RAISING THE DRAGON HEAT : Remembering movie mayhem on the mean streets of Hong Kong (part three)
Dragon Heat gave me the chance to work with an idol and an old friend. The idol was Sammo Hung, the old friend Simon Yam. In the film, they play two veteran cops who are at odds with each other, and, in my small role as an expat policeman, I’m stuck between them.
I first met Simon back in 1993, when I was line producer on a Hong Kong movie called Guns And Roses. The film was shot on location in Birmingham, London and Paris, and I was responsible for arranging for locations, key props and local acting talent. (Coincidentally, I played a cop in that film, too!) The cast included Robin Shou (later to find fame with Mortal Kombat), movie/tv action Wilson Lam (who seems now to be retired from the industry) and Simon, who showed up in Birmingham with his then-girlfriend (now wife) Qiqi. Then, as now, Simon was one of the warmest and most professional guys in the business. I remember shooting on a street called Makepeace Avenue in Warwick. Every time one of the residents complained, I’d get Simon to turn on his charm.
For some reason, Simon and director Daniel Lee didn’t have great chemistry on the film. This happens on films sometimes, and is no-one’s fault. I know Simon was shooting a couple of films for Johnnie To at the same time, and perhaps Daniel felt that Yam was too distracted to focus on our movie. I certainly never felt that. I remember everyone holding their breath during a scene where Simon and star Sammo Hung confront each other about their past conflicts. It was such a pleasure to see these
two old pros at work, and the younger actors in the cast took it as a great lesson in screen acting. Though I wasn’t on set for it, I found their final scene in the film even more powerful when I screened the rough cut.
One of the scenes featuring Simon was cut from the finished film. Just prior to Petros (Michael Biehn) and his team storming the safehouse, Simon’s character, Commander Hon San, rallies the troops while donning a bulletproof vest. He gives this speech in which he tells them that, even though they usually see him behind a desk giving orders, he’s still willing to stand with them on the front line. I’m no great thespian, but found myself responding to the power of Simon’s performance. When I saw my reaction shot in the rushes, I thought ‘Wow, I’m getting better at this!’, but it was really down to Simon, rather than myself.
What can I say about Sammo Hung? Like everyone, I discovered him when I discovered Bruce Lee, watching them duke it out at the opening of Enter The Dragon. I first met him when, as a tender 19 year old, I visited the set of the kung fu classc Prodigal Son. I tracked his career from the early Golden Harvest epics through to his last bona fide masterwork, Pedicab Driver. I learned that, even if Sammo Hung is only in a film for 5 minutes, they tend to be the best 5 in the movie. Sammo’s in Dragon Heat for way more than 5 minutes, and his scenes are my favourites in the film.
The great thing about Sammo is that, even though he can act, fight, action direct, direct and produce a film better than anyone else on the set, he never throws his (considerable) weight around. He and Daniel had a great rapport (they’ve since worked together again on Three Kingdoms : Resurrection of the Dragon), and he had no trouble being action directed by his former protégé, Chin Kar-lok. Between takes, we were chatting about Kill Zone (now available from Dragon Dynasty!). There was a long delay between the time that film (shot under the title ‘SPL’) wrapped and when it was released, and I actually saw the finished film before Sammo. I commended him on his performance, which was perceived as something of a comeback for him. Wasn’t I a bit over the top in the last scene?, he wanted to know, genuinely concerned. I was touched that this true veteran still cared that much about his work, and about my opinion. It was a good lesson in professionalism. I assured him that he was great throughout the film.
Though he has to follow a very careful diet, Sammo (obviously!) loves to cook and loves to eat. He would bring his breakfast onto the set, and share all the things he wasn’t allowed to have himself. I remember the first day he and Michael Biehn met, and Sammo chatted away with him while pressing him to eat more buns. Afterwards, Sammo pulled me to one side. What was Michael in again?, he wanted to know. He was worried that he might offend our visiting actor by not knowing his credits, and, again, I was impressed by his grace.
- ABBY, ABBY WORLD! | 2007-12-14 10:15:59