ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9610010104
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-24 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: HARRIET WINSLOW THE WASHINGTON POST
When Hong Kong film director John Woo was lured to Hollywood to make 1993's ``Hard Target,'' he had no idea how much he had to learn.
``Hard Target'' starred Jean-Claude Van Damme, a fitting star for Woo's first American film. Considered the master of the Hong Kong gangster movie, Woo had launched the careers of Jackie Chan and another of Asia's big stars, Chow Yun-Fat.
But making a film in Hollywood meant dealing with months of meetings with studio executives, and Woo was used to the Hong Kong way: deliver the print on the due date and watch it become a blockbuster.
Regardless, he stuck around to make this year's ``Broken Arrow'' starring John Travolta. And Sunday night on Fox, Woo tries television, with his own remake of a 1991 Chinese film, ``Once a Thief,'' which Fox is calling a mid-season pilot (airing at 8 on WJPR/WFXR-Channel 21/27).
``I'm very excited,'' said Woo. ``After I made the pilot, I fell in love with television. So I would be producer, and if I have time, I would direct some of the episodes, because I really love this project.''
``Once a Thief'' centers on Li Ann Tsei (Sandrine Holt), who was raised as a thief in a wealthy Hong Kong gangster family. Tired of her profession, she flees to Vancouver, B.C., and signs up with Interpol. Two men who love her also are recruited, her adopted sibling Mac (Ivan Sergei) and former street cop Victor (Nicholas Lea).
These three make up a pod of secret agents who fight organized crime creeping in from Asia. Conflict arises when they realize that the real son of the head of the crooked Tang family (Michael Wong), who raised both Li Ann and Mac, plans to launch a gun-smuggling business into Canada.
Woo said this is similar to his film version but is more focused on the love triangle. ``This pilot is a lot more fun than the feature film,'' he said. ``The action is pretty much the same.''
Woo's films center on recurring themes of brotherhood and loyalty, but are loaded with big guns, splashy stunts and flying fists. His critically acclaimed films include ``A Better Tomorrow'' (1986) and ``The Killer'' (1989), both of which he also scripted. They were smash hits in Asia and gained a following in the United States as well.
``I try to glorify my hero, not the violence,'' he said. ``In my movies, they have loyalty and chivalry, that kind of thing.''
Regardless, there is a lot of gunfire in this - but not all of the stunts are violent. The highlight of ``Once a Thief'' is the scene when Mac and Vic heist a Rembrandt self-portrait off an electrified floor.
If ``Thief'' becomes a series, Woo said he'd like to keep the Vancouver location. He was impressed that the crew would work through the rain. ``They are very dedicated,'' he said. ``The other thing is that Hong Kong and Vancouver are similar cities: They have big buildings, and the lifestyle - it seems to me like my hometown.''
But schedules are tighter and budgets smaller with TV, he admitted. ``It's good training. You have to work faster and harder and smarter.''
He also learned that American heroes ``must be clean and cannot die in the end,'' and that making a film in Hollywood is complicated. ``There are so many people involved, wanting script approval, and there are so many meetings - about six months of them, repeating and repeating the same thing.''
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Director John Woo's ``Once a Thief'' will air Sundayby CNBnight at 8 on WJPR/WFXR-Channel 21/27. Based on a 1991 Chinese film,
it is his first television movie.