I like every part of the film-making process, but I especially like to be on set. It's always an exciting time. We tend to start at 7am, which means I have to get up at 5am because it's normally a long trip there. I can't drive - I've never learned and it's far too late for me now - so my assistant drives me and I go over the schedule for the day in the car.
I've been in America since 1992 and I've used mostly the same crew since I got here. It saves a lot of time explaining everything. They already know how I like to set the cameras, they know my style. Knowing people so well also gives the set a family atmosphere. I think of the crew as my family. I always eat lunch with them, just like everyone else, lining up for the food. They could do some special food for me but I don't want it, I want to eat like the others. The only thing I need is a bowl of steamed rice - I like my own tradition.
When I'm shooting I always ask the crew to a big dinner. I ask each group in turn because we're so large - with the action crew, we could be 50 people; the same for the camera crew. So wherever I shoot I need to find the best Chinese restaurant in town. It's always good in Vancouver, where we just shot Paycheck. I like to hear what problems the crew are facing, what are the troubles on the set - with the producer, the studio, whatever - and through this we have become good friends. I hear their family problems too. It's a very healthy thing to do, unlike what we did in Hong Kong. There, people like to drink like crazy, enjoy the nightlife - it's too much of a social thing. Here we do it in a respectful way: we appreciate each other's work and we go out for a nice dinner and that's it. Mostly, we work 12-hour days so I really can't go out late any more. It's too tiring.
Empty shops, falling rents: commercial property takes a hit in China retail slump
China’s key shopping street rents have fallen to 2018 levels as cautious consumers cut spending and landlords lower prices to fill vacancies
China’s shop rents have slid back to 2018 levels as subdued consumer spending continues to weigh on the retail sector, with analysts expecting the pressure to persist for another one to two years.
In the second half of 2025, average rents across 100 major commercial streets in 15 key mainland cities fell to 24 yuan (US$3.50) per square metre per day — the lowest level since the second half of 2018 — according to a report published on Monday by independent real estate research firm China Index Academy.
The pace of decline accelerated compared with the first half of the year, with rents slipping 0.8 per cent for 2025 overall, a steeper fall than in 2024.
‘China shock’ hangs over German leader Friedrich Merz’s first visit to Beijing
Chancellor must strike a balance between those wanting a toned-down Brussels trade policy and those backing tougher action against Beijing
At a time when German industry is frequently slammed for being too slow and reluctant to change, there is one area in which industrialists have noticed rapid evolution.
“The speed at which our position towards China has changed and at which our members are changing their minds on China – it’s China speed,” said Oliver Richtberg, head of the foreign trade department at Germany’s Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA).
Richtberg’s group represents more than 3,000 of Germany’s “hidden champions”, manufacturers who make the parts and machines that power household brands and which for decades have been a bedrock of Europe’s biggest economy.
“We never have seen a challenge like China in the machinery industry before,” the senior VDMA official said. “They put their finger in our wound. They showed us where our weaknesses are.”
Richtberg added that cutthroat Chinese competition was set to send the total number of German machinery jobs below the symbolic 1 million mark this year.
