John Woo Quotes

#1. John Woo is a very nice and kind person; he gives almost no direction at all, trusting me to come up with the character. But when I think of him, I think of explosions!

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai

#2. For John Woo, it is quite difficult to make a movie in Hollywood in his own style. Because Hollywood is based on a producer system, it is difficult for a director to express himself using his own style of filmmaking.

Alan Mak

#3. I was always such an incredible fan of John Woo, I just wanted to do this film with him.

Christian Slater

#4. I think you can't do any action without in some way paying homage to John Woo. He's the guy who just invented that sort of next level of poetic nasty action.

Will Ferrell

#5. I remember when I was working on Mission: Impossible 2, John Woo said, "In Hong Kong, there's not much money and a lot of time. In Hollywood, a lot of money, not much time." Personally I'd prefer not much money, a lot of time.

William Mapother

#6. Like all kids who want to be in action movies, I want to jump out of a speeding car, shoot guns, slide out the side in slow motion like a John Woo movie.

Dallas Roberts

#7. I think all the filmmakers in Hong Kong are influenced by John Woo.

Alan Mak

#8. One, I had never worked with John Woo before and I wanted to see what that was like, and two, Ben Affleck is a friend, so it would be fun to work with him again.

Joe Morton

#9. I had such a good time working with John Woo and John Travolta, and it was so professional. I want to work with people who are real professionals.

Christian Slater

#10. The way I see it, if you're going to make an action movie, you've got to make one with John Woo.

Christian Slater

#11. The bozo who's going to go early John Woo all over the manicured lawns and flower beds just to show he doesn't give a fuck about convention.

Don Winslow

#12. A good choreographer is one that's going to collaborate, teach, guide - everything. The wonderful thing on 'Brotherhood of the Wolf' was that we had Philip Kwok - he choreographed John Woo's 'Hard Boiled,' and in the '70s, he was a martial arts actor, stunt man, fighter, choreographer in Hong Kong.

Mark Dacascos

#13. When I made 'Hard Boiled,' I had no idea that it would be released to an international audience. I just wanted to make a film to team up my two favorite actors, Tony Leung and Chow Yun-Fat.

John Woo

#14. For my own films, I would like to see 'Bullet in the Head' remastered. The original cut was actually almost three hours.

John Woo

#15. It's pretty easy to make a film in China. A few years ago I just walked into the office and let them know I wanted to make a movie called 'Red Cliff' and they were so excited. They said, 'Let's do it!' It's that simple.

John Woo

#16. Popularity, I have always thought, may aptly be compared to a coquette - the more you woo her, the more apt is she to elude your embrace.

John Tyler

#17. I'm not a master; I'm just a hard-working filmmaker. I would like everyone to see me as a friend rather than a master.

John Woo

#18. I have found my heaven in musicals. When I watch a musical, it makes me believe life is still beautiful.

John Woo

#19. 'Hard Boiled' is my last film in Hong Kong, before I moved to the U.S. It is the one film which is most accepted by the audience in the West.

John Woo

#20. Some proofs command assent. Others woo and charm the intellect. They evoke delight and an overpowering desire to say, 'Amen, Amen'.

John William Strutt

#21. I think I have been stereotyped as an action director in Hollywood, so all I got were the action scripts.

John Woo

#22. When I was young, I loved movies so much I wanted to make one.

John Woo

#23. Her virtue and the conscience of her worth, That would be woo'd, and not unsought be won.

John Milton

#24. My films are always concerned with family, friendship, honor, and patriotism.

John Woo

#25. I can use movie as a language. Not only could it send a good message, I could let people know about my thinking and how I see the world, how I see the colour, how I see the music, how I see everything.

John Woo

#26. I also wanted people to know that football actually started in China almost 3000 years ago.

John Woo

#27. The misery of us, that are born great, We are forced to woo because none dare woo us.

John Webster

#28. When I was a kid I feel lonely, I have not many friends. If you make a movie, then you can work with different kinds of people and make different kinds of friend. That's very important to me.

John Woo

#29. I like doves. They look so beautiful, like a woman. For me they represent peace and love and purity. And sometimes they're seen as the messengers of God, so they're important to me because I'm a Christian.

John Woo

#30. To be honest, I don't have much time to watch any movies.

John Woo

#31. There is absolutely no Wuxia or martial arts in 'Red Cliff.' I want all the action to look realistic.

John Woo

#32. I have never intended in any of my films to sell violence or to glorify it. Even in the most intense action sequences in my films, there is a message about how evil violence is.

John Woo

#33. Sweet bird that shunn'st the nose of folly, Most musical, most melancholy! Thee, chauntress, oft, the woods among, I woo, to hear thy even-song.

John Milton

#34. When I was a kid I got so much help from the Church. When I was a kid, our family was so poor they couldn't afford me to go to school, so there was an American family that send the money to the church to support my school fees.

John Woo

#35. The movies I like to make are very rich and full of passion. Some people see me as an action director, but action is not the only thing in my movies. I always like to show human nature - something deep inside the heart.

John Woo