When two talents merge

When Hong Kong's action master John Woo and his good friend and manager Terence Chang started a production company in Hollywood, Chang suggested they simply call it Woo Chang Productions.

The director said it did not sound attractive; so the duo decided on Lion Rock Productions. It reflected their Hong Kong roots and symbolised something stable and steady - just like their collaboration and friendship.

With Woo's new movie Face/Off - which was produced by Chang - blasting its way to the top of the US box office and into the critics' list of favourites, the dynamic duo has made it to the top of the Hollywood heap after a five-year struggle.

During a trip to the SAR this week, the director said his path would never have been as smooth without the support and advice of his long-time friend. 'Having Terence here has helped me a lot. He helps me plan all the creative and filming details. And, most invaluable of all, he helps me handle the studio politics, which can be really complicated. So he handles all the budget stuff and politics and I don't have to worry about anything. I just concentrate on filming,' Woo said.

'He is a very good friend. As a friend he also helps me choose the scripts. He screens them first and only shows me those that are suitable for me. It makes things a lot easier for me.' The two years after Hard Target, Woo's Hollywood debut, were the most difficult as two projects on which they had been working fell through. It was only with 1996's Broken Arrow, which starred John Travolta and Christian Slater, that things started moving at the breakneck speed typical of a Woo movie.

'The past five years have been very good practice and experience. In Hollywood, making movies is very complicated. With the big budgets there is a lot of vested interest. Everyone gets involved and it becomes very confusing,' Woo said.