The ultimate ego-maniac director, better known as Brett Ratner, is infamous for publicly tooting his own horn. He may not yell “I’m the king of the world!” but you know he’s thinking it, and possibly for good reason: nearly everything he touches turns into box office gold. Even X-Men: The Last Stand, which many people felt tainted the film series (not me—I thought it was fun), effortlessly broke the hundred million dollar mark.

USA Today recently sat down with the director to discuss his upcoming action flick Rush Hour 3, which reunites Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. The third installment will take place in Paris, as the tag team strays far from their typical stomping grounds in order to find a bad guy.

"In the first movie Jackie was a fish out of water (in L.A), then Chris was one in the second movie (in Hong Kong). Now they are both fish out of water," Ratner says. One of the film’s villains will be played by Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai), who Ratner is delighted to have on-board. "He's a brilliant actor with a martial arts background who has done some incredible films." Other new additions to the cast include Max Von Sydow and Roman Polanski.

Rush Hour 3 is currently slated for an August 2007 release.