13 Things You Didn’t Know About John Carpenter’s “Big Trouble in Little China”

The last studio film Carpenter worked on in the 80’s, Big Trouble in Little China, was a commercial failure. Disillusioned with Hollywood and the constant interference of studio executives, Carpenter’s next two films (Prince of Darkness and They Live) were both independently produced.

The film follows Jack Burton, a loud mouth truck driver whose truck is stolen by a San Francisco Chinese street gang called the Lords of Death. They’ve also kidnapped Burton’s friend’s fiance. Together, Burton and Wang Chi must fight gangsters, sorcery, and monsters to save the girl (and the truck).

Carpenter’s foray into the world of martial arts films differs dramatically from other American movies. Even though Kurt Russel is technically the star, his character Jack Burton is portrayed as a bumbling oaf failing upwards, while his friend Wang Chi is the actual hero. Dennis Dun, who played Wang Chi, said of the film: “I’m seeing Chinese actors getting to do stuff that American movies usually don’t let them do. I’ve never seen this type of role for an Asian in an American film.”