Okay, let's address the elephant in the room first: Jackie Chan is getting an Oscar. And not just any Oscar — the Lifetime Achievement Oscar.
Why, you may be asking, is the star of Rush Hour being honored by The Academy of Arts and Sciences? Well, it's because over his long career, he has either starred, directed, produced or worked as a stuntman in an estimated 250 movies. (Fun fact: he acted in his first movie when he was just 8 years old.)
Chan received his Governor's Award, which recognizes achievements over a career in film, in November. In a Facebook post at the time, Chan wrote: “I‘d like to say a heartfelt thank you to the Oscars for giving me this award of encouragement and recognizing my achievements while I’m still ‘young.’ I’m absolutely honored to be the first Chinese in history to receive this award.”
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Now that that's out of the way, we can talk about the really important things: Jackie Chan's pandas. The actor walked the red carpet accompanied by two very cute plush pandas, complete with silver Uggs. While everyone around the world let out a collective squeal of delight, Chan explained that the toy pandas are a way for him to promote his charity work as a Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF.
And as if that wasn't already the cutest thing to have ever happened on the red carpet — and yes, we're counting Sunny Pawar — Chan revealed to Ryan Seacrest that he also owns pandas IRL. According to China Daily, Chan adopted two giant pandas in 2009 adopted two giant pandas — one male, one female — named "Cheng Cheng" and "Long Long" after the actor's Chinese name.
But let's get back to the silver-Ugg-clad pandas.
According to Chan, the idea to bring along toy pandas came from his assistant, Victoria. "Since she started working with me, she’s had the opportunity to travel all over the world. So to make the journey more fun, she told me that she wanted to buy a small stuffed animal and take pictures with it all over the world," Chan wrote on his website.
“So first, I picked out two pandas. Victoria reminded me that we would have to bring TWO pandas all over the world with us – but that was okay with me because I don’t want the pandas to be lonely! I looked at many different bears but in the end, I chose the pandas because they speak to me. I feel a connection with them. I have already adopted two real pandas. Also I am in Kung Fu Panda! Plus it represents my country. No matter what, every time I see a panda on TV I like to laugh! I love pandas!”
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The toy pandas have met their share of celebrities already, so they're probably not too phased by all the glitz and glamour of the night. “Stallone . . . Clinton. . .” Chan told Seacrest on the red carpet.
Guys, Jackie Chan and his pandas deserves all the awards.
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