Stunt coordibnator Bruce Law Lai Yin has participated to over 172 film productions. He has worked with well-known directors, such as John Woo (Hardboiled, The Killer & Bullet in The Head), Jackie Chan (Thunderbolt), Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time In China), Kirk Wong (Crime Story) and Gordon Chan (Final Option).

Homepage - Part 1

 

This is the second part of our exclusive interview with stunt coordinator Bruce Law.

Part 2: Stuntmen in Hong Kong (2) - Work with others - Final word - Filmography
Part 1: Presentation - Extreme Crisis - Stuntmen in Hong Kong (1)

No part of this page content can be used without prior permission from the webmaster

STUNTMEN IN HONG KONG

HKCinemagic.com : There is no permit delivered for stunts in location in Hong Kong. How stunts are possible in HK compared to the USA?
Do you usually work without permits all the time like for the movies Full Throttle and Thunderbolt? Have you ever had any serious problem with the police? Has the permit situation changed over the years?
It’s not that difficult as we are all so used to this system, having grown up working around it. It’s only recently that the permit system was introduced.

I have had discussions with both the Hong Kong police and the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority and helped them to work out a system that works for all of us. I have broken down our work and showed them how we make explosions, and fire stunts etc to help them understand what we want to do. They have given me their consent and understanding, and their respect for what we are doing. I was given the "001" pyrotechnic permit and granted approval, which is very important.

HKCinemagic.com : With the actual bad situation of the HK cinema industry, is there still work for stuntmen or do stuntmen have to do other jobs to survive?
Some have changed their jobs, leaving the industry and waiting for a chance to return when it makes a comeback. Some are still working and waiting for their chance. I believe that the ones who can endure the hard times and remain standing will be the winners.

Top

YOUR WORK WITH OTHERS

HKCinemagic.com : Do you always try a stunt in front of an actor to show him that there is no risk? Can you give an example of a stunt you did with a big star? (such as Maggie Cheung or Stephen Chow or Andy Lau...)
Bruce Law : Too many! (Laughing) Sorry but I can’t remember all of them,

I do need to know whether the performer has got the basic ability to perform the stunt. If they don’t then I don’t think its necessary to show them but if yes after my demonstration, its up to them to work out how they are going to perform it safely. I do appreciate their courage and character when they can attempt to perform stunts. Some of the people I’ve worked with and got to perform their own stunts include;

Andy Lau, I only really taught him how to ride a motorbike but it seems like he’s forgotten how already! (Laughing)

I worked with Jackie Chan on Drunken Master 2 for the scene on the burning coals, and on Thunderbolt he almost crashed his car into a mechanical digger making a sharp turn.

Stephen Chow, I was able to show him how safely we could set his hands on fire in King of Comedy.

Then in Extreme Crisis, I had to show Teresa Lee how safe it was to put a squib on her head, and show Cheung Chi-lam how to jump off moving cars and do air-rams and spring board work.

HKCinemagic.com : You took part to movies directed by Gordon Chan, especially police action movies such as Final Option and First Option. How did you work out with director Gordon Chan the authenticity and the realism of the action scenes?
I worked on a number of movies with Gordon Chan from The Final Option to Armageddon. I think we did about 5 movies in a row together.

The Final Option was my first time to choreograph all the action for a film. Since the film featured so much different action, including guns and weapons tactics. Gordon didn’t think it would right to have someone who only knew martial arts be in charge, and he asked me if I wanted to be the action choreographer. I was very excited about this.

Audiences feel the movies are more realistic because we have done a lot of research and provided formal training to the actors before filming starts. After being trained by retired soldiers or ex-members of the SDU (Special Duties Unit), they understand what they are doing and how to perform in a proper and realistic way. My own personal experience and history with guns is a plus too!

Top

HKCinemagic.com : Have you ever encounter some difficulties with a film director who didn't understand your work and who asked to do something very dangerous? Have you ever refuse to do any stunt?
I won’t refuse any stunt or movie just because of the difficulty. I might turn something down because of difficulty working with the director! And I think a lot of American movie personnel who’ve worked with Hong Kong directors might understand what I’m talking about!

Personally I think it is a challenge to overcome difficulty, that’s what the main aim of being a stuntman is! Being a stuntman in Hong Kong doesn’t earn you a lot of money, so you have to have a deep interest and want to overcome various obstacles and challenges to keep going

It is quite common for me to challenge myself. I sometimes suggest action design that is difficult for the directors to know how to shoot. When we were making The Killer, John Woo had only asked for a car to roll down a 35-foot slope, I suggested a double from 70 feet! In Hardboiled, Chow Yun-fat uses his shotgun to blow out the tire of one bike and flies over a sliding bike, gets up and shoots again, that was one of my suggestions too.

I don’t really care about the level of danger. But more as to can we achieve what we want the way we want without compromising our safety and the finished shot. I left my previous stunt-team because of this. The action director and the director wanted a western style of stunt work but knew nothing about modern techniques and how to shoot it without greatly endangering the actors and stuntmen. I realized this and knew that I would need to learn how to shoot action and be able to demonstrate how we can do it safely.

My old team was always working with a new director or action director, and I remember for one film they wanted a shot of an actor catching on fire while he was drunk. We shot it twice in two separate locations, and I risked my life twice. The first time was ok, the second time I ended up burning 70% of the skin on my back, and that’s about 20% of the whole body.

This accident became a talking point within the industry at that time. After I was injured, nobody else wanted to attempt to do this scene. I came back and was able to complete the action by breaking it down into 2 parts. We used 3 cameras for the shoot, all of which were simply using high speed and wasting a lot of film. The fire would keep burning out and a lot of time and footage was being wasted. A lot of accidents back then were because of mistakes in the filming and creative process but nobody seemed to want to change the way we were doing it.

Some directors were real barbarians! "I am the director, I don’t care how you do it, I just want to see this effect and now!!". They would not consider the safety of the team or the crew, or spend money on safety measures, they just wanted results. I remember one movie, The Good, the Bad & the Beauty when the director wanted there to be a big fire scene involving boats and people trying to escape. I requested a lot of safety equipment and facilities which came to more than our salaries, we were then replaced with another stunt-team led by my ex-boss who charged a bit more for their salary but didn’t need as much safety backup. They did the shoot but a number of stuntmen got hurt, and things like that are just the tip of the iceberg.

HKCinemagic.com : Do you first listen to the film director requests and then do the stunt or do you have the freedom to create and then propose a stunt for a particular situation?
Both! Although I do prefer having room for my own creativity, I only took jobs, when I had just started my own company, where I did only exactly what the director or action director dictated.

After I had become established, people began to have full trust in my ability to not only stage action but to design it too. For the car-racing scenes at night in Thunderbolt, I was only given a concept and developed the whole scene from that.

On Wong Jing’s Conmen In Vegas, I was only given 3 pages of the story but I had to start designing the action right away. Within a week, I had e-mailed the storyboards for the car chase and gunfight with the helicopter to the US. This is one of the characteristics of the Hong Kong Film Industry, we might not have the most time for preparation but it provides a good chance for those who are passionate about their work, and can think on their feet.

 

FINAL WORD

HKCinemagic.com : What you would you say to people who enjoy your work?
Bruce Law : I would like to say a big thank you to all of those who appreciate my work and stunt work in general. I will try my best to develop bigger and better stunts for the future. In addition to being a stunt/action director, I hope I can also continue to work as a director, a good one! Thank you for all of your support.

 

Our greatest thanks to Bruce Law for such kindness and patience.
Thanks extended to Mike Leeder who kindly translated Bruce's statments into English.
Interview made by Thomas Podvin, November 17th, 2003. All rights reserved.

All pictures courtesy Bruce Law Stunts Unlimited.
No part of this page content can be used without prior permission from the webmaster

 

Top

SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY & DETAILS

2000
Help!!! (Action Director)
Fist Power (Action Director)

1999
Never Compromise (Actor)
The Conmen in Vegas (Action Director)
King of Comedy (Action Director)
The Legend of Speed (Action Director)

1998
Extreme Crisis (Director, Car Stunts, Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects)

1997
Walk In (Action Director)
Armageddon (Action Director)

1996
First Option (Action Director)
Another Chinese Cop (Action Director)

1995
Thunderbolt (Actor)
Full Throttle (Car Stunt Director for the part of Hong Kong, Actor, Car Stunt Co-ordinator in Japan, Explosive Effects, Actor)
The Phantom Lover  (Action Director)
Dead Heat (Action Director)
High Risk (Action Director)

1994
In the Heat of Summer (Action Director)
Whatever You Want (Action Director)
Rock N'Roll Cop (Action Director)
The Final Option (Action Director, Actor)
A Taste Of Killing And Romance (Car Stunts, Explosive Effects)
Rock N' Roll Cop (Actor, Action Co-ordinator, Explosive Effect Co-ordinator)
Drunken Master II (Fire Stunts)

1993
Project S (Car Stunts, Explosive Effects, Actor)
A Moment Of Romance II (Car Stunts)
The Moon Warrior (Fire Stunts)
Future Cops (Car Stunts)
Boys Are Easy (Car Stunts)
Crime Story (Car Stunts, Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects)
City Hunter (Car Stunts)

1992
My Wife's Lover (Action Director)
Hard-Boiled (Car Stunts, Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects)
Police Story III Super Cop (Car Stunts, Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects)
The Twin Dragons (Explosive Effects)
Full Contact (Explosive Effects Co-ordinator)
Now You See Love, Now You Don't (Car Stunts)
Savior Of The Soul II (Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects)

1991
Don't Fool Me (Actor)
Perfect Match (Fire Stunts)
Once A Thief (Car Stunts, Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects, the part in Hong Kong)
The Blue Jean Monster (Action Director)
Savior Of The Soul (Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects)
Don't Fool Me (Actor, Stunt Co-ordinator: Car Stunts, Explosive Effects)

1990
Bullet In The Head (Car Stunts)
A Moment Of Romance (Car Stunts, Explosive Effects)

1989
The Killer (Car Stunts)
Stars And Roses (Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects)
Bloody Brotherhood (Car Stunts)

The Shot Out (Stunt Co-ordinator: Car Stunts, Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects)
The Price Of Temple Street (Car Stunts, Fire Stunts, Explosive Effects) 

Thanks to Bruce Law Stunts Unlimited for the info.

Homepage - Top

 

© HKcinemagic 2001-2003

Report a broken link, any mistake or add a comment
This page is copyright (c) 2001-2003 by HongKong Cinemagic. No part of the review, text or pictures, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical and by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the webmaster.