Cannes 99 is an important market for Hong Kong producers Media Asia. The event will be a testing ground for the company's new approach to movie-making - or as Media Asia's Managing Director Thomas Chung puts it, his idea for "New-style Hong Kong movies for the new Millennium."

The last few years have seen Hong Kong's film industry, once a regional powerhouse, hit by a number of problems. Key Asian markets have declined due to the Asian economic crisis, there has been a downturn in admissions for domestic films, and video-CD piracy runs rampant. Chung's answer has been to rethink the production and marketing process from the ground up, focussing on one thing - quality. The effects-driven actioner Gen-X Cops, directed by Benny Chan (Who Am I?) and screening in the market, is the first film to be produced by this more caring Media Asia team.

Also screening is Tempting Heart, a drama by art-house director Sylvia Chang (Xiao Yu). Tempting Heart, Chung says, emphasises Media Asia's commitment to quality stories.

From problems have come inspiration and solutions, says the enthusiastic md. "Crisis creates opportunity for people with vision and passion," Chung says. "Now, at ground zero, we can plan a new style of Hong Kong movie for the next century." Gen-X Cops, Chung explains, saw the Media Asia team spend more time on development and more money on state-of-the-art special effects. It also saw a move to cut above-the-line costs so that more money could be used below-the-line to improve overall production values.

"The whole industry went into shock when the demand for Hong Kong movies shrunk," says Chung. "Everything seemed to be going wrong - there was a migration of talent, a lack of good scripts, and those evil VCD pirates to contend with. So Media Asia only produced one movie last year. We spent most of our time trying to work out how Hong Kong movies should be as we march into the next century.

"We decided that the real problem was our industry itself. The real issue is how the quality of our movies has deteriorated against some much improved and enhanced product from Hollywood. The other problems have just made things worse."

Importing quality special effects from the US was one part of the solution for Media Asia. A Hong Kong landmark bites the dust in grand style for Gen-X Cops' finale.

Making stories bigger

"Movies will always be about telling a story," says Chung. "But the production technology that is available today means we can enhance and expand that story. Hong Kong went to sleep in 1993. We ignored advances in production technology - especially digital effects."The local industry's crisis made Media Asia wake up fast: "We decided to go straight to Hollywood and get the effects done there. They can pinch people like John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat from us, and we can take back what they do best in exchange - special effects."

Chung and his colleagues have also been studying elements of the American production cycle. "It was high time to look at the production methods they use in Hollywood," he says. "We have always thought that the Hollywood system was too rigid. But it transpires that we were the opposite - too loose. We would start shooting without a script, and the performers wouldn't know what was coming up the next day until they turned up for work. We'd rely on our creativity to get us through. But that doesn't always work."

Chung decided to slow the production process right down, choosing to spend more time on development, pre-production, location scouting and casting. Hong Kong's notorious quickfire shooting schedules - sometimes only 14 days long - were deemed past their sell-by date. "We decided to stop talking about finishing a film in 10 days, 15 days, or 20 days," says Chung. "We would give it a decent amount of time. The more time you spend, the better the result."

Furthermore, Chung decided to cut his above-the-line costs by using up-and-coming talent instead of the territory's expensive stars. The fact that the marquee value of many Hong Kong superstars is rapidly diminishing was probably a contributing factor. "It's supply and demand," says Chung. "Nowadays there is less demand for our movies, so prices should shrink. And if the prices of the established stars will not come down, it's time to find new talent and use the savings we make below-the-line to upgrade production values."

Gen-X Cops makes use of the indomitable Sam Lee (Made In Hong Kong), and a roster of fresh faces like Nicholas Tse, Daniel Wu, and Grace Ip. "We have new young stars who we are calling 'tomorrow's stars today'," says Chung. "They are willing, caring, committed and not as expensive as the more established stars."

Home is where the art is

Chung is careful to stress that Gen-X Cops is still very Hong Kong, in spite of the American sfx and production methods: "We're aiming to produce quality Hong Kong movies. We're not going to try for an international look - they will still look very Hong Kong. We have our own style. We must go forward, but we must still keep the good things that Hong Kong movies have.

"We make films for our major markets, which are still Asian. Europe and America are opportunites that come from time to time, and there is a steady demand for product from there. But we primarily make films for Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South East Asia - and for China, when we can distribute there. We must always remember who our main audience is, otherwise we'll end up with a film that is neither one thing or another. It will be neither a MacDonalds nor a barbecue pork bun."

The final ingredient in the mix is a new focus on marketing. Domestically, Gen-X Cops was trailered months before its release to build up word of mouth. A special trailer was prepared to preview the movie at the AFM, with a longer version being shown to Media Asia's regular buyers.

"We've invested US$3 million in this movie, which is a lot for a Hong Kong movie these days," says Chung. "People have asked why we've spent so much when the industry is in a bad way. But we feel that now is the time to go forward, not back." Richard James Havis