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Masked
Crusaders
'Hawk' team carries on despite SARS
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| May 20, 2003 - The Hollywood Reporter |
By Winnie Chung
     
SHANGHAI -- But for masked faces on set and the fact that producer Thomas
Chung is armed with an antibacterial mousse that he sprays liberally on
everyone's hands at regular intervals, there is no evidence that the
threat of SARS has affected the shoot of Michelle Yeoh's new actioner
"Silver Hawk" in Shanghai.
     
"Silver Hawk" is one of the few productions that is valiantly carrying
on production in China as the country battles with SARS and rules
for quarantine measures remain unclear. Several productions --
including a new Stephen Chow ("Shaolin Soccer") movie -- have delayed
production dates until the situation clears.
     
"Shanghai has put a lot of effort into sanitizing the city and our
work environment but there is an underlying caution because you
know what the outcome could be," says star and producer Yeoh,
during a filming break. "We make sure that the crew doesn't take any
risks, but we each have to be responsible because just one person
coming down with the disease could jeopardize the whole production."
     
The $10 million "Silver Hawk" is about a masked heroine who tries to
stop a megalomaniac from taking over the world by feeding subliminal
messages into cell phones. The film, directed by Hong Kong director
Jingle Ma ("Tokyo Raiders"), also stars Luke Goss and Michael Jai White,
both of whom seem to have settled into Shanghai quite comfortably.
     
"Everything on a film -- producers, insurance and bonding -- is
primarily about safety. If there was any genuine danger, I wouldn't be
asked here. I feel informed, and it's quite an adventure," says Goss.
     
"If the film is going forward, there obviously couldn't be too much
of a risk going on," adds White. "Knowing the media, it sometimes blows
things out of proportion."
     
Location shooting is moving ahead on schedule and, so far, the city's
sanitation and prevention measures have not caused any major disruptions,
although there have cases where quick decisions had to be made.
     
"Several locations that we had intended to use for shooting were closed
suddenly so that health officials could check on the sanitary conditions,
so we had to quickly scout for alternatives," reports director Ma.
"You just have to think on your feet most of the time, which is something
we're used to in Hong Kong anyway."
     
The city's quarantine measures have been more of a challenge for the
producers. In addition to body temperature testing twice a day and
forms requiring crew members to report where they have been and who
they have been with, the latest regulations require new arrivals to
sit out a 14-day quarantine before being able to join the set. This
also applies to other professions.
     
"We try our best to comply with the regulations, and it hasn't been
a great problem so far because most of our actors are scheduled to
be here for the duration of the shoot," says producer Chung. "There
have just been minor adjustments and you just have to be completely
flexible with all plans."
Stringent precautions are being taken on the Shanghai set
of "Silver Hawk."
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