MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSMATE SIGHTING

From Roger Ebert's weekly movie answer man column:

Q. In your review of "Shanghai Knights," you say "The whole point is that [Jackie Chan] does his own stunts, and the audience knows it." I'm curious what you think of Chan's recent admission that this is no longer true--he does use a stuntman for stunts that he does not feel safe doing.

Geoffrey Romer,

Claremont, Calif.

A. We may be up against an urban legend. The authoritative Web site jackiechankids.com says that Chan has never done all of his own stunts, and never claimed that he did, although he sometimes just smiled when others made that statement.

Why doesn't he do his own stunts? The reply: "He'd be stupid to do all the stunts in all his movies. And as Jackie has said many times, 'I may be crazy but I'm not stupid.' Jackie began his career in the movies as a stuntman and did many dangerous things that no one else would do because he was trying to make a name for himself. After he established himself as a well-regarded stuntman, he no longer had to do it all to prove anything to anyone. So he began to do as much as he wanted to do. In the old days, that meant nearly all the stunts. ... As he got older, he began to use stunt doubles for several reasons. The studios ... sometimes insisted that he use stunt doubles so that their star wouldn't be put in any danger. He also began to be more careful about his own body. Doctors warned him about doing things that might cause permanent damage."

Geoff ("don't call me 'geeee-off'") Romer was what one would charitably call a "nerd" back his Nueva days. Translation: he will rule the world. I believe he's still a student at Harvey Mudd, or one of them other Claremont schools. Also, his grandfather was the governor of Colorado, as well as former chair of the DNC. I guess this puts him on par with my appearances on Rollingstone.com, MediaWhoresOnline and Tuesday Morning Quarterback, hehe. Congrats Geoff!