Actor

If there's Cold War, no 'Star Wars' in China.

From now on, I will work with other people's material if it fits where I want to go.

I'm especially keen to work with good scriptwriters on stories we have developed.

I've also shot plenty of films with very small audiences - 'The Sun Also Rises.' I love that film, but I didn't capture the imagination of the audience. I don't know why.

I personally don't distinguish between artistic and commercial films.

As a director, what I'm trying to do is to create interesting stories.

No matter how lofty a film is, it becomes a product after entering the market. It has a price. I think no matter what your purpose of shooting it, it has to have artistic value and then sell. But you can't make money if it doesn't have artistic value.

A film that doesn't get distributed is like a child that never gets married.

I never control a film. The film controls me.

Stories that can be told through language and words don't need to be filmed.

Whether it's Shakespeare or Moliere, irony is a key component in the construction of theatre. A script would be pretty bad if it was devoid of irony.

Painters who do self-portraits are engaging in a form of narcissism. But it doesn't work like that in movies. A truly narcissistic person wouldn't go into filmmaking because it's just too tiring.

I think that as a Chinese person, nobody will forget that in China's history, there was a war against the Japanese.

It's not easy for a film to tell a story of the experiences of an entire society. However, from an individual's perspective, it is possible to tell one aspect of an entire society's story.

I just make movies and hope people appreciate them.

I think that as a director, especially when it comes to writing the script, which I also do, and I'm also the first one to visualize this story, I think contributing to the film industry means I'm able to take the best of a story and translate it well into a movie that can be released in theaters.

'Let the Bullets Fly' indeed attracted an audience, but how it did this is also a question for me.

When I meet a good actor, I would like to be a director. When I meet a good director, I would like to be an actor. When there is a good script, I would like to be both a director and an actor. The switch is very natural, not intentional.

Some say, why will people pay for cinema when they can watch cheaper DVDs at home? But I say, everyone has a kitchen at home, yet there are still many restaurants.

I'm interested in history.