986, the Writers Guild of America ruled that Goldman and Weinstein should be credited as the scriptwriters. However, Richter was included in the credits as the author of the screenplay adaptation. John Carpenter was disappointed with the Guild’s decision, as he wanted Richter to be credited as the sole screenwriter.
- 'Big Trouble in Little China' marked the debut of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who played one of the many antagonistic characters among the film's extras.
- Production designer John J. Lloyd recreated parts of Chinatown, including three-story houses, roads, lanterns, and sewers. This was necessary for creating visual effects and staging complex fight scenes that were difficult to film on location. This forced the director to film the movie in 15 weeks and spend 25 million. Carpenter mentioned that, to save money, he used very cheap materials for filming, such as trampolines, ropes, and wires.
- A literal translation of the Chinese characters in the opening credits is "Evil spirits are causing a great commotion in a small spiritual place."
- Producers Barish and Monash first pitched the project to Carpenter in July 1985.
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