SOME PEOPLE think on their feet. But for action director Yuen Wo-ping, ideas appear when he's on his back.
'I don't know why,' the world-class director says with a gentle smile. 'It's an old habit.'
Yuen, who dreamed up the kicks and punches that graced international box-office hits The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, may have dozed off while cogitating on-screen movements. But years after becoming a household name in Hong Kong with 50 films under his belt, he is finally making audiences around the world sit up and take notice.
Born in Guangzhou in 1945, Yuen became involved in kung fu movies through his father, Simon Yuen Siu-tien, himself an actor and stuntman. As a young boy, Yuen would watch his father work and his interest in stunts and martial arts grew.
Today, the 58-year-old - who splits his time between Britain and Hong Kong - is widely acknowledged as one of the world's best and most respected action choreographers. Master Yuen, as he is known to his colleagues, has just completed work on the Matrix sequels: The Matrix Reloaded, which premieres in America on May 15, and The Matrix Revolutions, which opens on November 7 (both should arrive in Hong Kong a week after the US dates). His primary task? Making sure stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss made all the right moves.
But making it look good is easier said than done. Revered by many as the inventor of artful torture, Yuen began training the actors in November 2000, about five months before the start of shooting. 'I had to teach them how to fight by opening their tendons and loosening their legs so their punches were strong and their kicks high,' he says.