Benny Chan's Call of Heroes to hit cinemas on Friday

Benny Chan points to his glasses while talking about his fascination with martial arts.

"As a child, I always hid inside a blanket and used a flashlight (at night) to read martial arts books by Louis Cha," Chan, 55, said at a recent media interaction in Beijing.

The veteran Hong Kong-based director's latest feature, Call of Heroes, is a martial arts film that shows a small group of people fighting a powerful villain. The celebrity-studded film will open in China and some parts of Southeast Asia on Friday. Its release dates for North America and Europe have yet to be announced.