Clint Eastwood could have tested out his John Wayne impression had he signed on toBig Trouble in Little China. TheJohn Carpenter movierun during the 1970s and 1980s is legendary, yielding back-to-back classics likeHalloweenandThe Thing.Big Trouble in Little Chinais another gem and marked the fourthcollaboration between Carpenter and Kurt Russell.
Russell and Carpenter brought out the best in one another, with this 1986 martial arts adventure being their funniest collaboration. Sadly,Big Trouble in Little Chinawas a bomb, grossing $11 million worldwide(viaBox Office Mojo), roughly half its production budget.
Audiences and critics didn’t get the film’s blend of martial arts and subversive humor, whereRussell’s macho trucker Jack Burton believing he’s the protagonist, when he’s actually the sidekick to Dennis Dun’s Wang Chi.It’s these ingredients that make it a cult favorite.
Since he was playing a know it all blowhard,Russell based Jack Burton on John Wayne. It’s a playful jab at the Western icon, who fronted some of Carpenter’s favorite movies, likeRio Bravo. Carpenter also came to Russell after his first choice, Clint Eastwood, turned it down.
Clint Eastwood Passed On Big Trouble In Little China
Jack Nicholson wasn’t interested in making Big Trouble for himself either
Big Trouble in Little Chinawas one of two big adventure blockbusters steeped in Chinese mysticism to arrive in 1986, with the other being Eddie Murphy’sThe Golden Child. Carpenter was originally attached to the latter, but decided to switch toBig Trouble in Little Chinainstead.
Possibly as a way to compete with Murphy’s star power, Carpenter initially sought a big name for his film.Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood were the first options, though neither were available. In truth, it’s hard to see Eastwood agreeing to sign on for the film anyway.
Big Trouble in Little Chinawas a 20th Century Fox production, whereas Clint (almost) always worked with Warner Bros. Eastwood also tended to avoid effects-heavy productions, sothe complex VFX and fight sequences involved in Carpenter’s film may have tested Clint’s patience. All that, and he mostly directed his own projects, too.
Kurt Russell and John Carpenter’s final movie to date is 1996’sEscape from L.A.
Still, Clint had played comedy before, and had even played a dim but lovable truck driver already inEvery Which Way But Loose. It would have been fascinating to see how Clint and Carpenter worked together, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Big Trouble In Little China’s Jack Burton Is A John Wayne Parody
Kurt Russell’s performance is an ode to The Duke
Carpenter had almost worked with Wayne years beforeBig Trouble in Little China, after writing a screenplay for him dubbedBlood River; ultimately, that film didn’t happen with Wayne. BothCarpenter and Russell saw Burton as the embodiment of the cocky, brash American who thinks they know everything.
John Wayne himself probably would have had fun playing the Jack Burton role, had Big Trouble in Little China been made over a decade earlier.
The irony of Burton is that he’s just an idiot who doesn’t do much to help, and only defeats the main villain through dumb luck. There’s something delightful about Russell’s hammy overacting in most of his scenes, too, where he imparts Burton’s blustering wisdom and claims to be on top of events - despite barelyunderstanding what’s happening.
Wayne himself probably would have had fun playing the role, had the movie been made over a decade earlier.Unfortunately for Carpenter, it turns out Fox hadn’t understood that Burton wassupposedto be a useless idiot before production began, leading to nasty post-production clashesover the movie’s tone.
Big Trouble In Little China Would Have Let Clint Essentially Play John Wayne
Jack Burton would have allowed Clint to test out his John Wayne impression
Had Clint been tempted byBig Trouble in Little China, that would have created the interesting scenario where he got to parody his old rival John Wayne.Reports ofa Wayne/Eastwood feudare mostly overblown, though it’s common knowledge Wayne disliked Eastwood’sHigh Plains Drifterfor its dark depiction of the Old West.
… getting to see Clint Eastwood parody John Wayne would have been something special.
At one point, Wayne even suggested to Eastwood that they should make a Western together, with the latter passing onTrue Gritas he didn’t like the role being offered. Wayne and Eastwood remain two of the Western genre’s biggest icons, so getting to see Clint parody Wayne would have been something special.
That said, Eastwood may have had a different read on Burton or decided it was a bad idea to make fun of Wayne, even in a playful way. We’ll never know, and it feels likeRussell was better casting for Jack Burton anyway.
Big Trouble In Little China Isn’t The First Time Kurt Russell Stood In For Clint Eastwood
Carpenter once eyed Clint for Snake Plissken
Big Trouble in Little Chinawasn’t the first time Russell stood in for Eastwood in a John Carpenter movie. When Carpenter first pennedEscape from New Yorkin 1974, he pictured Clint-then riding high off the success of the first twoDirty Harrys- as Snake Plissken.
When it came time to actually make the film, Eastwood was well out ofEscape from New York’sprice range.After Charles Bronson and Tommy Lee Jones were mooted for the role, Carpenter went for hisElvisminiseries leading man, Kurt Russellinstead.
Not only didEscape from New Yorkbreak Russell’s typecasting as a Disney teen star, but it also put him on the path to movie stardom. When it came to playing the part,Russell decided that since he was squaring off againstThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly’sLee Van Cleef, then he should channel Eastwood while playing Snake.
So,from Snake’s low raspy voice to his ice-cool demeanor, Russell is doing his best Clint Eastwood impression. In that regard, it’s funny to think that Carpenter directed Russell in movies where he technically played Elvis Presley, Clint Eastwood,andJohn Wayne.Big Trouble in Little Chinais definitely the funniest out of those three, however.
Big Trouble in Little China
Cast
Big Trouble in Little China is a 1986 action comedy directed by John Carpenter. Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton, a truck driver who attempts to rescue his friend Wang Chi’s fiancée from the clutches of an evil sorcerer named David Lo Pan.
Clint Eastwood
Discover the latest news and filmography for Clint Eastwood, known for Dirty Harry and Unforgiven.
