Judge refuses to hear Salman Khan's bail plea

A judge refused to hear the bail plea of jailed Bollywood star Salman Khan on Wednesday, a decision lawyers said was apparently because he had been a prosecution lawyer in a poaching case involving the actor.

Judge G.K. Vyas refused to hear the actor's petition and asked it to be listed before another judge. Details of his decision were not immediately available. It was also not clear how long the process to find a new judge could take.

Vyas was one of the prosecution lawyers who fought the case on behalf of the forest and animal husbandry department of Rajasthan.

Khan, 41, was arrested on Saturday, a day after a lower court rejected his appeal against his 2006 conviction for killing endangered animals during hunting trips to the state in 1998. He has been sentenced to a five-year term.

Salman's hopes suffers setback

Bollywood actor Salman Khan's hopes to come out of a jail here in the Chinkara poaching case suffered a setback today when a judge of Rajasthan High Court recused himself from hearing on his bail plea which will now be heard by another bench tomorrow.

Justice G K Vyas, who was to hear the actor's bail plea as well as the revision petition against the order of the district and sessions court, asked Khan's advocate to approach another bench, apparently because he was the counsel for the veterinarian who had conducted the post-mortem of the chinkara.

Following Justice Vyas' recusal, another bench of Justice H R Panwar asked the lawyers of Khan heard the matter late in this afternoon and ordered the listing of the case tomorrow.

"The court will hear our plea tomorrow", Dipesh Mehta, a Mumbai-based lawyer who appeared on behalf of Salman, told mediapersons after coming out of the court.

Salman, who was arrested on Saturday, is lodged in Central Jail here after losing his appeal in the district and session court of Jodhpur against his sentence in the chinkara poaching case handed out by the Chief Judicial Magistrate on April 10.

Sisters of Salman Alivera and Arpita were present in the court today in both the sessions.

Injuries could force Jackie Chan to quit making action movies

Jackie Chan could be forced to quit making action movies after injuring his back.

The 53-year-old martial arts expert suffered "excruciating pain" while filming 'The Forbidden Kingdom,' which co-starred Jet Li, leading him to consider giving up the stunt work that made him famous.

Chan said, "I hurt myself throwing someone and I was in excruciating pain when I woke up the next day. I could barely get myself out of bed.

"I had to walk down three steps and join Jet Li for one scene, and each time my feet hit the steps, pain shot through my back."

Despite his fears, Chan claims on his website he is "recovering nicely."

Chan is famous for suffering on-set injuries, and holds the Guinness World Record for 'Most Stunts By A Living Actor.'

His worst injuries came while filming 'Armour of God' in 1987 when he fell from a tree and fractured his skull, resulting in a permanent hole in his head.

'The Forbidden Kingdom' is about a US teen's fantasy journey to ancient China to rescue a mythological monkey king.

It is scheduled for release next spring.

Jackie Chan re-injures back while filming

Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan suffered back pain in China while wrapping up filming of "The Forbidden Kingdom,'' his first collaboration with Jet Li. Chan is recovering, his Web site said Monday.

Chan said in his blog that he aggravated an old back injury when filming sequences that required him to throw someone upward last week.

Chan said he was "in excruciating pain'' when he woke up the next day, and "could barely get myself out of my bed.''

He said he also felt the pain when filming with Li.

"I had to walk down three steps and join Jet Li for one scene, and each time my feet hit the steps, pain shot through my back,'' Chan said.

He said the pain had persisted for at least two days.

A separate statement on Chan's Web site said the action star is "recovering nicely.'' Chan has suffered numerous injuries throughout his career.

One of the worst was a brain hemorrhage while filming "Armor of God,'' which was released in 1987.

He said in an interview in 2005 that he usually feels pain in his waist, knees and shoulders when he wakes up.

"The Forbidden Kingdom,'' due out in the U.S. next spring, is about an American teenager's fantasy journey to ancient China to rescue a mythological monkey king.

The idea originates from the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West,'' in which a monkey king, a pig and a friar guard a Buddhist monk in search of religious texts.

Li plays the monkey king and a silent monk, while Chan plays another monk called T'sa-Ho.

'Rush Hour 3' stays true to successful, action-packed formula

It's hard to believe it's been six years since the release of the last installment in the "Rush Hour" series. Chris Tucker hasn't even appeared in any movies since that time and Jackie Chan is now in his 50s. At this point, will time away from the big screen get "Rush Hour 3" stuck in traffic?

Three years after the last film, Carter (Chris Tucker) has settled into life as an eccentric traffic cop and Lee (Jackie Chan) is now a bodyguard to a Chinese ambassador. After the ambassador is on the receiving end of an assassination attempt, Lee begins a hunt to find out why and Carter eagerly tags along much to Lee's chagrin. Lee finds out that the assassin was his godbrother Kenji. After chasing a few leads, Lee and Carter find out the reason behind the assassination attempt lies in Paris, so they fly there to find out more. They continue to gather clues behind a huge cover-up and find themselves in more danger with every piece of information they find.

The first phrase that comes to mind while watching this movie is "guilty pleasure." Chris Tucker's absence from films doesn't produce any rust on his comedy. In fact, it seems to only make it more effective as he hasn't worn out his welcome on the big screen like other comedians have. And, though you won't see Jackie Chan reinventing the wheel in this movie, it is still pretty amazing to see the stunts he pulls off in an action-packed fight scene against a French assassin.

The bread and butter of the "Rush Hour" series is the fun-loving Tucker mixed with the action created by Chan. So, this movie obviously does not deviate from that formula. If you had seen any bits of the previous movies and had not enjoyed them, this movie will not change your mind. It does what the other movies did and does them just as well, for the most part.

If you plan to see "Rush Hour 3," you know what you're getting into, and it's not a life-changing movie by any means. But you will get a large dose of Tucker using every ounce of his charisma and Chan doing his best to wow you with some neat martial arts moves. If you want to beat the summer heat, "Rush Hour 3" is one of the guiltiest of pleasures you may find this summer.

Hong Kong betrays Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan's new action comedy "Rush Hour 3" may have performed well at the U.S. box office, but Hong Kongers seem to be not very inspired. The movie has made only HK$4 million (US$512,000; EUR380,000) in the five days since it opened in Hong Kong on Thursday, distributor Celestial Pictures said Tuesday. By comparison, Chan's action comedy "Rob-B-Hood" made HK$6.3 million in Hong Kong in its first three days last year, as did his 2005 action epic "The Myth." "Rush Hour 3" meanwhile topped the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, making US$49.1 million (EUR36.4 million) in the U.S. and Canada. In the two weeks since it opened, the movie has notched up nearly US$88 million (EUR65.3 million). The "Rush Hour" series, comedies that revolve around the racial and social differences between a pair of police officers - one Chinese (Chan) and the other black (Chris Tucker). The series has been critical in establishing Chan's reputation in Hollywood. The first installment, "Rush Hour," released in 1998, was the first Chan movie to break the US$100 million mark at the U.S. box office, earning more than US$141 million, according to figures compiled by the box office tracking Web site Box Office Mojo. Chan won't be able to test "Rush Hour 3" on the larger Chinese audience because the leading distributor in mainland China has decided not to import it. An executive at the state-run China Film Group said the company didn't think the film had a market in China. Hollywood trade publication Variety, however, reported that Chinese officials were concerned about scenes that involve Chan and Tucker's characters battling Chinese gangsters.

Jet Li, Jackie Chan getting too old

Jet Li is urging audiences to keep expectations low for his eagerly anticipated fight scenes with Jackie Chan in an upcoming film.

He says it's not that kind of movie – and they're both getting too old.

"When Jackie Chan and I first wanted to work together 15 years ago, our passion was at its peak. ... Our desire to succeed was very strong," the 44-year-old Li told The Associated Press. "Now we joke that when we watch the 'The Forbidden Kingdom' our combined age is 100." (Chan is 53.)



The martial arts stars come to blows in "The Forbidden Kingdom," about an American teenager's fantasy journey to ancient China to rescue a mythological Monkey King, but Li warns:

"How intense are the battle scenes? My mentality is to not have high expectations."

The film is tentatively scheduled for U.S. release next spring.