The Medallion is the brainchild of producer Alfred Cheung, who made his name in the Hong Kong film industry by writing, directing and starring in a string of well-observed social comedies.  His concept is based on the mythology behind the Highbinder warriors.  "Highbinder means a knight or warrior. You have good Highbinders and bad Highbinders."

Cheung wanted to develop a film for Jackie Chan that would suit Chan's style and push the boundaries of the action seen in previous films.  "I wanted to create a cross between Lethal Weapon and Ghost, which would be a very fresh and new idea for Jackie," he said. 

This is the first film in which Chan receives supernatural powers, and this idea intrigued him.  "I've been doing action comedy for so many years and suddenly they approached me with this idea," he says.  "I've been thinking for a while about doing a film that can bring my real stunts and special effects together.  In The Medallion, I still use my Jackie Chan technique but I also have these superpowers that I don't even know about." 

the script…
To translate his idea into a screenplay, Alfred Cheung enlisted the help of his good friend Gordon Chan and English born screenwriter, Bey Logan.  Cheung had known of Logan's reputation as a gifted scriptwriter and trusted that he would be able to combine the English and Hong Kong styles of dialogue and filmmaking into a fluid storyline.  "Bey knows the way of Hong Kong filmmakers and because this film is also a Hollywood film, the collaboration worked," explains Cheung. 

Logan recalls his first involvement in the film, "We wanted to make sure that the film suited Jackie's character so we wouldn't alienate the existing Jackie Chan audience but hopefully expand it to another, somewhat larger audience."  Together, Gordon Chan and Logan worked on forming the structure, developing the characters and getting the script just right.

the director….
Gordon Chan is one of the most successful directors to come out of Hong Kong, and for Alfred Cheung it was important that they had a director who could understand the cultural conflicts of Hong Kong filmmaking and the Hollywood style.

Jackie Chan says, "I have worked with Gordon for many years, and he's made some very good films. He's very good at directing drama and dialogue." Bey Logan also praises the director, "Gordon Chan is the director's director, and he has vast experience having made dozens of Hong Kong films. He's very low key, he never screams and shouts on the set and always knows what everybody's meant to be doing. He's a consummate professional." Logan goes on to describe Gordon Chan's invaluable input to the script. "When we got to Ireland, we sat in a hotel and went through the script with a fine tooth comb. He has tremendous ideas and had a lot of input into the script."

The action…
To successfully combine both the action and drama, the film required more than just a stunt choreographer. One of Jackie Chan's oldest friends and collaborators, Sammo Hung, was asked to join the film based on his solid reputation as an action director. Chan was keen to get Hung on board due to the massive amount of wirework involved; as he trusted Hung with his life since he himself was unfamiliar with this type of stunt work. "I've known Sammo since I was a boy. I think he is one of the greatest martial arts directors around. There is no one like him in the whole world. He knows how to act, direct, choreograph, and knows the importance of editing and music." Chan goes on to characterize their working relationship on set, "I'm more relaxed, more about comedy and humor. Sammo is more serious and powerful. We've been working together for so many years, I know how he works and he knows what I can do. And in this movie, I wanted to use his ideas and style." Alfred Cheung describes Hung's style of action directing, as "his use of camera angle and his manipulation of camera movement is the best."

Gordon Chan adds, "Sammo is one of the best Kung Fu choreographers in Hong Kong. When Sammo was on the set, we were all amazed at his charisma and the energy he put into it. And the fact that Jackie and Sammo grew up together really helped. Jackie would say 'Can I still do that?' and Sammo would reply 'Try it.' He really pushed Jackie to certain levels that not even Jackie would realize."

One of the action sequences that takes place in Hong Kong features trademark Jackie Chan stunts and ends in an explosion that took six months to design. The Hong Kong government was also keen to support the film and lent the production their marine police launches and various police vehicles. For the first time in history, the Hong Kong armed forces allowed a film to use one of its state-of-the-art Blackhawk S70 helicopters.

the stunt teams…
With two martial arts experts collaborating on the same film, each brings their own stunt team to provide the crucial backup for some very complicated action scenes. Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung have their own handpicked stunt teams participating in the production.

"In the old days, I trained with local people from Hong Kong. Then, I started training with people from around the world - Japan, Korea and Australia. I have been choosing my own stunt team for years and years. I choose people who have the best technique, who can work with everybody, are humble and are always learning new things," explains Chan on his international stunt team. "Even now, I'm still picking my stunt team because I train them for a few years, and later they become a stunt coordinator and leave to have their own team."

the training…
For someone as highly skilled as Jackie Chan, constantly training and staying in shape is crucial to avoiding injuries and creating flawless stunts. As he explains, "There are a lot of things that I have never done before in this film. Flying around from this corner to that corner. We trust our stunt team with all their years of experience. We are doing some pretty dangerous wirework stunts. We just say, 'Let's do it this way,' and if it doesn't work, then we try it another way."

Being extremely fit is also a prerequisite when it comes to working with Jackie Chan. Julian Sands says, "When you know you're going to work with Jackie Chan on a stunt film, you want to have your wits about you as well as your fitness sharp. It's been a great adventure dancing around this sort of extraordinary set, both mentally and physically."

Enjoying the physical comedy as well as the dramatic acting is important to Lee Evans. "I like to jump around set and have a good time. If I learn something, then I'm having fun and that's what it's all about." When it comes to doing his own stunts, he adds, "I've always said 'I can do that,' and they go, 'oh, he's that head case from England.' Because of the insurance regulations, I'm not allowed to do it [the stunts] but I've done as much as they let me. The stunt guys are so safety conscious and it's been really good fun."

An ex-amateur boxer, Evans didn't have any advantages when it came to getting some martial arts training. "I've done a bit of boxing but that's nothing like these guys, they're using all their limbs. I'm just using the chin to take the punch," says Evans. "I did have a little bit of Kung Fu training but I'm completely useless. They tried to teach me but it wasn't happening."

the casting…
Casting the lead roles for the film became a collaborative process between Gordon Chan, Alfred Cheung, Tim Kwok (co-producer) and Jackie Chan. Gordon Chan says, "Snakehead was the last character to be cast and when they suggested Julian Sands, I was unsure because he's so handsome and elegant. When I heard that he was willing to do it, I was thrilled because I never thought that Julian would play a bad guy role and he's great at it. He's one of the best actors I've ever worked with."

According to Sands, working with Jackie Chan was a completely new experience for him. "I'd heard of Jackie Chan but never seen a Jackie Chan film. Then I saw Drunken Master and some of his other films and said I'd love to be involved in this caper. I was so charmed by his presence and his ability. He came across to me as a sort of heir to Charlie Chaplin in his breadth and depth of his performance. There was such empathy, such compassion and humanity about his work and his characters."

To fill the shoes of Interpol Agent Watson, they needed someone who would pack the punches as well as maintain the comedic element. Lee Evans was the perfect choice. Evans talks of his attraction to the film, "I do a lot of physical comedy back home, and I've always watched Jackie Chan because, in my view, he's a genius. He's kind of in the Buster Keaton realm in my mind." Regarding his character Watson, "He completely and utterly believes that he is James Bond 007, and that he's the best Interpol agent spy in the whole world. He's very blinkered in that attitude."

For Agent Nicole James, the role called for an actress with beauty, brains and brawn. Her character's ability to hold her own in any fight challenged Claire Forlani. "I was really excited when I read the script because one thing I felt that I hadn't seen in a Jackie Chan movie was this female aspect who was an equal. There's also the romantic side which I really felt that I could bring in and add something special." Working with Chan, Forlani says, "He's gorgeous. He's the ultimate example of a movie star and his energy is the through the roof!" Recounting a funny episode during filming, Forlani laughs, "It was one of those funny scenarios of being on set where they come up and hand me a gun. And I'm like, 'I don't know how to fire a gun.' There was this look of shock, like 'she doesn't know how to fire a gun?' But of course they showed me, and it was fine."

the design…
Setting the story in Ireland proved to be the perfect backdrop to combine both the supernatural elements and the romance of the film. Reputed production designer Joe Nemec was the ideal person to recreate the elaborate castle interiors. The pure logistics of filming such complicated action sequences called for an expert. Alfred Cheung still marvels at getting Nemec, "I was so stunned when I met Joe in London - at what really big films he had done. We're so lucky to have him. He has so much passion."

The exteriors of Snakehead's castle were shot on the northern coast of Ireland. To get the best production value, the key design team relocated to Thailand where they built the elaborate 40-foot high interior chamber of Snakehead's castle in the Thunderdome sports stadium on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Creating the space required for the complicated action sequences was a challenge for Nemec. "I didn't want Gordon and Arthur [Wong, Director of Photography] to be stuck in little rooms and not be able to see into other spaces in the house. So I wanted to open it up and make it bigger." During his research, he studied drawings by Paranaci and Escher. "When you look at those, at one point it looks like somebody is maybe walking up the stairs, but when you study it again, it's almost as if he's walking up the bottom part of the stairs and they go in all kinds of different directions. That was the conceptual springboard for the central chamber." Another draw to building the sets in Thailand was the superb craftsmanship of the Thai people. "We did most of our design work and drawings in Ireland and came here where we put together a 95% Thai crew, and they are the best I've worked with anywhere in the world."

the visual effects…
UK's internationally renowned, The Moving Picture Company, created the visual effects.  Alfred Cheung recalls his first meeting, "What impressed me about The Moving Picture Company was the young team they have around them and their passion when talking about the film."

Visual Effects supervisor Paddy Eason adds, "It was really nice because the producers invited us to be involved creatively. We thought it would be interesting to come back with some storyboard ideas. I think the producers liked the fact that we were starting off on a creative foot rather than a financial one." Eason also is very aware that the visual effects must not take away from the most important special effect, Jackie Chan's physical action. "We don't want to coat his film with loads of unnecessary CGI. I think it's very important to allow the audience to continue to suspend their disbelief. There's a real tendency nowadays to have too much obvious CGI in a movie, and I think audiences are starting to rebel against that slightly."