Editing Jackie Chan (section)

=== 1976–1980: Start-up leading roles ===
In 1976, Jackie Chan received a telegram from [[Willie Chan]], a film producer in the Hong Kong film industry who had been impressed with Jackie's stunt choreography work. Willie Chan offered him an acting role in a film directed by [[Lo Wei]]. Lo saw Chan's performance in the [[John Woo]] film ''[[Hand of Death (1976 film)|Hand of Death]]'' (1976) and planned to model him after [[Bruce Lee]] with the film ''[[New Fist of Fury]]''.<ref name="Whoami" /> His stage name was changed to {{lang|zh|成龍}} (literally "becoming the dragon",<ref name="official documentary" /><ref name="WSJ 20130117" /> ''Sing4 Lung4'' in [[Jyutping]]<ref name="WSJ 20130117" /> or rarely as ''Cheng Long'' in [[Mandarin pinyin|pinyin]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kungfu.chinaa2z.com/kungfu/html/Kung%20Fu%20Star/2008/20081225/20081225165205590921/20081225172231339876.html |title=Jackie Chan: Chinese Kung Fu Superstar |publisher=ChinaA2Z.com |author=lily |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408082259/http://kungfu.chinaa2z.com/kungfu/html/Kung%20Fu%20Star/2008/20081225/20081225165205590921/20081225172231339876.html |archive-date=8 April 2009 |url-status=usurped |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> to emphasize his similarity to Bruce Lee, whose stage name meant "Lee the Little Dragon" in Chinese. (Note that "dragon" in Lee's name referred to Lee's birth year being the [[Dragon (zodiac)|Dragon zodiac]], not the [[Chinese dragon]].) The film was unsuccessful because Chan was not accustomed to Lee's martial arts style. Despite the film's failure, Lo Wei continued producing films with similar themes, but with little improvement at the box office.<ref name="FightingMaster">{{cite web |title=Jackie Chan, a martial arts success story |work=Biography |publisher=Fighting Master |url=http://www.fightingmaster.com/actors/jackie/index.htm |access-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303195316/http://www.fightingmaster.com/actors/jackie/index.htm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref>

Chan's first major breakthrough was the 1978 film ''[[Snake in the Eagle's Shadow]]'', shot while he was loaned to Seasonal Film Corporation under a two-picture deal.<ref name="Jcm">{{cite web |title=Jackie Chan Biography (an Asian perspective) |work=Biography |publisher=Ng Kwong Loong (JackieChanMovie.com) |url=http://www.jackiechanmovie.com/profile/biography/bio.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040402123601/http://www.jackiechanmovie.com/profile/biography/bio.htm |archive-date=2 April 2004 |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> Director [[Yuen Woo-ping]] allowed Chan complete freedom over his stunt work. The film established the comedic kung fu genre, and proved refreshing to the Hong Kong audience.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pollard |first=Mark |title=Snake in the Eagle's Shadow |work=Movie review |publisher=Kung Fu Cinema |url=http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/snake-in-the-eagles-shadow-1978 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120903135635/http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/snake-in-the-eagles-shadow-1978 |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 September 2012 |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> The same year, Chan then starred in ''[[Drunken Master]]'', which finally propelled him to mainstream success.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pollard |first=Mark |title=Drunken Master |work=Movie review |publisher=Kung Fu Cinema |url=http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/drunken-master-1978 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209142139/http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/drunken-master-1978 |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 December 2012 |access-date=29 February 2012}}</ref>

Upon Chan's return to Lo Wei's studio, Lo tried to replicate the comedic approach of ''Drunken Master'', producing and also showed new features at the time with Jackie as the Stunt Director ''[[Half a Loaf of Kung Fu]]'' and ''[[Spiritual Kung Fu]]''.<ref name="Iamjc" /> He also gave Chan the opportunity to make his directorial debut in ''[[The Fearless Hyena]]''. When Willie Chan left the company, he advised Jackie to decide for himself whether or not to stay with Lo Wei. During the shooting of ''[[Fearless Hyena Part II]]'', Chan broke his contract and joined [[Orange Sky Golden Harvest|Golden Harvest]], prompting Lo to blackmail Chan with [[Triad (organized crime)|triads]], blaming Willie for his star's departure. The dispute was resolved with the help of fellow actor and director [[Jimmy Wang Yu]], allowing Chan to stay with Golden Harvest.<ref name="Jcm" />