12 -10 - 09 : The Blood Bond Saga : Part 7

Emma Pei : Martial model?

This business constantly throws surprises at you. Producing a movie is like being the guy spinning plates on sticks at the circus, with the added bonus that a clown keeps throwing curveballs at you.

We felt we had The Blood Bond pretty much cast, at least in terms of the major roles, when, at the eleventh hour, our Chinese parter company, Fundamental, brought in a new face to play our main villainess.

To my shame, I had never heard the name 'Emma Pei'. Just a glance at my shoes would tell you that I'm a total stranger to the fashion industry. However, my styista buddies soon informed me that she is one of China's most famous catwalk models, a muse to the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, a Vogue cover star... She had even 'walked' for my old friend Max Azria of BCBG!

Catwalk model : would she be skinny, stuck up and prone to diva-esque behaviour? How much English would she speak? This was an action role. Would she be prepared to wield a gun and get into the mess and mayhem of the part?

Well, okay, she is very thin, I'll give you that, but all my other fears about casting someone known primarily as a model proved totally unfounded. (And, given my track record working with the likes of Maggie Q and our own Phoenix Chou, I don't know why I was so worried...)

Emma turned up at the studio with her manager and the head of her agency. She was, at first glance, waif-like and shy. I had an initial moment of concern that Michael, our director, would think she was too fragile for the role.

We headed to the studio canteen. One thing for that girl, given that she's built like a live action Olive Oyl, she can eat!

Breaking the ice, I asked why she had chosen this particular film to make her debut. She said that she was excited about making a big, international movie. You do realise that we're Michael and Bey, I asked her, and not Michael Bay? (I was worried this might have got lost in the translation.)

She raised an eyebrow and pointed at MB. "Terminator man." She got that right (and she never even saw him in a production meeting...)

When she did a reading of her dialogue, it was evident that she had been studying it diligently. Emma was full of questions about the character, what certain words in the script meant. We talked about her look for the film. "Do you think my skin is too dark?" For the character, perfect!

It soon became apparent that Emma was easily as committed to the project as anyone else on the team, and MB was blown away by her. Just as importantly, she has a wry sense of humour, without which this is going to be a tough shoot for anyone.

As she was leaving for dialogue coaching with our associate producer Oliver Williams, I looked her in the eye and said "Emma, you're horrible. I just hate you", and she gave me this perfect 'Last doggy in the pet shop' look of dismay. (Too bad we're not making a comedy...!)

After she'd worked on her lines, I listened to her read, and even in a couple of hours, her diction had improved dramatically.

From there, she went down to the stunt unit. To acclimatise her, I had Emma watch our female fighting machine Phoenix Chou go through her paces. I was worried this might scare her off, but she was wide-eyed with excitement and ready to get stuck in to her own training.

I left her in the capable hands of Mei Ling (Phoenix's double) and German (who is Michael's) as they went through basic movements with her. Louis and Ken now have the task of coming up with a fighting style that fits her character. (Maybe she can be like Yuen Wah at the end of 'Eastern Condors', if anyone gets that reference...)

After a couple of days with us, Emma flew to Mauritius for a shoot, and then returns to us to start the real work.

My thanks to Fundamental for finding us such a wonderful performer to round out a great cast.

Next : Wheels of fury