STANLEY TONG KWAI-LAI owes a great deal to action star Jackie Chan. It was Chan, after all, who picked the inexperienced Tong from out of the blue to direct 1992's Police Story 3: Super Cop - the film that sent Tong's career skyrocketing.
But it works both ways. Without Tong, there's little doubt Chan's dreams of breaking into the US would have continued to stall for who knows how long. Before they joined forces, Chan was already an Asian star, with 55 films under his belt and counting. But the US remained unconvinced. Thanks to Tong, Chan was able to change all that. Super Cop was a box-office hit here and won Chan his first Golden Horse Award (Tong also picked up a Golden Horse as director).
More importantly, it showed the world a new Chan by pairing him with Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng and by taking his brand of action out of its usual Hong Kong settings, with scenes shot in Thailand and Malaysia. Hollywood took notice - as did the American public by handing over US$16 million at the box office.
The next Tong-Chan production, 1995's Rumble in the Bronx, simply went ballistic. It was released on 2,000 screens in North America - a move previously unthinkable for what was still very much a Hong Kong production - and made US$32 million there alone.
So, it's no surprise that when talking to Tong, the conversation soon turns to his history with Chan. Then again, he is promoting their latest production, the US$15 million The Myth. Tong is under no illusions that his name will forever be linked with Hong Kong's pocket dynamo.
'He gave me my big opportunity,' says Tong. 'It was a big challenge for someone with not much experience, but I knew what I could do and so it worked out for both of us. And there are worse things in the world than being linked to an icon.'