Rush Hour is a 1998 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner from a screenplay by Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna and a story by LaManna. It stars Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Chris Penn, and Elizabeth Peña. In the film, Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) Chief Inspector Lee (Chan) and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective James Carter (Tucker) are forced to work together to rescue a Chinese diplomat's abducted daughter. Development on Rush Hour began in 1995, after LaManna wrote a spec script, which was first initially sold to Hollywood Pictures with Ratner and Chan both attached to the project.