You can never be too superstitious or cautious. It seems that during the shooting of City With No Mercy, starring Donnie Yen Ji-dan, much of the blood and guts wasn't created in the special effects department.
Mandarin Films boss Raymond Wong Pak-ming said accidents were happening too frequently to be dismissed. One actor hurt his waist falling from the second floor of a building, while a stuntman required 30 stitches to his nose, which was broken during a car chase. Even Yen (below) was knocked around.
So, what to do - tighten safety measures? More careful planning of stunts? Nope. You change the film title. The original Chinese title of City With No Mercy sounded too similar to a negative phrase suggesting a 'destructive star', so, for better luck, the movie is now called Flash Point.
'Donnie Yen hurt his legs several times and he was always sick,' Wong said at a lunch held yesterday. 'It's weird but after we started using the new name, he recovered quickly.' The delay increased the budget from US$8 million to almost US$10 million, but Wong hopes Flash Point will be in cinemas by the end of June.