QUICK TAKES - July 14, 2009

Jackie Chan will play the wise kung-fu master in a Hollywood-Chinese remake of the 1984 hit “The Karate Kid,” a movie company publicist said Monday.

Chan’s young disciple in “Kung Fu Kid” will be played by Jaden Smith, the son of Hollywood stars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, China Film Group spokesman Weng Li said. Will Smith is one of the movie’s producers.

In “The Karate Kid,” Pat Morita plays the iconic building handyman Mr. Miyagi, who trains one of his young tenants, portrayed by Ralph Macchio, into an accomplished fighter.

The co-production between the state-run China Film Group and Columbia Pictures started shooting over the weekend in Beijing, Weng said.