35 Wong Kar-wai Quotes for You to Enjoy

Wong Kar-wai

Chinese Director

Born: Jul 17, 1956

Because People Sometimes Think Time You

Related authors: Alan Mak Andrew Lau Ang Lee Chloe Zhao James Wong Howe John Woo Zhang Yimou

Sometimes, we have to turn our camera to a mirror to shoot something, and people think, 'Oh, that's very stylish.' Yes it is, but at the same time, we did it because we are shooting in a very small space, and that was our only option. Wong Kar-wai

I don't want to be a grumpy old man or too pessimistic, because if I have a chance, I would prefer to watch a film in the cinema with an audience on a big screen instead of watching it on a cell phone. It's a very different experience, but somehow I think this form will have its own future and life. Wong Kar-wai

Life Future Man Cell Phone Experience Cinema Phone Old Will Big Own Think Too Would Somehow Instead Because Audience Very Cell Big Screen Screen Different Want Form Prefer Old Man Pessimistic Film Watch Grumpy Watching Chance

What's so great about inspiration is sometimes it finds you when you're not looking. Wong Kar-wai

Great You Sometimes Looking Finds About Inspiration

I think of action as a dance. It's a riddle; it should have emotion in it. Wong Kar-wai

Dance Action Think Emotion Should Riddle

In most kung fu films, they want to create a hero who's always fighting a bad guy. In the story of Ip Man, he's not fighting physical opponents. He's fighting the ups and downs of his life. Wong Kar-wai

The Chinese government promised Hong Kong '50 years, and change.' And 50 years later, after 1997, will be 2046; I think, 'Well, that's a very interesting promise.' So I want to make a film about promise. Wong Kar-wai

I think one day I can make a book about coffee shops in Hong Kong. I spent almost most of my time in coffee shops, in different coffee shops. Wong Kar-wai

Time Day Book Coffee Think Hong Kong Spent One Day About My Time Almost Most Make Kong Shops Different Coffee Shops

Heritage is something martial-arts films don't often talk about. Wong Kar-wai

Heritage Films About Something Talk Often

I started out my career as a screenwriter and quickly discovered that adhering to a script isn't always the best way to make a film. You have to take into consideration the nuances of the characters and what the actors bring to their roles. Wong Kar-wai

I was born in Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong the year I was five. Wong Kar-wai

Year Hong Kong Born Shanghai Kong Five Moved

I came to Hong Kong when I was five, but we didn't have any relatives in Hong Kong. My mom is a big movie fan, and she watched all kinds of movies, so when I was a kid, basically, we went to watch a movie every day. Wong Kar-wai

I'm a big fan of martial arts films, novels and radio programs. Wong Kar-wai

Big Films Programs Martial Martial Arts Big Fan Arts Fan Radio Novels

I never had a problem with genre because a genre actually is like a uniform - you put yourself into a certain uniform. But if you dress up in a police officer's uniform, it doesn't mean that you are an officer; it can mean something else. Wong Kar-wai

During shooting, you have the idea, like, of this certain dress on this actress, but it's not to fit, so you have to make all of these alterations and modifications. So in a way, I build the characters with the cast, and it's sort of custom-made, the whole process, and then you have to make all of these adjustments. Wong Kar-wai

You Build Way Characters Adjustment Dress Cast Idea Like Alteration Make Sort Fit Shooting Process Then Certain Whole Actress

This is what the difference is between Hong Kong and Chinese cinema - Chinese cinema was made for their own communities. It was for propaganda. But Hong Kong made films to entertain, and they know how to communicate with international audiences. Wong Kar-wai

Communicate Cinema Made Own Films Hong Kong Entertain Propaganda Between Know Kong How Audiences Difference Chinese Communities International

The laboratory where we stored all our negatives went bankrupt overnight following the Asian economic crisis in 1997. So, on short notice, we had to retrieve all the materials in the middle of the night before the debtor-receiver took over the laboratory the next morning. Wong Kar-wai

Economic Crisis Morning Before Took Negatives Our Crisis Following Economic Had Over Retrieve Overnight Materials Laboratory Short Middle Where Bankrupt Stored Asian Next Notice Next Morning Night

I don't do rehearsal. Some directors prefer to do rehearsal - readings before the actual shooting - but I don't like this process because I think there are certain things that are so spontaneous, and they cannot happen twice. Wong Kar-wai

Before Think Some Directors Like Spontaneous Because Readings Shooting Happen Cannot Process Prefer Certain Certain Things Rehearsal Twice Actual Things

To make a film like 'The Grandmaster,' I know I'm not going to make just a standard kung-fu film; it's not going to be just tricks or like wire works. So I spent seven years on the road interviewing different schools and a lot of real grandmasters from Chinese martial arts. Wong Kar-wai

Interviewing Seven Spent Tricks Martial Martial Arts Wire Road Like Know Schools Make Real Years Lot Going Just Arts Different Chinese Standard Different Schools Works Film

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