Chan: Don't mess with my Olympics

'This is about sports,' not politics

Jackie Chan was very blunt about the upcoming Beijing Olympics -- while chatting up his upcoming ''Forbidden Kingdom'' flick in Los Angeles Saturday.

The action superstar said he doesn't think politics should intrude on the games. ''This is about sports, achievement and breaking down barriers between all the countries in the world.''

Hong Kong native Chan told me he's also going to be part of the torch relay once it nears Beijing. Demonstrating one of his famous kung fu moves with his hands, he quipped, ''Demonstrators better not get anywhere close to me'' -- a clear challenge to those who might want to disrupt his and the torch's progress.

The actor said he's excited about his homeland hosting the Olympics for the first time, especially since it ''will provide another way for us to tell the world about Chinese culture.''

But the entertainer made it clear, ''We don't know everything. We are not right about everything. Things are getting better in China, but we can change and are changing. We want to learn from the rest of the world as well as teach others about our ways and our culture.''

Chan said that since the emergence of China as a major world power, ''people go after you . . . China is now a target. The same thing is true of America. People go after America too -- because it is so big, so rich, so powerful. We all have to learn how to learn from each other and get along."

u As for ''Forbidden Kingdom'' (opening Friday), the film's director Rob Minkoff -- who also helmed the Oscar-winning ''The Lion King'' -- says his movie, based on the classic Chinese legend of the Monkey King, is an effort to merge Eastern and Western sensibilities. ''It's like a Western chef cooking Chinese food.''

u As for Chan, he's thrilled the film is the first time he and fellow martial arts icon Jet Li are co-starring in a movie. ''I've wanted this to happen for 20 years,'' he said. ''We'd have dinner and say, 'Let's do something.' We'd agree. Then we'd go our separate ways and another two years would go by and nothing happened. Finally, we found a middle-man -- a producer -- who put something together. Thank goodness!''

HIGH FLYING: As part of my bicoastal L.A.-to-New York trek this past weekend, I spied music man Josh Groban jumping on my JFK-bound American flight at LAX -- delighting the ticket agent by giving him a unique souvenir. Groban happily autographed his boarding pass and gave it back to the agent, leading a cynic behind me in line to say, ''How fast before you think that will end up on e-Bay?''

u Spotted on another American flight from L.A. to New York Saturday was recently axed ''American Idol'' contestant Michael Johns. ''He may have been eliminated, but at least he's still flying first class,'' quipped a pal who spotted the aspiring pop singer. ''He's a lot taller than you'd ever think.''

PIECE OF CAKE: In many of his roles, Chicago actor Danny Goldring plays tough guys, as he does in films like ''The Earl'' and the upcoming ''Chicago Overcoat.'' But people might be surprised to learn Goldring has a softer side. He's a skilled baker who makes Amish friendship bread, a cinnamon cake-like confection. His tradition: to bring a loaf to the set of each film or play he's in. So it was no surprise Goldring shared it with Lois Smith and his other fellow cast members after the closing night of Horton Foote's ''The Trip to Bountiful,'' which ended its six-week run at the Goodman Theatre Sunday.

MOVIE SCHMOOZE: Looks like Orlando Bloom -- now being linked to Jennifer Aniston -- reportedly has inked quite the lucrative deal, signing on to yet another film trilogy. Bloom will play the lead in Disney's ''Prince of Persia'' for a juicy $40 million.