Hong Kong people try to extort money from Hollywood filmakers!

Action!
Beatrice Siu 
Friday, October 18, 2013

A fight between good and evil intended for the silver screen turned into a real- life drama in Quarry Bay yesterday with a famous Hollywood director among those injured.
The fight erupted when two brothers allegedly attempted to extort HK$100,000 from the crew filming Transformers: Age of Extinction outside the Fook Cheong Building.
Police arrived during the ensuing argument and were attacked by the brothers before subduing them.
According to a police statement, Hollywood director Michael Bay, 48, was injured on the right side of his face but refused to go to hospital.
Three policemen were also slightly injured.
The brothers, surnamed Mak and aged 27 and 28, were arrested with a third person who police said is wanted in connection with another offense.
Actor Mark Wahlberg and actress Nicola Peltz arrived in the afternoon for shooting after police sealed off the area and kept the crowds away. It was the first day of filming for the latest Transformers movie, which deals with the fight between good and evil.
The crew was setting up cameras and lights when the brothers emerged from the Hang Fat Air Condition and Water Electrical Company and claimed their business had been affected shortly after 8.40am.
They demanded HK$100,000 in compensation and when the crew refused, the eldest brother allegedly hit Bay with his fist.
Police who rushed in to restore order were also attacked.
The younger brother was arrested for alleged blackmail and assaulting police,
 while the other one was arrested for common assault and assaulting police.
Three officers suffered slight injuries and, together with one of the brothers who claimed he was unwell, were taken to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital for treatment.
Another man, surnamed Chan, 26, and reportedly a friend of the Mak brothers, was also arrested for alleged wounding. Police said he was wanted in relation to a wounding case in Yiu Tung Estate, Chai Wan, on October 8.
The film crew chose the podium of 1044 King's Road, which is surrounded by three 30-story buildings, because the area still resembles Hong Kong in the 1970s and 80s.
Local production house October Pictures liaised with the residents' committee and rented the podium for HK$20,000 a day and compensated surrounding shops for interrupting their business. The crew had been unable to contact the owners of the electric shop, which had been closed for some time.
A shopowner said she could not do business and that compensation was only about HK$300. "It is not enough to cover our losses, so I just refused it."
Senior director and chairman of Federation of Film Making Hong Kong Ng See-yuan said: "Such blackmail was normal over a decade ago, but it is very rare now because fewer people are shooting movies in Hong Kong, and there is the coordination of the Film Service Office."
He said local production houses should coordinate with shops and residents beforehand but that it is inappropriate and unacceptable to use violence, which hurts Hong Kong's reputation.
"But I believe this is a one-off incident and Hong Kong is still safe," he said.
Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting, producer of award-winning movie Echoes of the Rainbow, said: "I am quite worried that overseas movie producers will hesitate to film in Hong Kong because of this uncivilized incident."
But Bay said the incident has not affected his impression of Hong Kong.



"People are great here. This is my third time in Hong Kong. It's a great day, a great shooting day."

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=138605&sid=40654274&con_type=3