Director

Annapolis' is a very personal journey about this working-class kid trying to find out who he is, and every time he steps into the ring we get a sense of who he is as a person.

Like, action to me is no fun if it's not built around character.

I loved basketball and grew up with the Lakers and Magic Johnson. That was a big part of me.

I've sat in so many meetings where they talk about converting movies to 3D just for the China market and just to make more money. I saw that people in China work long, long hours and that it's expensive to go to the movies, and you want to rip them off for even more money? I don't think that's right.

I'm living my dream.

Film is similar to a basketball game. When that buzzer sounds, win or lose, the only thing you can control is how much effort you put into it.

Star Trek' is not just about literal exploration, but also the exploration of ourselves.

When I was in film school I had this great professor, Jerzy Antczak, a Polish filmmaker, and Joe Russo of the Russo Brothers were in my class. It was this kind of Easter European philosophy of motivating camera only through character and motions, and just exploring with lenses. That was the best year of my education in my life.

Every time you try to do something different, you have to expect obstacles.

When I think of high school, stills are so important: it's all about the wallet with the kids - they define themselves with pictures, who they know, whose pictures they have. Yearbook pictures.

Ang Lee and 'Hulk,' for instance - a movie about a guy with different-colored skin and a lot of repressed rage? Sounds like the perfect film for an Asian, to me!

Without 'Annapolis,' I wouldn't have gotten 'Tokyo Drift' - I wouldn't be here today. And, so, it's part of who I am.

You can't cheat comedy. You know, it either is going to be there on the day you capture or it's not.

My Taiwanese parents came to America with no money and supported my brothers and me as small business owners in Orange County, which is close to L.A. but about as far away from Hollywood as you can be.

When I go on set, it's very important, the lenses I choose, what I choose to frame or not frame and that's how I make my movies.

I've always admired Bruce Lee for his trailblazing efforts opening doors for Asians in entertainment and beyond.

My parents were unconventional for Asian parents.

When I did my first student film, it was a ten minute film and it cost $U.S.4,000. I worked three jobs to pay for that and I haven't really slept since.

I think within the ideology of what 'Trek' is, that it actually makes the daunting task of making something new more manageable, because it's part of 'Trek's' very design to tackle new worlds and characters.

I think one of the great things is that when I got started, no one would return my calls, and now I get a lot of phone calls, which is good. I have options.