Jackie Chan wanna-be

Hit the road, Jackie Chan.

Film critics may soon have a new talent to honor in the world of Kung Fu flicks, and her name is Payton Aurora Charles. She might not have the rigorous training under her belt that Chan acquired in music, dance and traditional martial arts, but then she IS only 7 years old. For now, her directorial debut will just have to do.

The Owasco Elementary first-grader wrote and directed “Kung Fu King,” a 16-minute short that aired late last month on Adelphia's public access channel 4. The video “pays homage to classic Hong Kong martial arts cinema as well as Japanese Samurai films,” according to a press release, and is all the brainchild of a little blond girl who loves the color pink, Jackie Chan and obscure Japanese action/horror/comedies. Menacing plastic Godzilla action figures mingle with the Beanie Babies collection she keeps in her bedroom closet, signaling the varied - if incongruous - passions of a little kid. Still, varied passions inspire a vivid imagination, especially when it comes to writing dialogue.