Taking risks in a firestorm

Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau promotes his new movie Firestorm in Beijing. He is the leading actor, producer and co-investor of the movie. Photos by Jiang Dong / China Daily

In his new film Firestorm, to be released on Dec 12, 52-year-old movie star Andy Lau jumps from the 11th floor of a building in Central, the business center of Hong Kong.

It is a stunt he managed to pull off despite his acrophobia — he even hates roller coasters.

"I don't know why people pay others to get scared,' he jokes.

The film, the directorial debut of former scriptwriter Alan Yuen, had Lau finding himself doing a number of hair-raising stunts, such as rushing among the hustle and bustle of Central, holding a machine gun.

The singer and actor known as the "heavenly king" of the Hong Kong entertainment industry does not have to do the stunts himself, but he loved the script and as producer and co-investor he was conscious of keeping costs down.

"To use stunt men means more money. I would rather use it on protecting our actors," he says.

The film's other investor is Bill Kong, an established producer behind the success of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Zhang Yimou's Hero.

This is not the first time Lau has supported a new director.

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