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Striving to be the next Bruce LeeHong Kong film still lures those with stars in their eyesBy Samantha Broun  A stuntman jumps through a ring of fire wearing only a pair of pants at the Stunt Festival in Moscow. RELATEDHong Kong movies in 2005• Initial D -- $ 4.8 million • Wait Til You Are Older --$2.5 million • The Myth -- $2.2 million • Dragon Reloaded -- $2.1 million • Election -- $2 million 2004 top movie "Kung Fu Hustle" grossed nearly $9 million, almost doubling that of 2005's "Initial D" Source: Hong Kong Filmart YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSHONG KONG (CNN) -- At 21 years of age, Ng Wai-Sze has decided that the 9-to-5 grind in an office is not for her. A high-speed car chase ending in a crash, leaping from a 10-storey building or annihilating an opponent in a kung-fu fight, seems much more appealing. The life of a stuntman is rarely dull, drawing thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies alike. Those hoping to become an actor, a stunt choreographer or director, use stunt work as a stepping stone to highly coveted careers in the film industry. Wai-Sze a Shanghai native has studied martial arts and gymnastics, as well as Beijing acrobatic opera to qualify as a stuntwoman. But now she is in Hong Kong, hoping to break into the ranks of the stuntmen and women in the film industry. She has a long way to go, her trainer says, but Wai-Sze remains hopeful. "It was something I knew nothing about, it seems so exciting," Wai-Sze says. "I love doing sports and I find office work really boring." For more than 30 years, stuntmen and martial arts movies have been synonymous with Hong Kong cinema. The genre, first made famous by Bruce Lee in the early 1970s and continuing today with stars such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li, has provided regular work for action stuntmen with martial-arts training. This year, special recognition will be given to those who bring the fly kick and arm chop onto the silver screen. The International Hong Kong Film Festival, running April 4-19, is paying tribute to action stars and choreographers who infused Hong Kong's signature style into Hollywood films. Jackie Chan and choreographers Sammo Hung and Lau Kar-leung are being honored for their contribution to cinema. Ching Siu-tung, a choreographer of Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero," and Yuen Woo-ping, who designed the fight scenes for Jet Li's "Fearless," "Kill Bill" and the "Matrix" trilogy, are also being recognized for their work. Both Lee and Chan got their start as stuntmen and many hopefuls, such as Wai-Sze, are trying to travel the same path. To further her training, Wai Sze attended a stunt course last year, which was funded by the Hong Kong government and coached by martial-arts choreographer and director Tony Leung. The course has since closed. Wai-Sze says she learned basic martial-arts skills, gymnastics and how to perform stunts such as working with fire and explosives, stunt driving and high platform falls, which require somersaulting techniques to avoid serious injury. Wai-Sze is the newest member of the Hong Kong Stuntman's Association (HKSA) and is the younger of only two women working in Hong Kong. She is currently studying karate in an effort to increase her marketability. She recently made her debut in front of a large audience, which included Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. In a wire piece choreographed by Leung, the vice chairman of the HKSA, Wai-Sze played a monster fighting the Monkey King, a folk hero of ancient China. Wire performances involve suspending characters on a cable, giving them the ability to jump higher, fly and display exaggerated fighting techniques. Wai-Sze explains she isn't a natural daredevil or an adrenaline junkie, and definitely feels nervous before performing stunts. She says she beats her nerves by just trying her best and practicing regularly. Enter the masterFinding opportunities in the Hong Kong film industry may prove difficult for Wai-Sze, says her teacher and trainer, Leung. Leung has been in the industry for more than 40 years. He started as a stunt man and progressed to stunt choreography and directing. He was the action director for "Seven Mummies" (2005) and directed He Ping's period epic "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" (2003). Stunt job opportunities in Hong Kong have declined rapidly in the past five to 10 years, Leung says, resulting in the close of stunt schools and less active members in his Hong Kong Stuntman's Association. He assumes members have moved overseas to find work due mainly to more competition coming from China. Hong Kong's film industry is considered the third-most active in the world, annually cranking out a number of movies only surpassed by Bollywood and Hollywood. In 2005, however, just 55 Hong Kong films were produced, according to Hong Kong Filmart, more than a 50 percent drop from just four years earlier when 126 films were made.  "As long as action and martial arts films are being made, we will not become extinct." -- Tony Leung, vice chairman of the HK Stuntman's Association
Although the Hong Kong International Film Festival reports the biggest online sales of movie tickets ever for this year, the industry is in steep decline. A 40 percent drop in local film gross revenue compared year-on-year for 2004 and 2005 was reported by the Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association in January. With more film companies cutting their budgets, "it is a trend for most action scenes to be created in China for the cheaper cost and better landscapes," Leung says. "Jobs are more common on the mainland" Leung says. The film companies also pay the Chinese stuntmen far less money, Leung adds. Leung hails from a family long involved with Asian action movies; his brother is legendary action star and fight director Bruce Leung, part of the legendary "Dragons" -- along with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan -- top Chinese martial arts action stars who rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. Tony Leung believes the drop of interest in Hong Kong film is because there is a lack of new, young talent and variety offered at the cinema. "Jackie Chan and Jet Li are getting too old" he says. "There is much room for more talent." Leung says that his ex-student Wai-Sze has a great opportunity to succeed in the business if she continues to train and enrolls in acting classes -- steps that will provide her the opportunity to widen her industry experience. But he admits she may need to seek jobs overseas, just as he does. "I cannot choose to stay in Hong Kong, I go where the work is," he says. Stuntmen have also witnessed technological advances such as computer-generated special effects that depict what human stuntmen have done. But Leung says that he does not see advances in computer graphics wiping out the job of the stuntman. He says that computer graphics allow there to be less risk involved when performing dangerous stunts, and the graphics can enhance fighting scenes dramatically but could not replace the real thing. "Audiences aren't stupid, they want to see the real men, not a cartoon show" he says. "As long as action and martial arts films are being made, we will not become extinct." 
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