English is my second language, but in Hong Kong, they don't know that I'm from China. They think I'm from Hollywood because all the films they see are from here. China and Hong Kong are very different places, but they're starting to merge. Still the culture is very different.
Growing up, I was always really inspired by Disney, and I had a great love of everything they created. My mum was huge fan, and she used to collect stills, and so they were all around the house, and we very much grew up on the early Disney films.
I started making 8mm films when I was 13, so I've been directing for 21 years.
And the fact that I see so many films really seems to amaze certain people.
I'm not seeking out genre films, but this just came my way, and Miramax was good enough to add a role for me because we wanted the chance to work together.
'Pulp Fiction' was probably one of the first films I ever saw that really kind of took effect on me. I was about four years old - obviously wasn't supposed to be seeing that film; my sister kind of sneaked it out and we got to see it. She's older than me. That was something I always used to watch.
I like making black and white films in natural surroundings, but I much prefer shooting a color film inside a studio where the colors are easier to control.
The public's nerves are raw and edgy. You have to be discreet and understanding about the films you are showing.
My father ran London Films. He made films like 'The Red Shoes,' 'The Third Man.' And he had had a long career in the film business, which was bifurcated with a career in intelligence. He had to deal with gangsters, and sometimes he would take me with him. Also, I went to school with their children.
After joining theatre, I started thinking that acting in films was not half as challenging as theatre.
More personal films, you could make them, but your budgets would be cut down.
I like films where there's a relationship between two women. I always think that's lovely to watch on the screen.
We have to look forward and keep filming new films and not get stuck in the past.
I became alienated from this religious upbringing, and started making music. I wanted to be a big star. All those things I saw in the films and on the media took hold of me, and perhaps I thought this was my god: the goal of making money.
And, so yeah, I'll always want to work in independent films because you're not forced into a category or a formula.
My heart's in stage. Making 'Quadrophenia' was exciting because we were riding around on scooters with no crash helmets. But 'hurry up and wait' is the anthem of films. Everybody wants you ready, and then you sit doing nothing.
There are certain filmmakers I'd like to work with that I don't think would take a risk with me, because I could be distracting in their film. It'll take a couple films to prove to them that it's worth the risk.
I try to do as much as I can, but I simply can't shoot two films at a time.
I'm just trying to tell a good story and make thought-provoking, entertaining films. I just try and draw upon the great culture we have as a people, from music, novels, the streets.
I like the platform to show your art and everything that goes along with that. To show your voice and hopefully find films that are more politically driven, films that maybe inspire.
I cry at films and TV and even adverts.
In truth, making films doesn't feel like hard work because I always have such a good time doing it.
I was a little geeky kid anyway. If I wasn't shooting little stop-animation films, then I was playing computer games or Dungeons & Dragons.
Every time you work, it's a new film, and generally when you work with auteurs, people that write and direct their films, there's always an originality.
I like to go from mainstream movies to more artsy films. I don't sign on for the money. Maybe I should, but I don't. There's always a good reason for doing something.
I graduated from Second City Los Angeles. It helped me tremendously, not only in my roles in films but in helping shape me into a writer as well. In improv, you will fail sometimes, so it teaches you to be brave and try anything. The worst that can happen is nobody laughs.
I made tons of films. I did animation for my friends' films. I animated scenes just for the fun of it. Most of my stuff was bad, but I had fun, and I tried everything I knew to get better.
Sometimes I think I should have stayed longer and I should have done more films.
After watching films of Jim Brown, I noticed that he never ran out of bounds. He always ran North and South and that's what I turned my style into. I was a North and South runner.
I'm hard to pin down. I tend to look different in films.
The prime reason behind making 'A Flying Jatt' was that there are barely any 'desi' superhero films in Bollywood which Indians can relate to. I wanted to exhibit that a superhero is more than just superpowers and leads a normal life like the others do. I wanted to attach a human factor to a superhero.
Buster Keaton's 'The General,' from 1927, I think is still one of the great films of all time.
Films don't decide my whole life. They are just a part of who I am. What I do in my personal life should be of no concern to the filmmakers or the fans.
Well, I certainly was exposed to and learned to appreciate the work of great directors early on. As a kid, my mother used to take me to see really interesting arty films in Los Angeles.
Filmmakers who use narrators pay a price for taking the easy way: narrated films date far more quickly than films without narrators.
There's nothing gratuitous about my films.
