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I also read somewhere that you decided on the name John in remembrance of John the Baptist (Ed. Note: Woo's real name is Wu Yu-Sen). As a devout Christian who also makes some violent films, how do you think your faith shows up in your work?
Well, I guess that as a Christian, the most important thing is love. What we are taught is love thy neighbor, love thy enemy. Besides love, Christianity is about sacrifice.
Even though my movies have a lot of action, I try to emphasize the spiritual themes – lending the helping hand, being willing to make a sacrifice for your loved ones. You know violence is not the only thing, and the action in my movies is often a metaphor for something.
Of course sometimes I wish I could make a movie that has no action at all, something that sends a good message, like a really good love story.
You talk a lot in the press about how Hollywood can make it very difficult to exercise complete creative control over your films. Have you ever considered venturing outside of the studio system to do your own projects?
I have been planning on doing that for quite a few years now. There are two things I want to do. I want to shoot two movies in China. I'm planning on it. One big project of mine is called "The Romance of the Free Kingdom."
About 200 years ago, China was divided in 7 parts and they were all against each other in a very famous civil war. And I want to make a historical epic about it, very much like an Akira Kurosawa movie.
Woo gets into the mix during the filming of BMW's short film series
I also wanted to go back and make an independent film. I just get tired of all these big budget movies. It just frustrates me. The ways of Hollywood. They always need so much money for some very small reason. Time and money. They are so difficult, so political to make a movie and it makes me tired.
Sometimes I need to spend a lot of time and energy to make them understand and it can be very hard to make them change. The people in Hollywood are still very nice to me, though, and they pay me a lot of respect, which I appreciate, but sometimes people should at least try something different.
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John Woo: The Partial Filmography
Woo's been makin' movies since 1968 and that's a lot of flicks, yo.
Here's a partial filmography:
Paycheck (2003)
The Hire: Hostage (2002)
Windtalkers (2002)
Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Face/Off (1997)
Broken Arrow (1996)
Hard Target (1993)
Hard Boiled (1992)
Once a Thief (1990)
Bloodshed in the Streets (1990)
Tragic Heros (1989)
The Killer (1989)
A Better Tomorrow II (1987)
A Better Tomorrow (1986)
For the complete filmography, head to IMDB.com.
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It seems like with movies like "A Better Tomorrow" and "Hard-Boiled" you were able to really come up with some really captivating, imaginative stuff on a relatively low budget...
Yeah, I don't really need a hundred million dollars to make a film. I can make a film with a couple million dollars. I just don't need that much money.
That's one thing I find about film in this country. I also find that a lot of the people here, the filmmakers have so much passion for film, the cast the crews, they can also be so friendly.
Adam Beach, Christian Slater, John Woo, and Nic Cage all smiles for a "Windtalkers" photo
There's something nice about movies – I'm really proud to be a filmmaker, to have this powerful international language that I can use to communicate with the world without any boundaries. I have friends in the U.S., in Europe, in Asia, and it makes me feel never lonely.
I also learn so much from everyone. I learn from film people, from people like you – all the reviews and articles, it's very nice.
What filmmakers making films now are you most excited about?
Scorcese, Francis Ford Copolla, Curtis Hansen - one of my good friends, Sam Raimi, Quentin, there are so many of them.
Any films at Cannes you were particularly excited about?
I only went for one day, so I didn't even try to see any movies. Too crowded. I don't like the crowds so much – so many people. I'm a shy person.
What's coming up in the future of John Woo?
There are several projects I really want to do. I have really wanted to do a Western for a long time. I'm a great admirer of Howard Hawks, John Ford, of Sergio Leone, many of them.
I wanted to make a movie that's a tribute to Sam Peckinpah. He's such an influence on my movies. I also want to do an action musical. I just haven't done the script. It's gonna be a combination of action and dancing. The action will look like dancing and the dancing will look like action.
Another project we've been working on for a while is "Land of Destiny." It's the story of the Chinese and Irish workers in the West. They didn't get along together very well and in working together they had to get over some obstacles, to come together to get things done. We still have some work to do on that one.
I also just optioned the rights to Melville's The Red Circle. He's a French filmmaker who's been a great influence on me.
Melville? Yeah, he's great. I did an interview a year or so ago with the Irish director Neil Jordan who did a remake of "Bob le Flambeur." That film has such a smooth, definitive cool to it.
Yes, I'm familiar with "The Good Thief," though I haven't seen it. "Hard Boiled" and "A Better Tomorrow" are really a tribute to Melville. We just got the rights to "The Red Circle," starring Alain Delon and Yves Montand – it's a heist movie.
The French, they have the fraternity, the honor, the spirit, they're very strong in that movie. It's going to be a Paramount picture. We have to get a script and right now we're looking for a writer.
Looking forward to seeing it. Thanks for your time and good luck on your visit to Chicago.
Thank you. I'm actually a little nervous about that. I haven't yet made my perfect movie, but that's something to shoot for.
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Written by Richard Sharp
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006: John Woo
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