The sign out front says "Jurassic Studios" and the few forlorn buildings on the Kam Tin village lot look as if they had long been forgotten, almost extinct. But inside, the popping sounds of gunshots and the calls of "action" ring through the air. Welcome to the temporary home of Gen-Y Cops, Media Asia Films' forthcoming Christ-mas blockbuster. The shoot is nearing its end and the schedule is winding down to a more relaxed pace for its stars. Holly-wood actor Paul Rudd (The Cider House Rules) is sitting at a broken, ragged table at the entrance to the "studio" nattering away with co-stars Maggie Q and Edison Chen. On the Gen-Y Cops set - as in all Hong Kong movie sets - personal trailers are just the stuff of Hollywood dreams. Like his Hong Kong colleagues, Rudd and fellow Hollywood actor, Mark Hicks (Chris Tucker's double in Rush Hour), rest their weary bodies wherever they can find a spare seat. "It's been a blast," says Rudd, as he scratches at mosquito bites on his arms. Hard as it may be to believe, Rudd is revelling in the "mistreatment" he has been undergoing for the past two months. "Let's see, I've been swung across a building four storeys up, hung off the side of a building in a harness, performed karate kicks and I've even gone swimming in Aberdeen harbour, which I am told is more life-threatening than any harness tricks I had to perform. It wasn't so bad, except when I was trying to sleep at night. There was a kind of night-light because the body would have a glow," he jokes. Not since the days of 1970s action flicks which starred Chuck Norris has a Hong Kong film production reached as far as Hollywood for its leading cast. But the $51 million Gen-Y Cops, sequel to last year's summer hit Gen-X Cops, is a collaboration between Media Asia and Hollywood's Regent Entertain-ment, which produced the Sir Ian McKellen movie Gods And Monsters, and which was responsible for bringing in Rudd. "When I got the call, I just thought, what a great way to see Hong Kong for two months. And to be in a Hong Kong action movie is even better than being in a Hollywood one," says Rudd. "There is a real sense of fun in this film, and other Hong Kong films that I've seen. It doesn't take itself too seriously but it also seems like [director] Benny [Chan Muk-shing] is able to make the film he wants to make and that's the way it should be." The sequel takes the story of Gen-X Cops, where four renegade young police officers finally emerge heroes after solving a big case through unconventional methods, another step further. Gen-Y Cops sees the return of two of the original cast - Stephen Fung Tak-lun (Match) and Sam Lee Chan-sam (Alien) - who are called in to investigate when a young cop (Chen) is suspected of stealing a prototype attack robot from the United States. A team of FBI agents - Rudd, Hicks and model Maggie Q are sent to recover it. Chen and Quigley (Q's real name) are both making their big-screen debut in the film. "It's been so much fun I don't want it to end," says Quigley. "This has absolutely spoiled me for other movies." Although Fung and Lee are the "old hands", Gen-Y Cops is expected to be the launching pad for the 20-year-old hip and good-looking Chen, a Toronto returnee who first caught the public eye by appearing in television commercials. "This is better than anything I could have done for a first project. I've had tonnes of fun and I think my fighting sequences are great when I see them on the rushes," says Chen, who performed most of his own stunts. "One of my most dangerous stunts has been an explosion right in front of my face. I'm proud of it. I've never really done anything like that in my life and I'm looking forward to doing more." Lee, who wanders out with a lopsided Mohican haircut, lives up to his reputation as the comedian of the group. As explosions once again rock the studios, he leans in close to my tape recorder and hisses: "Explosions! Ai-ya!" Although a second-timer, Lee is still finding new experiences on the set: in particular the scenes requiring computer effects. "Having two Holly-wood actors on the set has also been a lot of fun. They're just like Hong Kong actors, no airs," he adds. As the explosions in the studio subside, we are able to wander in. The studio is divided into two long "corridors" and another smaller room where hi-tech gadgetry whirr and blink. There is not much room to swing a cat much less do any big action stunts. In one of the corridors stands the film's true multi-million dollar hero, the RD-1, a 2.13-metre robot. RD-1 is one of three robots Media Asia has specially ordered from Hollywood but which the producers are keeping under wraps until the movie's launch. If the cast and crew are being honest, the robot isn't a fully functional one that runs and jumps. "Only the hands move a little," one crew member explains. Still, it looks formidably realistic. On this day, the robot does not do much more than look imposing but director Chan obviously has his hands full with a scene in which Fung and Lee dodge ricocheting bullets. Chan, who also directed Gen-X Cops, would like "more money and more time" to do what he would like to do. But the youthful-looking director is pretty happy with the way things are going. "We are a bit pressed for time but it's been going quite well. It's a new team and I've had to spend a lot more time with them," he says. Darkness descends outside the Yuen Long studio as Chan concentrates on another close-up shot and the studio empties for the day. The camaraderie between the cast and crew is evident from the way they excitedly discuss dinner plans for later in the evening. Making a Hong Kong action movie can be hard, but it's not the worst job in the world. Gen-Y Cops opens in Hong Kong in December. Published in the South China Morning Post.