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The Jet Age is a period of history defined by the social change brought about by the advent of large aircraft powered by turbine engines. These aircraft are able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older piston-powered propliners, making transcontinental and inter-continental travel considerably faster and easier: for example, aircraft leaving North America and crossing the Atlantic Ocean (and later, the Pacific Ocean) could now fly to their destinations non-stop, making much of the world accessible within a single day's travel for the first time. Since large jetliners could also carry more passengers, airfares also declined (relative to inflation), so people from a greater range of social classes could afford to travel outside of their own countries. In many ways, these changes in mobility are similar to those brought about by railroads during the 19th century.

The introduction of the Concorde supersonic transport (SST) airliner to regular service in 1976 was expected to bring similar social changes, but the aircraft never found commercial success, and after a fatal crash in Gonesse, near Paris (the only loss of an SST in civilian service), flights were discontinued in 2003. The only other SST to enter service was the Tu-144. This only saw limited passenger services within Russia but proved expensive to operate and maintain and was retired from civilian service in 1978 (although it was later used for research flights). McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed and Boeing were three US manufacturers that had planned to develop SSTs since the 1960s, but these projects were abandoned for various developmental/cost or other reasons.

Aviation history[link]

The de Havilland Comet was the first jet airliner to fly, the first in service in 1952 and the first to offer a trans-Atlantic jet service. One hundred and fourteen of all versions were built but the Comet 1 had serious design problems, and out of nine original aircraft, four crashed (one at takeoff and three broke up in flight), which grounded the entire fleet. The Comet 4 solved these problems but the program was overtaken by the Boeing 707 on the trans-Atlantic run. The Comet 4 was developed into the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod which retired in June 2011. The first successful jet-powered airliner was the Tupolev Tu-104.

The first five jet airliners to fly were:

1. The UK de Havilland Comet, 1949
2. The Canadian Avro Jetliner, later in 1949
3. The French Sud Caravelle, 1955
4. The Soviet/Russian Tupolev Tu-104, 1955
5. The US Boeing 707, 1957

The first in service were:

1. The UK de Havilland Comet, 1952
2. The Soviet/Russian Tupolev Tu-104, 1956
3. The US Boeing 707, 1958
4. The French Sud Caravelle, 1959

(The Canadian Avro Jetliner never achieved commercial service)

Following the grounding of the Comet 1, the Tu-104 became the first jet airliner to provide a sustained service and it was the only jet airliner in operation between 1956 and 1958 (when the Comet 4 and Boeing 707 entered service). The plane was operated by Aeroflot (from 1956) and Czech Airlines ČSA (from 1957). ČSA became the first airline in the world to fly jet-only routes (using the Tu-104A).

The first western jet airliner with significant commercial success was the Boeing 707. It began service on the New York to London route in 1958, the first year that more trans-Atlantic passengers traveled by air than by ship. The Boeing 747, the 'Jumbo jet', was the first widebody aircraft, reducing the cost of flying and further accelerating the jet age.

Use of the term[link]

The term "jet age" was first coined in the late 1940s, before the appearance of any jet airliners. At the time, the only jet-powered aircraft were military types, most of which were fighter designs. The expression reflects the recognition that the jet engine had effected, or would soon, a profound change in aeronautics and aviation. In the history of military aviation, the "jet age" began in 1944, during World War II, when the first jet fighters and bombers entered service whereas for commercial aviation the "jet age" began in the late 1950s.

See also[link]

• Environmental impact of aviation
• Jet set

Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), better known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper and member of the Los Angeles based hip hop collective Odd Future.

Biography[link]

Kgositsile was born to Cheryl Harris, a law professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and Keorapetse Kgositsile, a South African poet and political activist.^[1] He grew up in the Los Angeles area and is in his senior year at New Roads High School in Santa Monica.^[2]

Life and career[link]

Early career[link]

Earl and his group have been featured in mainstream magazines such as Spin, Billboard and The Fader as well as on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. His debut studio album, Earl, was self-released March 31, 2010 as a free digital download on the Odd Future website.^[3] Most of the album was produced by Tyler, The Creator. Earl was named the 24th best album of 2010 by Complex. Sweatshirt's rapping style is notable for its dark lyrical content, multi-syllabic rhyme schemes, heavy wordplay and double entendres.

Despite overwhelmingly positive reviews, various sources^[4][5][6] indicated that Sweatshirt had stopped making music with Odd Future. Posts from Tyler, The Creator's Twitter and Formspring accounts seemed to indicate that Sweatshirt's mother would not grant permission to release any of Sweatshirt's music, although Earl later expressed in an interview that his mother sent him to Samoa not because of his music or lyrical content but because of himself getting into trouble. Earl attended Coral Reef Academy, a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys, located outside of the Samoan capital of Apia.^[7][2]

On December 1, 2011, three formerly unreleased songs by Sweatshirt were released through the OddFutureTalk "Odd Future Unreleased" mixtape by Loofy. In December 2011, Sweatshirt was announced as a candidate for XXL's 2012 Freshmen List.^[8]

Return from Samoa[link]

On February 8, 2012, rumors spread around the internet that Sweatshirt had returned to the U.S. when a video of him surfaced on YouTube of him saying that if viewers wanted "the full thing" they would have to give him 50,000 followers on Twitter, referring to the song being played in the video.^[9] He also later confirmed on his new Twitter account^[10] that he had returned to his home in Los Angeles.^[11] Three hours passed and Sweatshirt reached 50,000 followers and did release a new song on his website, entitled "Home", in which he ends the song with "...and I'm back. Bye." Sweatshirt later confirmed via Twitter that all the tracks released prior to Oldie was old stuff that he recorded before going abroad. On the same day Earl launched his website Terttlefer.com, which was later changed to Earlxsweat.com (after his twitter username), and finally Earlsweatshirt.

On March 15, 2012, it was confirmed that Earl appeared on the song "Oldie" from The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2. This is Earl's return to official Odd Future releases and his first appearance on an Odd Future Records release. On March 20, a video released on the official Odd Future YouTube page featured Earl in a cypher-style video rapping along to his verse from "Oldie" along with the other members of the crew. This was his first appearance with Odd Future since his return.

After a lengthy absence from Odd Future, Earl performed with the group at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on March 20, 2012.^[12]

On April 9, 2012, rapper Casey Veggies released a mixtape titled Customized Greatly 3 that includes a song featuring Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Domo Genesis, and Hodgy Beats titled "PNCINTLOFWGKTA." During that month Earl Sweatshirt signed papers to create his own imprint called Tan Cressida which will be distributed through Columbia Records. He turned down several other larger offers due to his priority of remaining close to Odd Future. His new records will still feature the Odd Future logo, and he anticipates working on projects with Tyler the Creator and Matt Martians.^[2]

Discography[link]

• 2009: Earl
• 2010: Kitchen Cutlery (as Sly Tendencies, unreleased)

with Odd Future

• 2010: Radical
• 2012: The OF Tape Vol. 2

References[link]

Casey Jones, better known by his stage name Casey Veggies,^[1] is an American rapper from Inglewood, California. Since 2007, the young artist has released 5 independent record label mixtapes. under LA clothing and management company Peas&Carrots Intl.^[2] His most recent tape, Customized Greatly Vol. 3, was released on April 9, 2012.^[3]

Early life[link]

Casey Veggies was born in Inglewood, California on July 18, 1993.^[4] Veggies started rapping after his junior year in high school.^[4]

Casey released his first mixtape Customized Greatly Vol. 1 at the age of 14.^[1] While Casey was originally one of the founding members of the hip hop group OFWGKTA,^[5] appearing on the groups first effort The Odd Future Tape, he decided to branch out on his own after his first mixtape release. In an interview with Respect Mag, Casey stated it as:

"It’s hard to explain, really, but I just had more of a [different] vision for my own rap career. I wanted to do my own thing."<^[5]

Peas & Carrots Intl[link]

Following up that project with Customized Greatly Vol. 2,^[1] Veggies began to work closely with friends Joshton Peas and Anwar Carrots to help establish PNCINTL, better known as Peas & Carrots International.^[6] Having worked with Def Jam artist YG on his 2nd mixtape, Veggies began to take rap much more seriously. In an interview with The Madbury Club, Veggies discussed how "strategic sponsorships, limited merchandise, organic partnerships, social presence and influence ability have proved fundamental in the success of Peas & Carrots and thus, Casey Veggies".^[6]

Music career[link]

Shortly after graduating high school, Veggies joined Mac Miller as an opening act on his Blue Slide Park tour.^[7] Since then, Casey has performed with the likes of West Coast heavy hitters such as Nipsey Hussle, Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar, Hodgy Beats of MellowHype, as well as his friends in OFWGKTA like Tyler, the Creator and Domo Genesis.^[2] Casey has also worked with artists such as Rich Hil, Chip Tha Ripper, and Raheem Devaughan.

His most recent show has included a sold out April 2012 performance with Roc Nation artist Rita Ora at SOB's in NYC.^[8] He was also featured with Mac Miller and rapper Wiz Khalifa on MTV's RapFixLive during this same month.^[9]

Casey is currently set to go on his first Canadian tour under PNCINTL management this May.^[10] He reunited with his former OFWGKTA bandmates Tyler, the Creator, Domo Genesis, Hodgy Beats and Earl Sweatshirt on the track PNCINTLOFWGKTA.

Endorsements&Marketing[link]

Besides working with PNCINTL, Casey Veggies has also worked in collaboration with national urban lines such as Lifted Research Group (LRG) as well as big name, local brands like Los Angeles company The Hundreds. In late November 2011, LRG released a "limited edition Casey Veggies x New Era 9Fiftyx LRG snapback".^[7] In April 2012, Casey performed at the one year anniversary party for The Hundreds store in Santa Monica, California.^[11]

Delicious Vinyl helped with digital distribution on his Sleeping In Class album, as well as producing some of the songs.

Discography[link]

Mixtapes[link]

• Customized Greatly Vol. 1 (2007)
• Customized Greatly Vol. 2 (2009)
• Bum Ass Shit (in collaboration with Rich Hil) (2010)
• Sleeping In Class (2010)
• Customized Greatly Vol. 3 (2012)

Commercial Albums[link]

• Sleeping In Class: Deluxe Edition (2011)

Guest Appearances[link]

• "Shades On" with Alexander Spit
• "Your Girl" with C-San
• "Hall of Fame" with C-San
• "Go Fly a Kite" with brandUn DeShay
• "Odd Octubree' with brandUn DeShay
• "F*ck With My B*tch" with Niko-G4 & Yonas Michael
• "Tha Jam" with Chip Tha Ripper
• "Beats, Hoes, and Rhymes" with Dom Kennedy
• "CDC" with Dom Kennedy
• "Top Down" with Pac Div
• "Chief Rocka Freestyle" with Pac Div
• "Wanna Know Your Name" with OverDoz
• "Guess Who's Back" with Domo Genesis
• "Duckin N Dodgin" with Rockie Fresh
• "Drivin 88" with Rockie Fresh
• "Living Remix" with Rockie Fresh
• "Living Super Remix" with Rockie Fresh
• "Get it Together" with Sir Michael Rocks
• "Blunted" with YG
• "H.T.F.T" with Skeme
• "Ride Out" with Mani Coolin'
• "All the way Gone" with Polyester the Saint
• "Most High" with Gilbere Forte
• "Make it Happen" with Juicy J

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Peas N Carrots International

Mac Miller
Mac Miller performing at the Governor's Ball in 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Malcolm McCormick
Also known as	Easy Mac
Born	(1992-01-19) January 19, 1992 (age 20) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, producer, actor, songwriter
Years active	2007 – present
Labels	Rostrum Records, Most Dope Entertainment
Associated acts	Wiz Khalifa, Beedie, The Ill Spoken, I.D. Labs, Big Jerm
Website	www.macmillerofficial.com

Malcolm McCormick (born January 19, 1992),^[1] known by his stage name Mac Miller (previously Easy Mac), is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is signed to Rostrum Records and released his debut album Blue Slide Park on November 8, 2011.^[2]

Early life[link]

Malcolm McCormick was born on January 19, 1992, the son of an architect and a photographer, and raised in the Point Breeze part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[1][3] His father is Christian and his mother is Jewish; Miller was raised Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah.^[4][5][6] Before attending Taylor Allderdice High School, Miller attended Winchester Thurston School.^[7] In high school, Miller decided to focus on his hip-hop career, later noting, "Once I hit 15, I got real serious about it and it changed my life completely ... I used to be into sports, play all the sports, go to all the high school parties. But once I found out hip-hop is almost like a job, that's all I did."^[1] Miller, a self-taught musician, plays piano, guitar, drums, and bass.^[1][8]

Career[link]

Before embarking on a solo career, Miller was part of rap group The Ill Spoken together with fellow Pittsburgh rapper, Beedie. The Ill Spoken released the mixtape How High in 2008. Prior to changing his name to Mac Miller, he was known as EZ Mac and released the mixtape But My Mackin Ain't Easy in 2007 at 15 years old. In 2009 Mac Miller released two mixtapes The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown and The High Life before getting signed to Rostrum Records.

In early 2010, Miller signed with Rostrum Records.^[9] Rostrum president Benjy Grinberg met Miller while recording with Wiz Khalifa at ID Labs.^[10] Although Grinberg started giving Miller advice, he didn't show any interest in getting involved with his career until the artist began work on the K.I.D.S. mixtape, when, as he later told HitQuarters, Grinberg "noticed a maturation in his sound and approach to his music."^[10] By that point Miller had started attracting interest from different record companies but chose Rostrum due to its location in his hometown and association with Wiz Khalifia.^[10] K.I.D.S. was released by the label in August 2010.^[1] The mixtape was inspired by the movie Kids. A significant breakthrough came in late 2010 when Miller embarked on his first "Incredibly Dope Tour", selling out at every location on the tour.^[10]

Miller's 5th^[when?] release was a mixtape titled Best Day Ever. The mixtape features his single "Donald Trump" and the hit songs "Wear My Hat", "BDE Bonus" and "All Around The World." The mixtape featured mainstream producers such as Just Blaze, 9th Wonder, and Chuck Inglish. On November 22, 2010 his first single "Knock Knock" premiered its video on YouTube.^[11]

On March 29, 2011, he released an EP called On And On And Beyond. The six-track work was produced by Rostrum Records.

On July 5, 2011, Miller announced the title of his first album Blue Slide Park on his YouTube channel, set for a Fall release.^[12] In September 2011 it was revealed that Miller would release a mixtape titled 92 Til Infinity hosted by DJ Jazzy Jeff prior to the release of Blue Slide Park.^[13] However, the release did not happen, and it was since then left in planning.

Prior to his 2011 national Blue Slide Park tour, Miller traveled Europe on his "Incredibly Dope Tour" visiting cities such as London, Manchester, and Amsterdam.

On October 14, 2011, Mac Miller released a 13 song mixtape called I Love Life, Thank You for reaching 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. It had features from Sir Michael Rocks of The Cool Kids, Talib Kweli, and Bun B.

On November 2011, Blue Slide Park debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 144,000 copies.^[14]

On March 23, 2012, Mac Miller released his seventh mixtape called Macadelic. He released "Loud" as a single off the mixtape as well as filiming a music video. Miller also released a video for "Thoughts From A Balcony".

Awards and honors[link]

In 2009 at age 17, he made it to the final four in Rhyme Calisthenics, the MC competition at Shadow Lounge.^[15] In 2010, he won two awards at the Pittsburgh hip-hop awards.^[16] His video "Live Free" won video of the year and he also won Best Artist Under 21. In September 2011 Maroon 5 announced that Mac Miller will be featured on their remix of their top chart song "Moves Like Jagger".^[17] In 2011 Miller was one of eleven rappers featured in XXL magazine's Freshman Class of 2011.^[18] The video for the first single released from this mixtape, "Donald Trump", has reached over 53 million views on YouTube^[19] and Donald Trump himself, who is referenced on the song, acknowledged the video on the social networking site Twitter when it reached 20 million views stating "Who wouldn't be flattered?". He declared that Miller was the “new Eminem,” and stated “I am very proud of him.”^[20] Endorsements by Donald Trump helped Miller become increasingly more popular. The song also charted on iTunes debuting at #73 and peaking at #40,^[21] before Miller was signed to a major label. In 2011, his first TV appearance took place in the VH1 show Single Ladies; he played a fictionalized version of himself that succeeded in selling one of his mixtapes to one of the main characters. Also in 2011, he was a part of MTV Jams Fab Five artists.^[22]

Musical philosophy[link]

Mac Miller includes Big L, Lauryn Hill, The Beastie Boys, Outkast, and A Tribe Called Quest among his influences.^[8] He also has a close relationship with fellow Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa, saying "Wiz has been a big brother to me with this music thing so far. Our relationship is beyond music. He really is just my homie, whether I will be making music or not."^[23]

As an artist, Mac Miller has performed in a number of different styles. His classic musical style contains lyrics focused on marijuana, women, and "a dream". However, Miller has lately been experimenting with new styles in his music, such as in his 2012 mixtape Macadelic. Most songs have a heavy psychedelic influence, and include lyrics with deeper meaning. Also, older artists and music performers are praised on some of Mac's new works (the beginning of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles is used as an interlude for the song "Loud").

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Blue Slide Park (2011)

Extended plays

• On and On and Beyond (2011)

Mixtapes

• But My Mackin' Ain't Easy (2007)
• The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown (2009)
• The High Life (2009)
• K.I.D.S. (2010)
• Best Day Ever (2011)
• I Love Life, Thank You (2011)
• Macadelic (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Mac Miller Website

Jet Li 李连杰
Jet Li at the premiere of Fearless in 2006.
Chinese name	李連杰 (Traditional)
Chinese name	李连杰 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Lǐ Liánjié (Mandarin)
Jyutping	Lei5 Lin4 Git6 (Cantonese)
Ancestry	Beijing, China
Born	(1963-04-26) April 26, 1963 (age 49) Beijing, China
Other name(s)	Lee Yeung Chung / Li Yangzhong 李陽中 (Traditional) 李阳中 (Simplified) Lǐ Yángzhōng (Mandarin) Lei5 Joeng4 Zung1 (Cantonese) (Chinese producer pseudonym)
Occupation	Actor Martial artist Film producer
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Huang Qiuyan (1987–1990) Nina Li Chi (1999–present)
Official Website	www.jetli.com
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor 2008 The Warlords Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actor 2006 Fearless Golden Horse Awards Special Award 1995 Other awards Shanghai Film Critics Awards 2008 Best Actor (The Warlords)

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Li Lianjie ([lì ljǎntɕjɛ̌]; born April 26, 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a naturalized Singaporean^[1][1] film actor, film producer, Chinese martial artist, wushu champion, and international star who was born in Beijing.

After three years of intensive training with Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. After retiring from Wushu at age 19, he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982). He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films, most notably the Once Upon A Time In China series, in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung.

Li's first role in a Hollywood film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), but his first Hollywood film leading role was in Romeo Must Die (2000). He has gone on to star in many Hollywood action films, including Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed. He co-starred in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) with Jackie Chan, The Expendables (2010) with Sylvester Stallone, and as the title character villain in The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008) opposite Brendan Fraser. He also appeared in the Hong Kong film Ocean Heaven (2010), directed and written by Xue Xiaolu.

Early life and martial arts career[link]

Li Lianjie was born in Beijing, People's Republic of China, the youngest of two boys and two girls. His father died when he was two years old, leaving the family struggling.^[2]

Li was eight when his talent for wushu was noticed at a summer course at school, and he began his practice there.^[3] Li participated in the sport of wushu in the non-sparring event. He began his wushu on the Beijing Wushu Team, an athletic group organized to perform martial arts forms during the All China Games. He was coached by renowned wushu coaches Li Junfeng and Wu Bin,^[4] who made extra efforts to help the talented boy develop. Wu Bin even bought food for Li's family because they could not afford to buy meat, which was essential for the good physical condition of an athlete.^[4] As a member of the team, he received wushu training and went on to win fifteen gold medals and one silver medal in Chinese wushu championships, where, despite his young age, he competed against adults.^[5]

According to Li, once, as a child, when the Chinese National Wushu Team went to perform for President Richard Nixon in the United States, he was asked by Nixon to be his personal bodyguard. Li replied, "I don't want to protect any individual. When I grow up, I want to defend my one billion Chinese countrymen!"^[7]

Li is a master of several styles of wushu, especially Changquan (Northern Longfist Style) and Fanziquan (Tumbling fist). He has also studied other arts including Baguazhang (Eight trigram palm), Taijiquan (Supreme ultimate fist), Xingyiquan (Shape intent fist), Zuiquan (Drunken fist), Yingzhaoquan (Eagle claw fist) and Tanglangquan (Praying mantis fist). He did not learn Nanquan (Southern fist), because his training focused only in the Northern Shaolin Styles. He has also studied some of wushu's main weapons, such Sanjiegun (Three section staff), Gun (staff), Dao (Broadsword), Jian (Straight sword) and many more.^[8]

It is Jet Li's authentic martial arts prowess that enabled his rise to domestic and international fame.^[9]

Acting career[link]

Chinese films[link]

Jet Li
Jet Li's hand print and autograph at the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong.
Traditional Chinese	李連杰
Simplified Chinese	李连杰
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Liánjié - Wade–Giles Li Lien-chieh Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Lei5 Lin4 Git6 - IPA [le̬i lɪ̏ŋkìt]
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	李陽中
Simplified Chinese	李阳中
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Lǐ Yángzhōng - Wade–Giles Li Yang-chung - IPA [lì jɑ̌ŋtʂʊ́ŋ] Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Lei5 Joeng4 Zung1 - IPA [le̬i jœ̏ŋtsʊ́ŋ] - Yale Romanization Lee Yeung Chong

The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce. They likened his career to an aircraft, which likewise "takes-off" as quickly, so they placed the name Jet Li on the movie posters. Soon everybody was calling him by this new name, which was also based on the nickname, "Jet," given to him as a young student, due to his speed and grace when training with the Beijing Wushu team. He made his debut with the 1982 film Shaolin Temple. Some of his more famous Chinese films include:

• The Shaolin Temple series (1, 2 and 3), which are considered to be the films which sparked the rebirth of the real Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China;
• The Once Upon a Time in China series (Chinese title: Wong Fei Hung), about the legendary Chinese folk hero Master Wong Fei Hung.
• Fist of Legend (Chinese title: Jing Wu Ying Xiong), a remake of Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury.
• The Fong Sai Yuk films about another Chinese folk hero.

Li starred in the 1995 film High Risk, where Jet Li plays a Captain who becomes disillusioned after his wife is murdered by crime lords. Along the way, he pairs up with a wacky sell-out actor, Frankie (played by Jacky Cheung), and proceeds to engage in a series of violent battles in a high-rise building. The setting is similar to that of Die Hard and both their Chinese film titles. This movie is notable in that director Wong Jing had such a terrible experience working with Jackie Chan in Jing's previous film City Hunter that he chose to make Cheung's character a biting satire of Chan. Jet Li would later publicly apologize to Chan for taking part in it.

Li has two wuxia feature films scheduled for release in 2011, The Sorcerer and the White Snake and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, the latter is helmed by Tsui Hark.

In order to promote tai chi, in 2012 Jet Li will star in a film titled Tai Chi and will co-produce the movie with Chen Kuo-Fu. Li will portray Tai Chi master Yang Lu-ch'an.^[10][11]

American films[link]

In 1998, he made his American film debut in Lethal Weapon 4 which also marked the first time he had ever played a villain in a film. He agreed to do Lethal Weapon 4 after the producer Joel Silver promised to give him the leading role in his next film, Romeo Must Die (2000) alongside late singer Aaliyah. The film became a box office hit.

Li turned down Chow Yun-fat's role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) because he promised his wife that he would not make any films during her pregnancy.^[12] He also turned down the role of Seraph in The Matrix trilogy, based on his belief that the role was not one which required his skills and that the films were iconic and stunning enough without adding his name to the cast list.

In 2001, he appeared in two more Hollywood films: The One which was the first of his films with Jason Statham and Kiss of the Dragon opposite Bridget Fonda which did moderately well at the box office. In July 2001, Li agreed to produce and star in an action film with Jackie Chan which was to be released in 2002 or 2003, but no further news of their collaboration surfaced until 2006. In 2002, the period martial arts epic film Hero was released in the Chinese market. This film was both a commercial and critical success and became the highest-grossing motion picture in Chinese film history at the time.^[13] In 2003 he reunited with producer Joel Silver for the action thriller film Cradle 2 The Grave where he starred alongside rapper DMX and fellow martial artist Mark Dacascos. In 2004, Li lent his likeness, voice and provided motion capture work for the video game Jet Li: Rise to Honor.

Li took on a more serious role in the 2005 film, Unleashed (a.k.a. Danny the Dog), where he portrayed an adult with the mentality of a child who has been raised like an animal. Although his martial arts skills were utilized extensively, it was a somber film with more depth than had been previously seen in Li's films, and co-starred dramatic actors Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman.

In 2006, the martial arts film epic Fearless, was released worldwide. Although he will continue to make martial arts films, Fearless is his last wushu epic. In Fearless, he played Huo Yuanjia, the real-life founder of Chin Woo Athletic Association, who reportedly defeated foreign boxers and Japanese martial artists in publicized events at a time when China's power was seen as eroding. Together with the film Fist of Legend, Li has portrayed both Chen Jun, the student and avenger of Huo Yuanjia (aka Fok Yun Gap), as well as Huo Yuanjia himself. Fearless was released on January 26, 2006 in Hong Kong, followed by a September 22, 2006 release in the United States where it reached second place in its first weekend.

I stepped into the martial arts movie market when I was only 16. I think I have proved my ability in this field and it won't make sense for me to continue for another five or 10 years. Huo Yuanjia is a conclusion to my life as a martial arts star.^[14]

Li has stated in an interview with the Shenzhen Daily newspaper that this will be his last martial arts epic, which is also stated in the film's television promotions. However, he plans to continue his film career in other genres. Specifically, he plans to continue acting in action and martial arts films; epic films deal more with religious and philosophical issues.

Li's 2007 Hollywood film, War, was released in August of that year, and re-teamed him with actor Jason Statham, who previously starred with him in The One, and action choreographer Corey Yuen. War raked in a disappointing $23 million at the box office, becoming one of Li's lowest grossers in America; however, it was a hit on video, accumulating nearly $52 million in rental revenue, more than doubling its box office take.^[15] With the exception of Romeo Must Die and the worldwide release of Hero, most of Li's American films have been only modest hits like Kiss Of The Dragon, The One, Unleashed, Cradle 2 the Grave, and the worldwide release of Fearless.

In late 2007, Li returned again to China to participate in the China/Hong Kong co-production of the period war film The Warlords with Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. This film with its focus on dramatics rather than martial arts netted Li the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor.

Li and fellow martial arts veteran Jackie Chan finally appeared together onscreen for the first time in The Forbidden Kingdom, which began filming in May 2007 and was released to critical and commercial success on April 18, 2008. The film was based on the legend of the Monkey King from the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West.^[17][18] Li also starred as the lead villain in the fantasy action film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor with actors Brendan Fraser, Isabella Leong and Michelle Yeoh.^[19]

After a one-year hiatus from filmmaking, Jet Li returned to acting in 2009, portraying a mercenary in the film The Expendables, teaming up with action stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture. It was the third time he had teamed up with Statham.

Personal life[link]

Jet Li with Jackie Chan in Hong Kong.

Li is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.^[20] His master is Lho Kunsang^[21] of the Drikung Kagyu lineage of the Kagyu school.^[22]

In 1987, Li married Beijing Wushu Team member and Kids from Shaolin co-star Huang Qiuyan,^[23] with whom he has two daughters, Si and Taimi.^[24] They divorced in 1990. Since 1999, he has been married to Nina Li Chi (born Li Zhi), a Shanghai-born, Hong Kong-based actress. He has two daughters with her as well, Jane (born 2000) and Jada (born 2002).^[25]

Li was in the Maldives when a tsunami hit during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Although it was widely reported at the time that he had died during the disaster,^[26] he only suffered a minor foot injury, caused by a piece of floating furniture, while he was guiding his 4-year-old daughter Jane and the nanny holding his 1-year-old daughter Jada to safety. The four of them were by the pool and slightly above the beach when the wave came ashore.^[27]

In 2009, Li, who previously had American citizenship, after years working in the United States, was thought to have renounced his American citizenship and taken up Singaporean citizenship,^[1][28] although no official confirmation has been provided by Singapore authorities.^[29] On July 28, 2009, the chairman of One Foundation (the Charity fund of Jet Li) announced that Jet Li had indeed become a Singaporean citizen.^[1] He was said to have chosen Singapore for its education system for his two daughters.^[1]

In 2009, Li launched his own fitness program that he named "Wuji".^[30] The programme consists of elements of martial arts, yoga and pilates; Adidas launched a special clothing line for it that bears the initials of "JL".^[31][32]

In his free time he likes to play badminton, table tennis, volleyball, ride his bicycle, read and meditate. He collects rare Tibetan beads. He says he is never bored in his free time.^[33][34]

Views on life and martial arts[link]

Li as a Buddhist believes that the difficulties of everyday life can be overcome with the help of religious philosophies.^[36] He thinks that fame is not something he can control; therefore, he does not care about it.^[37]

According to Li, everything he has ever wanted to tell the world can be found in three of his films: the message of Hero is that the suffering of one person can never be as significant as the suffering of a nation; Unleashed shows that violence is never a solution and Fearless tells that the biggest enemy of a person is himself. Li thinks that the greatest weapon is a smile and the largest power is love.^[38]

About Wushu, Li said that he believes the essence of martial arts is not power or speed but inner harmony and considers it a sad development that today's Wushu championships place greater emphasis on form than on the essence of being a martial artist. He believes Wushu now lacks individuality and competitors move like machines, whereas according to his views Wushu should not be considered a race where the fastest athlete wins. He would like to see Wushu as a form of art, where artists have a distinctive style. Li blames the new competition rules that, according to him, place limitations on martial artists.^[39]

Li believes that Wushu is not primarily for self-defense and instead of trying to play the hero people should think about peaceful resolutions of conflicts and call the police if necessary: "A gun outdoes years of martial arts training in a split second. Like I've said many times before, it is important to differentiate between movies and reality. The hero in movies may be able to knock the gun off his opponent and save the day, but in real life – probably that is not the case."^[40] He has also stated that he has never had to use his martial arts skills in a real life fight and he does not wish to, either.^[35]

Philanthropy[link]

Li has been a "philanthropic ambassador" of the Red Cross Society of China since January 2006. He contributed 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) of box office revenues from his film Fearless to the Red Cross' psychological sunshine project, which promotes mental health.^[41]

In April 2007, touched by his life-shaking experience in the Maldives when he was close to dying during the 2004 tsunami, Li formed his own non-profit foundation called The One Foundation.^[42][43] The One Foundation supports international disaster relief efforts in conjunction with the Red Cross as well as other efforts, including mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Since the starting of the foundation, Li has been involved with recovery efforts in seven disasters, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake^[27] and Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.^[44] Wu Jing was a One Foundation volunteer and helped in the effort.^[45]

Li discussed his commitment to philanthropy in an interview with the December 2009 issue of Alliance magazine, stating that "grassroots non-government organizations can help the government in its blind spots. Government relief is not always detail-oriented. Grassroots NGOs can’t be as big as a government effort, but they need to be flexible and independent."^[46]

In September 2010, Jet Li was appointed by the International Red Cross as the first Good Will Ambassador. He posted online saying "Today I signed a deal with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – IFRC - to become the FIRST goodwill ambassador in the history of this humanitarian organization. I am very honored! At the same time, I will not pause to celebrate, but instead keep pushing forward.. and do my best to help the world! Thank you all once again for your support and belief in me!"^[47]

It was also announced that Jet Li would be meeting Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to talk about charity work. "Three days ago, I received an email from Gates, hoping I could make time because he and Buffett hoped I could go for a 30-minute chat before the dinner about the future we face as human beings, so I will go," Li said.^[48]

Filmography[link]

Considering US box office statistics, the most successful Jet Li film as of August 2010 is Lethal Weapon 4, which grossed over 130 million dollars domestically, while the second is The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor with over 102 million dollars.^[49] Hero is the third most successful foreign language film in the US,^[50] and one of the best critically acclaimed Li movies.^[51] Fearless is the sixth most successful foreign language film of all time in the US.^[50] From a critical point of view, the best acclaimed Li movie is Fist of Legend (Rotten Tomatoes: 100%) and the worst is War (Rotten Tomatoes: 12%).^[51]

See also[link]

• Cinema of China;
• Cinema of Hong Kong.

References[link]