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An Evening with John Woo
featuring a special screening of
WINDTALKERS
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The first thing you notice in a room with John Woo is his charming sense of humor. But he says he commands a quiet and serious set, and describes himself as very shy. His boyhood dream was to become a minister, yet his films are riddled with over-the-top violence and brutal death. For the writer/director of Hong Kong classics such as A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Once a Thief, Hard Boiled, and the director of the Hollywood films, Hard Target, Broken Arrow, Face Off and Mission Impossible 2, one thing is certain — John Woo is a contradiction.
On May 20, 2002, the DGA's Asian American Committee, in conjunction with MGM, hosted a special event, 'An Evening With John Woo.' It was a rare opportunity for members and guests to gain insight into Woo's world and to view his latest film, Windtalkers, before everyone else got the chance.
Wenda Fong, director member and Co-chair of the DGA Asian American Committee, served as the evening's host, and DGA President Martha Coolidge delivered the opening remarks.
'John Woo's signature action scenes are beautifully choreographed ballets of violence that leave audiences gasping for breath,' Coolidge said. 'But his movies are more than that. They are the rarest of things — they are action movies with a soul.'
Born in China in 1946, Woo fled with his family to Hong Kong when he was 4. The fire of 1953 rendered his family homeless, and they lived on the streets for years. It is from these humble beginnings that one of Hollywood's most bankable directors emerged.
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Woo described his early childhood as 'living in hell ... Every morning when I got up, the first thing I did was grab something as a weapon to protect myself. Whenever I went out of the house or down the alley, I got ambushed. I had to fight back to survive.'
Woo smiled. He feels grateful, not victimized. 'Fortunately I had great parents. They taught me a lot and led me the right way. I also got help from the church.'
Woo said he feels lucky to have received the little education he did. 'Since our family was so poor, I couldn't go to school until I was 9 years old. Fortunately, an American family sent money to the church to support my school fees.'
Fong noted the irony that someone with such deep feeling for Christianity could produce such 'wildly violent films.'
'Well, my first dream was to be a minister,' Woo deadpanned. 'I wanted to pay back society and help people.'
Apparently, Woo wasn't cut out for the job. 'My friends in missionary school didn't think I could be a good minister because I loved music and movies. I loved all kinds of art. I loved dancing. And I loved Elvis Presley.'
Fong asked Woo about his transition from high school student to filmmaker. 'I used to go to libraries and bookstores and steal the film books,' Woo replied. 'I would wear a dirty, long coat so people wouldn't like to touch me. Since I was so poor, I stole a lot of books — art books, philosophy books, film books. That's how I learned film theory!'
Fong wondered how Woo developed his widely known style ('the two-fisted-gun shooting, the flying-through-the-air, the operatic mayhem').
'I just feel like I'm making a dancing sequence,' Woo said. 'When I was in high school, I was a ballroom dancer and a tango instructor! Today, when I choreograph action sequences, I use classical music, jazz and rock 'n' roll. I like to make action sequences romantic.'
Regarding his approach to working with actors, Woo said, 'I think the actor is the soul of the movie ... I started as an actor on the stage, so I know how they feel. I see them more as a friend, as part of my family. I respect my actors, and I love my actors. When you love someone so much, you know how to take good care of them.'
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Woo said he was drawn to make Windtalkers because the story had a 'strong impact' on him, but he conceded that it's not a typical 'John Woo' film.
'On this one, I behaved a little bit. It was based on a true story, so I had to take it very seriously. I didn't use too much slow motion or birds flying in. We had a bird, but it's just standard flying,' he said with a smile.
Woo's next project, Man of Destiny, is about the Irish and the Chinese building an American railroad in the 19th-Century. It will star Nicolas Cage and Chow Yun Fat.
'I see myself as a bridge,' Woo said. 'I always wanted to do something to bring together the good things from the East and the good things from the West ... to make everybody understand each other more. So I think it's a pretty good topic for me.'
Toward the end of the discussion, Nicolas Cage (Academy Award winner and star of Windtalkers) joined Fong and Woo on stage. As Cage spoke about his extensive collaboration with Woo, the mutual respect these men share was hard to miss.
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'I would do anything with John,' Cage said. 'We are friends, we understand each other and we complement each other's styles.
'I think John is the most gracious man in Hollywood,' Cage added, nicely summing up the evening's tribute. 'He's a perfect gentleman. He treats people with respect and kindness so he's always a joy to work with. And he's right — he loves actors; he makes us all feel free.'
–Allison Holmes
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