Honestly, who likes Chris Tucker?

New Line Cinema, apparently.

The studio that gave us the Rush Hour films will reportedly pay Chris Tucker $25 million to appear in Rush Hour 3. That makes him the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, along with Hitch star Will Smith.

New Line also offered the other half of the Rush Hour cops, Jackie Chan, $15 million for the third installment.

What's wrong with this picture?

Can anyone honestly say he or she watched the Rush Hour movies because of a shrieking Chris Tucker? Didn’t think so. The series could survive without Chris Tucker, who, incidentally, only has the two Rush Hour films as hits to his credit. Any loudmouth comedian (loads of them in Hollywood) could take his place. But pull Jackie Chan out of that movie and all you’d be left with is another so-so comedy with an annoying African-American comedian (think Chris Rock, and all the crap he’s given us all these years) in the lead.

So why is the legendary Jackie Chan not paid the same, or at least something close to the amount they’re giving the one-dimesional Chris Tucker? Your guess is as good as mine.

So much for the land of equal opportunity…