"That Jackie Chan is just the nicest guy," Anthony Coraci said after returning from his Germany sojourn. "You'd never know he was a big star. He was helping out every one, even sweeping the floor."

        Jackie Chan, the popular Chinese actor who performs stunts that astound even circus performers, will star in the role of Passepartout, man servant to Philias Fogg, characters from Jules Verne's novel Around the World in 80 Days.

A reunion at the set of Around the World in 80 Days. (l to r) Anthony Coraci, Steve Coojan, Frank Coraci, Cecile de France, Jackie Chan and Carmen Coraci.        This version however, will be far different from the 1956 movie adaptation which starred David Niven as Fogg. With a $116 million budget, Frank Coraci broadened the Fogg role and added characters like P.T. Barnum and Queen Elizabeth. With an ample budget, Coraci could avail himself of exotic foreign filming locales like Thailand, Prague and Germany.

        Coraci's background as a world traveler made him well-suited to locate some of the finest foreign locales. After graduating from New York University Film School, he scored a dream job with Globus Travel to film vacation sites around the world. After four years at William Floyd High School and the same number at university, who could turn down the opportunity to fly around the world filming perfect vacations?

        But Frank's heart was still in motion pictures and his roots were in the South Shore. Coraci teamed up with local director Fred Carpenter and in 1994, produced and directed the feature length film Murdered Innocence which was filmed at many familiar Shirley locations.

Up, Up and Away!        A few years later, Coraci's big break came when his old college roommate and buddy called and asked him if he was interested in filming a movie. That roommate was none other than Adam Sandler and that movie was the smash hit The Wedding Singer starring Sandler and Drew Barr-ymore. Shirley is a nice place to live and work but Coraci was Hollywood bound.

        Coraci, who now resides in a Beverly Hills mansion, went on to direct Sandler again in The Water Boy and his directing success continues today with the filming of Around the World in 80 Days.

Frank Coraci sees that Jackie Chan gets the right amount of paint splattered on him.        Based upon Jules Vern's 18th century novel, the original lead character Passepartout was French. In this highly inventive version, Passepartout (Chan) is Chinese and must make it out of the country in order to restore a valuable jade Buddha that was stolen from his family's village. Chan seeks refuge with Philias Fogg (Steve Coogan) who, in this version, is an eccentric but brilliant British inventor. A bet is made and the pair attempt to make it around the world in 80 days, but not before being joined up with the lovely Monique (Cecile de France), a young French artist.

        Enter the evil fiends intent upon thwarting the trio's success. The adventure takes them across the planet to many colorful and exotic lands where they meet up with a motley group of historic characters like Queen Victoria played by Kathy Bates, a Scotland Yard investigator played by John Cleese, and a Turkish prince played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.Around the World in 80 Days is expected to premiere next spring.