In Renny Harlin's new film Skiptrace, an out-of-place musical number steals the show. Jackie Chan – who has a successful singing career in China – leads a Mongolian village in a film version of Adele's 2010 platinum hit “Rolling in the Deep”, remixed with traditional instruments. But the scene was almost cut – because of Adele herself.
When film directors work with Jackie Chan, a notorious perfectionist, the job requires flexibility and a talent for improvisation. An example of this was discovering that the locals loved Adele.
“I went to Mongolia to prepare scenes. None of that [music scene] was in the script,” Harlin told Inverse. “I met people there. I'm this tall blonde guy standing in front of Mongolians in their traditional outfits taking photos and it was a crazy cultural mix. I started thinking, 'How can we best demonstrate this?'”
Harlin, a Finnish filmmaker who built a Hollywood career with sequels like Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and Die Hard 2, learned that his extras were familiar with Western pop culture despite modest technology and limited infrastructure. A villager told Harlin that he loved the London pop singer. His favorite song? “Rolling in the deep.”
“I said, 'Are you listening to this song?' They said, 'Yes, we all do.' And Jackie said, 'I love this song too.' Everyone in China knows this song.'”
The director immediately knew what to add. “We could have this amazing East-West moment,” he told Jackie. “We have to do a scene where we sing together.” Jackie agreed and the action comedy suddenly had a musical number.
“A few days in advance we told everyone we were going to do this and mix it with traditional Chinese-Mongolian instruments,” Harlin said. “The hundreds of Mongolian extras knew the song. They were ready to sing. They didn’t speak English, but they knew the lyrics.”
After shooting Magic and Sunshine, everything was shot, edited and edited before Harlin and his producers realized there was a problem: they didn't have permission. “We used the normal channels and the agent said, 'Absolutely not.'”
Adele, a Grammy-winning pop star, is fiercely protective of her brand and has only lent her talents to one action hero: James Bond in 2012's Skyfall. “She's very negative about that kind of exploitation,” Harlin explained . “I was devastated. It shows how art and music can bring nations together.”
But Harlin refused to give up and set off for London with one goal: find Adele. Harlin contacted a friend who works in the London music business, who returned days later with information: Adele's best friend, who revealed the singer's email address.
In a heartfelt message, Harlin told Adele what it meant for villagers in a remote part of Asia to sing her blues-inspired Billboard chart-topper. “I said, 'The Mongolians love your music, the Chinese love your music.' This is how entertainment can connect cultures.'” Harlin added the scene to the email: Resting after a party, Chan begins a cappella before shudraga (Mongolian banjo) and tuur (drums) begin. Then, to Knoxville's amazement, the rest of the village begins to join in with a talented young woman.
“I said, ‘Look how happy these people are. We would really like to use this song in the film.'” A day later, the director heard from Adele, who loved it.
“Absolutely, you got it,” she wrote.
While Skiptrace emphasizes Rush Hour-style fun and other popcorn escapism, it's also the kind of easily translatable entertainment that can break down barriers. Remix aside, “Skiptrace” is the latest in an era in which Hollywood is frantically racing to conquer the international box office. “Pacific Rim,” “Iron Man 3,” “Now You See Me 2” and next year’s “The Great Wall,” starring Matt Damon, are all major Hollywood films made for foreign audiences.
But motivations aside, all that matters to Harlin is that people sing.
“What you see in the film is real. It's really about people coming together and music bringing cultures together. Everyone had a great time.”
Skiptrace is available in theaters now.
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