Director Luc Besson hits out at Hong Kong paparazzi as he films in Taipei

French director Luc Besson has lashed out at Hong Kong paparazzi who harassed him while he was shooting his new movie Lucy in Taipei.

The movie, starring Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, attracted intense media attention in the Taiwanese capital, and Besson said the most offending paparazzi were affiliated with "two Hong Kong agencies" rather than the local press.

Crew members were reportedly almost involved in a car crash with one press vehicle, and photographers were caught pounding on a car in which Johansson was resting in between scenes, prompting Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin to call for restraint.

"We had a couple of problems with paparazzi during the shooting," Besson said during a press conference in Taipei on Friday. "The only thing they want is to make money and sell their picture around the world. I have no respect for this kind of people; they bother me in my job, that's a pain."

The director of La Femme Nikita and Leon added: "It's just more painful to shoot … and sometimes I lost a bit of my concentration."

His comments follow Hollywood director Michael Bay's rough ride filming the latest Transformers movie in Hong Kong. Rather than paparazzi, however, he came up against two alleged blackmail attempts, with one assailant bizarrely accused of wielding an air-conditioning unit.