"The modern-day equivalent of The Cannonball Run." Jeff Vice DESERET NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY "Jackie Chan's colorful fight during a visit to an art gallery in Paris is one of his best." Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS "The first American Jackie Chan movie that doesn’t make fun of him, that lets him be the cool guy." Fred Topel ABOUT.COM "It’s fairly fast, zips some good zingers at the audience through Steve Coogan, and is just the sort of instantly forgettable fun parents can have with their kids. " Nick Rogers STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER "Silly and energetic ... it's pure fluff, but it's cute." Steve Rhodes STEVE RHODES' INTERNET REVIEWS

"Sure, it's silly, but at least it knows that it's silly and runs with it." Scott Nash THREE MOVIE BUFFS "Properly silly and slapsticky." Erik Lundegaard SEATTLE TIMES "Jackie Chan stars in this fast paced remake of the famous Jules Verne story." Vince Koehler ENTERTAINMENT SPECTRUM "A colorful, fast-paced, and enjoyably old-fashioned adventure comedy." Timothy Knight REEL.COM "An energetic and enormously good-natured family movie." Mick LaSalle SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

At A Glance

"Solid family entertainment that alternates plenty of laughs with plenty of adventure." Louis B Hobson JAM! MOVIES

Forget the classic Jules Verne story "Around The World In 80 Days" and settle instead for this laughter filled, action packed, romantic tale about an eccentric inventor named Fogg; his butler Passepartout [aka passport too!]; a beautiful headstrong young French woman named Monique La Roche; an evil chinese gang known as the Black Scorpions; a blustering, double crossing, scheming government minister named Lord Kelvin; the beautiful, deadly young woman known as General Fang and a corrupt copper named Inspector Fix. Of course with Jackie Chan starring, you'd expect this to be not only exciting but gtreat fun, wouldn't you? Well you're right. Let's face it, this is the 21st century so do we really need a straight remake of the Mike Todd classic that took the world by storm way back in 1956? No, of course not. Crikey, it would be pretty boring if all those fuddy, duddie critics had their way and we were forced to endure the same old concepts and ideas rehashed over and over again. That's what makes cinema exciting and Walden Media are to be praised for their courage in bringing a new version of Jules Vernes classic tale to the screen. "Everybody knows 'Around the World in 80 Days', and that’s been a great jumping-off point for us to make something like nothing before," says star Jackie Chan. Executive producer Phyllis Alia explains that "Around the World in 80 Days" is, "an adventure, comedy, love story, martial arts film, kids’ film, adults’ film, fantasy [and did I say adventure?] all rolled into one." And she's right. This is one film adults and kids will get a big kick out of. The kids were squeeling with delight every time Jackie Chan's character Lau Xing [aka Passepartout] got into strife. And there are many classic Jackie Chan fun moments signaturing this film. Director Frank Coraci concurs with my observations. "Our overall goal was to make an epic with a sense of humor; a fun movie that brings audiences to new places," he said. Cary Granat, former president of Miramax Film's Dimension label and now leading the team at Walden Media, speaks highly of director Frank Coraci who steered the hit films "The Wedding Singer" and "The Waterboy". "Walden found in Frank an incredible visionary who has taken the classic Jules Verne story and infused it with such magic that it jumps off the screen," Granat says. "This is a special and wonderful piece." Some might have reservations at the choice of Caraci, but the finished product dispels such thoughts. "Frank is the perfect director to make this movie," says Executive Producer Phyllis Alia. "He’s adept at combining the action, the adventure, and the love story and wrapping it in this crazy, twisted comedy." Producer Hal Lieberman echoes those sentiments, saying "Frank knows how to bring the fun. His instincts and his intuition are great. This is a big movie, and it gave him an opportunity to step up his vision in terms of the production, the size, and the look." Part of the 'look' is a different Fogg and some great inventions. "I wanted to make a really imaginative movie, like the ones I grew up on," Coraci said. "I thought, ‘Let’s make an adventure, and let’s make Phileas Fogg an inventor so that we can create all these great gadgets.’ The whole idea of Phileas being ahead of his time is our way of adding to the fun and excitement of the story." The Phileas Fogg in this film is I must say, one who really grows on you the further the film progresses. "Fogg is deliberately portrayed in the book as quite a grey character. The approach Frank took was to make him passionate about something," says acclaimed British actor Steve Coogan who made a name for himself in the hit TV comedy "Spitting Images". "There’s more opportunity for comedy because he’s very insecure about himself." Amongst the many highlights of the film is the cameo appearances by many familiar Hollywood box office stars. "The film has great surprises as the characters travel around the world, and I wanted one of those surprises to be the people they meet," says Coraci. "A great way to do that was to have a series of cameos from well-known actors and celebrities, where they could poke fun at themselves and their personalities and also just make the movie even more fun." But why would they want to appear in the film? "I think they were attracted by the quality of this movie and by the fact that it just seemed like it would be a good time," says Chan. "This is a hilarious movie. Frank was very open to all the ideas I had for the action scenes. We both like to make people laugh, and I think people are going to laugh when they see this movie. It’s a lot of fun." Crew Bytes "Around The World In 80 Days" was .......
directed by Frank Coraci ["The Wedding Singer", "The Waterboy" and "Murdered Innocence"]; screenplay by David Titcher ["Coming Home"], David Benullo ["Gesar Of Ling" and "Porn Star Prom Date"] and David Goldstein ["Gesar Of Ling" and "Porn Star Prom Date"]; original story by Jules Verne ["20,000 Leagues Below The Sea" and "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth"]; costume design by Anna Sheppard ["Schindler's List", "The Pianist", "Shanghai Knights" and "Band Of Brothers"]; production design by Perry Andelin Blake ["Mr Deeds", "The Waterboy", "Big Daddy", "The Wedding Singer", "Billy Madison" and "Little Nicky"]; edited by Tom Lewis ["The Wedding Singer", "The Waterboy", "Rat Race" and "The Whole Nine Yards"]; director of photograhpy Phil Meheux ["The Mask Of Zorro", "Goldeneye", "The Fourth Protocol" and "The Long Good Friday"]; original music by Trevor Jones ["13 Days", "Brassed Off", "Last Of The Mohicans", "Notting Hill" and "Cliffhanger"] produced by Hal Lieberman ["U-571", "Terminator 3", "The Jackal" and "Fried Green Tomatoes"] and Bill Badalato ["Alien Resurrection", "Broken Arrow", "Hancock's Weeds", "Top Gun" and "About Schmidt"]. Casting About "Around The World In 80 Days" stars .......
Jackie Chan ["Shanghai Noon", Jackie Chan's Rumble In The Bronx", "Shanghai Knights" and "The Tuxedo"]; Perrier Award and BAFTA Award winner Steve Coogan ["Resurrected", "Indian In The Cupboard", "24 Hour Party People" and "Coffee and Cigarettes"]; Cesar Award winner Cécile De France ["L'Auberge Espagnole", "A+Pollux" and "Haute tension"]; Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent ["Gangs Of New York", "Moulin Rouge", Iris" and Nicholas Nickleby"]; Golden Bauhinia & HK Academy Award winner Karen Joy Morris ["Fallen Angels", "God Of Cookery", "King Of Comedy" and "The Twin Effects"]; Rob Schneider ["Mr Deeds", ""The Waterboy", "The Animal" and "50 First Dates"]; Mark Addy ["A Knights Tale', "The Time Machine", "Heartlands" and "The Order"]; Will Forte ["Saturday Night Live", "3rd Rock From The Sun" and "That 70's Show"]; BAFTA Award winner John Cleese ["A Fish Called Wanda", "Silverado", "Rat Race" and "Die Another Day"]; Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Kathy Bates ["Misery", "Titanic", "Fried Green Tomatoes" and "About Schmidt"] and Ewen Bremner ["Judge Dredd", "Prince Of Jutland", "Pearl Harbor", "Black Hawk Down" and "Welcome To The Jungle"] as Inspector Fix. The Story

"You may be pleasantly surprised by just how good this remake of the Jules Verne classic really is." Peter Debruge PREMIERE MAGAZINE

Lau Xing has just robbed the Bank Of England. Having taken a precious jade statue of a smiling Buddha Lau Xing is on the run from the local bobbies. His plan is to return the statue to his village where it rightfully belongs, but first he must escape his pursuers. While hiding in a tree, Lau Xing falls into the yard of eccentric inventor Phileas Fogg. Fogg's terrified butler has just quit and he assumes Lau Xing has been sent by the agency as a replacement. Using the alias Passepartout, Lau Xing decides to lay low for a while. But there are others who seek the statue. General Fang, leader of the Black Scorpian gang, has a vested interest in the statue. She is using it as leverage on government Minister Lord Kelvin. Both want it back. Their chance comes when Phileas Fogg's scientific abilities are challenged by Lord Kelvin, who is also the head of the Royal Academy of Science. A flustered Fogg puts his foot in it when he states that a man could travel around the world in 80 days. Fogg must now prove his theory true or lose all credibility. Lau Xing sees the journey as an ideal way to get the jade statue back to the temple in his village. General Fang sees it as a chance to once again steal the precious object. Fogg, encouraged by his faithful butler is determined to give it a go. An incredible race against time is about to start. Can Fogg achieve his goal? All the world waits to see if he can. The Verdict "This is a great little adventure that kids will just love. They'll be squeeling with delight at the madcap antics Jackie Chan gets up to. Chan really is the star, while Steve Coogan grows on you and Cécile De France is the third leg of the comedy tripod. Lots of fun, adventure, bad guys and cameo appearances by some familiar faces including Kathy Bates as good old Queen Victoria. A huge performance by Jim Broadbent is the icing on the cake when it comes to "Around The World In 80 Days" May not be true to the original story but it's definitely a barrel of laughs and romance. Good family fun. Recommended viewing," The Cast

Jackie Chan Steve Coogan Cécile De France Robert Fyfe Jim Broadbent Ian McNeice David Ryall Roger Hammond Howard Cooper Tom Strauss Kit West Adam Godley Karen Joy Morris Daniel Hinchcliffe Wolfram Teufel Ewen Bremner Patrick Paroux Perry Blake Michaël Youn Eva Ebner Richard Branson Macy Gray Ben Posener Michael Hoenher George Inci Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Passepartout/Lau Xing Phileas Fogg Monique La Roche Jean Michel Lord Kelvin Colonel Kitchener Lord Salisbury Lord Rhodes Academy Member #1 Academy Member #2 Academy Member #3 Mr Sutton General Fang British Valet Belgian Dignitary Inspector Fix French Ticket Clerk Vincent Van Gogh Art Gallery Manager Crazy Lady Balloon Man Sleeping French Woman Angry Engineer Upset Brakeman Turkish Soldier Prince Hapi

The Crew Directed by Frank Coraci Screenplay by David Titcher/David Benullo/ David Goldstein Produced by Bill Badalato and Hal Lieberman Original Music by Trevor Jones and David A Stewart Cinematography by Phil Meheux Film Editing by Tom Lewis Casting by Avy Kaufman Production Design by Perry Andelin Blake Set Decoration by Jille Azis and Sabine Schaaf Costume Design by Anna B Sheppard Special Effects Production Manager Rolf Hanke Run Time 120 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Buena Vista Pictures Distribution - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2004 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved