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John Woo Interview

Posted by Jon in Events, Movies, World, video

I recently had the chance to catch up with director John Woo about his new film Red Cliff and his other upcoming features.

UGR: I’m a huge fan of your films, thanks for taking the time to speak with me

John Woo: Of course, thank you.

Why did you decide to make a film about this specific battle and how did the novel ‘the romance  of    the three kingdoms’ influence it?

John Woo: I grew up with the story and admired many of the heroes, I’ve wanted to make this movie for over 20 years. It’s one of the most famous battles in China’s history and the story is a very inspiring one. The battle shows how a smaller army can defeat a larger and more powerful enemy through the combination of teamwork, intelligence and courage, so I think it could be made into a very encouraging movie. I’ve been studying this part of history since I was a kid and I have learned so much from it. There are quite a few characters, like Zhou Yu, the one who is saving a little baby in the middle of battle, that soldier was so brave, so loyal and he was a great warrior, since I admired him so much, I decided to use it in the final scene of Hardboiled when Chow Yun Fat is admist all the gunfire and saving a baby(laughs). The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a very old novel from China and it is fiction but it is a great story that I have known since I was a child and it is very well known in china, it is a beautiful piece that inspired me heavily.

There was much more tactical warfare in your film compared to other period war epics, it was interesting and unique to see, what made you decide to include this aspect of warfare?

John Woo: Ahh, yes. Like the turtle formation and actually it was  my idea, originally it was the circle formation, a real idea from the General in the movie but I just changed the shape. I looked at a picture of a turtle’s shell and saw the little patterns in it, so I thought it would be nice to make it into a turtle shell’s shape with a square pattern and different groups using different weapons on the enemy, it worked well and it was very interesting. There was the burning boats tactic where they would ram the ships into the enemy, this was a real strategy used in that time created by real generals and the great scene where they steal all the arrows from the enemy using their boats in the mist, these were all real tactics from the past. I wanted to make this film realistic to show how the battles actually happened so it was an obvious choice in include this aspect.

This was your first big movie shoot in China, how was it shooting there and did you receive support from  the government?

John Woo: Yes, it was my first movie shoot in China and I had a great time shooting in China because we had a huge support from the Chinese government. They are very open and very warm and they all love movies. Everything was so simple!(laughs) I just walk into their office and let them know that I wanted to make a movie called “Red Cliff,” and they said, “okay let’s do it.” That simple. I didn’t need to take any advice or notes from hollywood, I just shut my door and do my own work. There are so many very talented young people in China and it was so easy to work with them, they all have a great passion about movies. And they were so excited to work on a Hollywood-like, big budget movie and they learn a lot. I still worked with very talented people from United States and I also have people from Korea and we all work together as a team. We also had large support from the military, using over 700 soldiers as extra and they would even help build sets and other things on the shoot. The soldiers learn very quick and they did incredible stunts and it looked great.

This movie has been in your mind since you were a child, how was it to finally see you masterpiece come to fruition?

John Woo: It was a dream come true, I happy as a child (laughs). This type of film is hard to make in hollywood, it’s so expensive and it’s a Chinese story. The only logical way was to make it in China, it was so great to work with people who also have  the same kind of passion for this film and they really helped make everything work.

What advice can you recommend to young film makers?

John Woo: Just to keep making films, never stop and you must be yourself, I am so excited to see new film makers and I love all the new styles that are coming out. The most important thing is to believe in yourself.

what’s your next big project?

John Woo: I am working on so many projects, one is called Flying Tiger, it’s going to be a big Hollywood movie. It’s about the friendship between the Chinese and American pilots in World War 2 and how they helped win and it’s going to have lots of action. We are still working on the script and want to film it next year in both China and America. I am also working on a remake of Melville’s “Le Samourai” then also I’m working to make The Killer as a producer. I think it’s going to be directed by a Korean director, John Lee, a very talented young director. It’ll be an American movie, all in English, and I also want to do a Marco Polo movie.

Wow you’re a really busy man but busy is good!

John Woo: Yes, I just want to make more movies until I am an old man (laughs).

Thank you so much for your time, I really appreciate it, I loved Red Cliff and I thrilled for your success with this movie.

John Woo: Thank you so much, it is people like you who make it possible for me to make movies, so thank you, have a nice day.

Red Cliff opens in theatres Nov.20/09 in the States and Dec.4/09 in Canada, I highly recommend checking it out.

Red Cliff Trailer