Although most moviegoers would know John Fusco as the writer of such movies as Young Guns, Young Guns II, Thunderheart, and Hidalgo, some might not know that he's schooled in the art of Shaolin Kung Fu. It was Fusco's experience with the martial arts that helped him pen The Forbidden Kingdom, which became the first project that featured Jet Li and Jackie Chan together in the same film. Fusco has had an interesting career as a writer since many of his stories tap into a certain sense of spirituality, be it the days of the American Western to the Native American culture to Asian martial arts.

With The Forbidden Kingdom about to make its way to DVD on September 9, we caught up with John Fusco to talk about his approach to writing The Forbidden Kingdom, how he worked with both Jet Li and Jackie Chan, what was needed in order for the story appeal to western audiences, whether there's a chance we'll see a Forbidden Kingdom sequel, and how he's approaching the script for his re-imagining of the legendary classic The Seven Samurai.

THE DEADBOLT: I talked to Jet Li on the set of another movie about expanding his Buddhist principles away from the film industry. How did you work with him to achieve what he wanted to see in the script from a spiritual standpoint?

JOHN FUSCO: I think what Jet wanted in that regard was the same thing that I wanted long before I knew he’d be in the movie. I think he responded to that when he read the script, and then after we first met and talked in Hong Kong. But Jet’s knowledge goes a lot deeper than mine and so he was a great resource and guide. We’d have long conversations and then I’d go back and rewrite a scene that maybe pared my seven lines of dialogue down to one, based on his insights.

Of course, we kept it all in the spirit of the primer that it was intended to be. I did, after all, create this story for my young son to enhance his martial arts studies and get him interested in the true roots of the discipline.

THE DEADBOLT: How was that different than what Jackie wanted to see in the script?

FUSCO: Very different. They are Yin and Yang. Hope and Crosby. Abbot and Costello. Jackie just wanted me to simplify his dialogue. When we were sitting in his hotel room in Shanghai and he saw the thick pages of original dialogue, he jokingly threatened to kill me. And then when he saw the character name "SILENT MONK", he said, 'Who is silent monk? Why can’t I be the silent monk?'

Jackie offered me one bottle of Jackie Chan Shiraz, a very nice wine, for every line of dialogue I cut.

I worked closely with Jackie to shape and tighten his dialogue. I originally, and intentionally, wrote Lu-Yan’s lines in the flamboyant style of the Arthur Whaley translations of the Chinese classics. Jackie read the lines and said, 'Human beings don’t talk like this!' We had incredible fun together rewriting the lines for him and keeping them punchy. But then sometimes he’d show up on set and have an original and flamboyant line memorized.

THE DEADBOLT: Since Jet and Jackie wanted to work together on a project, what was it about the script that you feel they were attracted to most?

FUSCO: Honestly, Jet had always wanted to play the Monkey King and he liked the fact that the script took the folklore out of the box and opened it up in a crazy way. I think Jackie was most attracted to the idea of finally teaming up with Jet, but I also sense that he saw the tribute to the Drunken Master character that he created. Why should anyone else play him?

THE DEADBOLT: From a writing standpoint, did you feel bound by the conventions of what Western audiences expect a martial arts to be, as reflected through Jason, and how did you temper that with elements of traditional Asian cinema?

FUSCO: I really didn’t think of any audience when it started except for my son. I never intended for the story to be a movie. So, what I was basically trying to do was frame Kung Fu literature, mythology, and philosophy in a western hero’s journey template.

THE DEADBOLT: So how did you approach the mysticism and fantastical elements to make sure American audiences would get it?

FUSCO: Good question. A western audience tends to view characters and story in black and white. Good guys and bad guys. The Chinese explore the gray areas. There’s no Yin without Yang; each contains its opposite. The Monkey King can do acts that would freak a western audience out. They’d see him as a demon. But then he’d do good deeds, too. I had to temper that. The Chinese can accept the character for what he is. But I had to focus more on Monkey King’s good side or we’d lose the western audience. Although I did have Jet take a leak on Jackie’s head which was total Monkey King behavior manifesting itself in his alter-ego the Silent Monk. You should’ve heard the audience in Beijing go wild over that beat.

In terms of the fantastical elements, I’ve heard that George Lucas got his inspiration for "the Force" from the Chinese concepts of Qi and the Tao. A lot of the fantastical elements of traditional Wuxia land in a logical way for a western audience and it feels refreshing in a new context, I think.

THE DEADBOLT: The film seems to incorporate elements of both traditional and contemporary Asian films, like Tai Chi Master, House of Flying Daggers, Crouching Tiger with some Shaw Bros. mixed in. How is the look different or similar than what you saw in your first draft?

FUSCO: What Rob Minkoff did was far more funky and hip. He embraced the kitsch of it all. Right down to the music cues of the old Shaw Bros. that had been cannibalized from old Spaghetti Westerns. Rob made that a lot better.

THE DEADBOLT: Can you explain the process of how the fight sequences evolved between the page then to Woo-Ping, working with Rob Minkoff, and then getting Jackie and Jet to interpret them?

FUSCO: I wrote an article about this process for Kung Fu Magazine called "Forbidden Fist". Basically, I wrote martial arts action into the script, move by move, technique by technique. I practice and I study, and I wanted to give the script both verisimilitude and meter.

Woo-Ping was amused because, as he told me, 'Most writers just put down: Big Fight Here.' Of course, he did whatever he wanted with those set-pieces, but I was often honored when he’d keep in one of my basic ideas like Praying Mantis versus Black Tiger styles.

Let’s face it, I was seriously humbled. I mostly hung out and watched the best of the best light it up. Minkoff, on the DVD, describes it as jazz. That’s what it was. Constant improv and discovery and key changes. But I was pleased that the fight scenes usually kept one foot in the script.

THE DEADBOLT: Between writing Westerns, Native American cultural stories and Martial Arts projects, is there a common sense of spirituality among all three that easily translates to the page? Or do you find one harder to access than the other?

FUSCO: It was a common thread for me as a younger man and remains that way. There is a definite red thread and I think it is simply being drawn to the Tao. Native American philosophy is very similar to the Tao. I do find it surprisingly easy to shift from a Western to an Eastern and I do feel like I’m riding the same beam.

THE DEADBOLT: Is there any talk of you guys working on a Forbidden Kingdom sequel or another project together?

FUSCO: I am hearing some talk, yes.

THE DEADBOLT: Can you talk about how you’ve been approaching The Seven Samurai and how you’re dealing with the legacy of the original?

FUSCO: It’s not a remake. Doesn’t even get anywhere close to feudal Japan or swords. It’s a re-imagining of the classic "round-up" story that began with the obscure Greek drama Seven Against Thebes which inspired Master Kurosawa, which inspired Mag 7. My interest was that the story is set in the contemporary world of today’s security contractors.

THE DEADBOLT: Are Donnie Yen and George Clooney still in the mix at all?

FUSCO: I heard that once.